A COUPLE in Keswick are living the dream – having started up their new guest house they have rocketed to the top position as the number one choice for B&Bs and Inns on Tripadvisor.

Ben Goodman, 42, and Fiona Goodman, 38, own and run the Squirrel Lodge Guest House in Eskin Street.

They moved to Keswick from Leicester last February, after ditching their day jobs as a tree surgeon and legal secretary in order to make their dream come true, and began trading in March 2019.

As they had not been trading for 12 months they could not show their monthly profit and loss accounts so did not qualify for the 80 per cent self-employed help from the government during lockdown. Ben and Fiona feared they would lose the house.

They reopened on July 4 and had full occupancy in August – with the positive reviews flooding in. Ben said it was their aim to try and get their guest house into the top 50 by the end of the year, but within a couple of weeks of reopening they were in the top 15, then they went up a couple of places each week.

On their winning customer service, Ben said: “We try and put ourselves in their shoes, we write to everyone that’s coming and list places we’ve eaten at and 10 places we strongly recommend people book first, so they don’t miss out. We let people do self check-ins, we let them check-in online.”

Ben said the community spirit in Keswick during lockdown has been absolutely incredible. He thanked residents and in particular fellow guest house owner Paul Brannen for his help and support.

To book call 017687 71189.