Villas In Hebden Bridge

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Malcolm - Verified booking

  Moscow Mews is spacious and well-furnished throughout, with a very secure garden for our dog once we had noticed that the side gate had been left open prior to our arrival.

  We appreciated the welcome pack of two bottles of water and a packet of biscuits. However, photos are available of a number of shortcomings that should have been dealt with previously. Many should not to have been an issue if Sykes’ property inspector(s) had been more meticulous in their work. A direction sign at the end of the access lane would be very helpful to find the property when you first arrive. There are no “rural views” from the sunken patio and its furniture, as is alluded to in Sykes’ website, as you must stand well up the lawn to see over the fence. We had to tidy and bin the old dog dirt found in the garden upon our arrival. Our dog spent time exploring the back garden each day and had to be rubbed dry in the kitchen after even the shortest time there due to the long, uncut grass. The lawns were mowed mid-week, but a large amount of the clippings was left on the grass so we had to brush our footwear clean after every sortie outdoors to avoid spreading grass cuttings throughout the house. Is this why there was a dustpan and brush outside the back door? The bed in the ensuite room has a very hard mattress and the room’s door frame has what looks like a major subsidence crack about one inch wide on the right-hand side as you enter. The cracks continue across the ensuite’s tiled floor and are also visible in the tiled window sill at its right-hand end. The bedroom door onto the landing will not shut as a result of the movement of the property. The step into the room should have its edge highlighted as it is hard to see when entering the room in the dark due to the position of the light switch. (The same comment is true of the steps into the additional living room, downstairs.) One bedside light has no means of being used as there is no wall socket within reach of its wire! Soap scum and hair were found in the shower area of the separate bathroom. We were very surprised to find discarded yogurt containers and what looked like the seal from one of these bottles in the top drawer of the furniture in the other double bedroom. A major problem is the complete lack of instructions for the kitchen appliances, meaning we had to call our host (as helpful as she could be) to find out how to switch on the cooker. We also had to throw away a proportion of our food as the fridge is set to be so cold that it freezes food solid and there were no instructions to show how to adjust its settings. Other guests have also commented on the urgent need to provide these very necessary booklets. Numerous items of crockery are badly chipped and had to be put to one side as they are not fit for use, while the pans are in urgent need of replacement as they are so badly scored that their non-stick surfaces detach into your food if you use them. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting TV’s Cannon Hall Farm near Barnsley, Shibden Hall and its park in Halifax, the Bronte Parsonage in nearby Haworth and the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. We also highly recommend the delicious home-made food at Cliffe Castle Pavilion in Keighley. We loved having access to the local footpath network from just outside the property's front gate. Great for walking our dog

  Read more less >

• Malcolm - Verified booking

  Moscow Mews is spacious and well-furnished throughout, with a very secure garden for our dog once we had noticed that the side gate had been left open prior to our arrival.

  We appreciated the welcome pack of two bottles of water and a packet of biscuits. However, photos are available of a number of shortcomings that should have been dealt with previously. Many should not to have been an issue if Sykes’ property inspector(s) had been more meticulous in their work. A direction sign at the end of the access lane would be very helpful to find the property when you first arrive. There are no “rural views” from the sunken patio and its furniture, as is alluded to in Sykes’ website, as you must stand well up the lawn to see over the fence. We had to tidy and bin the old dog dirt found in the garden upon our arrival. Our dog spent time exploring the back garden each day and had to be rubbed dry in the kitchen after even the shortest time there due to the long, uncut grass. The lawns were mowed mid-week, but a large amount of the clippings was left on the grass so we had to brush our footwear clean after every sortie outdoors to avoid spreading grass cuttings throughout the house. Is this why there was a dustpan and brush outside the back door? The bed in the ensuite room has a very hard mattress and the room’s door frame has what looks like a major subsidence crack about one inch wide on the right-hand side as you enter. The cracks continue across the ensuite’s tiled floor and are also visible in the tiled window sill at its right-hand end. The bedroom door onto the landing will not shut as a result of the movement of the property. The step into the room should have its edge highlighted as it is hard to see when entering the room in the dark due to the position of the light switch. (The same comment is true of the steps into the additional living room, downstairs.) One bedside light has no means of being used as there is no wall socket within reach of its wire! Soap scum and hair were found in the shower area of the separate bathroom. We were very surprised to find discarded yogurt containers and what looked like the seal from one of these bottles in the top drawer of the furniture in the other double bedroom. A major problem is the complete lack of instructions for the kitchen appliances, meaning we had to call our host (as helpful as she could be) to find out how to switch on the cooker. We also had to throw away a proportion of our food as the fridge is set to be so cold that it freezes food solid and there were no instructions to show how to adjust its settings. Other guests have also commented on the urgent need to provide these very necessary booklets. Numerous items of crockery are badly chipped and had to be put to one side as they are not fit for use, while the pans are in urgent need of replacement as they are so badly scored that their non-stick surfaces detach into your food if you use them. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting TV’s Cannon Hall Farm near Barnsley, Shibden Hall and its park in Halifax, the Bronte Parsonage in nearby Haworth and the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. We also highly recommend the delicious home-made food at Cliffe Castle Pavilion in Keighley.

