Dog Friendly Villas In Durham

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Philip - Verified booking

  Disappointing Stay.

  Having read previous reviews we thought as we had not visited Barnard Castle that Church Cottage would be an ideal place to stay to celebrate my wife’s 65th birthday. However, I cannot understand how many positive reviews could be given as our experience is completely different. Upon our arrival on a cold January day, we found that the cottage was extremely cold, and the heating turned off plus there was a terrible smell coming from the kitchen. Investigating we found that the smell was coming from both the fridge that had not been thoroughly cleaned and a broken freezer that had just been left with offensive discoloured fluid inside. On contacting the owner, he did come round immediately and said that he had put the heating on for just 30 minutes that day as some people like properties to be cold on arrival but on a cold winter’s day in an old property I said it was not acceptable and the heating was turned off not on a timer. He did clean the fridge also stated that he was aware that the freezer had broken but why he had not replaced it was baffling as the cottage had not been occupied before we arrived. He did arrange for a replacement freezer which came the following day but unfortunately that was too late for us as my wife who is a coeliac had prepared several meals for the week which were frozen and had started to defrost before the replacement came and some had to be thrown away. I managed to turn the heating on, but it took 2 days to get the cottage up to a comfortable and acceptable temperature. We also found that whilst on the surface the cottage looked clean, we found that upon closer inspection there were issues, mould on the bath sealant, around the window and on the non-slip bathmat. All the window frames in the cottage also had not been cleaned for what looked like a long time as there was a build-up of dirt and fluff on every surface. In addition, we found the oven and grill pan was not particularly clean and the baking/oven sheets unusable. We were unable to find any cleaning products to do basic cleaning up for any spills that we made and why none were provided was mystifying and we had to purchase our own. We were not enjoying our stay and did not feel that we could celebrate my wife’s birthday properly so decided to leave early and advise the owner of our reasons. What I need to understand is how Sykes managed to give this property a 4-tick rating and whether they do any follow up review rating as things change within a property as it appears they don’t and without it gives customers a potentially misleading rating as my rating for this property would be between 1-2 ticks.

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• Sally - Verified booking

  What a beautiful cottage it was just perfect ,beautiful stunning decorated to a very high standard .

  The couple who own it are so friendly and helpful nothing is to much trouble for them .After we had booked Julie the owner sent a email asking us to let her know what time we were arriving , it did say we couldn't get in until 3pm so I asked if it would be possible to arrival earlier which Julie said would be no problem on this occasion as we were the first people to say at the cottage which was very kind .Julie was there to greet us which was lovely , she explained everything to us and made sure we were happy which was lovely . Well what can I say Julie said I have a few things in for you I thought a little welcome pack my goodness there was everything to get us started from tea ,coffee ,sugar ,milk ,biscuits ,bread ,butter jam ,bacon ,sausages ,eggs ,crisps ,chocolates ,cheese ham chutney,orange juice ,apple juice ,Prosecco all the fresh stuff was from Broom House Farm,This place is worth going to lovely place .The is everything in the cottage games to play & books to read if the the weathers bad , The kitchen has everything you need it's just like be in at home perfect .The whole cottage has been decorated to a very high standard 5 star perfect ,The lounge was beautifully decorated with two really comfortable sofas and some wonderful touches with cushions and other lovely touches .The kitchen was stunning with its high ceilings and all the wooden floors and beams and the staircase looked amazing it was in the kitchen which also was a lovely touch.All the bedrooms were tastefully decorated and all had there own bathrooms which were perfect 5 star grade all the way I could go on but I will be here all day lol There are some beautiful walks to go on we took our two dogs with us who loved all the different walks and places to go and visit ,any problems or don't know where to go Julie or Chris are happy to help nothing was to much trouble for them ,we would highly recommend this cottage to anyone and we most definitely will be returning to this wonderful cottage and look forward to seeing Julie & Chris again (perfect 10/10)

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• Zoe - Verified booking

  I’m going to start with the positives of which there are many.

  Great location, really close to the centre of Barnard Castle yet felt really tucked away & quiet. (Though do bring ear buds if you’re a light sleeper as the church bells ring every 30 mins through the night). The cottage kitchen is really well equipped - it has everything you could possibly need. Comfortable beds & sofas & the cottage feels really spacious yet cosy. However, when we stayed in September, it obviously hadn’t had a good deep clean for a very long time. The kitchen table felt sticky & the kitchen cupboards doors & radiators really needed a good scrub to remove tea stains & general kitchen grease & grime. There was thick dust on the fire surrounds & on top of the dressing table mirrors in both bedrooms & on the plug sockets & skirting boards behind the beds & sofas. In the bathroom, around the taps, bath & shower screen was absolutely filthy & I had to clean this before we could use it. There are lots of fake flowers & plants throughout the cottage which were also thick with dust. I did message the owners on departure & offered to send them pictures but they said they would go round & organise the cleaners to come in to do a deep clean. I really do hope so as this really spoilt it for us & it’s a real shame as the cottage itself is beautiful.

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• Carol - Verified booking

  Lovely cottage in a great location.

  Having 3 en-suite bedrooms worked really well for 3 couples to celebrate new year. All the bedrooms were spacious and had good storage. The shower in the twin room is compact but was fine for the shorter couple in the group. Great size kitchen that had just about everything we needed. Some of the crockery and wine glasses were a bit or a mismatch and would benefit from being updated. Living room was also spacious and had plenty of room on comfy sofas and chair to accommodate everyone. Didn’t use the garden as it was winter, but would have been a great space in warmer weather and looked ideal for anyone with a dog. Great location for getting out and about to Durham and the coast and locally for walks. Used both pubs in the village and both did what we needed. Glendenning arms good for a post walk drink and the travellers rest was great for dinner. Would recommend both.

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• Siobhan - Verified booking

  I booked The Turnip Barn for a week in Dec-22 and we happened to have freezing and snowy weather for the duration.

  The cottage was so warm, inviting and comfortable. It is a large cottage (3 bedrooms, each with en suite) with a walled (secure) garden which was perfect for my dog. The log fire gives extra heat as needed and is perfect for those dark, chilly winter evenings. This really is a wonderful cottage with all the facilities you need during a week away. Additionally, there are very good walks straight from the cottage door. The owners had very sweetly left a bottle of bubbly and box of chocolates as a welcome and when I met one of the owners in person (Chris), he was chatty, knowledgeable and very helpful. This is quite possibly the best cottage that I have stayed in to date and I would certainly look to return for another week next year. Thank you!

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