Alnwick Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Robert - Verified booking

  I have been renting numerous cottages for several years and with an exception of one 7 years ago they have always met or were better than the description given on the website.

  Unfortunately this cottage was very disappointing. It takes me back to the 1970's when standards were much lower. The cottage slightly tainted our stay, the area was lovely and the cottage was ideally located for us to explore this area, BUT although the cottage was clean the decor was dull and the fabric of the house was tired and in poor condition, unloved and unmaintained. What work has been done was of a poor and shoddy standard and not of a standard one expects these days. There was badly worn carpets as you walk into the cottage and by the kitchen step and at the bottom of the stairs. a large hole in the bottom of the front door and the door bottom on the stairs entrance was haggard. There was mould in the bathroom on the walls, ceiling and grouting around the electric shower. the shower itself was not much more than a trickle as opposed to a shower! The description on the website was not what we found in reality and the furniture shown on your website was not what was actually in the property during our stay and seemed to have been replaced by poorer quality second hand items. There was a mismatch of kitchenware odd items cutlery, plates, dishes, glasses and mugs. There was no welcoming pack, other than a litre of bottled water, which I learnt on speaking to Margaret about the discoloured water was meant for drinking. We had drunk the tap water on arrival but only noticed the colour of the water when we ran a bath, firstly it was a dirty brown in colour and left a peat silt deposit in the bath when drained off. This brings me to the next problem with the water, we could only run about 2-3ins of hot water before it ran cold even if we put the booster on, again I spoke to Margaret who confirmed this had been reported to the owners but apparently had not been rectified. I have taken photos and I would be happy to send them to you if require them. The property was certainly not worth the price we paid on this occasion. We would be reluctant to book another property with you if this is the standard of other properties you have to rent. A very disappointed customer. R W Barber and S Hopps

  Read more less >

• Lorraine - Verified booking

  I read previous reviews and therefore knew that the cottage would be old and rustic so I was not at all disappointed BUT I didn’t expect to be wowed at the surrounding countryside as much as we were.

  There was no traffic noise and we never closed our windows, it was so peaceful. The cottage has timed radiators and two Woodburner’s which was more than adequate a cooler evening in June. There is a Tv with Netflix and another one in the bedroom (although we never used this). The WiFi was fine, there was no telephone signal but we walked up the and sat on the bench where there was a signal. The bedrooms are of a very good size and the downstairs bathroom had a shower and bath. Due to Covid-19 we did take lots of antibacterial cleaning products and sprays and literally cleaned all surfaces when we arrived (a bit over the top but it gave us a piece of mind). We were pleased that we took our own bath towels and sofa throws (prior to our stay we bought vacuum storage bags on Amazon and it’s amazing how much space they save). We visited lots of pubs for evening meals and can definitely recommend The Percy Arms in Chatton for a beautiful meal. The staff we so helpful, friendly and welcoming and the food was a very competitive price. We drove into Wooler (5 miles away) for supplies, there’s a co-op, butcher, baker (that does amazing filled sandwiches) and the deli was just like going back in time! There is a local shop in Chatton but we did not visit it. There is a 12th century church at the bottom of the lane and the entrance to the wild cattle grounds. Opposite the property is the walled grounds of Chillingham castle. There are lots of busy golf clubs in the area, at Seahouses Golf Club you can pop in for fish n chips on the decking. During our stay we visited Bamburgh, where Harrison Ford was filming Indiana Jones, it has several restaurants, we visited the Potted Lobster which was ok but a little pricey and the sirloin steak at £24 was really poor. Alnwick (about 12 miles away) was a larger quaint town with a very impressive castle, apparently Hugh Grant was filming there but alas I didn’t bump into him

  Read more less >

• Barry - Verified booking

  Having read a review on Sykes website which stated there was a problem with the heating at the Lodge - I phoned Sykes two days before my booking to ask if this problem had been resolved.

  I was advised that there was no problem with the heating. After driving for 6 hours to reach the property - imagine my annoyance to discover the Lodge was cold and felt damp and indeed there was a problem with the heating. The radiator in the hall and the bedroom with the double bed did not come on at all. Then the hall radiator came on and the lounge radiator was cold. The bathroom and kitchen radiators appeared fine. The weather was cold and the Lodge felt cold. The next day I managed to contact Sykes local representative, who arranged for a member of the maintenance team to come out. He can confirm that radiators were not working. He did bring three electric oil heaters out and the place did thankfully get warm. The owners then visited on the Wednesday evening - without any prior notice - and brought with them a fan heater which was not needed. They acknowledged a problem with double bedroom being cold and also advised that there was a problem with the thermostats. I was also advised by the cleaner, that she had been asked to take the three heaters away after cleaning the property on our departure and she advised that she was not aware of a problem with the heating, but that she had also been asked to take away heaters from the Lodge when she cleaned before my arrival. I do think Sykes and the owners have a responsibility here for ensuring that the holiday home they are advertising is fit for purpose and adequately maintained and any issues raised - resolved. I am annoyed that Sykes told me there was no problem despite the written review and that the owners knowingly rent out the property with problems.

  Read more less >

• Heather - Verified booking

  We were moved into this cottage due to major problems in the one we booked into.

  On first impressions the Lodge was beautiful and unique. Lovely inside and out. However there was major issues with the heating system. The radiator did not work in the hall, only got slightly warm in the bedroom and lounge slightly warmer. This led to the hall, bedroom and bathroom being really cold. 12- 13 degrees on the hallway thermostat. So only half the radiators were working properly. Evenings were spent with blankets around our shoulders and on the bed. The bedroom smelt of wet plaster it was that cold. There are two thermostats, one in the bedroom and one in the hallway. We were constantly running between them both, boosting, to try and get the place warm. The shower was another issue. Lovely fixed head shower, however this is not good for people that don’t want to get their hair wet. There was a hand held shower but it was fixed just above the taps and facing outwards to the facing wall. If this was turned on to get to temperature, the power of the water hits the opposite wall potentially flooding the bathroom. So you had to stand in the bath holding it whilst it got warm, rinse yourself, turn it off, soap yourself and then turn it back on to rinse. Really not ideal and practical. The back door was really stiff to open and some force was needed. Children or the elderly would not be able to open this, so a hazard for fire safety.

  Read more less >

• Danny - Verified booking

  Unfortunately this cottage was very disappointing.

  The cottage slightly tainted our stay, the area was lovely and the cottage was ideally located for us to explore this area, BUT although the cottage was "clean" the decor was dull and the fabric of the house was tired and in poor condition, unloved and unmaintained. What work has been done was of a poor and shoddy standard and not of a standard one expects these days. Several lights are not working in the living and bedroom. The shower was not much more than a trickle as opposed to a shower! getting enough hot water is a big problem!! The description on the website was not what we found in reality and the furniture shown on your website was not what was actually in the property during our stay and seemed to have been replaced by poorer quality second hand items. There was a mismatch of kitchenware odd items cutlery, plates, dishes, glasses and mugs. There was no welcoming pack, other than a litre of bottled water. The vacuum cleaner was full and not properly working. The caretaker Ken is friendly and helpful. The property was certainly not worth the price we paid on this occasion.

  Read more less >