Cottages That Sleep 8 In The Lake District

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Lucy - Verified booking

  While the cottage was mainly as advertised several issues became evident throughout our stay: -Firstly the cleanliness of the property was awful.

  While surface level tasks such as clean surfaces and fresh sheets had been provided there was an evident lack of deep clean for a very long time. To ensure we left the property as advertised we used the hoover. Whilst hoovering the downstairs hall area, the cylinder of the hoover was completely filled and some areas of the carpet were so dirty they changed colour when cleaned. This small area is only around 5m2! - This accumulation of dust and debris meant there were huge numbers of different insects. There was cobwebs present in practically every room of the house and large numbers of spiders throughout the property. Uncountable numbers of flies were present in the cottage, and while it was a warm weekend a large proportion of these were in the property upon arrival. We organised an afternoon tea and unfortunately had to dispose of the leftovers because the flies were so numerous over the food. Sharing food was made difficult as flies would land on any plate of food after seconds. Huge numbers of moths were present in the property to the point that one member of the party opened their luggage once home and found a live moth within! There were clearly issues with pests before our stay as there was a fly zapper (though this didnt work!) at the property. - there were key maintenance issues throughout the property including a toilet that broke on 2 occasions and had to be fixed, and a shower that did not work. These were all in the double ensuite upstairs. When we used the washing machine there was a horrendous smell in the kitchen which wafted through the property. And while we couldn't see any obvious blocked drains or leakages it was evident the drainage had not been maintained in some time. - One of the key reasons we selected the cottage was it's inclusion of use of a local spa. I had to email prior to arrival to check how this could be arranged, and even within this conversation there was no mention of additional discounts on food and treatments. If we had known this in advance we would have made use of the spa more and we only found out while looking for information in the pack. This information also said that to access the spa we would require the spa pass attached to the property keys. As the keys were barely attached together at all it's unsurprising that the spa access card was missing. Luckily for us, we have used this spa before and were willing to try and discuss this access upon arrival. The spa were very understanding but many people would have missed out on this inclusion in the cottage. - The property advertised as having zip link beds, and there was no way of communicating when booked how you required the beds set up. Therefore I sent a separate request for how we required the rooms fo be set up. We asked for 2 singles in the 2 zip link bedrooms and both were made up as king size. Ultimately we could use these beds as was however if we had had particular requirements for the rooms these would not have been met. The bedding provided was unseasonal and as such was very warm overnight! - we also had issues disposing of our rubbish as the instructions in the pack were very limited and indeed non-existent when it came to recycling. We had gathered for a special occasion and unfortunately this stay put a real strain on the enjoyment of the weekend. The odd path to direct communication with the owner created by Sykes meant resolving simple issues was impractical. The cumulative effect of the lackluster property maintenance led to a several key issues.

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• Eric - Verified booking

  It gives me no pleasure to give such a review, but I feel obligated to warn potential future guests that this property is not what it appears when looking at the photographs provided.

  What no photograph can convey, is the terrible and overpowering smell of damp that hits you the moment you enter this property. Like a musty cave or old damp cellar, the air is thick with damp. Quite frankly, it is a health hazard. I booked for three nights with my family, and everyone was shocked by the state of the place. Apart from the smell, the bedsheets were unchanged, damp to the touch and even had pubic hairs on the base sheet. My room was worst affected by the damp. ( Left of the entrance ) and it was impossible to sleep there. I was forced to sleep upstairs on the couch but that brought it’s own problems as it was full of dog hairs, this being a ‘pet friendly’ establishment. My eldest son, daughter and son in law were forced to leave early as the damp in their rooms were causing them breathing problems. Cobwebs and spiders were everywhere, and the whole place was in desperate need of a deep clean. All surfaces were sticky to the touch and the shower drainage was blocked causing the base to fill with foul water when showering. Nobody should be sleeping there until these problems are fixed. It is a sad state of affairs, because the potential this converted barn has, is clear from the photos they provide. The upstairs is spacious and appealing to the eye, but it is totally spoiled by uncleanliness, neglect and above all, a very serious damp issue. These concerns were raised in private with Sykes cottages who promised to speak to the owner and get back to us but unfortunately after chasing them for a week there has been only silence in return.

