Big Cottages & Group Accommodation in Portinscale

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Wayne - Verified booking

  We had a very disappointing experience at Beck edge.

  It does look exactly like the pictures on the website but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Parking is a problem. The roads around the property are very tight and very busy, not only with vehicles squeezing around the corner but also cyclists and pedestrians passing by right in front of the house, making it difficult to park and unload the car. The road noise woke us up in the morning due to a manhole cover which clank’s every time it’s driven over. The allotted parking space to the side of the house is really tight and you have to park close to the house wall to not block the neighbours drive. The key safe is located on the opposite side of the property through the rickety gate next to the side door and a scruffy rotting log store (not a great first impression). The key safe itself was difficult to operate and the front fell off once it had unlocked. Before we arrived we did received a message informing us the dishwasher had broken, which is annoying but these things happen. (There was a hand written note in the kitchen confirming this). The general feel of the place is dated and maintenance and investment in the property over the years is clearly lacking. Some of the issues we encountered were mentioned in a previous review and had apparently been resolved. The front door lock sticks and is really difficult to lock and unlock from the inside. (It’s identified in the safety paperwork as a fire exit which obviously is a big safety concern). Cupboard fronts, doors and plinths in the kitchen are poorly fitted and tired. I’m not sure the filters in the extractor fan have ever been cleaned? They are yellow with grease and the ceiling above is stained. The fridge doesn’t seem to be working efficiently, the lights doesn’t work, the bottom shelf is broken and the door is being held together with some sort of foam/adhesive. The manual in the kitchen is partly handwritten and difficult to read especially the oven instructions which have been crossed out and sketched in biro! There’s a sealed unit in the rear kitchen window which has broken down and is full of condensation along with a spotlight and bulb that have blown. This room just smelt very stale so we had to open all the window to freshen the place up. The blinds throughout the property are dirty and offer no privacy from the surrounding properties or roads. As previously mentioned the array of towels supplied are very small and really old, I’m not sure why they haven’t been replaced years ago. The main bathroom was functional and the water was hot but the rainbow shower curtain wasn’t very clean and had mildew around the bottom of it. The beds were fairly uncomfortable but the bedding old and worn, the single bed didn’t smell great and my son refused to sleep In it. We had a 2 night stay booked but decided to cut it short and travelled home a day early as we felt really uncomfortable at Beck edge. Although this property might be acceptable to some we felt it is in desperate need of a refurbishment and freshening up, there has clearly been no investment in the property over the last 20 years and it shows. And for such an outstanding area of the country where you have to pay a premium to stay, the standard of this property is simply not good enough. It’s very disappointing as we’ve used Sykes on several occasions and properties are usually of a very good standard, but unfortunately not this one.

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• John - Verified booking

  We were extremely pleased that Sykes were able to work with the property manager/owner to address a few concerns we had, prior to our stay, based on the feedback from previous customers.

  These related to the seating (a beautiful new sofa was delivered just before our start date), cleanliness (which was addressed) and a fuel alarm issue (the reasons for which were investigated and explained to us as an isolated incident). So well done to all concerned for resolving these concerns prior to our holiday. The one thing I need to mention (not a complaint but it needs addressing soon) is that there were signs of some water ingression in one of the upstairs en-suites (the one with the glass roof). The ceiling above the door is black in parts and there's some flaking paint. It only rained properly once during our stay but some water came through the ceiling and puddled on the floor, so we put a bucket and towel underneath to catch the drips. The grout in the floor tiles looks like it has been previously washed away in the affected area, which means the water would have seeped under the floor tiles and (possibly) through to the downstairs en-suite if it had rained persistently (and if we hadn't been in the house at the time and spotted it). I can't see any previous published reports of this issue amongst the customer feedback, so I don't know whether the owner knows about it. But I would hope that the property management company has spotted it because the signs are so obvious (whether its raining at the time or not). Maybe the work has already been scheduled, but in that case customers should be forewarned and know what to do if it rains. We hope the property manager/owner will rectify this problem soon, before it turns into a much bigger issue. This didn't really impact our holiday though, other than during the 2 minutes it took us to find the bucket, so we've given the holiday full marks anyway because of the numerous positive aspects - the location, the stunning property itself and the breath-taking views which we were particularly sad to leave behind (the welcome pack was a very nice surprise too). Overall, many thanks for a great holiday that my family will never forget.

