Haltwhistle Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Melanie - Verified booking

  This property should not be let in this condition,it felt grotty, unclean and very neglected.

  It really spoilt our much longed for holiday. We came with fairly low expectations as wasn’t too expensive, but this was way below the worst we imagined. It was cold, damp and musty when we arrived. We found a man’s underwear left in a drawer, old food in the cupboard, bin was mouldy, the bedroom carpet didn’t appear hoovered, the tumble dryer filter was blocked and water needed emptying - no battery in remote, ancient baking trays, cracks in walls not filled, dirt in the ancient washing machine, cooker old and needs replacing. The front door is an indicator of how neglected this is. Yet a few immediate and inexpensive tweaks would make this immediately better: 1) a blind, ideally vertical, in the front window is a necessity being right on the road…we blocked it half up with some cushions for some privacy. 2) a large rug on the tiled floors to make it more cosy, we resorted to using our picnic rug 3) proper fitting curtains all the same length - what an utter mess the sitting room looks because the badly hanging cheap cream curtains are different sizes and don’t go to the floor…a separate pole for door and window would look better…next door is an indicator of how much better it could look. 4) fill the cracks and repaint 5) replace oven trays and have matching wine glasses. Stage 2 would be more expensive and require new front door, new fitted kitchen units and appliances and new bathroom. Then either secondary glazing or better fitting window and door to obscure some of the traffic noise. Stage 1 is essential and better standard of cleaning and checking the property. Our holiday was spoilt by having to stay here, tho it did mean we spent a lot of time in the pub! Haltwhistle is a great location and there seem to plenty of other rentals, so I advise choosing somewhere else.

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• Elizabeth - Verified booking

  A great spot for exploring the surrounding area with easy access to A69 for visits to Carlisle , Newcastle and everything in between.

  We visited Housesteads fort , The Sill, Twice Brewed pub and brewery, Lambley Viaduct and just pottered around the area whilst visiting family in the area. Be aware that most of the Hadrians Wall site car parks operate ANPR cameras and you pay when you leave . This wasn't always obvious especially at some of the smaller places. The cottage is at the edge of the village with a short walk into the village which has a Coop, Sainsburys, Boots, several pubs, 2 chippies and a selection of small shops. There is a steep hill from the cottage towards the village but you can walk along the lane behind the cottage and rejoin the main road higher up for a slightly longer walk but gentler incline! The kitchen was well equipped but was missing a frying pan (essential for holiday fry ups). The bathroom is downstairs which wasn't an issue for us but some people may not like it. It has a very powerful shower over the bath but could do with a bathmat as we had to use one of the towels on the floor. The stairs have quite narrow treads but that is the nature of an old cottage. 2 good sized bedrooms with plenty of space to hang clothes. We found the larger bed to be very soft and the double to be very hard but overall we slept OK. There is parking for 2 cars but it is quite a tight turn through the gate so an estate or larger car my find it a bit difficult. We found it easier to drive down the lane at the back of the cottage, turn round at the end and then pull forward through the gate onto the parking area. Overall, we enjoyed our stay but felt that the place could do with a bit of a refresh and some new mattresses as this would definitely make it a place to come back to.

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• Barbara - Verified booking

  I booked Hollie cottage for 3 nights for a compassionate visit to a relative who was in palliative care in Haltwhistle, as it had 2 adult double beds.

  We were moved next door 24 hours before arrival to hunter cottage because Hollie was having a new roof. This property had 1 double bed and second bedroom had child’s bunk beds which were so low above my head I couldn’t even sit up. We were awoken at 8am on the first morning by the most horrific drilling which shook the whole cottage. My brother went out and spoke to the roofers who were taking down the chimney on Hollie cottage. They were not even aware that the cottage was being rented, and they had advised the owner not to rent it until works were complete. On top of this there was rubble pouring down the chimney covering the lounge floor. The lady who does the housekeeping came in while we were out and cleared this up. Then we discovered that because of the scaffolding out side there was no signal for the television. So no telly.!! The housekeeper offered to move us next door on Saturday and we could stay a few more days but we were leaving on Sunday morning as we had work commitments in Essex on Monday. When I contacted the owner on Sunday she informed me that the building works were out of her control as they were running 2 weeks late and also that there was a radio in the cottage, which there wasn’t. Well sorry but that’s not my concern or problem. I paid for a cottage with all facilities and I did not get what I paid for. The cottage was extremely shabby and nothing worked properly. Would not recommend this cottage to anyone. . Owner was not at all sorry and never offered any compensation. My family and myself have booked with Sykes before and have always been satisfied but never again with these cottages.

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• Karen - Verified booking

  A thoroughly enjoyable week in Hollie Cottage which is lovely warm & spacious house which met our needs.

  The kitchen had ample crockery, cutlery & utensils. The garden was enclosed enough to keep our dogs in & it was good to be able to park within the property rather than on the road. The location is perfect for Haltwhistle Burn which is a delightful walk from the property & the town centre is about 10mins (mostly uphill) walk which had supermarkets & take-aways (try Oceans for the biggest fish & chips ever!). You are also only a short drive to good walking sections of Hadrian's Wall or the old railway line which is now The South Tyne Trail. After booking we realised that WiFi wasn't listed for the property. We found out there was WiFi but it is shared with 2 other properties which was fine when we were the only ones using it, but not good when our neighbours were in. Our only issue all week was the oven, it has previously been noted that the front has been scrubbed so you can't read the settings but the bigger problem was that it doesn't heat above 150c so this really does need replacing. Overall a great week in a very comfortable cottage.

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• Phil - Verified booking

  On arrival it was soon evident that the accommodation had not had a proper clean.

  We were in a situation of meeting up with family (who we had not seen for months) for the week otherwise we would have left on the second day. So we cleaned as we went:- drawers, crockery, bathroom plug and overflow full of gunge, thick dust from various areas, trays, dining table, chairs, Oven was dreadful, couldn't use. There were numerous cushions and after finding dried food smeared on one, we didn't look at the rest but piled them all in a corner. The crunch came when my hand accidently slipped down the side of the sofa and discovered a large amount of hair and debris that must have been there for a long time.WE DID NOT PULL ANYTHING OUT IN THE COTTAGE OR INVESTIGATE FOR FEAR OF WHAT WE MIGHT FIND. Other items in the property required a thorough clean but we simply avoided them. The next visitors would not have many of the problems we had as we had done so much cleaning. Very disappointing stay especially as it had been booked for our 60th wedding anniversary.

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