Guests say
Guests consistently praise The Old Sweet Shop for its spaciousness, cleanliness, and prime location in Alnwick. The property is well-equipped, offering a comfortable stay with quality bedding and a warm atmosphere. The thoughtful touches, such as welcome baskets, are frequently mentioned, adding to the property's charm. Despite minor maintenance issues, the overall experience is highly regarded, making it a memorable stay for families and groups.
Reviewers are unanimous in their appreciation of the property's cleanliness. It is often described as spotless, even though pets are allowed, which indicates meticulous upkeep and attention to detail in maintaining hygiene standards.
The property's location is consistently highlighted as excellent, with its proximity to local attractions, amenities, and the town centre. Guests appreciate the convenience of being able to walk to nearby sites and the ease of exploring Northumberland from this central base.
Comfort is a strong point for this property, with numerous mentions of comfortable beds, quality bed linen, and a cosy, welcoming atmosphere. The spaciousness allows guests to relax without feeling crowded. However, there were some concerns about heating and water pressure that prevent a perfect score.
The property is praised for being well-equipped and offering a range of facilities that cater to guests' needs. However, there are some reports of maintenance issues, such as a broken shower and heating problems, which suggest room for improvement in this category.
Guests frequently mention the thoughtful touches provided by the host, such as welcome baskets and dog treats. These gestures contribute significantly to the positive experience, although it is politely noted that such gifts, while appreciated, are not guaranteed for every stay.
About this property
Located in the heart of Alnwick, Northumberland, is this large three-storey Victorian terraced house; The Old Sweetshop. Originally built as a shop and dwellinghouse in 1899, this was converted into one large family home and has been successfully modernised and updated. With four bedrooms sleeping up to eight guests, this pet-friendly accommodation (downstairs only) has spacious living and sleeping areas and high-quality modern facilities, Alnwick has historic sites, luscious countryside, and the stunning coast all within easy reach. The ground floor hosts a stylish kitchen/ diner, it is sure to please any budding chef with its spacious feel and electric range cooker (fan oven, conventional oven, top oven and grill), 5-burner gas hob, dishwasher, fridge-freezer and microwave (washing machine located in the cupboard in hall). The separate dining room with seating for eight guests contains a small sitting area with TV, DVD player, books and selection of toys; ideal for little ones to play, whilst the adults enjoy a glass of something refreshing. Find less formal seating in the main sitting room with sumptuous leather sofas, fabric winged armchairs and a coffee table, a 4K Smart TV and a selection of board games are available for entertainment, or alternatively snuggle up with a good book by the warmth of the woodburning stove for a quieter evening after a busy day. Completing the ground floor is a compact shower room with WC and heated towel rail. On the first floor you will find three well-appointed double bedrooms. Bedroom 1 is a large room with superking size bed (can be converted into twin beds on request) and sofa, bedroom 2 contains a kingsize bed, and bedroom 3 has two single beds, a bathroom with a bath, shower over, and heated towel rail completes this floor. A staircase leads you to the second floor landing with a handy desk for any office work that may be required and access to a bathroom containing free-standing bath, shower, WC and heated towel rail, the bedroom on this floor contains a king size bed with dressing area and comfortable poang chairs, for increased privacy there is the option to lock the bathroom door access from the landing and use this bathroom as an en-suite accessed from the dressing area.When you are ready to explore the area, a short stroll (5 minutes) leads you past the iconic Barter books (pop in to peruse the second-hand books) and onwards to the cobbled streets of Alnwick town centre, filled with independent shops, galleries, cafes, pubs, restaurants and a weekly market, here you will find the Alnwick Playhouse (arts centre, theatre, cinema and tourist information), Alnwick Castle (featured in many well-loved TV and movie series including Harry Potter, Downtown Abby and Transformers) and The Alnwick Garden (home to the world’s largest tai Haku cherry orchard, a grand cascade water feature, bamboo maze and poison garden). For more active leisure, the Willowburn sports centre (15 minute walk) has a swimming pool (including separate shallow pool for younger guests), soft play, climbing wall and fitness gym, in addition to badminton courts and sports hall for hire. Alnwick Castle golf course (non-members welcome) is situated 0.5 mile from the house, tennis and squash facilities are 0.3miles from the house. If you're looking for a day by the sea, Alnmouth is a short drive away with a lovely sandy beach, teashops, restaurants and wonderful sea views, Carry on to Warkworth with its picturesque ruined castle or to Amble, proudly known as “the friendliest port in England”, other costal highlights in this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty are Bamburgh beach with its imposing castle, Lindisfarne (Holy Island), Seahouses (take a boat to the National trust Farne islands to watch grey seals and puffins) and Craster, where you can sample some traditional kippers before you walk to the iconic Dunstanburgh Castle. If idyllic countryside is your preference, you'll have many beautiful walks on your doorstep, especially through Hulne park with landscape inspired by Capability Brown, slightly further afield, Northumberland National Park has 410 square miles of pristine rivers, waterfalls, hills and valleys to explore, in addition to some of darkest skies in the country, giving an opportunity for star gazing at the Kielder Observatory. For a cultural day trip, we would recommend taking the train from Alnmouth Station to Edinburgh, Newcastle or Durham, all of which can be reached within approx 1hour. However you spend your family-friendly holiday in Northumberland, you will find everything you need at the Old Sweet Shop.
