Villas In Durham

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• John - Verified booking

  This holiday cottage is not exactly as described by Sykes Cottages.

  I do not know if this is down to Sykes or the owner. The cottage is in need of updating and refurbishing. The fixtures and fittings are worn and some are broken ie the blinds and curtain retainers. I had to repair the toilet seat just to use it. The site describes the cottage as having a garden and patio seating area. The garden is unkempt and there is no patio - the whole garden is ten feet square. The parking is ok but shared with a neighbour so you must park tight to your side. The parking area and path to the cottage is done in large cobble stones which are difficult underfoot. If you are elderly or not particularly fleet of foot you may find this a problem. We are not elderly but my wife managed to fall within the first ten minutes. The steps up to the cottage are steep for access and luggage loading. You can enter and exit via the bathroom door. The stairs in the cottage are steep and poorly lit - not aided by a dark coloured carpet. If you have a dog its easy for it to fall down the stairs. The cottage is upside down so you get good views from the upstairs windows. Please be aware that although the cottage is secluded the lane outside is used for farm traffic and whilst we were there it seemed the speed limit was non existent with vehicles flashing by. The caveat is to keep your dog on a lead because if it strays from the area around the cottage it may well succumb to a LandRover and trailer passing at forty miles an our. The local area is very nice and we spent our time exploring the lovely scenery and the Lake District. The cottage is ok if you are just needing a place to base yourself but do not expect luxury fixtures and fittings. The sofa in the lounge area is poor and the tv is tiny (we had to fit new batteries to fix the remote). Overall would we stay here again? - that would have to be a no.

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• Rachael - Verified booking

  This is a beautifully presented cottage in a quiet area away from it all.

  Great things provided by the owners such as fairy liquid, Andrex toilet tissue and other homely bits and pieces. Fantastic welcome tray with wine too! The heating was just right and we didn't need the fire as it was so cosy. The downside, if we're being hyper critical is the lack of parking space and the really uncomfortable wooden frames on the sofa, in all honesty we only noticed this as we had 4 days of bad weather so were inside more than out. Top tip would be to pull in on road and get key, then open up back door to unload things. Rather than off bridleway as this has a weird camber on it and my Toyota yaris got caught at the front! Scrapping it to get off. There's parking behind garage and my car fitted on, just. The road is not overly busy, except first and last thing. Easy to reverse back out of parking space onto it. There's a little bypass over through Cowshill so if you face wrong way just drive around. We have had a wonderful few days here and would go back, hopefully in the dry so we could see the stars!!

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• Alan - Verified booking

  The property is very nice and well equipped and under other circumstances I would have loved my stay there but there were a couple of issues.

  Firstly the cleanliness of the downstairs rooms which I brought up with the owner. The kitchen really needs a good clean. Secondly, as Skyes and the owner are aware, the electric heaters downstairs were not working despite being connected to the electricity. This was not rectified in the 10 days I stayed there. Instead the owner brought logs so I could light the very small woodburner. Although this helped a little after being lit for a couple of hours in the evening, it did not help in the morning when the house was very cold and it resulted in an uncomfortable stay. An offer of compensation was made although despite leaving the property some days ago, nothing has been received. It´s a pity there is no survey for Sykes themselves as their customer service, once you have booked, is the worst I have ever experienced.

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• Sheena - Verified booking

  Well equipped, cosy and clean cottage.

  The garden description is inaccurate as says "private and secluded". The garden is open to the neighbours and visitor book says dog must be kept on lead in garden. No mention of this on website. Due to this we did not sit out. However, seemed to be ok for neighbour's dog to wander about our garden side and got home one day to find it had done its business on our lawn and we had to pick it up. Electricity meter in sittingroom ticks and buzzes loudly constantly. Neighbour parked their car right over the cottage front door a few times so you would not be able to get out with a pram or buggy. House is on a busy road and lorries start hammering past from about 5am. TV is very small and owners seem in no rush to replace after larger one broke as described in previous reviews. Loved the area and locals are friendly.

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• Julie - Verified booking

  Holwick is the perfect location if you want to enjoy stunning countryside and a real break from town or city life.

  With long or short walks easily accessible directly from the cottage, it’s a perfect place for people who enjoy being outside. The cottage has wonderful views from the living area. We loved watching the changing weather over the dales and the cows, sheep, rabbits and pheasants in the fields just outside. The owner is very helpful, when we couldn’t work out how to light the oven, we rang her and she arrived within 10 mins. The local pub is very friendly and has a great selection of beers, ciders, good food and a beautiful garden. I agree with previous reviews that the living area decor at the cottage could do with updating and that the small garden would be a very pleasant place to sit and enjoy the stunning views but is in need of some TLC. Overall we had a lovely week and would recommend a visit.

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