Portinscale Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Wayne - Verified booking

  We had a very disappointing experience at Beck edge.

  It does look exactly like the pictures on the website but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Parking is a problem. The roads around the property are very tight and very busy, not only with vehicles squeezing around the corner but also cyclists and pedestrians passing by right in front of the house, making it difficult to park and unload the car. The road noise woke us up in the morning due to a manhole cover which clank’s every time it’s driven over. The allotted parking space to the side of the house is really tight and you have to park close to the house wall to not block the neighbours drive. The key safe is located on the opposite side of the property through the rickety gate next to the side door and a scruffy rotting log store (not a great first impression). The key safe itself was difficult to operate and the front fell off once it had unlocked. Before we arrived we did received a message informing us the dishwasher had broken, which is annoying but these things happen. (There was a hand written note in the kitchen confirming this). The general feel of the place is dated and maintenance and investment in the property over the years is clearly lacking. Some of the issues we encountered were mentioned in a previous review and had apparently been resolved. The front door lock sticks and is really difficult to lock and unlock from the inside. (It’s identified in the safety paperwork as a fire exit which obviously is a big safety concern). Cupboard fronts, doors and plinths in the kitchen are poorly fitted and tired. I’m not sure the filters in the extractor fan have ever been cleaned? They are yellow with grease and the ceiling above is stained. The fridge doesn’t seem to be working efficiently, the lights doesn’t work, the bottom shelf is broken and the door is being held together with some sort of foam/adhesive. The manual in the kitchen is partly handwritten and difficult to read especially the oven instructions which have been crossed out and sketched in biro! There’s a sealed unit in the rear kitchen window which has broken down and is full of condensation along with a spotlight and bulb that have blown. This room just smelt very stale so we had to open all the window to freshen the place up. The blinds throughout the property are dirty and offer no privacy from the surrounding properties or roads. As previously mentioned the array of towels supplied are very small and really old, I’m not sure why they haven’t been replaced years ago. The main bathroom was functional and the water was hot but the rainbow shower curtain wasn’t very clean and had mildew around the bottom of it. The beds were fairly uncomfortable but the bedding old and worn, the single bed didn’t smell great and my son refused to sleep In it. We had a 2 night stay booked but decided to cut it short and travelled home a day early as we felt really uncomfortable at Beck edge. Although this property might be acceptable to some we felt it is in desperate need of a refurbishment and freshening up, there has clearly been no investment in the property over the last 20 years and it shows. And for such an outstanding area of the country where you have to pay a premium to stay, the standard of this property is simply not good enough. It’s very disappointing as we’ve used Sykes on several occasions and properties are usually of a very good standard, but unfortunately not this one.

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• Peter - Verified booking

  The cottage is generally clean, pleasant and comfortable.

  We had some niggles (such as no wifi for the week, the vacuum cleaner falls to pieces every time you use it and the hot water being off on arrival meaning cold showers on the first morning) but we enjoyed our stay all the same. My constructive feedback to the owner would be - this could be a great cottage were it not for the clunky kitchen. I suggest you either build an island or else a wrap-around counter to separate the space from the lounge. Please also provide some side tables & coasters in the lounge - I don't want to have to get out of my seat with each sip of wine! A good kitchen designer would help you think about and overcome the following friction points - * It's poorly laid out - nothing flows. Despite it being a large kitchen everything feels like it's all either on top of each other or else at the opposite side of the room * Lighting - feels a bit stark and/or dingy * The appliances all take some fathoming. The aga-style cooker is probably somewhat intimidating to the average guest; reading a load of user manuals before cooking the kids' tea isn't my idea of a holiday. * This leaves just two hobs and a tiny standalone oven for meal preparation, both of which are cramped into the corner of a massive room * Inexplicably, wooden spoons and utensils are at the opposite side of the room. There's enough cutlery to feed a small army but corners have been cut with useful things - flimsy broken cheese grater, no bottle stopper for opened wine, etc. * Child friendly plates & cups would be very welcome * The dishwasher opens across the very cupboard you want to put things away into * The fridge stands out like an eyesore * A few small touches like a coffee machine or an instant hot water tap would go along way * In that vein, please don't be tight; providing a thimbleful sized bottle of washing up liquid takes the biscuit (which means to say I'd rather you remove the complimentary biscuits if it came down to a choice) * I suggest you add a quick user guide/poster on the wall by key appliances - lots of people have never used an induction hob for example

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• Tracy - Verified booking

  What a great spot!