Alnwick is a charming market town dominated by Alnwick Castle, home to the Duke of Northumberland. With Europe's largest cascading water feature, an enormous treehouse, a delightful rose garden, and a beautiful walled ornamental garden, the Castle Gardens will delight both novice and experienced gardeners. The castle also houses Hogwarts School from the Harry Potter films! The Market Place, with its stone cross, is still the town's focal point and the ideal location for the weekly Saturday market. Miles of golden sandy beaches, numerous castles, and boat trips to the famous Farne Islands are all available nearby. Overall, a great base for exploring Northumberland's Heritage Coastline.
Accommodation
Over three floors.
Four bedrooms: Second floor 1 x king-size with en-suite bath, separate shower, basin, heated towel rail and WC.
First floor: 1 x king-size, 1 x super-king (zip/link, can be twin on request), 1 x twin.
Bathroom with bath, shower over, basin, heated towel rail and WC.
Ground-floor shower room with walk-in shower, basin, heated towel rail and WC.
Kitchen/diner (seating for 4).
Sitting room with woodburning stove.
Dining room (with small lounge area)
Gas central heating.
Electric oven, gas hob, microwave, fridge/freezer, washing machine, dishwasher.
Smart 4K TV, further HD TV, DVD player, WiFi (high end fibre broadband), selection of books, games and DVDs.
Fuel, power and starter pack for woodburning stove included in rent.
Bed linen and towels included in rent.
Highchair, travel cot and stairgate available on request.
Off-road parking for 1 car.
On-street free parking to rear of property or nearby side street.
Well-behaved pets welcome.
Sorry, no smoking.
Shop 40 yards, pub 0.3 miles.
Note: Pets are only allowed on the ground floor.
Note: There are sloped ceilings and exposed beams in the second-floor bedroom, please take care.
Please note we cannot accept check-ins on a Sunday.
Reviews (35)
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Roz
(Just 4 of us). Unfortunately only one of the three showers was fully usable - top floor is âout of orderâ & middle floor shower-head doesnât stay in place so needed to be handheld. Ground floor shower is very good. Weâd all stay again & recommend the Old Sweeetshop as a very good holiday home from which to explore the amazing Northumberland coast.
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Rosamund
Location ideal, cottage had everything we needed for 4 adults and 1 dog. We also had to contact the owner for a couple of things, nothing was too much trouble at all. Would highly recommend, thanks for an enjoyable week.
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Rebecca
Booking with Sykes was really easy, communication with Alison was great and The Old Sweet Shop is very comfortable - huge yet cosy and welcoming. Lots of space to spread out in and the selection of board games was brilliant. Street parking was easy, we parked in the lane behind the house with no problems. The welcome basket was such a lovey touch and the two local shops are so handy. The August evenings were surprisingly chilly so we thoroughly enjoyed the stove in the lounge (entirely unnecessary, the heating was great but there is a special comfort in a real fire). Alnwick is a lovely place to visit, so much to see and do within walking distance and then the beach and countryside are really close. We didn't use it but the hop on/off local attractions bus seemed like a great idea, especially if you're not used to the hills. Our family are planning their return visit!