Dog Friendly Cottages in Pooley Bridge

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Lucy - Verified booking

  While the cottage was mainly as advertised several issues became evident throughout our stay: -Firstly the cleanliness of the property was awful.

  While surface level tasks such as clean surfaces and fresh sheets had been provided there was an evident lack of deep clean for a very long time. To ensure we left the property as advertised we used the hoover. Whilst hoovering the downstairs hall area, the cylinder of the hoover was completely filled and some areas of the carpet were so dirty they changed colour when cleaned. This small area is only around 5m2! - This accumulation of dust and debris meant there were huge numbers of different insects. There was cobwebs present in practically every room of the house and large numbers of spiders throughout the property. Uncountable numbers of flies were present in the cottage, and while it was a warm weekend a large proportion of these were in the property upon arrival. We organised an afternoon tea and unfortunately had to dispose of the leftovers because the flies were so numerous over the food. Sharing food was made difficult as flies would land on any plate of food after seconds. Huge numbers of moths were present in the property to the point that one member of the party opened their luggage once home and found a live moth within! There were clearly issues with pests before our stay as there was a fly zapper (though this didnt work!) at the property. - there were key maintenance issues throughout the property including a toilet that broke on 2 occasions and had to be fixed, and a shower that did not work. These were all in the double ensuite upstairs. When we used the washing machine there was a horrendous smell in the kitchen which wafted through the property. And while we couldn't see any obvious blocked drains or leakages it was evident the drainage had not been maintained in some time. - One of the key reasons we selected the cottage was it's inclusion of use of a local spa. I had to email prior to arrival to check how this could be arranged, and even within this conversation there was no mention of additional discounts on food and treatments. If we had known this in advance we would have made use of the spa more and we only found out while looking for information in the pack. This information also said that to access the spa we would require the spa pass attached to the property keys. As the keys were barely attached together at all it's unsurprising that the spa access card was missing. Luckily for us, we have used this spa before and were willing to try and discuss this access upon arrival. The spa were very understanding but many people would have missed out on this inclusion in the cottage. - The property advertised as having zip link beds, and there was no way of communicating when booked how you required the beds set up. Therefore I sent a separate request for how we required the rooms fo be set up. We asked for 2 singles in the 2 zip link bedrooms and both were made up as king size. Ultimately we could use these beds as was however if we had had particular requirements for the rooms these would not have been met. The bedding provided was unseasonal and as such was very warm overnight! - we also had issues disposing of our rubbish as the instructions in the pack were very limited and indeed non-existent when it came to recycling. We had gathered for a special occasion and unfortunately this stay put a real strain on the enjoyment of the weekend. The odd path to direct communication with the owner created by Sykes meant resolving simple issues was impractical. The cumulative effect of the lackluster property maintenance led to a several key issues.

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• Roger - Verified booking

  Firstly would like to thank you for the wine and chocolates.

  That is a nice welcome, as is the readiness of the fire with initial logs etc. Inside the property is very comfortable and mostly exceptionally clean. I say mostly as there were 2 issues which i feel need addressing . One is the shower mat which is rolled on a shelf at the end of the bath and is black with mildew. It needs replacing. The 2nd is that the bin beside the loo, in which it is asked all toilet wipes sanitary products etc are put, and I have no problem with this at all . And I sincerely hope that this is just a one off oversight as it was disgusting, and even now back home makes my stomach turn. It had not been properly cleaned/checked and the inside of the lid was smeared with dried on faeces. Not something anyone would wish to be greeted with on their first evening. Hence the low mark for cleanliness. Also, on our arrival there was a towel and bathmat left on the stairs. I have also have given the accuracy of the listing a low grading , not because of what is stated but because of what is left out. Their are no windows to speak of which offer any sort of view. The windows upstairs are either too high or too tinily narrow to see out of. Downstairs the only windows are around the doorway which looks onto the carpark and the barn roof beyond. The doorway on the landing has a pretty aspect onto the little grassed area and fell beyond and there is a table out there but unless warm enough outside that is the only place where anything green can be seen. Maybe I should have worked this out for myself but I do feel that by not advising visitors of the complete lack of any view it is omitting a large problem. I have stayed in barn conversions before and this lack of view has not been a problem. Obviously from other reviews etc most people do not have a problem with this, but having some sort view is important to me, even if it's just of a garden or trees etc , not necessarily a glorious vista. Had I known this I would not have booked this property and for this reason alone I will not return.

