Last Minute Cottages in Hawkshead

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Steven - Verified booking

  We stayed at the Giddy Goose in Windermere for a week in August this year and had a wonderful experience.

  The house is centrally located in Windermere, and having stayed in several nearby cottages, this one stands out as the best. Pros Excellent Location: Walking distance to restaurants, shops, and Bowness (about 20 minutes). The bus and railway stations are also nearby, making it easy to explore the area without a car. Great for Dog Walks: Convenient access to fantastic dog walks near Orrest, either up the hill or along scenic paths. Spacious and Comfortable: Plenty of space for our family of four. Our kids (ages 10 and 12) enjoyed having their own rooms. The house stays cool even on hot days, which was perfect for us and our dog. Comfortable Beds: Everyone found the beds very comfortable. Well-Equipped: Plenty of toilets and showers, a lovely garden where we enjoyed a BBQ Cons (Minor and did not impact our stay): Paint Touch-Ups Needed: Some areas of the house could use a bit of fresh paint. Microwave Instructions: The microwave requires you to set the clock before use, which is different from most microwaves. Some instructions on this would be helpful. Parking Space: The parking space is a bit tight. We managed to fit our Freelander, but larger vehicles might need to use the parking permit, which could mean a short walk to the cottage. Light Switch Issue: The light switch in the living room didn’t work as expected; you have to pull it out each time you press it. This might need fixing. Kitchen Supplies: The kitchen could use a couple more knives and a meat thermometer. Overall, We had a lovely and relaxing stay at the Giddy Goose and would highly recommend it. We would definitely stay here again.

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• Simon - Verified booking

  As detailed on the phone, on the day we arrived the house (Giddy Goose) was not as clean as we would expect.

  The main and most obvious problem was lack of proper vacuuming: all carpets and rugs looked as though they haven’t been properly vacuumed for a while; one bedroom even has a muddy smear that had been left. Telltale bits of debris, cotton, threads, fluff etc were in every room. This is impossible to photograph now (I was not asked to take photos when I rang on the day we arrived). We tried vacuuming the next day and the smell it created was so revolting we had to spray freshener and open windows: the bag was full which might explain the poor vacuuming? I requested a new bag but we weren’t given one. There were other signs of poor cleaning. Cobwebs, dust and debris on window sills, a long black hair still stuck to the bathroom wall, broken glass just under one of the sofas. I’ve photographed all that I can. A cleaner was organised to come on the Saturday at 10:30am, we were given no choice of time. Unfortunately all of our kids were still in bed after a long day the day before, so we chatted to the cleaner and apologised and offered to clean the house ourselves. We did try vacuuming as explained. The last thing you want when you pay to stay somewhere is the disappointment of it being dirty, having to phone and make arrangements and being asked to vacate the property on the first morning so it can then be cleaned properly. All holiday lets are priced to cover the cost of cleaning. In our case that cleaning was simply not sufficient.

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• Catherine - Verified booking

  The Giddy Goose property is lovely, it has everything you need and is in a great location to explore the whole area as well as being able to walk to plenty of shops and restaurants.

  I really enjoyed my stay. The only issue that I have had is with the service post stay, I left 2 tops in the property which of course was my silly fault, especially as one was brand new that i'd bought whilst on holiday. After multiple phonecalls to Sykes I eventually had it confirmed that they had been found by the housekeeper. This took a number of calls and quite a bit of time chasing as it has to go between Sykes, the local branch- Lakes holidays and the housekeeper. By the end of October though I had it confirmed that the tops had been taken to the local branch and I paid the £15 fee for return. It is now mid December and I still have not received them and again after multiple calls the only answer I get is that they must have been lost in the post. Even though I paid for return apparently they are not sent recorded and no proof of postage is taken. I appreciate entirely that it is my own fault for forgetting the tops, but it is frustrating that it has taken so much chasing and that after having them found and paying for the return that you don't send them as recorded or take any proof of postage or anything at all to help a safe return. This would be helpful for the future perhaps or at least if I could speak to Lakes holidays directly to have sorted this. I would have paid for the recorded post as am gutted that I cannot get the new top back especially.

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• Ann - Verified booking

  Giddy Goose is a wonderful holiday rental situated in lovely Windermere.

  I had never visited the area before and it was a perfect location for visiting the local sites. The house is as described and would be great for a larger group (we were only three) and it was well supplied with dishes, pots, pans and everything necessary for a holiday. Sheets and towels were nice and the beds were comfortable. We had no issues with parking and I wonder if the few negative reviews were not parking on the right street. (Hint: don’t park by the front gate but the side one.) We did have difficulty with two things: the heat (we didn’t figure out that the thermostat in the dining room controls the heat as well as the unit in the kitchen) and the water temperature in the en-suite bathroom ( the left side turns on the water while the right side controls the temperature and I think the button needs to be depressed). A page in the house manual could have cleared this up. Thanks for a lovely time.

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• Steve - Verified booking

  Cottage was as expected, location in the centre was excellent.

  The cottage is advertised with private parking, it does have private parking but accessing the space and getting out of the back alleyway is virtually impossible. The other cottages that share the back lane parking area block in the space allocated for this cottage. We ended up having to ask people to move cars so we could get in / out, after being stuck for a day as the people next door had gone out blocking us in we gave up and opted for street parking. There is a parking permit for the property but best of luck finding a space. We ended up parking circa 1 mile from the property as the street and paid parking were always full. Advertising this with a private parking space is a real stretch, had we known the situation with the parking we would have booked another cottage. If you don't need parking then the cottage is fine, if you do need parking that is accessible at all times, i would recommend thinking twice.

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