Holiday Cottages With Hot Tubs In Bishop Auckland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Deborah - Verified booking

  I wrote to Sykes Cottages and the property owner reporting the concerns I had about the property regarding the level of dampness in the cave area.

  My complaint to Sykes is below, which was also copied direct to the owner. "Whilst we understand the cottage is part of the castle, the tunnel area is very damp and smells mouldy. There are three air fresheners in place in the tunnel to try to hide the bad smell which is overwhelming. There is a dehumidifier in what should have been the wardrobe space and the whole cupboard smelled mouldy. Therefore you had nowhere to put your clothes. I have respiratory problems having had pneumonia in the past. The dampness would be leading to spores in the air affecting my health. Each day I had to empty the dehumidifier which was full demonstrating how damp the place is. We did speak to the owner and he admitted there was no airflow in the tunnel area. He said he had tried to drill this previously but failed to get all of the way through. This needs to be fixed or people to be warned. The lack of airflow has exacerbated the issue. People should be pre warned that the place is damp. This should be in the property description. This is a health hazard. Particularly if you have any respiratory problems. We ultimately decided to leave after only 3 nights as I could not put my health at more risk. The place needs air flow to make this safe. This trip was for our honeymoon. If the advert had stated that there was a problem with air flow and damp in the old part of the cottage then we would have gone elsewhere". As noted above I would not have booked the cottage had I been aware of the dampness issues as I was hospitalised when I previously had pneumonia. This break was for our honeymoon. So even more disappointing. I have been in discussion with the property owner about reimbursement as we left the property early. He had agreed to make a refund on 11 September and despite having chased this up no refund has been made. I think it is important that other potential guests are aware of the issue up front and in the listing it needs to say that the cave area is damp. Having looked on line to see if anyone else reported any issues I have now found two similar complaints on Trip Advisor made in March 2024 and August 2024 about the level of dampness in the property. This is a health issue and Sykes Cottages have never responded to the complaint I made either, which I also feel is inadequate. I will be chasing the owner for a full refund, but felt that sufficient time has passed that it was important for me to put the review on line. I will also be putting the same review on Trip Advisor so others are alerted to the issue.

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• Aman - Verified booking

  When we got to Cosy Cave, the first thing that we noticed was that the garden is not enclosed, what looked like a fence dividing the 3rd property in the photos of Cosy Cave were now a set of planters.

  The grass area is not really accessible as there are no stairs or ramp to get to it. But thankfully as the property sharing the courtyard/garden (of which we were unaware of before booking) was vacant for our stay we were able to make some use of the courtyard. When entering Cosy Cave it presented well, was clean overall but there were a few things that could do with a clean (kettle was extremely limescaled and bed sheets had a couple of small patches of dried blood on them). Getting into the evening, it was getting rather cold so I searched for a heating controller but could not find anything, I changed the heaters from 0s to 5s but no luck in warming the property up. I emailed stanhope castle and they sent someone round really quickly to give us the heating controller. The issue with the controller was that in Cosy Cave it is very hard for it to get a signal to actually turn the heat on or up. We tried searching online and found that someone else also had heating issues here as the heating controller is kept in the property above Cosy Cave. Again we were lucky no one was booked in upstairs! There is a dehumidifier in Cosy Cave that is next to the TV room. After 1 night this gets full and needs emptying other wise will not be running. Whilst it is off you can really feel a difference in your chest when sitting in the TV room. The damp/moisture is a real problem in that room. We also found that our clothes from our suitcase felt damp as we kept our suitcase in the walk through section to the tv room. What also doesn't help is that the heater in that room does not warm up much at all (even when on 5). If those 2 issues were fixed it would make that room so much more enjoyable because the TV is great and the surround sound was amazing. The bathroom was really nice and clean. The pressure in the shower was great! The hot tub was really nice! We did notice however there were some bits at the bottom of the hot tub, not sure if these fell in from the cover or if it wasnt thoroughly cleaned. The cover is a bit worse for wear but with use that happens. We did clean the cover and the gazeebo as it was covered in spider webs etc. If we had known that the courtyard/garden is shared, not really enclosed and that the grass area is not really accessible then we would not have booked Cosy Cave. With the moisture issue in the TV room it feels unsafe for us to stay the full length of our stay so will be leaving on Thursday.

