Holiday Apartments in Lancaster

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Lee - Verified booking

  The entrance to the property is very steep and parking can prove challenging.

  We found that parking higher up the drive, level with the owner’s cars, made setting off a bit easier. The outside space has two seating areas (with a parasol and seat pads inside). The information about which sections of outside space you can access was a bit confusing, especially as the ‘private’ chain was not in place when we arrived. The entry porch is lovely and spacious with a big unit on which to store your bags etc. There is a boot tray, which holds 3 pairs of shoes easily, but the coat hooks only allow for short coats/jackets. As for the rest of the property, there was plenty of storage in the bedroom (though very few hangers) and it also had a nice view. The curtains allow a lot of light in though (fit blackout linings?) so take an eye mask if you think this will affect you. We found the bed a tad firm for our liking, and would have preferred more substantial pillows, but it was comfy enough for the length of our stay. The use of dressing gowns was a welcome addition. The shower room was quite spacious and had two options for showering. There wasn’t anywhere to really keep towels (dry, or wet…there is a maiden in the bedroom but was very fiddly) and it would have benefited from a towel hook/shelf right by the shower entrance. The bath towels were too bulky to hang on the heated towel rail. The other hook, across the room, felt a little loose so we did not want to use it. The separate toilet was a sani-flow variety which had a noisy flush, then made a dripping sound after refilling. We don’t know if this is normal, as we haven’t experienced this type of toilet before, but worth bearing in mind. The toilet roll holder fell off towards the end of our stay and, again, there was nowhere to hang the hand towel apart from draping it across the heated towel rail next to the loo. The kitchen was well-equipped and the instruction books were provided within the information pack. It had the quietest fridge freezer we have experienced. There wasn’t much storage for the food items we had taken. The only two empty cupboards were on the lounge side of the kitchen island meaning you couldn’t just grab items as you were cooking. The lounge was a good size, with two good-sized settees. Neither were particularly comfortable but, as there isn’t much of a view from there, we spent very little time in it. It had a couple of board games to play and a piano if that’s your kind of thing. The local information booklets were all slightly out-of-date but, in this digital age, I suppose it doesn’t matter for most people. We couldn’t figure out how to tune the radio on the music system. As for the dining area, as it was the only place you could fully enjoy the magnificent view, it seemed a shame that there was nowhere comfortable to sit. We tried the outdoor seat pads, on the dining chairs (too thin), and the bed pillows (too cumbersome) and, at the risk of sounding like Goldilocks, we needed something that was ‘just right’. As the kitchen island had two spaces that could be described as ‘breakfast bars’, meals could have easily been taken there. Alternatively, you could reduce the dining table size (this property is only for two people, after all), move it to the lounge (by the entrance hall window), reduce to one settee and have another comfy settee by the huge picture window. We endured much discomfort just to enjoy that view (sometimes for hours at a time). There was some conflicting information, depending on where you looked eg the framed information in the entry hall stated that the bin collection rota was in the kitchen cupboard, the information pack stated it was in the rear of the information pack. Nowhere did it state where to put any of the rubbish/recycling on collection day even if we had a rota. We were not told what to do with our rubbish bag, at the end of the stay, so had to leave it in the kitchen bin. The information card asked us to leave all bed linen and towels in the grey laundry bin in the bedroom (we could not locate it) while an email said to leave towels on the shower room floor. So, yes, there were quite a few niggles for us, it’s true, but all of which would be easy fixes and, in reality, are minor inconveniences. Overall, the property is beautifully presented but we think the image was a little misleading on the website. Although it does clearly state it is a ground floor property, the main image shows the full house. And, in saying this, we feel it also needs to be explicit in stating that there will be noise from the owners living above. This was the biggest issue for us. We had truly hoped for some much-needed peace and relaxation. If you do not want to get up at 7am and stay up until 11pm, you will be disturbed by the owners as they go about their daily lives. If you do not go out every day, and simply want to enjoy the view, you will be disturbed by the owners. As there is very little noise from outside, it was like being in a vacuum. You could hear every foot step (including the dog’s), every fill of the kettle, every use of the coffee machine, every stir of the cup, every scrape of the chair, every muffled (yet loud) conversation etc. We spoke to Leanne about this and she said they would try hard to minimise the noise. With the best will in the world, and without proper soundproofing, it would be an impossible task. Would all of this noise put us off returning? The jury is still out. The view, and being in Arnside itself, are the reasons we stayed at Shady Bowers. The view did not disappoint us once. Rain, or shine, day, or night, the view is spectacular. The property has very easy access to Arnside and we loved being able to stroll to the promenade, watch the bore, eat ice cream and take a train ride to Grange-over-Sands, all without needing to worry about parking the car.

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• Eve Rachel - Verified booking

  Our 4-night stay was unfortunately cut short and ruined by the neighbouring property’s cockerel which began crowing at 2am the first night and 3am the second night of our stay.