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• Eric - Verified booking

  It gives me no pleasure to give such a review, but I feel obligated to warn potential future guests that this property is not what it appears when looking at the photographs provided.

  What no photograph can convey, is the terrible and overpowering smell of damp that hits you the moment you enter this property. Like a musty cave or old damp cellar, the air is thick with damp. Quite frankly, it is a health hazard. I booked for three nights with my family, and everyone was shocked by the state of the place. Apart from the smell, the bedsheets were unchanged, damp to the touch and even had pubic hairs on the base sheet. My room was worst affected by the damp. ( Left of the entrance ) and it was impossible to sleep there. I was forced to sleep upstairs on the couch but that brought it’s own problems as it was full of dog hairs, this being a ‘pet friendly’ establishment. My eldest son, daughter and son in law were forced to leave early as the damp in their rooms were causing them breathing problems. Cobwebs and spiders were everywhere, and the whole place was in desperate need of a deep clean. All surfaces were sticky to the touch and the shower drainage was blocked causing the base to fill with foul water when showering. Nobody should be sleeping there until these problems are fixed. It is a sad state of affairs, because the potential this converted barn has, is clear from the photos they provide. The upstairs is spacious and appealing to the eye, but it is totally spoiled by uncleanliness, neglect and above all, a very serious damp issue. These concerns were raised in private with Sykes cottages who promised to speak to the owner and get back to us but unfortunately after chasing them for a week there has been only silence in return.

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• Stephen - Verified booking

  We were very unhappy with the fact that on our first night, the lock on the only door jammed, and we were unable to get out of the property.

  The 24/7 Emergency number was not answered and it was the following day that we were able to get through to anyone and a maintenance man arrived in the afternoon. The only access was through a narrow window and even the thin maintenance guy had trouble getting in to fix the lock. He removed this, and then left us with only a Yale, rather than a 5 lever Chubb for the remainder of our stay. We were told someone would come to replace the lock but no-one did.We effectively lost a full day of our holiday, being unable to get out of the property. The ground floor was damp, with black mould in a number of places. We have contacted Sykes a number of times, but they are hiding behind a blanket, standard response that says they can do nothing, and neither they nor the owner would pay any compensation, as this is a Health and Safety issue!! We would like the owner, who we are unable to contact, to confirm that this problem, both the door and the lack of proper escape windows has been sorted, so we can feel comfortable that any other renters are safe in the property. There would appear to be no route to report this issue to Health and Safety Executive, only to Sykes and Lake Lovers. We feel there is no way we can give any positive recommendation for the property without confirmation that the issues are resolved. We are also very unhappy that Sykes have at no time made any direct contact to apologise for the problems we have had,

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• Melissa - Verified booking

  This was a last minute deal, I wouldn’t pay full price for this property.

  Although some good points, this cottage needs attention from the owners. Good points: Convenient parking close to front door. Nice well equipped kitchen overall . Good to have a dryer when it’s wet outside. Love the open plan space upstairs. Pleasant enclosed garden. Quiet spot in a pretty village. Beds comfortable Bad points: Sticky kitchen table. Bathrooms grotty, and need an update, new sealant needed on bath and extractor fan not working properly. Smell of damp downstairs. Missing light bulbs and fire alarm needing new battery. Basic maintenance is poor. No pint of milk or tea, which would have been appreciated after a long journey. Information pack was poor, no info on recycling or working the TV. A guest book would be helpful so folks can recommend places to visit. We really enjoyed visiting Ambleside and Blackwell the Arts & Crafts house. Tip: Take some DVDs and games with you, (the games we found were old) Note: Both toilets are downstairs (bedroom level), we have family members who have to take extra time negotiating stairs, so just a heads up! Note: When finding the property the bins were blocking the house name, luckily friendly neighbours helped us find it. Conclusion: A cottage of two halves, living area nice upstairs but downstairs needs an update. Maintenance needed.

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