Dog Friendly Cottages in Bowness On Windermere

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Julian - Verified booking

  We have stayed at the Curious Orange before (Approx.

  5 years ago) and it was completely perfect in every way. So much so we thought when visiting the lakes, we would not go anywhere else. This time around however it was an incredibly disappointing stay. The day of our arrival at around lunchtime we received a call from the owner advising that there was a problem with the heating/hot water. We were already halfway to the Curious Orange by this time. The Owner advised that there is an immersion heater (for hot water), and he would arrange extra logs for the stove and ensure there were fan heaters. He advised that the plumber was waiting for a part, but it was due to be in and done on the Tuesday. As we were already halfway there, and that it would be sorted by Tuesday (Thus only really affecting Sunday & Monday) this would be ok. We arrived as planned after 4pm on Saturday. When we arrived, we tried to light the fire (it was pretty chilly as the central heating was not working). There were two fan heaters at the property, but they were noisy and intrusive so once the stove was warming up, they were switched off. On Sunday – Our first full day we did, as many would and went for a walk. We had booked into a nearby pub for evening meal and went for a shower upon our return. One of us had a shower, which went stone cold halfway through and there was not enough hot water for the second person to shower. We looked at the immersion tank and it is a half sized one – explaining the minimal amount of hot water available. We planned Monday around the inability for both of us to have a shower as we were led to believe it would be fixed by Tuesday. Sadly, Tuesday came and went with no word from a plumber or the owner. We contacted the owner on Wednesday to advise that the issues remain, and no plumber had been on Tuesday. At 5.30pm on Wednesday a plumber turned up unexpected and we had to postpone our table reservation for that evening to accommodate the plumber. Sadly, something else was wrong and he was unable to fix there and then – We explained that we could not both have a shower on the same day due to the tiny immersion tank and he tried a workaround however, this did not change anything. The plumber advised he would be back Thursday afternoon at around 12. Sadly, Thursday also came and went with no word from a plumber or the owner, and we were still unable to both have a shower on the same day. The plumber finally fixed the heating and hot water at around 5pm on Friday evening. We both showered and went for dinner for the first… and last time of our holiday as we were leaving the following morning. In summary, we could not both shower/bath each day for the entirety of our holiday, the fan heaters were awfully noisy so our choice for the week was either buying significant amounts of logs or listening to noisy fan heaters. Our stay became a frustrating, more costly than expected, un-showered/bathed stop, whilst attending unannounced tradesmen visits. Sadly, despite speaking to the owner on a few occasions, no offer of a reduction for our current stay or voucher toward our next stay was offered and due to the lack of care & concern from the owner regarding the significant inconvenience we experienced we will not return to the Curious Orange.

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• Darrell - Verified booking

  A nice well kept cottage.

  Size is smaller than our normal cottages, especially the kitchen area, but good use of the space was made by having an oven/microwave combo located under the stairs. The fridge was also under the stairs, however the freezer compartment was difficult to access. Made use of the included slow cooker. Frying pans could do with being replaced - Teflon going/gone. The smart TVs at the cottage are of the older generation and we could not get Netflix working on either, wifi connection on lounge tv constantly dropped out which was slightly annoying. Lovely super king size bed with nice bed linen and was very comfortable. Shower in the bathroom was good size with constant hot water. Weather was not our friend so was pleased the heating came on a couple of times even though it was July - airing cupboard was always warm and good place for drying our wet weather gear. Whist dogs are permitted at the cottage they are not allowed upstairs. Parking is at the bottom of a small hill and is shared with the adjoining cottage - turn your car around if you can so it’s ready to drive up the hill when leaving the property. The cottage is excellently located for exploring the surrounding Lake District area. Remember to plan your routes and allow extra time due to the narrower roads.10 minute drive to Windemere for a good supermarket and plenty of coffee shops. Similar to Ambleside - loads of sports equipment stores and restaurants. We had a very active week taking in Scafell Pike, Grizedale, Keswick, Rydal and Grasmere but the highlight was the Troutbeck Valley walk up to High Street, returning via Froswick and Ill Bell - a challenging 23k hike. We followed the route from a walk leaflet handed out at the Queens Head pub which along with the Mortal Man are both located very close to the cottage. Reservations are recommended for evening dining if you’re staying during peak season. Overall a great cottage in a great location. Thanks Rob for contacting us before and during our visit to make sure everything was OK.