  The crow was extremely loud and incessantly crowing throughout the very early hours through until the morning, approximately every 10 seconds or less. This meant that we had no sleep, so were exhausted and frustrated, and were therefore unable to go out and enjoy our holiday as planned. It was on New Year’s Eve at 5am (the 2nd morning into our 4-night stay) where we decided we simply could not and should not have to put up with the noise, so packed up and drove 4.5 hours home. The owners are aware of the noise issue, as they left earplugs with a sign about the cockerel on the bedside tables. These were insufficient in blocking out the noise. There was no prior, explicit warning about the cockerel waking at 2/3am. There was merely a note on the Sykes Cottages advert page stating we ‘may hear animal noises’. This was an understatement, and we feel did not properly warn us of a loud cockerel practically outside the bedroom window. Moreover, we have stayed on working farms before and are used to the expected farm animal noise, but at a reasonable hour after sunrise – certainly not constantly from 2am. We believe the owners of this property seriously need to address this noise disturbance as it is likely an environmental health issue, and will not be surprised if other paying customers expecting a peaceful holiday find this to be a problem. We were only refunded less than half of what we paid to stay here, which was disappointing. Not only was our New Year’s Eve holiday ruined, but we felt undercompensated for our disappointing experience. It was not the peaceful, pleasant holiday and start to the New Year we had so hoped for, especially after a very difficult year. It’s such a shame, as the property itself is lovely and well-equipped, but is overshadowed by a terribly loud noise disturbance. Avoid staying here if you expect a good night’s sleep.

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• Trevor - Verified booking

  We were looking for somewhere to stay having booked tickets for the settle-Carlisle railway and decided on the cells in ingleton,nicely priced the the property looked fantastic.

  When we arrived on the Friday we weren’t disappointed,on entering the building the history was all around with many original features from the cell bars and windows to the arcitrave around the doors,a nice touch was flowers on the table with a cake,tea ,coffee milk and sugar just to get us going,we had already booked before reading a previous visitors revue so we were slightly apprehensive although the sights and sounds of the countryside are what I go there for,anyway we went out for an evening meal at the nearest pub the wheatsheaf ,promising not to be too late as we had to be up for a taxi to take us to the railway station, anyway 1st night no problem we were in bed just after 11:00 slept really well didn’t need the free earplugs and didn’t hear the cockerel !!, in fact the 1st time I did hear it was Sunday about 10:00 when I went to put recycling out,all in all we had a lovely weekend ,the cells were very tastefully decorated with period furniture and plenty of legal themed pictures, couldn’t be bothered to light the log fire but we were nice and toasty with the up to date central heating, and then It was over all too soon wished we could of stayed longer but it won’t be long before we are back in the cells for all the right reasons

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• Jason - Verified booking

  Our second week in the Cells in 2019.

  We really enjoyed it again and the bottle of wine was a nice surprise. A perfect base for exploring the surrounding area either on foot or using the excellent bus service less than 10 minutes walk away. The Cells is ideal as it is so handy for the village pubs, restaurants and shops, but just nicely away from the hussle and bustle. We were even blessed with bright and sunny weather for our October half term week as well. One one website I have seen some maniac ranting about noise from a cockerel - even to the extent of cutting a holiday short! Some people just love to complain. The bedrooms are triple glazed and ear plugs are even provided - not that we have ever felt the need to use them - although with my wife's snoring I could have been tempted! Soncerely I can say that the cockerel never woke us up once and one morning when I had heard him (albeit very faintly) I had to draw my wife's attention to it three times before she actually heard him. The Cells is a lovely place to stay and please, please, please don't let the maniacal ravings regarding the cockerel that I have seen left in feedback by one nut-job put you off. I fully expect to be booking into the Cells again soon.

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• David - Verified booking

  'Shady Bowers' is probably the nicest self-catering venue we have ever stayed in.

  It is extremely well equipped and furnished, beautifully designed with stunning balcony views from the bedroom as well as the front patio, over the River Kent estuary. The bedroom was so restful, with a very comfortable king-sized bed. We loved the walks along the coast and through the woods, the quiet town with none of the usual seaside tourist tack, and the fantastic birdlife. (RSPB Leighton Moss is only 15 mins drive away.) Arnside has a couple of very well stocked convenience stores and there is a larger supermarket in Milnthorpe 4 miles away. Leanne is the perfect host - very friendly but not intrusive. Others have mentioned on these reviews that the owners live above the apartment and that noise was an issue. To be honest, Nick and Leanne were away for most of our stay, but in the two days when we overlapped, although we were aware of some movement, it was never an annoying level of noise. (But we live in a mid-terrace cottage and so are used to sharing our space) I cant think of a more helpful endorsement than to say that we have already booked to go back next year for two weeks.

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