  Read more less >

• Margaret - Verified booking

  We were very shocked and disappointed on arrival at this cottage.

  The outside was extremely unkempt. There were weeds and dried leaves in the front. The gate needed varnishing. The windows had water running down the inside. It looked as though the double glazing had blown. They obviously need replacing. The windows were dirty. The front door needed varnishing. The glass in the front door needed cleaning. There was green mould on the picnic bench and seat in the front. The front of the cottage was not very inviting at all. Nothing like the pictures on the website. The table in the living room for two people was more like one would use for camping. It wasn't very clean. It was right in front of the window and if one wanted to have a meal, there was no privacy as there are a lot of people passing on foot. If the windows are repaired, a blind might be appropriate. The microwave wasn't working when we tried to use it. We rang the owners wife and she told us her husband would purchase a new one and drop it in. He arrived with the microwave. We asked did he want to check it was working but he seemed to be in a hurry. He told us to just set it up ourselves and put the old one in the box outside in the front. That just added to the outside looking more unkept. On removal of the old microwave we were horrified to find something spilled there very congealed. There was a mound of crumbs and a big spider ran out. This had obviously not been cleaned for a long time. There are health and safety issues in an unclean kitchen.The kitchen floor was not clean. There was a plastic bottle behind the bin and some chipolatas on the floor. We had to clean the kitchen ourselves with antibacterial spray and wipes. There were a few live crawling woodlice on the stairs. The bathroom was in need of maintenance . It needed painting there were marks on the skirting boards. The taps on the bath were stiff and hard to turn on and off. The hot tap was swivelling around on turning on and off. The seal on the shower screen needs replacing. It was preventing movement over the bath. The window ledges in the bedrooms were dirty. We cleaned them ourselves. There was thick dust on the back.of the mirror in the larger bedroom. The tops of the bedside cabinets weren't very clean. The mattress on the bed was thin and the springs were sticking in our back. It needs replacing. The iron bedstead was very uncomfortable and noisy. If of all these issues were addressed then the cottage would be of a higher standard meriting more stars It is only a ten to fifteen minutes walk into Howarth. There is a good bus service on the road nearby. There is also a lovely pub a few minutes away with good food and a handy corner shop. We have stayed in a number of Sykes Cottages over the years and generally we have never given a bad review.

  Read more less >

• Robert - Verified booking

  The cottage is beautifully furnished and very clean with fantastic views over the surrounding countryside.

  There is also plenty of wildlife to watch. It is not the easiest place to find. Continue along Woodlands until you come to a left turn, turn left, continue to bottom of paved road and take left hand unpaved track, turn left at top of track through metal gates and the cottages are in front of you. The heating in the cottage is controlled by the owner and he is quite economical with it. You have to ask for the heating to be put on. Whilst I appreciate the reason for it, I did not like this aspect of my stay at all. The WIFI appears to have been sorted out. It dropped out occasionally but no major problems. There is a lot of equipment in the cottage, e.g. Sky TV, Bose sound system, DVD player and video recorder, sadly most of it does not work. This is mainly due to most of the remote controls having flat or no batteries. The Sky TV was not receiving a satellite signal so was useless. The only TV available was Freeview. There are instructions for the kitchen appliances but none in English. It is a case of trial and error. The outside area could do with a bit of TLC. Some proper garden furniture is required and the old plastic bench at the bottom of the stairs needs to go. The existing outside furniture was very dirty. We enjoyed our stay but would not return.

  Read more less >

• Natalie - Verified booking

  Positives: Nicely decorated cottage in a lovely quiet area surrounded by nature and some good walks.

  The bed is comfortable and the kitchen is well appointed for cooking. WIFI is really good and Freeview / Netflix is available. Negatives: Sadly, the back garden is scruffy and needs a good tidy up. There are piles of what looks like building materials lying around, and the decking has seen better days - it's really very slippery with moss. I was left with 1/4 of a toilet roll and no washing up liquid. The owner told me that it was my responsibility to buy these things and ensure enough was left for other guests, however, that was not done for me, so their system clearly doesn't work. This was rectified eventually, and one of the owner's family members dropped these items off for me. I'd recommend making it very clear that guests need to bring their own essentials, including loo roll and washing up liquid. I also had to clean up dog mess in the garden and dog wee in the living room from the previous guest. Nothing was done to rectify this, it very much seemed that I wasn't believed when I reported this to Sykes and the owner. Overall, it's a good base for walking and visiting attractions such as Shibden Hall. Perhaps a bit of a tidy up and a better system for leaving guests with the essentials would be useful.

  Read more less >