Big Cottages & Group Accommodation in Buxton

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Tim - Verified booking

  We have just returned from a week at Hall End Barn, Earl Sterndale which has been extremely disappointing due to a combination of false description and poor presentation.

  Firstly the major problem was the main bedroom which you describe as 'king-sized'. This frankly is a gross misrepresentation and had we realised the bed is only a standard double (4ft6" x 6ft3") we would never have booked this cottage. Apart from the size of mattress, it was extremely uncomfortable plus due to the bed frame having been broken and held together with black adhesive tape, any movement resulted in loud creaking. We have attached photos showing the measurements and taped 'repair". Having endured one sleepless night we had to resort to using the remaining single beds in the cottage. The second major problem was what can only be described as the stench from the downstairs toilet. This had been mentioned by others in the visitor's book and was obviously well known due to the attempt to mask the smell by air fresheners. On arrival and first opening the door the smell was nauseous to the extent of not using the facility and whilst regular flushing and leaving the extractor fan on 24 hours a day prevented the smell permeating the rest of the cottage it felt most unhealthy. It appeared that either there is no soil venting or it is blocked making the use of the toilet and washing machine most undesirable. Whilst we have detailed these two problems, further factors also detracted from our stay: 1. On arrival at 3 pm, the cottage was bitterly cold due to the heating being timed to be off until later in the day. It did however warm up quickly once the heating was put on. 2. Light bulbs in the lounge, hall, landing and third bedroom (see photos) were not working, and whilst spares were supplied, we only replaced what was absolutely necessary as it is not our idea of a holiday to carry out basic maintenance that should surely have been checked before our arrival. 3. On our second morning we were disturbed by the arrival of three vans containing decorators and bathroom fitters for the cottage next door. The photos attached show a totally different picture of the parking/outside table area to that in your details. The noise of sawing, drilling and hammering continued throughout the week and was not what one expects when choosing a quiet secluded spot for a holiday in the middle of winter. 4. General cleanliness .... not something we would mention had everything else been good as we know that wooden beams do attract cobwebs, and splashes on walls can be missed as can dust and hair under sideboards. As previously mentioned in the visitors book, cleaning is obviously not a priority. We feel that what should have been a quiet, relaxing week in a beautiful cottage in an astounding part of the country was completely ruined by firstly inaccurate marketing (by the way, the nearest shop is over 2 miles away not under one, and the local pub doesn't allow dogs) and secondly poor presentation and maintenance. We regularly rent holiday cottages in different parts of the country (4 times a year on average) and believe we know what is reasonable to expect. This cottage and its owners are being let down if what we have experienced continues.

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• Michael - Verified booking

  Location and cleanliness of the Accomodation was fine, as expected.

  As this was a new build, would have expected the door handle in the main open plan kitchen not to have fallen off a number of times during the stay, there were only 50% of the required screws in the handle. Also, as listing is for a hot tub cottage I would have expected the water quality, temperature and level to be correct and maintained before our stay. The water level was so low there was an error message on the display & a film on the water meaning we couldn’t use, as a regular hot tub user this hadn’t been maintained for a number of months looking at the film on the water and colour of the filter! While using the outside space it was evident there was a wasp nest in the shed right by the seating area making this hardly usable despite the good weather. Finally, as the caretaker explained, the current building regulations mean that all windows must be escape windows which would have been fine had they been fitted with safety latches which they were not and therefore dangerous for our children of 7&8 in a three storey house. Overall a very disappointing stay due to some basic failings!

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• Leanne - Verified booking

  We had a great time.

  The house is great for a get away. The view from the garden is spectacular. Only things we had concern about was the lack of pans/cookware, we cooked for a full party of 8 and struggled. The underfloor heating never got any cooler and the hot tub thermostat. The owner did say its on the way to getting fixed, we just struggled to get the temperature down sometimes. For anyone coming to the property I would advise to bring everything you need, the local shop is pricey and the petrol station isn't the best equipment we struggled with buying milk. The coffee provided was decaff, a few disappointed sore heads when we realised. The quality of the house is one of the best we've stayed in for a long time. Would highly recommend the stay to anyone. The walk into Buxton center and Solomon temple was beautiful.

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• Mohinder - Verified booking

  We stayed for 7 nights in May 2021.

  The place was very clean and airy. A large entrance hall, great for stripping off the walking gear, especially on wet days. The hall could do with a coat stand or additional coat hooks. The living room was very cosy but could do with an extra seat as the sofas only really accommodate 5 adults and the cottage is advertised for 6. The kitchen was well equipped and deceptively large, it would however benefit from a dishwasher as washing up over the low Belfast sink is not so great on the back! The bedrooms were again lovely and clean. The main bedroom would benefit from a king size bed. The adult bunk beds were in a very small room leaving little space to dress. Overall we were very pleased with our stay and would stay again.

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• Lynn - Verified booking

  Whilst the property itself was well presented and tastefully furnished, there are some issues to feedback.

  Firstly the grass had not been cut, it was at least 12” high, we therefore had to cut it before we could use the garden. The garden was not enclosed, as our 2 small dogs were able to get through the ornate fencing, we therefore had to create a barrier with bin bags, not ideal and not very relaxing. One bathroom, especially 1 toilet, for 2 families was a push; no shower mat and no bath mat provided; no proper bin; no recycling instructions - had to go on line to look these up; no stair gate to prevent dogs going upstairs; bike store locked so unable to be used; ‘on leaving’ cleaning instructions were unbelievable! Really do you expect guests to do that, yes leave it clean and tidy but not go to that extreme.

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