Holiday Cottages in Lake District with a Swimming Pool

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Simon - Verified booking

  Very poor I’m afraid to report from both the owners and Sykes themselves.

  The apartment initially looked lovely, clean and modern in an isolated area but was met with a rather stern cleaning note on how to strip the beds at the end of the stay and how to tidy up after ourselves. The property looked lovely but we soon came to see the many downfalls. The lights in the bedrooms are simply too powerful and are motion sensitive, so every time you moved in the room the lights came on. Unfortunately we found this out during the middle of the night whilst popping to the loo. Also, the door going out of the property in the main bedroom requires a blind as the external lights will light up the room too. Sensitive sleepers be warned! I did find the shutters did not keep the room dark enough in the mornings either but that’s probably personal. The secret room was a joy and can in handy when a bat flew in (so definitely close to nature) as one member of the family could hide in there, whilst my daughter was delighted to see such a creature close up. The site the apartment is in contains a bar and restaurant, whilst the food is good, please book your table ahead of your stay as we were turned away one evening. Lessons learnt. The crazy golf was free and a great way to spend a wet afternoon Now the crux of the problem. We only booked this apartment on the basis it was served with a heated indoor pool but on arrival day, it was closed due to a leak. It remained closed all week whilst we stayed there, if I was made aware of the matter beforehand, I definitely would have picked somewhere else to stay. I raised a complaint via Sykes whilst away but they only contacted myself when I returned home. I complained about the pool to Sykes who passed it onto the owners, but neither Sykes nor the owners were willing to help out. I was offered a £100 compensation from the owners only if I stayed with them again, but I don’t feel like I would like to stay in the property again. Neither Sykes nor the owners were willing to help out (NB The receptionist at the pool did not offer an alternative either nor did the closed pool signs suggest alternative arrangements had been made). Sykes suggested a small claims but this isn’t something I’m willing to do due to unnecessary stress. I’m afraid due to the lack of understanding from the owner, I won’t be booking from Sykes in the future.

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• Jackie - Verified booking

  "Dale View is a great, spacious property in a peaceful location with beautiful views.

  Easy to get to and from local towns" The property is comfortable including the beds and once inside, being all on one level we found it more accessible due to wheelchair. Only problem with wheelchair is the two steps but got over that. Jacuzzi not working. SatNav takes you further up road, look for Caterite as you enter Embleton from east and its right next door. Pros: All on one level – Good swimming Pool with shower and wash basin – Great views while sitting in lounge – Quiet and no noise from Caterite next door – Allows Dogs (see below) – 2 mins from A66 – Locals very friendly – Lots of wildlife to watch from kitchen & lounge windows – Well equipped kitchen. Maybe many Cons, but did not make stay bad. Cons: No recycling done (all in one bin, every other property had recycling bins out on collection day) – TV impossible to watch during daylight, due to its position beside a window without curtain (better over Fireplace) – Not dog secure as walls around property very low, allowing dogs to get out onto road even my Shih Tzu – Wi-Fi very intermittent, affects catch-up and Netflix (Freezing) – No soap powder/liquid for washing machine – No dishwasher tablets – No local shop information (information in book left for you) – No radiator heating (3 days very cold). Bassenthwaite Lake Station has a lovely café and restaurant and only 6 mins down A66 towards Keswick. Out of cottage left, 1st right, left onto A66, 1st right. On left just down lane. Dog Walking entrance to wildlife area just further down lane past station on right by bus stop, with a great walk around lake on purpose-built walkway.

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• Sarah - Verified booking

  The cottage is a little style over substance - it’s beautifully decorated and has some clever touches such as the boiling water tap, but lacks functionality and some basics you’d expect.

  As a fellow holiday cottage owner and holiday maker I expect the following to be in situ - a toaster, some baking trays, blinds at all windows (the double bedroom back door has glass panels and no blind), working TVs - there are three but some don’t have live TV consistently working on them) and welcome instructions regarding the site itself eg recycling, bins plus using the technology (the less tech minded may find this challenging). From a safety perspective there’s a step from the kitchen to lounge which is difficult to see. Another guest has kindly put silver tape on this to make it stand out and has flagged in the visitors book - this isn’t up to safety standards in my opinion. Finally the hall and bathroom lights are motion sensored. I have no issue with this except that if someone gets out of bed in the double bedroom the light in the open bath area comes on and wakes up the other person - there’s no way of turning this off. This should not be on a sensor as we had disrupted sleep each night. The site itself is lovely - very quiet given it was half term. The restaurant serves good quality food and the mini golf etc are well maintained. Only and quite big negative was the pool temperature - it’s very cold. Our five year old learns to swim in a cold pool but this took it to another level and she didn’t want to go in the main pool - which we didn’t blame her for as neither did we! If the pool temperature was rectified we’d love to stay on the site again but we wouldn’t stay at this property.

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• L - Verified booking

  Communication from Sykes before the holiday was not very good.

  I raised a question which was not answered by them, but by a review on the property. I then sent another question which again they didn't answer and I which I had to chase for answers. However, on arrival at the property (good instructions for finding it) the house was perfect for our needs and especially as it is on one level throughout for my elderly parents who have limited mobility. The seat in one of the showers was particularly useful and was a real bonus for them. The beds were comfortable, the kitchen was well equipped and the front room and dining table were a lovely family space for chatting, playing games, etc. Most of our group enjoyed the use of the pool which is a fantastic size and private, but it was too cold for my elderly parents to use. In fact the pool temperature was very up and down, not at all constant. We had one day in which I would say it was a comfortable temperature to get in. All the other times it was on the chilly side. The shower in the pool block was consistently scalding hot, far too hot to stand under. However, on the whole, the pool was a great addition to the holiday for most of our family. The house is situated in a great area with Bassenthwaite Lake very close indeed. The other lakes we visited were Derwent Water, Buttermere and Grassmere. All beautiful and not too far away from the property. The whole area is beautiful and we had a lovely holiday.

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• Adrian - Verified booking

  We had a lovely week at Dale View.

  The property is spacious and well equipped. The view out the front of the property are beautiful, and even though it is next to a distribution warehouse you would not know it. We heard no noise from it at all. We did have a few niggles. The temperature of the hot water is set too high, very dangerous for you children. On the opposite side, the swimming pool temperature, in our opinion, is set too low. We did use the pool but it took a long time and will power to get in, slowly acclimatising your body to the temperature. As with most things, once you're in its not too bad but don't expect public swimming pool temperatures. The WiFi is very slow, only just adequate. As mobile signal in the area is patchy a good fast internet speed is essential. Also the occupants in the bedrooms next to what we assume is the boiler cupboard complained of intermittent noise during the night from the cupboard between them. This took a bit of go getting used to and resulted in disturbed nights sleep to start with. Overall we were very happy with our stay and would recommend the property but with a few minor tweaks it would be 5 star and 10/10.

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