Big Cottages in the Lake District

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Michael - Verified booking

  This is a semi with little outside lounging area and no outside privacy at all The photograph of the front of the house misleads as half of the property shown is not part of Holly Cottage.

  The photograph is angled so you cannot see the entrance door to the other property which is just a few feet away. Also the photo of the area to the front of the property with table and chairs give an impression of some level of privacy. Once again it misleads as it also serves as an area for the other part of the proprty where they also have their table and chairs just feet away from yours with absolutely nothing to divide them. We have to pass between their seating area and door everytime we go out and come back as there is a shared acces route. The outside area containing the table and very uncomfortable plastic chairs is very small and is the only outside area connected to the house, there is no play area for kids, no area to sunbathe or have a barbeque, no area to hang washing, it is the smallest external and least private area we have ever had in a Sykes property. Evening meals and private socialising outside is impossible as you are doing it within near earshot of neighbours. Both parties had a very awkward first night sat outside whispering. The next door property consists of a 2 bedroom ground floor flat, with our third bedroom on top of it, their seating area is directly below our third bedroom, the noise they make we can hear in the bedroom as well as from their flat below. They have a baby and sit outside from 7.00am in the morning making it impossible to sleep or relax in our own bed. I expected Sykes to be more open about the properties shortcomings and not attempt to mislead in their website marketing of the property, i would not have booked it if i had had known we would have no privacy at all and be so near to the noise from next door. I am very surprised no other visitors have mentioned this, which makes me a bit suspicious as to what feedback Sykes cottages allow on their site, it will be interesting to see if this one makes it onto their site.

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• Michael - Verified booking

  This is a semi with little outside lounging area and no outside privacy at all The photograph of the front of the house misleads as half of the property shown is not part of Holly Cottage.

  The photograph is angled so you cannot see the entrance door to the other property which is just a few feet away. Also the photo of the area to the front of the property with table and chairs give an impression of some level of privacy. Once again it misleads as it also serves as an area for the other part of the proprty where they also have their table and chairs just feet away from yours with absolutely nothing to divide them. We have to pass between their seating area and door everytime we go out and come back as there is a shared acces route. The outside area containing the table and very uncomfortable plastic chairs is very small and is the only outside area connected to the house, there is no play area for kids, no area to sunbathe or have a barbeque, no area to hang washing, it is the smallest external and least private area we have ever had in a Sykes property. Evening meals and private socialising outside is impossible as you are doing it within near earshot of neighbours. Both parties had a very awkward first night sat outside whispering. The next door property consists of a 2 bedroom ground floor flat, with our third bedroom on top of it, their seating area is directly below our third bedroom, the noise they make we can hear in the bedroom as well as from their flat below. They have a baby and sit outside from 7.00am in the morning making it impossible to sleep or relax in our own bed. I expected Sykes to be more open about the properties shortcomings and not attempt to mislead in their website marketing of the property, i would not have booked it if i had had known we would have no privacy at all and be so near to the noise from next door. I am very surprised no other visitors have mentioned this, which makes me a bit suspicious as to what feedback Sykes cottages allow on their site, it will be interesting to see if this one makes it onto their site.

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• Paula - Verified booking

  I would not recommend this property in fact I would advise people to steer clear.

  There are some positives in its location and size and a good level of kitchen equipment. Plus when the hot water tap on the en-suite sink did not work someone did come out to fix it. However, I had several issues which mean that I could not recommend this place to future guests. 1) Cleanliness- we had to reclean certain areas upon arrival. There was food still on the dining room table which was visible on entry. debris under the coffee table in the sitting room, cobwebs in the bedroom and a dead wasp on the bathroom windowsill. Further insult is that we had t o check-in late and depart early in order to allow for thorough cleaning. 2) the downstairs shower is not fit for purpose. It does not drain properly even when using as little water as possible. Therefore its should not be marketed as a house with 3 showers as we could not use this. 3) The Heating. This is controlled by the owners and whilst you can adjust the thermostat (only to a certain point) sometimes you don't even get an hour of the heating at the temperature you desire. This is particularly problematic for the rooms downstairs which were never warm because the heating is set so low they never had a chance to warm up. The thermostat is controlled by a pin number to adjust which is not shared with guests. We paid £2000 to rent this property and we couldn't even heat it how we needed. The heating, the misrepresentation of the usable shower and the lack of interest in providing a clean property show a terrible disrespect for customers and that is why I wouldn't stay there again or recommend it to anyone.

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• Suzanne - Verified booking

  This is a lovely cottage with lots of room, especially upstairs.

  It has good taste decor and felt some of the previous comments were unfair as it’s a lovely place. Of course there’s some very minor wear and tear, it’s a rental cottage. Quite difficult to find initially as a bit of a labyrinth of roads so would benefit to have a whatthreewords address included too. The patio area isn’t secure which wasn’t clear so quite difficult when you’ve got a dog but at least isn’t a busy road. We actually had a deer walk straight past the house at one point. i have rented many cottages and my main criticism is that compared to all others, very little provided. No hand wash or any other products or cleaning items and not enough toilet roll to last a week and no kitchen towel or anything. Every other cottage I’ve been to always leave a welcome ‘gift’ of cakes and wine and bits and bobs and this just had a small cleaning kit… something else would be a nice touch. Bed in king size room lumpy and uncomfortable but other than that there was no issues with any of the rest of furniture. Wi-Fi doesn’t work in main upstairs bedroom either and the alternative code given didn’t come up as an option. These were all minor issues though and the overall cottage and layout was lovely and wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again if staying in Ambleside.

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• Karen - Verified booking

  Grange Lodge was very much a 'home from home'.

  The house is close to Windermere village but was a lovely tranquil oasis from the busy village itself. We had amazing weather during our stay so the garden really came into its own in the evenings, once we'd returned from our day's adventures with great seating and wonderful seclusion, only shared by one property next door. The kitchen is very well equipped for self catering but there is also a plethora of cafes and restaurants within easy walking distance if you prefer to eat out. The lounge has large windows to one side with spectacular views across the garden to the hills beyond. The house is, obviously, well loved with good quality mattresses, quality furniture and more than sufficient space for 6 adults. There are two shower rooms and on bathroom plus a separate loo so plenty of facilities. For the price charged, we felt this was an excellent value stay in a great location within an easy drive of many beauty spots. We will definitely come again.

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