Group Accommodation Villas In The Lake District

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.

  Read more less >

• Anne - Verified booking

  There is no doubt that Lakeside at Louper Weir is a prestige rental.

  It is a beautifully built modern house with the most spectacular views of Lake Windermere. However it is not without faults - there were a number of things broken, not working or not up to the standard you would expect from a house of this quality and resulting price bracket. To name a few - the barbecue ignition wasn’t working, the tv in the second bedroom had no signal, the toilet seats are quite old and discoloured and need replacing, there was regular interference to the main tv signal. Also, the WiFi in the home is quite dated and is one of those systems that constantly kicks you out and you have to reconnect to. The equipment in the kitchen is fairly hi-tech but the instructions left by the owner are not helpful or comprehensive enough. They assume you know that you have to lift the glass off of the Tepan Yaki grill in order to use it - I stumbled across this by accident. Also the microwave was within one of the ovens and completely frustrating to use because of the complex menu system. The hob is too small for a home meant to cater for 8 persons. You can barely fit 2 pans on it. I was aware on booking that building work was taking place next door but was not aware how very intrusive it would be. The building project is vast and has been ongoing for 3 years. It involves the entire site to the right side of the building and the builders have a lovely view into all of the big glass windows on that side of the property. I feel the owners are not being open enough with customers about the privacy issues that this creates. The bedroom blinds are automated and if you want to enjoy the stunning views from the master bedroom, you have to have BOTH blinds open, which gives the builders a very clear view of the master bedroom and bed! This could be rectified by the owner but they have chosen not to do so. Also, our last day (Friday) we had 3 landscape gardeners at the property for the entire day when we wanted to enjoy the outside space and hot tub but felt awkward doing so. Finally, a couple of days after leaving the property we were emailed and asked about a missing soap dish as if we had taken it. We hadn’t and had treated the house with care and respect and to receive this email was a surprise and a disappointment In summary, we had a wonderful stay but the house needs some basic maintenance and the owners need to think more about their guest’s experience rather than their bottom line.

  Read more less >

• Alissa - Verified booking

  We booked the stay for much needed recuperation after my husband’s recent chemotherapy.

  However, although we were very much looking forward to the stay, we were very disappointed and would not book the property again for the following reasons: - weeks after our visit and without our knowledge we were charged £192 for a faint lipstick mark on a duvet (I’m sure a bit of Vanish would have done the trick!) and £4.50 for a supposed broken Prosecco glass that we didn’t smash. They also ‘waived’ a £45 fee for a broken tripod, again we have no idea about. We have stayed in many beautiful properties over the years and have never had this happen to us before. We left the property clean, tidy and respected it during our stay. - the building works next door were very imposing. The master bedroom has two sided glass walls, with beautiful views of the lake… and the building works next door! from 8am - 4:30pm the workmen could see right into the bedroom. I was caught in my underwear the first morning which was very embarrassing. The blinds are electronic and you cannot close just one side, so we had to keep all of the master bedroom blinds closed throughout our stay. - the noise of the works was very loud from 8am - 4:30pm so we could not relax outside in the day. Also, there was a lot of foul language from the workmen - we have a 3 year old. - I love to cook, but the size of the oven and hob was caravan sized so I struggled to make a big family meal. - we had good weather but with all of the glass the property was exceptionally hot and we only had 2 fans for 2 bedrooms. It was unbearably hot at night, the couples in the hot rooms didn’t sleep a wink. (We tried to rotate the fans). We did try to get more fans for the property but were told we were lucky to have 2. - the main sliding concertina doors to the patio / dining area were out of order - there are a lot of cameras outside the property so we felt a little ‘watched’. There is one on the master bedroom balcony so it didn’t feel very private when we were sat taking in the the views at night. We use lakelovers a lot and spend a lot of money on stays, regrettably this is our most disappointing stay to date. Which given the reason for our stay, was very unfortunate for my husband.

  Read more less >

• Eric - Verified booking

  It gives me no pleasure to give such a review, but I feel obligated to warn potential future guests that this property is not what it appears when looking at the photographs provided.

  What no photograph can convey, is the terrible and overpowering smell of damp that hits you the moment you enter this property. Like a musty cave or old damp cellar, the air is thick with damp. Quite frankly, it is a health hazard. I booked for three nights with my family, and everyone was shocked by the state of the place. Apart from the smell, the bedsheets were unchanged, damp to the touch and even had pubic hairs on the base sheet. My room was worst affected by the damp. ( Left of the entrance ) and it was impossible to sleep there. I was forced to sleep upstairs on the couch but that brought it’s own problems as it was full of dog hairs, this being a ‘pet friendly’ establishment. My eldest son, daughter and son in law were forced to leave early as the damp in their rooms were causing them breathing problems. Cobwebs and spiders were everywhere, and the whole place was in desperate need of a deep clean. All surfaces were sticky to the touch and the shower drainage was blocked causing the base to fill with foul water when showering. Nobody should be sleeping there until these problems are fixed. It is a sad state of affairs, because the potential this converted barn has, is clear from the photos they provide. The upstairs is spacious and appealing to the eye, but it is totally spoiled by uncleanliness, neglect and above all, a very serious damp issue. These concerns were raised in private with Sykes cottages who promised to speak to the owner and get back to us but unfortunately after chasing them for a week there has been only silence in return.

  Read more less >

• Eric - Verified booking

  It gives me no pleasure to give such a review, but I feel obligated to warn potential future guests that this property is not what it appears when looking at the photographs provided.

  What no photograph can convey, is the terrible and overpowering smell of damp that hits you the moment you enter this property. Like a musty cave or old damp cellar, the air is thick with damp. Quite frankly, it is a health hazard. I booked for three nights with my family, and everyone was shocked by the state of the place. Apart from the smell, the bedsheets were unchanged, damp to the touch and even had pubic hairs on the base sheet. My room was worst affected by the damp. ( Left of the entrance ) and it was impossible to sleep there. I was forced to sleep upstairs on the couch but that brought it’s own problems as it was full of dog hairs, this being a ‘pet friendly’ establishment. My eldest son, daughter and son in law were forced to leave early as the damp in their rooms were causing them breathing problems. Cobwebs and spiders were everywhere, and the whole place was in desperate need of a deep clean. All surfaces were sticky to the touch and the shower drainage was blocked causing the base to fill with foul water when showering. Nobody should be sleeping there until these problems are fixed. It is a sad state of affairs, because the potential this converted barn has, is clear from the photos they provide. The upstairs is spacious and appealing to the eye, but it is totally spoiled by uncleanliness, neglect and above all, a very serious damp issue. These concerns were raised in private with Sykes cottages who promised to speak to the owner and get back to us but unfortunately after chasing them for a week there has been only silence in return.

  Read more less >