Holiday Cottages With Hot Tubs In The North West

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Christine - Verified booking

  West Border Farm.

  We recently spent a week there and were completely underwhelmed and disappointed. The build has obviously been stunning at one point but is now tired and in need of some TLC. As you approach the property the first thing you become aware of is the abandoned vehicle at the gate that has apparently been left there to rot away. On the initial walk round of the building we were advised that there was a slight issue with the Fridge/Freezer that the buzzer alarm was broken and was sounding constantly and was being dealt with through a warranty issue. We eventually complained to the housekeeper regarding this and were then advised that the machine was now out of warranty and the owner of the property advised us to keep the kitchen door closed. This machine beeped 3 time every 30 seconds!! There was only one cork screw bottle opener which was ridicules considering the size and expected occupancy numbers. The pots and pans provided were well past there best and the quality of the glasses, crockery and cutlery were very poor. It must be said there was not enough glassware for potentially 18 occupants. The dishwasher did not wash dishes at all requiring all items to rewashed after being through the dishwasher. The fact there was only one domestic dishwasher for the potential 18 occupancy was also an issue raised with the housekeeper. This was passed onto the owner who advised us there was nothing wrong with the dishwasher and just to put it on again. There was damage to the games room a hole in the wall and a broken table football table that had been given a quick unsightly repair. We never used the table in case it disintegrated when being used. Within the large sitting room area there was ample seating although a couple of the large couches had broken seats and if you did sit in these spaces you were almost sitting on the floor. The bedding on some of the beds had holes from probable old age and required to be renewed. The outside area although large required a bit of work. The grass in areas was overgrown in particular around the children’s play climbing frame. There were 6 outdoor seats one of which we were advised not to use as it was broken (This was apparently repaired during or visit but l am not convinced). The hot tub had a broken handle that made it slightly awkward to open when it should have been a pretty straight forward operation. We raised all the issues above immediately with Sykes who in turn reported them to the owner who took no action other than to send the housekeeper round to take a list. The list was made and the other thanked us for our suggestions through the housekeeper. As our week progressed there was also issue with one of the showers draining properly. I have tried to add a few photographs to confirm my remarks but l am unable to load this onto this form.

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• Mrs Beth Wakefield - Verified booking

  We’ve just returned from a lovely Christmas at Abbey Farm.

  We did however have a number of issue most of which were resolved but involved a lot of phone calls/text messages. When we arrived on Thursday the Aga in the kitchen had gone out and with it being the only heat source in the kitchen it was so cold. This took 36 hrs to resolve but it was hot by Saturday morning. We had terrible weather almost the entire week with driving rain and wind so that didn’t help. We were unable to use the hot tub due to the awful weather which was a shame. The heating system is a little hit and miss and some of the radiators don’t heat up at all. I bled a couple on the top floor as it was so cold up there and the pressure dropped so low the boiler went out. Unable to find the boiler due to it being in a locked room I contacted the owner who arranged for somebody to came out very quickly but it took quite some time to heat the house again. Two of our party being elderly and fed up with the weather and now cold house, left on the Wednesday morning. The WiFi is not great and because all the TVs/Alexas are run on this there were times when it didn’t work at all. As it was Christmas we had Christmas music on and movies on for kids and going off was a regular occurrence. Just frustrating but I do appreciate the weather could have played a part in this too. It would be handy to have a hoover left somewhere accessible not locked behind a door. The shower room on the top floor is very cold as there is no radiator and the shower head is too small for such a large shower. The kitchen was well equipped but I would suggest a few more large serving spoons and large serving plates and fish slices/egg servers. With 13 people in the house cooking and serving with cheap plastic utensils wasn’t easy. The upstairs living room with massive screen was great but cold as it only has one radiator and is a big room. Also the sofas are a little small and hard. As a large family party getting together for the first time in 3 years and paying what we feel was a lot of money for a really special week, we just felt the house was lacking the wow factor and a little tlc. It could be amazing with a little more thought and attention. The welcome pack however was the best we’ve ever had and the owner was always available and apologetic when problems did occur.

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• Lyndsay - Verified booking

  We thoroughly enjoyed our week at West Border Farm which is a modern spacious house with good facilities in a remote rural area.