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• Andrea - Verified booking

  The house is in a gorgeous location and the bedrooms and bathrooms were fine.

  I wanted to contact you though as the house is in no way worth the £5750 we paid for a week over Christmas. I’ll list some of the issues: Chipped mugs, mucky sofa and chair, clogged up hot tub - I have photos, really mean welcome pack (4 firelighters, 7 dishwasher tablets, 1 loo roll in each loo- some processed orange juice, nice biscuits and coffee. Bit mean for 10 of us at that cost), bathroom extractors not working as full of fluff, food left in a cupboard, fridge freezer in need of defrosting and extra freezer outside was muddy inside! Kitchen tap loose. Nowhere near enough hooks for coats, outside lighting not suitable for hot tub. The hot tub is obviously not cleaned out between visits. It was not warming the water anywhere near enough and the water was not flowing round the system. Eventually we flushed the filters with the hose and a large amount of stinking dead skin and hair came out! It did work after that but not really what one would expect from what is purported to be a luxury holiday venue. This was a big treat holiday for us and we made the most of it because we were all together after the death of our Mum but the facilities and cleanliness for that astonishing amount of money is dreadful. You really need to review the cottages you recommend more closely. I imagine that the estate and you don’t really care if you don’t get repeat bookings and there will always be someone new drawn in by what appears to be a perfect place. I’ll be interested in your response.

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• Celia - Verified booking

  The cottage , its position and facilities were wonderful and just as described.

  This was a three generation family holiday, and we all wanted to canoe, sail and walk. It fitted the bill perfectly. The support staff at the Greythwaite estate were lovely. When a leak happened from one of the toilet cisterns it was fixed immediately. We also had plenty of dried logs for the log burner and milk delivered to the door. Only one issue disappointed and this was beyond the control of the staff. We arrived in the dark and encountered some dog mess on getting out of the car. In the morning we saw that the whole of the garden and driveway was covered in it! We couldn't unload properly or rig boats and we had to restrain an excited grandchild from going outside until we had cleaned it up. It took 3 of us an hour to do, such was the extent of the mess. Not a pleasant start to the holiday. Later on a staff member told us the previous occupants had 4 dogs and had left the property in a horrible state. All credit to the team for deep cleaning the inside in time for our arrival. There were still some poo stains on the floor inside, and the living room carpet smelt a bit doggy, but otherwise the standard of cleanliness was high. We are all dog owners and feel this was incredibly irresponsible of the previous occupants. Not only was it unpleasant but a health hazard. We hope you do not let them rent from you again.

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• Janet - Verified booking

  We have just returned from a wonderful family holiday!

  The property was ideal for us with a downstairs bedroom and en-suite for our elderly parents. The dining table was great and the open plan layout meant we could all be together whilst cooking. The downstairs shower room and toilet was very useful. The beds were extremely comfy and the house was warm and cosy. The location and views were amazing and we benefited from lovely weather during our stay. We were able to sit outside and the fire pit was well used, with a plentiful supply of logs. However given the price of the property we did have some niggles. The dishwasher did not work properly which meant we had to rewash many of the dishes. The dishwasher had been mentioned in other reviews so should have been replaced by now. The cleanliness in the bathrooms could be improved- mould and cobwebs. The barbecue was filthy so we didn’t use it - luckily we had brought disposable ones. The shelf in the fridge door was faulty meaning bottles fell out when you opened it. These problems did not spoil our holiday but just need to be rectified for other guests. The price was premium, the view was premium but the house a little unloved!

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