Cottages That Sleep 12 In England

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Ruth - Verified booking

  I had my 75th birthday here with hubby, two daughters, one son-in-law and five teenage grandchildren.

  The location is superb for surfing beaches a short drive away, King Arthur’s castle ruins and amazing new bridge. Etc. The house exceeded our expectations in many ways but in a couple of others didn’t. However the owner, who lives next door was always on hand to answer queries and more than ready to take on board our suggestions. We were only his second guests since he took it on and so was keen to hear any slight quibbles and to put them right for future guests. The info from Sykes about the house was a bit misleading with the Covid instructions. They said there would be no cushions on the sofas and that there would be no games, maps, books etc. All these things were there so we needn’t have brought our own. It also states that there is a beach 200 metres away! No there isn’t! The sea might be but not a useable beach. Also we assumed, wrongly, that as it is a big house it would have a reasonable size garden. So we brought a gazebo but there was nowhere to put it up. The outdoor space is tiny with the hot tub taking up half and a BBQ and two benches with small table the rest. So if you have a BBQ meal you really need a table and chairs to eat it at outside. The hot tub is a luxury but we felt a garden dining set would be more useful. Also there is nowhere outdoors to dry wet swimmers, towels or washing although an electric drier and clothes horse indoors is provided inside. A rack for wetsuits is outside the front with a hose which is handy. The house itself is very well appointed and tastefully decorated with no lack of seafaring themed ornaments and wall pictures. The kitchen fantastic for catering for large numbers and a very comfy lounge. All bathrooms are great with endless hot water for those after beach showers, even all going at once! The bed I was in did sag in the middle rather and gave me a backache for the first half an hour each morning but maybe my age had something to do with it. Matt the owner was so friendly and helpful that I don’t want to upset him but felt that these comments might help those people thinking of booking up at Trevena Lodge. Oh and the view from sitting on the loo in my en-suite was the best I have ever experienced! We managed to avoid the crowds to avoid the Covid and altogether we had a super holiday and I had a memorable birthday!

  Read more less >

• Aimee - Verified booking

  The house itself is wonderful.

  Lots of space, great open plan kitchen dining living area. Rooms are all spacious and comfy, hot tub and garden are lovely. Local area is quiet but nice pubs and walks are a very short drive away. Hot water situation is quite tricky, especially with a house of 10 adults. Waiting 30 mins between everyone’s shower is unreasonable and a lot of us had freezing cold showers only despite all showers being quick and no baths. The house is missing a few essential bits, we had no washing up liquid or dishwasher tablets or normal tea bags. Lack of bins for recycling inside the house. No handsoap in the upstairs bathroom. The kitchen equipment is also a little limited for a house of this size. We had 10 people staying and struggled when cooking, lack of pots / pans, bowls etc. The aga is also tricky, mainly as the dials have no numbers on them and they get burning hot when in use so it’s hard to select temps etc. Sykes as a booking agency are extremely difficult. Website is inaccurate and unhelpful, causing a major issue with my booking that I then had to pay extra for. Their phone options are unhelpful and they point blank don’t respond to emails - I was told this on the phone. To the point where I had emailed repeatedly asking to speak to someone about my booking, had no response, and then had my entire booking cancelled.

  Read more less >

• Olga - Verified booking

  The property itself was lovely, however, ten minutes before leaving we were contacted by Mark (the owner) claiming we had damaged the hot tub two nights previously.

  It was not clear to us why Mark did not discuss this directly with us at the time. Mark claimed that we had broken a piece off the hot tub and that this would cost £500 but that he was willing to reduce this to £250. I discussed with the group who confirmed they had not broken the hot tub piece and we were luckily able to provide time-stamped photos showing that this piece was missing on our arrival. We assumed this would be the end of it, however, Mark refused to accept these photos and over the next few days, we were contacted repeatedly by Mark over the phone, at 10pm at night as he continued to push his narrative that this was our fault and try to get us to accept the blame and pay the fee (despite the photos). Mark suggested the only solution was to go to court if we did not pay the money and he suggested we could not leave a negative review in light of the fact the property was clean. In addition to the above, we were told we would be charged for four broken glasses in the property itself (which would be covered under ordinary wear and tear in all other properties we have stayed in - of which there have been many). It's a shame as the property itself was lovely, however, we would not stay at the Retreat or any other property owned by Mark again.

  Read more less >

• Nathan - Verified booking

  Stunning property, Mark and Joanne the owners we're equally helpful and always there if we needed anything.

  We hire group houses pretty much every year over the new year period, honestly the best one yet. Truly beautiful property in beautiful surroundings. Really close to Hebden Bridge, bus stop literally right at the end of the driveway with hourly busses right into the village so highly recommend doing that if you want a drink, the other way goes into Keighley which we only went to to do a food shop but apparently there's load to do there too. Internet and mobile service weren't super fast, but we had no problem streaming films/TV so long as everyone else wasn't on the wifi. Most of the houses we've stayed at have the same problem when theres load of us all on the internet at once though so it's not anything we were fussed about to be honest. Bond was also returned in full on the same day so no issues there. Mark may aswell have kept hold of the deposit because we'll deffo be back..!

  Read more less >

• Georgia - Verified booking

  We really enjoyed our stay here as a group of friends a few weeks back.

  The location is just stunning - we loved watching the sun set over the hills and the views across the peaceful fields from every window. The house was spotlessly clean, nicely decorated and comfortable, with plenty of room for us all around the dining table. The kitchen is big and well-equipped for cooking up a storm and we made great use of the hot tub and garden bar (and fluffy dressing gowns!). There are plenty of nice walks from the door or it's a short bus/drive to Hebden Bridge or Oxenhope. The owners were kind and friendly - Jo was always ready to help with anything we needed but otherwise left us to enoy ourselves. Only minor issue is that the internet connection was a bit slow, but still useable and this didn't impact our stay much. In short, The Retreat is a great spot to relax and get away from it all and we'd happily go back Thanks Jo & Mark for having us!

  Read more less >