  Location is brilliant. Well situated for walking & public transport around the area. The property is right on the roadside. Unloading was tricky. The roads are narrow and fairly busy. It was noisy during the day, but we were out most of the time. Parking wasn't too much of an issue. Although it's a small parking bay. We managed to get one car in it and the other, we parked further down in the village. The property is very spacious and well laid out. We were two couples. Great to have 2 bathrooms. Well equipped, with everything you need. Beds were comfortable. Towels weren't great, old and on the small side. We were only given 2 small bath towels and a small hand towel, per couple. Although clean, being an old property there were a few spider's webs up in high places. The heating & hot water were difficult to navigate. The boiler wasn't set at the correct time. Fortunately we were able to reset this after a lot of fiddling about. The central heating wasn't great. The gas fire was very useful, once we had worked out how to light it! There were no logs for the fire, (It was July), but we needed some heat! Typical British weather. We contacted the office and spoke to them about a few issues, as we didn't want to be charged. Front door lock sticking, no logs, broken blind, kitchen cupboard fronts, loose. All minor but we were assured this would be sorted that day. True to their word it was. We also had logs delivered. Great service from Sykes. Overall, a very enjoyable stay.

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• Tash - Verified booking

  We had a wonderful week staying at Dancing Beck.

  Our children, 11 and 9 loved the cottage so much so they went into every room on the day we left saying goodbye. None of us wanted to leave. We were extremely lucky with the weather and explored many different activities including hiking up Catbells Fell, White Water Rafting in Windermere, walking Llamas, cycling in Keswick, paddling in Lake Derwent and having a brilliant day on the beach at St Bees. We were extremely happy and comfortable in the cottage. The welcome pack was lovely (thank you!), the bedrooms were comfortable and the master bedroom upstairs was a real treat to stay in. The views from the bedroom and lounge were tremendous. Just a few helpful pointers. Be careful if it has been raining when opening the back door by the Beck. The step is very slippery and I fell quite badly on the first day. Be mindful that the hot water will run out if you don’t read the instructions properly! The kitchen space is a little tricky as there is not much surface space to prepare meals however given that we ate out a lot it really wasn’t an issue. Just pointing it out for fellow residents. Overall we agreed as a family that we had the best holiday we have ever had and we would highly recommend Dancing Beck Cottage for a family holiday. I shall miss sitting with my morning coffee on the bench looking out at the wonderful landscape of the Lakes. Thank you for making our annual holiday one to remember.

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• Frances - Verified booking

  We absolutely loved our stay in Grisedale View.

  Any less than 100% ratings are simply unemotional responses to the specific categories. In actual fact it was like home from home and the wobbly bathroom tap or the iffy Wifi didn't in any way detract from the comfort of our stay. We did have a little bit of difficulty finding the property and drove up and down the road a few times before we located it. However it was good to know that we had parked the car correctly when we read the instructions in the Welcome Pack! However none of this in any way detracted from the wonderful time we spent at Grisedale View. The apartment is so spacious and well equipped. The layout is wonderfully disorientating. We mastered it internally after a few days but have yet to get our heads round how it fits in with the other adjoining properties! The views are wonderful and to be able to sit in a cosy, heated summerhouse in November with a glass of wine and watch the sunset was simply gorgeous. We chose to walk too and from Keswick but practically outside the accommodation there are bus stops in both directions. We hardly used the car at all. Keswick can be extremely busy but Grisedale View is situated about a 20 minute walk from the centre and is a wonderful place to retreat to after a day on the hills or in the town. We can't wait to come back and are planning to book again next autumn.

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