Last Minute Cottages in East Yorkshire

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Michel - Verified booking

  I’m writing to express my deep disappointment and frustration with my recent stay at The Bluebell for my 60th birthday celebration.

  I had carefully selected your venue as it seemed perfect for hosting my 33 guests. From the moment I booked, everything appeared to be well-organized, and I even paid extra for the privilege of an early arrival and late check-out. Unfortunately, my experience was far from what I expected, and it caused significant stress during an event that should have been a joyous occasion. Upon arrival, we found the property cold, with no way to turn on the heaters. Despite making numerous calls and sending several texts, it took far too long to resolve this basic issue. Additionally, the entire place was in desperate need of a deep clean. We were shocked to find that cleaning supplies were unavailable, forcing us to go out and purchase our own mops and products to clean the property ourselves. Some of the rooms were in unacceptable condition: Toilets had been used and not flushed. Floors were dirty, and cobwebs were all over the walls. The outside bin area was littered with black bags, which I refused to clean up. Several rooms had stained bedding, including one with a blood stain that we had to change ourselves. Worse, from rooms 1 to 4, none of the electrical sockets worked, and despite numerous attempts to contact you, this was never resolved. Room 12 had stained bedding with some sort of black ink. It’s unbelievable that your housekeeper admitted to knowing about the stained sheets but put them on the beds regardless. The condition of the property was unacceptable and created a significant amount of stress. I did not receive the value I expected for the money I spent. My guests, while understanding, were understandably disturbed by the poor conditions, and this situation nearly ruined an event I had spent a year planning. Your housekeeper excused her inaction by saying she was on holiday, and your lack of response was equally frustrating. We have videos and photos documenting all the issues mentioned, and I am appalled that such basic standards of cleanliness and hospitality were not met.

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• Ruth - Verified booking

  We hired the Blue Bell for 38 all female family and friends for a surprise weekend for my daughter’s 40th birthday.

  It was absolutely perfect! We decorated the large function room and hired a DJ and Supreme Photo Booths - both excellent. There is a brilliant bar area where all our guests stored the drinks they’d bought with them. The kitchen facilities were great with loads of fridge and freezer storage space and 2 double ovens where we prepared and served a cooked breakfast on Saturday morning and chicken and chips in the afternoon after enjoying a televised dog racing game in the afternoon in the snug area next to the dining area. On Friday evening we ordered fish and chips from Nafferton Fisheries in Driffield - they gave us a fabulous service - great communication before the event and delivering their hot and tasty food on time. For our party on Saturday evening we’d ordered a load of platters from Morrisons which is only a short drive away. The Blue Bell is in a lovely small village and many of the ladies enjoyed a long walk on Saturday morning including the grounds of Burton Agnes Hall. Communication with the owners and housekeeper prior to arrival and during our stay was excellent - they couldn’t have been more helpful. Several guests enjoyed using the hot tub in the lovely grounds at the rear of the property. There were no complaints from any guests who all said they had had a fabulous weekend. The property was warm and comfortable and had everything we needed for a marvelous celebratory time. It was excellent value for money and our guests said they could not believe how we had managed to put the weekend on for the price that they had paid. I would have no hesitation in recommending this venue. Do not expect luxury but if you want a large, clean, comfortable and functional large space to hold your event and sleep your guests at the right price - this is for you.

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• John - Verified booking

  A group of 15 comprising keen board gamers and "normal" people had a most enjoyable week.

  The place is in a nice location, close to a Tesco Express and three takeaway restaurants, although we were not too enamoured of the fish & chips place or the Chinese takeaway; then again, Bridlington does not want for takeaway restaurants, and the centre of town is only a 10 minute walk away. Many British seaside towns are noted for their faded grandeur so I was a bit worried that Ryburn Lodge might have "seen better days" but the place was well-maintained and nicely decorated. There was not enough parking for the 8 cars we rolled up in but this is mentioned on the property description so no complaints there. A kindly neighbour allowed us to park two cars in front of his garage so in the end only one of us had to park on the street, five minutes' walk away. There was a problem with the central heating on the first floor but this was promptly rectified. There are loads of things to do in Bridlington and surrounding areas, as outlined in the excellent "Welcome" booklet. On the constructive feedback front, some people said the towels could have been "a bit bigger and thicker". One person grumbled about the pillows lacking fluffiness. No one complained that the beds were uncomfortable but a couple of people would have liked nicer bed linen. Everyone's an interior designer these days ... The lighting in the dining room was "warm", which is fine for most things but terrible for playing board games so I went into town to Argos to get a couple of uplighters. I realise this is a very niche criticism :) Were it not for the fact that we like to go to a different place every year, we all agreed we would happily holiday at Ryburn Lodge - even those of us who can't quite get used to chips cooked in lard.

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• Kim - Verified booking

  It was like walking into the past a beautiful house with a very calm atmosphere, in a lovely private setting, it was a real treat for our large family to all be together in such grand accommodation and grounds.

  We turned off our mobile phones and the TV and had a week of family activities walking to the beach and lighthouse, playing football and rounders in the garden, the children really loved us adults playing along with them. In the evenings we had Drama’s, a Murder Mystery night, played Card and Board games, Snooker and had a couple of Karaoke evenings and we laughed a lot. The luxury of having a large private house like Highcliffe Manor was so refreshing and although we did venture out to Scarborough and York the rest of the week we stayed in and made the most of our time together in such a house. The kitchen is very well set up and includes a dishwasher which made self-catering for all 20 of us a lot easier and we also used the BBQ and we ate out on the terrace. We ordered our food shops online and these were delivered to us at Highcliffe Manor with no problems which is a bonus when catering for large groups. There is also a local cooperative store just minutes away which we used for bread and milk etc. We were able to do some washing of clothes and there was a good washing line but a dryer is also available. The bedrooms all had ensuites and these were comfortable and adequate. Our week at Highcliffe Manor was an experience for all of us and we all had a brilliant time and we will never forget our trip to Yorkshire. A big thank you to Richard who was always a text message or phone call away if we needed anything and that was most reassuring.

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• Sharon - Verified booking

  Lovely large property ideal for big group of friends.

  Downstairs really good, spacious rooms, nice hot tub and the bar was great. Richard who showed us around was friendly, helpful and very knowledgeable about the area. Sadly, the bedrooms let the property down. The master bedroom was nice, although needed a bit of tlc (curtains fell off rail when drawing) but not a huge problem. Many of the other bedrooms were lacking in basic comforts with not enough storage and one didn’t even have a mirror. The biggest drawback to the property was the bathrooms. Water pressure poor and water to master bedroom never really hot (bath water bright yellow). Carpets in bathrooms are not really hygienic. One bathroom did not have any sort of shower attachment for hair washing. We paid for nine en-suite bedrooms but the shower in one room was broken with the pieces on the floor. We were told it should be fixed on the Monday but this never happened so one room was basically unusable for the whole week. With just a few tweaks and an upgrade of the bathrooms this property would be excellent and more than worthy of a four or five star rating. Such a shame. All in all we still enjoyed our stay but as we're an older group we found the bathroom situation challenging.

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