Villas In The Lake District

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Kate - Verified booking

  Very disappointed with our stay overall.

  It could have been amazing as the cottage is in a great location and ideal for what we needed. Looks very nice from first appearances etc. The owners have thought about all the items that will be needed so the kitchen etc was well stocked. The bed was very comfy but one of the sofas in the living room was not so made it difficult to relax on an evening. Unfortunately, when we arrived we got an overwhelming smell of paint in the entrance porch. We later discovered this was probably to hide all the mould that was appearing on the walls. We had to move the shoe racks and coats inside as the coats got wet paint on them from touching the damp walls. At the start of our stay (Saturday) we didn’t notice any mould but this began to grow and we could see it appearing on the walls by Monday, by the Saturday we left it was everywhere, so had obviously been wiped down before we got there. The owners clearly knew about it as there were 5 dehumidifiers in the bedroom, 2 behind the bed under a massive damp patch and dehumidifiers elsewhere all over the property. The black mould was mostly in the bedroom but some in the bathroom and living room too. I understand old cottages/houses etc can get mould and it can be difficult to clear, we left the bedroom window open to allow for condensation to escape but this made no difference. The main thing that annoyed us was that the owners clearly knew about it and had just thought dehumidifiers would fix it, rather than assessing the full extent of how bad it was and closing the property to fix it. The heating system using storage heaters is very confusing too and seems to come on in the middle of the night and the day when you’re out, but not on an evening when it might actually be needed, and if you try and switch it on it takes forever to warm up. We only used to log fire once as it kept constantly going out so we gave up and used blankets. The only solace is we were able to get a partial refund, although it wasn’t even 50% of what we paid which is what we asked for back. We contacted Sykes on the Monday in the hopes that they’d be able to move us somewhere else, but didn’t get it resolved until we were home so stayed in the property so we didn’t completely ruin our holiday by cutting it short, but they were very helpful.

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• Stephanie - Verified booking

  Me and my partner had a lovely stay at Watch Tree Apartment.

  The apartment is very new, modern and well kitted out with everything required. We didn't hear a peep from any other apartments, instead you have the noise of the rushing river that you can see from the kitchen window. It's in a lovely, quiet little village and very idealic for walks. I have back issues due to a slipped disc in my spine so I am always nervous when sleeping in a different bed, but this one was amazing!! The owners have clearly spent a lot of money making this apartment top notch. We slept so well. The pillows were so good that I had to look at the labels before we left so I could buy some for home!! And that I did! Also the sofas in the lounge are firm (great for my back) and very comfy. We had terrible luck with our car when we arrived, in the end we had to have it towed home. But when we informed Steve, the owner, of our problem he was very keen to help out in any way. He kindly let us leave the car in the parking spot for an extra day and helped the tow man locate our car after we had already left the area. Prior to our stay, Steve sent us lots of info about the apartment and was very keen to connect with us to check we arrived OK and had everything we needed. Fantastic hosts!! The location is brilliant for access to the lakes and also the coast, we covered so much ground when driving around the Lake District, in only a few days. The scenery when driving is beautiful, without even seeing the famous lakes!

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• Connor - Verified booking

  Disappointed with the stay overall.

  While the cottage is very good looking, and it was clean and well stocked, it could be frustrating to stay in. The only methods of heating were the storage heaters which despite the instructions given were not easy to use and only seemed to come on when we didnt particularly need it, especially the evening. When they were on, they took a long time to heat. And the wood burning fireplace, which went out very quickly and we ran out of wood. Due to this a lot of evenings were quite cold. The bed was lovely, but the couches were not particularly comfortable. The parking instructions were not entirely clear, and we parked in a small parking spot beside the garage after misunderstanding the instructions which said "in front of the garage". The owner confronted us on this and we were more than happy to move but before we could finish explaining the misunderstanding, he cut us off very rudely. I understand we made a slight error, but it was no way to approach it with guests. Every appliance from the heaters, to the towel warmer, to all of the kitchen appliances were not switched on, so our night was spent trying to find how to actually get all of our facilities on, some of the sockets more hidden than others. Unfortunately I would not stay here again, as I have had better experiences in other cottages in the area, for similar prices.

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• Connor - Verified booking

  Disappointed with the stay overall.

  While the cottage is very good looking, and it was clean and well stocked, it could be frustrating to stay in. The only methods of heating were the storage heaters which despite the instructions given were not easy to use and only seemed to come on when we didnt particularly need it, especially the evening. When they were on, they took a long time to heat. And the wood burning fireplace, which went out very quickly and we ran out of wood. Due to this a lot of evenings were quite cold. The bed was lovely, but the couches were not particularly comfortable. The parking instructions were not entirely clear, and we parked in a small parking spot beside the garage after misunderstanding the instructions which said "in front of the garage". The owner confronted us on this and we were more than happy to move but before we could finish explaining the misunderstanding, he cut us off very rudely. I understand we made a slight error, but it was no way to approach it with guests. Every appliance from the heaters, to the towel warmer, to all of the kitchen appliances were not switched on, so our night was spent trying to find how to actually get all of our facilities on, some of the sockets more hidden than others. Unfortunately I would not stay here again, as I have had better experiences in other cottages in the area, for similar prices.

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• Helen - Verified booking

  The owners have certainly maximised the space in this small cosy cottage.

  It has been beautifully decorated and everything you need is in the accommodation, the kitchen is brilliantly stocked and all space utilised really well. The garden is not as big as it appears in the photo on the website, the trees could do with trimming back. My husband thought the sofas were OK, I just couldn’t get comfortable (being short and the sofas having a long cushion base) What would have made it better would have been a footstool. Also the back of the sofa is low so it was a strain on the neck. It’s a minor thing but when you are cosied up at night with a fabulous fire roaring, it was a shame! There was a DVD at the cottage which isn’t mentioned anywhere and while there is a great stock of DVDs at the cottage, we had some we would have brought with us. My final point is really for all owners on this site, if there is a fireplace it would be lovely to arrive at the accommodation and have a fire ready laid! Especially in the Autumn/Winter months. Just imagine arriving for a cosy weekend and just striking a match! We particularly LOVED the wooden owl statue on the window sill, any chance the owners could let us know where they bought it from? Thanks

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