  The house was very clean and equipped with the essentials for a pleasant holiday, the bedrooms were all large, clean and adequate for our needs. The large living room was ideal for us all to sit together, or apart as it was so huge. One side of one of the sofa’s was broke but didn’t detract from its comfort. The kitchen was large enough for us all to use comfortably, the fridge was bleeping but was working perfectly and we got used to the beep which wasn’t loud, and Sue explained it was due to be replaced. The dishwasher worked fine and there was enough glasses/cups/plates/cutlery/etc. for the 16 of us. The outdoor kitchen was fantastic with a large, enclosed seating area enabling us to have a wonderful family BBQ together. The hot tub room was well equipped with a fridge, large table and seating which we used for playing board games together followed by a dip in the hot tub. The outside areas were fantastic with large lawned areas for the kids to run wild and watch the neighbouring cows and sheep. The house would benefit from a few improvements including additional seating outside the hot tub room as there are only a couple of garden chairs and we had to sit on blankets on the floor; A covered outdoor area to be able to sit in shade or a garden umbrella; We didn’t use the games room and we thought the space could be put to better use (second sitting/TV room); fly screens on the doors so they can be left open in hot weather; soft close on the bedroom doors as they noisily slam shut; kitchen essentials such as small side plates, bottle opener and oven trays. A twin room with en-suite as they are all doubles. Although improvements can be made nothing was so bad that it impacted on our enjoyment of the house and its facilities. Overall, this is a wonderful place to stay in a quiet and pleasant location.

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• Karen - Verified booking

  We were a multi generation family of 13 and had a fantastic stay.

  We were a bit worried after reading some of the reviews but were not disappointed it seems some over large group had trashed the place and they have had to rectify as much as possible as the feedback has come through and still working on it. The road has been renewed now so no problems there. The home was clean and plenty of towels, bedding etc including tea towels lots of cleaning materials should you need it as well. We had great weather so the outdoor kitchen was just the best for us. A great bbq and large pizza oven was a hit with fridge and sink area and great seating area. Games room was ok and a new air hockey table and a good supply of books/DVDS and an XBOX with games Living room comfortable and yes one settee was a bit broken but they had changed the layout so it doesn’t cause a problem. We cooked full English breakfast in the main kitchen and we had plenty of cooking equipment and crockery and the water supply was always very hot (I would warn people about that especially in the shower I think the temperature may need turning down at the boiler slightly). The little climbing frame was great but again said group broke the slide so there’s no slide now. Hot tub room great with a good seating area next to it although again we had good weather so spent a lot of it outside. The only thing I would say is to bring your own chairs if you like to be outside as the sun is in the hot tub area and the chairs that you could use from hot tub room weren’t as comfy luckily we had some camping chairs and some picnic blankets for those who wanted to lay out and sunbathe. There were plenty of places to visit in the area too. All in all we all had a great time and we didn’t go looking for all the little minor things people are moaning about. Thank you for a great stay

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• Missbah - Verified booking

  Review Thank you so much for our stay, We had the best time ever for our sisters Hen do!

  All the guests were very delighted to have been in such an amazing property that offers their guests the highest levels of luxury through personalized services, a vast range of amenities, and a very well sophisticated accommodation. Archstone house offers luxurious décor and carefully selected furnishings with high attention to detail. The guestrooms and suites are tastefully decorated with high quality furnishings and consistent design, ample space, king sized beds and premium bedding. Archstone house was very clean when we had arrived! We are quite lucky in the sense that we have been one of the first to be able to visit as there is no snagging or anything in the property. The only thing I would like to add is,( now this is not a complaint but please take it as feedback, as it may help guests in the future) it would be nice to add some different types of cleaning products, ( fairy, sponges, cleaning sprays, wipes), Maybe some complimentary toiletries in the bathroom (shampoo, conditioner, body wash) As we had to go out and buy our own, It was a slight inconvenience as we were not familiar with the area yet. For example these are everyday essentials which we could have bought from home, but we had thought for the price we had paid these would be provided as you would in any 5* hotel. It would also be good to add some door hooks, door locks in bedrooms and bath mats and shower mats. Lastly I would like to appreciate the communication between us and the booking was on point, the whole booking process was made easy, with us having a large group, some of us had questions to ask, so anytime we asked anything Becky was to hand and able to answer anything. Thank you so much to the team at Archstone house, we hope to visit again soon.

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