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• Allen - Verified booking

  We had a great week staying at Gillside as a base for exploring the Lake District.

  There was only a few issues that prevented it being excellent. It hadn’t been cleaned to a high enough standard for us. When we arrived the rubbish was piled around the full bin outside. It was never collected during our stay. When I enquired I was told this was because the council couldn’t access the property as the road was closed?! The washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher filters hadn’t been cleaned out before we used them. There were cupboards and floors that had residual crumbs/mess. When we arrived on the Saturday there was a note to tell us not to use one of the ensuite showers because it was leaking into the room below, which was visible. We had to leave the key in the key safe if we went out to allow a plumber access. He came on the Monday while we were out and it looked like he had resealed the shower tray. The note was still there with no update, so we had to ring to see whether we could use the shower next day or not. We could and there was no further issues. We also had an unexpected visit from another plumber who wanted to inspect the mould in a different bathroom as he had fitted the bathroom. He took photos and left. There was a lack of space in all the bedrooms but we managed. On the plus side, the view from the property was spectacular and the kitchen was well stocked with cutlery, crockery and equipment to make meals. The broken sofa that had been mentioned in previous reviews had been replaced, so we had plenty of seats to sit on. The beds were comfortable and the underfloor heating worked although we couldn’t figure out how to change the actual time on the individual controls. The gardens were in full bloom and obviously well looked after.

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• Tracy - Verified booking

  What a great spot!

  Location is brilliant. Well situated for walking & public transport around the area. The property is right on the roadside. Unloading was tricky. The roads are narrow and fairly busy. It was noisy during the day, but we were out most of the time. Parking wasn't too much of an issue. Although it's a small parking bay. We managed to get one car in it and the other, we parked further down in the village. The property is very spacious and well laid out. We were two couples. Great to have 2 bathrooms. Well equipped, with everything you need. Beds were comfortable. Towels weren't great, old and on the small side. We were only given 2 small bath towels and a small hand towel, per couple. Although clean, being an old property there were a few spider's webs up in high places. The heating & hot water were difficult to navigate. The boiler wasn't set at the correct time. Fortunately we were able to reset this after a lot of fiddling about. The central heating wasn't great. The gas fire was very useful, once we had worked out how to light it! There were no logs for the fire, (It was July), but we needed some heat! Typical British weather. We contacted the office and spoke to them about a few issues, as we didn't want to be charged. Front door lock sticking, no logs, broken blind, kitchen cupboard fronts, loose. All minor but we were assured this would be sorted that day. True to their word it was. We also had logs delivered. Great service from Sykes. Overall, a very enjoyable stay.

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• Deb - Verified booking

  Fantastic location with easy of access to nearby Keswick and walks straight from the front door.

  The panoramic view from the lounge is a winner and really makes Gillside a fantastic place to stay. The house is well laid out and well equipped and made for a really comfy 2 week stay for our family. The weather was great so we could really make use of the garden and soak up the sun in the late afternoon. The main sofa is a bit past it's best however and could do with replacing. The towel rails didn't work as the upstairs thermostat was switched off. We emailed HoTL a few times and had prompt responses that this would be looked into. However the thermostat seemed to automatically switch on, on September 1st and stayed on for a few hours to heat the towel rails and then switched itself off again. I notice this was highlighted in a previous review and It would be useful if they could be switched on in the summer months as its so difficult to dry the massive bath towels with no heat. It was also be good if you could consider starting collecting recycling at the property if kerbside collection is available. It felt awful putting all the recyclable waste into landfill bins.

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