Holiday Cottages In Braithwaite

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Victoria - Verified booking

  Spacious, well maintained and comfortable property with absolutely stunning views towards the peaks the rear.

  Outside, while it is not entirely secluded - and the main road is sadly very audible close by - there is a reasonable amount of screening from the neighbours on either side and the garden would be lovely in warmer weather. Snow on the mountaintops at New Year was breathtaking and we enjoyed the location. Inside everything was clean, comfortable and in good repair, and there was loads of room for ten adults and a couple of active toddlers. We were pleased in particular that the kitchen was very fully equipped (knives that are actually sharp! enough saucepans! a food processor! - we would rather have plentiful cookware, crockery and glassware than a limited matching set any day) and able to cope with lots of people cooking, feeding children etc at once. The large boot room was brilliant. Two living rooms and a separate made a big difference when there were kids running around, and although the dining room was a bit of a squeeze for everyone at mealtimes we managed at least one "sumptuous evening feast". We were not really looking for a "luxury" property - more, something as spacious as possible and reasonably priced, which is what we got - and we had read between the lines enough to realise that the rather breathless agents' puff was probably to be ignored. The plumbing seems to be unable to cope with ten adults, unfortunately - more than one of us had a cold shower every morning. Bath towels were comically tiny and there were no hand towels. Beds were of quite variable quality and bedding was nothing special. It felt miserly not to be given enough loo roll or bin liners for a week - no one wants to have to go shopping for loo roll on holiday. There is good wifi but limited phone signal. You are asked to strip your beds and take out the bins - and if you want to recycle anything, you have to drive it to a council site. The fireplaces are sadly not to be used (which we think should really be mentioned in the agents' description). It would have been nice to see more of the interior decoration reflect the arts and crafts design of the house - it's got some original features, but the furniture is an assortment of new, repro and older stuff which has the vibe of a family home that has had a reasonable amount spent on it - but has certainly been nowhere near an interior designer. None of that spoilt our enjoyment of the week - we think the place was a reasonable price for what you get and it would clearly be expensive if not impossible to address some of those things. Nevertheless, we've stayed in large propeties where few if any of those things were an issue, and if a property is marketed as being at the "luxury" end of the market, it is no surprise that there are complaints that it does not meet the kinds of expectations that will create. On a brighter note, fizz on arrival was very welcome. We also appreciated the fact that the property was very well heated at a cold time of year and that we could control the radiators and the thermostats on each floor ourselves - not always the case with larger properties and made a big difference.

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• Laura - Verified booking

  Thank you so much to the hosts for making their lovely home available - we loved our stay at Little Ellers, which is a beautiful house in the most lovely grounds.

  We were a family group of three generations and the house had plenty of space for us to spread out and for young children to explore. The house has clearly been lovingly and thoughtfully restored and it was very comfortable and well stocked with crockery/kitchen utensils, Miele washing machine and dryer etc. The beds and bedding were very comfortable and all rooms had decent curtains/blinds which were most welcome. The bathrooms were lovely and no issues for us with hot water. The garden is beautiful and full of wildlife including bunnies, birds, pheasants and the occasional deer. The property is very well located for exploring the Lake District with plenty of things to do/places to eat in walking distance (Keswick around 30 minutes away but some closer) and many more within short driving distance. There are two marinas with watersports equipment available to hire a short walk away and we had a fantastic guided paddleboard around Derwentwater with Lake District Paddleboarding. We were a little concerned before arrival about the many negative reviews left previously. However, I am pleased to report that the vast majority of the points raised have been addressed by the owners and we needn't have worried. A few points to improve. Considering the size of the property, cleaning was of a decent standard around the majority of the house/kitchen/bathrooms etc. However, the property could do with a deep clean (e.g. there was thick dust under the beds, a deflated balloon behind the sofa, thick dust and bits of broken crockery under the fridge etc). The bath towels provided are small and thin/not very luxurious which is a shame given the standard of the rest of the house. The very early checkout time was a bit of a struggle - even moving to 9.30 would allow a bit more of a relaxing departure. It would have made things easier if a high chair and travel cot could be provided and query if this is something that could be offered for a small additional charge. We can't wait to visit again!

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• David - Verified booking

  Pros: Little Ellers was perfectly placed for our holiday as we visited the Keswick Convention every day the 7 days we were there.

