Villas In England

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Steve - Verified booking

  First of all, we did enjoy our stay, it's a wonderful location and ideally placed for exploring the area without having to drive.

  The facilities that have been fitted into a very compact space are excellent, and the property is well fitted out - the custom carpentry is very impressive! The kitchen has everything that could be needed, with the single exception of a rolling pin (I used a wine bottle). Both the bathroom and the bedroom suffer from very low ceilings. The photos in the listing do show both rooms as they are, but it's difficult to get an idea of just how little headroom there is from the images. It's not possible to sit up in bed and have a cup of tea, for instance, as the ceiling is too low. The bed is very comfortable though. In the bathroom the only oart of the room which allows a normal sized adult to stand up is the strip between the door and the toilet - other than that bending over is required - an inconvenience when using the sink. When we arrived there was a cleaning welcome pack - nice idea, but not well executed. It had dishwasher tablets (there is no dishwasher) and bin bags that were far too big for the small pedal bin in the kitchen, and no washing up liquid. This was rectified with a trip to the co-op, but the contractors doing the servicing were clearly not paying attention. Also there was one roll of tolet paper provided - this is not enough for two people, for a week. It was a nice touch to put up some festive decorations, we appreciated it. Although we came prepared as we have a log burner at home, it would also be a nice touch to have an initial supply of kindling & logs for at least one night. The information pack with local walks was very useful and got us to do some walks we wouldn't otherwise have attempted. But why in the list of pubs & restaurants is there no mention of the Swan? It's the nearest & we had a very good Christmas dinner there!

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• Louise - Verified booking

  Such a charming little cottage and I would definitely return if staying in this area again.

  We had 3 nights, on one of which we stayed in and cooked Italian and lit the log burner, and it was so cozy. Everything was as clean as it could be (in a rural setting, you are going to expect little cobwebs) but the important stuff like bedding and towels, soft furnishings etc were spotless. Indeed, the slanted ceiling upstairs would be a challenge for taller people after a few days, and the staircase a challenge for less able bodied guests (although, access to the upstairs can also be achieved via the outside staircase…so this is fine!)……but this little place was just magical. (Not really big enough for 3 adults…more of a couples or single traveller place)… A 5 minute walk to a lovely pub with excellent food (dog friendly), and a very pleasant few more minutes into the heart of Grasmere. There are lovely walks direct from the cottage, one of which we had the pleasure of seeing a couple of otters playing in the small lake. (And on the day of arrival, a red squirrel was in the cottage garden!) My only “miff” would be that there was no welcome pack….I have used Sykes cottages several times, and most have left a little tray with the basics on arrival to have a cup of tea/coffee and a biscuit….but luckily we had our own. The village shop is currently (as at October 2024) being refurbished, so the nearest shop is in Ambleside. Highly recommend this little place!

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• Matthew - Verified booking

  Not sure where this feedback is going as I cannot seem to display feedback to customers which is disappointing - seems that only good feedback is shared.

  Shock! This property is not pet friendly and I am extremely upset about my stay. Within an hour of my stay I had to leave the property due to my dog getting injured from going up the stairs. I appreciate it states in the listing about the stairs but this cannot be sold as pet friendly. Shortly after arriving I used the toilet, upstairs, my dog followed me up. As it was a new environment for her this is not an unusual behaviour to have. However, she fell off the stairs as they are dangerously steep and injured her front leg. I vacated the property and booked in at the Swan at Grasmere Hotel - a lovely hotel (stay there instead). This set me back £450 on top of the cost of the cottage to stay at Dovecot. I sent a complaint to Sykes cottages and they said I did not have a case for any compensation as it is advertised on the listing. I completely understand it’s on the listing, however the property is no where near dog safe - if it was, there should be a stair gate at both ends of the staircase. When I suggested this to the customer service agent I spoke to she said “well did you ask for one” as if to say it is my responsibility to check if it is safe for my dog. Anyway I would stay away from this property if you have a dog, it is not safe and is being miss-sold. There are lots of other places to book which would make your stay a lot less stressful.

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• Mrs Bland - Verified booking

  A really beautiful property in the equally beautiful setting of the Holkham estate. The apartment was on the first floor so has lovely views and was cosy and warm. Very good range of coffee table style books left for us to read, a TV and a few board games. Spotlessly clean and modernized inside. All the equipment you would need for a short stay and reasonable storage. The bedroom vanity area had a mirror and plugs in all the right places for hairdryer etc. Very comfy bed but a bit short for a tall husband! The kitchen was well equipped with good quality items including an air fryer, coffee machine and microwave. The Holkham toiletries were from Holkham estate and really lovely. The owners also left a parking permit for the estate and a discount card for the shops. There was a wine shop behind the property which had a huge range and also gifts, and the country outdoor wear shop was equally well stocked with good quality items. Plenty of secure parking around the properties. The Victoria opposite is lovely although we didn't visit on this occasion we had been before and recommend it. Holkham beach is only a short walk down the road too. We would definitely consider staying in one of the properties again when in Norfolk and would recommend this property.

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• Miss Thornton - Verified booking

  Really lovely pod, perfect for the two of us and our dog. We loved the hot tub and found the whole pod absolutely lovely to stay in. However there are some things that we were slightly disappointed with. The pod is dog friendly and we loved the little box of treats and dog bowls, however there is not security for the dog, no gate to the cabin area mean that the dog could very easily get out into the field and subsequently the road, we were lucky that we bought something to block the entry way, so might be something to note for future stays. We would have also liked some more information on arrival, there is an info pack, but it seemed to miss out things such as recycling, how to use the hot tub etc. We also arrived to some sort of meat item which was half frozen in the fridge, we were so unsure as to what this was to begin with, as it was just in a sandwich bag and we thought that it had just been left by previous guests. Although there were some negatives, the positives really outweighed them. The pod is beautiful, don’t up to a great standard, beautiful location and was just perfect for what we needed. We will thoroughly looking to book another trip here later in the year, and would recommend to anyone.

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