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• Claire - Verified booking

  Bilberry nook is a beautiful cottage, set in idyllic surroundings.

  The cottage itself was well equiped and perfectly situated for our annual new year get away. There is just one pub in Westgate, it doesn't welcome dogs and does not open until 5pm which was disappointing, however it was shut for the duration of our stay anyway, due to Covid, unforeseeable and we got over it. The nearest shop is the Coop, a few miles away by car but it is well stocked with all uou may need. During our stay we were never able to connect to the advertised wifi, no big beal but an annoyance. The downstairs cloakroom had no hot water, the shower in the main bathroom was merely a trickle and the oven took an eternity to cook anything. Having said all of that, none of those issues would prevent us returning, the one biggest factor that would, is the unsecured back garden with the extremely deep flowing riiver running through it, The garden is an amazing haven for wildlife but sadly we couldnt enjoy it for fear that the dogs would end up in the river or disappear along the run of gardens, which one did, and get out onto the road. Really think this should be made clear in the advertisement to avoid future disappointment. Also there is no lighting, so when using the hot tub after dark, you need to be very careful as the multilevel garden is difficult to navigate. Overall if you have no children or dogs this would be a fabulous little cottage, once the owners have tweaked the above.

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• Lonnie - Verified booking

  Just spent a fabulous week at Bilberry Nook over Christmas.

  It was so relaxing and peaceful and we thoroughly enjoyed getting away from the usual hectic festivities.When we arrived the cottage was warm comfortable and much more spacious than we expected. There was a xmas tree and even xmas presents and a card, nice touch. It was dark and cold so we lit the fire and just settled in. The next morning in the light of day we got our first proper view of the amazing garden and beautiful surroundings! The weather was kind to us for December so we spent the week going for walks in the stunning countryside of Weardale. Afternoons relaxing in the hot tub and watching all the wildlife in the garden we spotted at least 17 different varieties of bird in the garden and on the river including heron, woodpecker and not forgetting the resident peacock and 2 pea hens that came at dusk every evening to be fed! We cooked most evenings (including xmas dinner) in the very well equipped kitchen. Slept very soundly as it was so dark and quiet! Jo was a lovely owner, helpful and friendly, she was also the artist behind all the wildlife pictures in the cottage that are for sale. We bought one as a xmas present for ourselves. All in all the perfect place to get away from it all reset and recharge. We would love to return in the summer and spend more time in the garden in the longer days also stargaze in the very dark night sky.

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• Neil - Verified booking

  We’ve had a relaxing week.

  The kitchen was well-stocked with cutlery, utensils and the essentials. Furnishings and bathroom are lovely- certainly quirky. Outdoor area was nice and we enjoyed breakfast and long days outside in the sun. Saying you had a lawn was a bit of a stretch. A ‘welcome’ basket would have been nice. Other Sykes cottages have left us dog treats, home-baked cakes, butter, biscuits etc. That was missing here. We’d have liked the hot tub a couple of degrees warmer. The bed could be bigger. Wo-if was unreliable. Tab needs more stable connection to channels. We stayed in probably the most expensive week of the year and it cost £931. Although we had a nice time, the accommodation needs some TLC and attention to be worth this much. Around the £700 mark would be a fairer price. Also lacking was a better thought out indoor eating area. The place where we hung our clothes was covered in spiders’ webs and spiders. Yes it’s a property from the 13th century but a bit of TLC is needed. The two arm chairs could be replace with a lovely comfy two-seater. These were not as comfortable as they looked and actually the premise of a cinema room was stretching it a bit far! In essence- a quirky property. Not 5* and excellent - more 4* and good with improvements needed.

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