  It was a 30 minute walk away – perfect for enjoying the views of this beautiful part of the world. The property was clean and had more than enough space for all 10 of us (6 adults, 4 kids). As well as the many bedrooms, the property has a number of reception rooms, all of which are very spacious. The garden was large and well kept – a lovely space for the kids to let of some steam. It was enclosed too so we felt we could leave them to it if we adults wanted to stay inside. Cons: None of the middle floor bathrooms had locks. Some of our party didn't mind, others really did. Only the downstairs toilet and top floor bathroom did. We noticed that the middle floor bathrooms had lock-holes which we assumed meant the doors could be locked – we just didn't have the keys. We contacted Sykes Cottages on Saturday, Monday & Tuesday about this but only received a conclusive answer on Wednesday: there were no keys for the middle floor bathroom doors. Though Sykes said they tried to ring us, none of us had good mobile signal, so our phones didn't even say we had missed a call. To Sykes credit, they have said, in the future, they will contact customers online / via email if they can't reach them by phone, rather than assuming customers will get a missed call notification and call back. The kitchen only stocked a few tiny sieves – a normal or large sieve would have been helpful. Conclusion: Little Ellers is a beautiful and spacious place to stay. Despite the few niggles mentioned above, we have booked this lovely property again for next year's convention/holiday. (To the team at Sykes Cottages & to Little Ellers' owner, if those few niggles were rectified, we wouldn't hesitate in giving this property 5 stars!)

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• David - Verified booking

  Pros: Little Ellers was perfectly placed for our holiday as we visited the Keswick Convention every day the 7 days we were there.

  It was a 30 minute walk away – perfect for enjoying the views of this beautiful part of the world. The property was clean and had more than enough space for all 10 of us (6 adults, 4 kids). As well as the many bedrooms, the property has a number of reception rooms, all of which are very spacious. The garden was large and well kept – a lovely space for the kids to let of some steam. It was enclosed too so we felt we could leave them to it if we adults wanted to stay inside. Cons: None of the middle floor bathrooms had locks. Some of our party didn't mind, others really did. Only the downstairs toilet and top floor bathroom did. We noticed that the middle floor bathrooms had lock-holes which we assumed meant the doors could be locked – we just didn't have the keys. We contacted Sykes Cottages on Saturday, Monday & Tuesday about this but only received a conclusive answer on Wednesday: there were no keys for the middle floor bathroom doors. Though Sykes said they tried to ring us, none of us had good mobile signal, so our phones didn't even say we had missed a call. To Sykes credit, they have said, in the future, they will contact customers online / via email if they can't reach them by phone, rather than assuming customers will get a missed call notification and call back. The kitchen only stocked a few tiny sieves – a normal or large sieve would have been helpful. Conclusion: Little Ellers is a beautiful and spacious place to stay. Despite the few niggles mentioned above, we have booked this lovely property again for next year's convention/holiday. (To the team at Sykes Cottages & to Little Ellers' owner, if those few niggles were rectified, we wouldn't hesitate in giving this property 5 stars!)

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• Jayne - Verified booking

  Amazing house with everything you could possibly need and more to make your stay comfortable.

  The kitchen is fully equipped in case you want to eat in. There are board games and lots of books for adults and children. Three extra large comfortable couches in the living room. TV’s in all bedrooms (but not everyone has a remote) and every room is en-suite which is ideal when you have a large group staying. There is parking for 3 cars at the rear of the garden behind a fence, 2 cars by the back door to the property and two spaces at the front. There is a handy boot room at the rear to leave muddy boots and wet coats, there is also a washing machine and drier in there. The house is opposite the River Greta and if you turn left out of the property you will come to a river walk which you can enter through the Crosthwaite Road Car Park, this walk takes you through lovely parkland to the town along the riverside. If you turn right from the property this takes you turn to High Hill and you can walk along this road into Keswick Town and the many shops, pubs and lake walks. The lovely market was on in the town on Saturday and there are many places to eat and drink however I would suggest you book a table if you can at peak times. Just a point to note, which wasn’t a problem for us, however, the back garden is not gated and this property and neighbouring properties use the small road/pathway at the side of the property to access their parking spaces. This would be only be a problem if you had children or dogs left unsupervised. We had a wonderful stay with three generations of family to celebrate a special birthday.

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