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• Elizabeth - Verified booking

  Unfortunately I have a very mixed review for this property.

  I will start with the positives. Fantastic rural location, clean bed linen and towels. Plenty of towels (we didn’t use all of them). Extremely comfortable beds and pillows. Negatives - When I arrive at a holiday rental, my expectations are for it to be clean and plenty of space for me to put my things, downstairs every drawer seemed to be crammed full of bits and bobs of no particular relevance with no particular order. The house was grimy, dusty and cluttered. As soon as we arrived, I was cleaning crockery and utensils that had old crusted food on them. Door handles on kitchen cupboards were sticky, the microwave buttons had food still on them and inside it was dirty. My husband found grim and dead insects in the kitchen cupboards. Work surfaces and tables were sticky. The dishwasher was not maintained as this became obvious as the week progressed. It didn’t clean the dishes very well and by no means did we over fill it. It was also a slimline, which was not adequate for the size of the property. There was also donkey stables on the end of the row of houses, which meant we were getting woken at different times of the night. This property could really do with a de-clutter, and a really good clean. It was a shame really, as I wasn’t expecting to be cleaning a property as soon as I arrived. There is much more I could say but I feel I have said enough, needless to say, sadly, we won’t be returning.

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• Sandra - Verified booking

  The photography on the site is very clever as it makes the property look a lot bigger than it is.

  Two of us stayed with 2 dogs and it felt cramped at times so I can’t imagine how cramped it would feel if 5 people stayed there! It’s described as pet friendly but I would dispute this as dogs need to be kept on the lead at all times and there’s a spot the size of a postage stamp for them to do their business. The text states, “two well behaved dogs welcome”, so if they’re well behaved then why do they need to be on their leads? There are eco friendly products in the cottage, washing up liquid etc, but no recycling facilities and you are asked to dispose of any recycling yourself by taking it off site. Whilst I understand that they are saying they don’t have the facility because of the location, I would argue that at £700 a week, they could easily provide a separate bin and dispose of it themselves at very little cost. I don’t see why holidaymakers should be responsible for this. People have mentioned the Prosecco & chocolates that are there on arrival and yes, it’s a nice touch, but there was no personal greeting and the only interaction I had with our host was her asking me to put the dogs on their leads when she popped up in the courtyard one day. They were doing nothing wrong and completely under control. All in all, the property was a disappointment but couldn’t fault the beautiful surroundings.

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• Eric - Verified booking

  Although we had a very enjoyable stay, there were several things that we feel were not up to Sykes's standards;- 1- There were quite a few light bulbs not working in every room, upstairs, downstairs and outside.

  the outside light over the door worked but was useless for shedding light on the door lock. 2- A dirty towel had been left in the linen bin in the pink bedroom. 3- The sink in the pink bedroom had been leaking for some time and had a bowl of stagnant dirty water underneath it which had not been emptied for a long time. 4- Some cupboards and doors do not close properly. 5- the freezer could do with defrosting. 6- The grey toilet in the bathroom above the kitchen does not always flush away waste properly - it took between 1 and 10 flushes to move it. Seems to be the pan design does not circulate the water effectively. This is unhygenic and unacceptable. We left a note for the cleaners detailing the above things. The cottage itself is in a very quiet location, is laid out very well and is very convenient for driving to local towns and castles. There are quite a few pubs / restaurants within a 15 to 20 minute drive ranging from cheap to relatively expensive and all dog friendly. As mentioned initially, we still had a wonderful time. It was a pity that several things, that a couple of days maintenance would sort out, tarnished a very good break.

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