Richmond Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Margaret-anne - Verified booking

  Barforth Hall Dairy - Not Clean, Not COVID Compliant, Not Able to Stay We booked Barforth Hall Dairy for a week long stay but had to leave after 36 hours due to a failed “Additional Clean”.

  We highlighted issues to Sykes & the owner 1 hour after arrival - the place was not clean and therefore not safe for a family visit during a time of COVID -19 restrictions. the water and substances in the kettle upon our arrival (please see Appendix 4)  The dried in food evident on dining plates, making these not safe for use on our arrival (Appendix 5)  The sticky substance covering on the work surface in the kitchen  The dirty condition of the utensils intending for cooking, which contained several cobwebs. The owner does not dispute that these were present in Barforth Hall Dairy at the point of our arrival and after the second clean on 3.7.21 but said the photos ‘had been taken to look bad’. The fact that there were cobwebs on cooking utensils hanging above the sink after 2 supposed cleans WAS bad. It was certainly bad for our family - Cooking utensils being cleaned and safe to use for our arrival is a basic expectation in hospitality. In addition to the missed cobwebs during the “Adfitional Clean” we were still left with  Dead insects in kitchen  Remnants of food still present on dining plates  Removal / replacement of bath mats which appeared to have been utilised by previous guests  Removal / replacement of toilet roll which had evidently been used by previous guests  Food crumbs / debris in drawers of freezer Furthermore the situation was exacerbated when the cleaner who carried out the “additional clean” used our towels and did not use separate sponges etc . COVID-19 guidance states that towels and sponges should not be shared – the towels we brought from home and the dish sponge left for us at Barforth Hall Dairy were both soiled during the second clean, meaning they were no longer in a condition to be safely used by our family. We binned our towels at the property when we left early on the Sunday morning. The owner offered us £50 to make up for the issues but thinks it’s acceptable to keep the £759 paid for a holiday we couldn’t have - we had to leave 6 days early! We are now taking this further which is completely new territory for us. Check out the reviews of Barforth Hall - they’re the same owner & frighteningly similar to our experience. I wish we had - we wouldn’t have made a booking. This place was not clean, not COVID compliant and as a result we did not have a holiday.

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• Andrew - Verified booking

  We were looking for a relaxing couple of days and we ended up wanting to stay longer!

  The location is fantastic, nestled into the countryside on a working farm with horses in view of the hot-tub and out the front along with the Alpacas! We had no issues finding the cottages, the Sykes instructions (as Paula advised) were great, anyone struggling can use the "What3Words" Navigation of ///stencil.racetrack.marshes to get to the front door. Easy to contact the owners, I missed Paula on the phone but we managed to email, and her responsiveness was superfast ( I asked for some extra logs and they were there before we even got back to the cottage ) The Hot tub is simple to use and once heated up once only needs an hour or so each day to get up to full heat, everything needed is provided. We took some plastic "glasses" and it's so relaxing sitting in the hot tub with a drink and just watching the sunset with the horses in view. Locations wise - perfect of Barnard Castle, Bowes Museum, Raby Castle etc are within easy reach by Car and there are a multitude of excellent walks (especially along the river) to get some fresh air and enjoy the English Countryside. The cottage is exactly that, a cottage on a farm. It is not clinically clean - and there are some cobwebs etc but that's to be expected. The kitchen is a good size and has almost everything needed to cook a decent meal in (we made Carbonara & Pasta from scratch and all we were missing as a grater (so we got pre-grated cheese!) The lounge is very comfortable with a good size TV if thats needed. The wood burner makes the room cosy and warm in the evenings (when you can drag yourself out of the hot-tub) Bedrooms were roomy and well fitted out, the 4 poster was great! Comfortable and spacious with pristine bed linen. We had absolutely no issues with either the heating or the hot water (shower was lukewarm - but wasn't an issue) Bath was hot. All in all a fantastic place to stay and get away from it all. Responsive owners, well-equiped cottage in a great location!

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• Maree - Verified booking

  Hi we stayed at Barforth cottsge 3 nights for my birthday.

  Beautiful area and views from window. But very disappointed with our stay VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND IN THE DARK THE ENTRY TO COTTAGE. very cold. Dusty everywhere, Doors to front and back are very dated unkempt , draught blowing through large gaps, windows mostly single glazed paintwork peeling off . Coffee table is unstable, needs better lighting in living room. No hot water for our stay, had to use a bowl to wash in as no sink.plug in bathroom. could not shower cold water, plus bottom of door on shower was grimy and black. KITCHEN SINK GROUTING VERY GRUBBY put me off washing up. Towels were left but very used and old. Beds were old hard mattresses, looked grubby bedding. Whole cottage was very cold, I slept in my clothes. rugs on floors were grubby. Walls in living room really need a good decorating, so grubby. We could not see to park and no sign to say or light outside cottage. Felt very let down all round, shocked as we have stayed with Sykes few times England and Loch Lomond Last Sept. all places were immaculate and warm and presented very well some had provisions as extras. At £315 for 3 nights, I feel really unhappy about our stay at Barforth hall dairy. Needs a visit for inspection asap. Feel like asking for a refund. Let the lady know, all I got back .. was Thankyou for feedback. ?

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• Graeme - Verified booking

  This could be a lovely cottage as it is in a rural location on a working farm.

  Be prepared to drive at least 4 miles to the nearest village though as this may be classed as Gainford but the bridge to Gainford is permanently closed and blocked off even for pedestrian use causing this massive detour. Unfortunately it is also let down by a lack of thought in its interior. The decor and furniture are haphazard like cheap charity shop rejects and little thought has been given to supply of kitchen equipment. For example we had to buy a tin opener and scissors! There was also an iron, but no ironing board and a washing machine but nowhere to dry clothes! There are many more foibles such as this but the main thing to be aware of is the listing of a hot tub. There is a Scandanavian style wooden hot tub but it took us 5 hours to heat to a lukewarm temperature. This was five hours of continually stoking it with the chipboard furniture offcuts that are supplied. You cannot leave it as it burns the fuel so quickly. It looks good but is totally ineffective - don't be fooled. You also have to pay for wood used as it is not included. We have stayed in many properties marketed by Sykes but this has been the poorest to date. We will also be contacting Sykes direct with this information.

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• Alan - Verified booking

  The property is in much need of a refresh, it clearly has not had any money invested in it for some time, and the work that has been done is of very poor quality.

  The cooker, microwave is in desperately need to be changed and modernised, and the Fridge Freeze for the size of the cottage is way to small. In our opinion the owner has scrimped in every area in this cottage right down to the kitchen chopping board, which was a cheap plastic sheet and not a board of any sort. The bathroom was very big, but the shower was small and very poor in terms of water pressure and quality of the facility. My wife and I have been to many many holiday cottages over the years and this is the only one we have ever visited without some form of welcome pack on arrival, even if it was some tea bags and coffee to be available after a long journey, or to show appreciation for your business (Nothing) I find it unbelievable that Sykes have rated this cottage to be 4 star, as it clearly is far from a 4 star cottage, I have stayed in 3 star cottages that were of a much higher quality than this one. Yes it is in a beautiful area, but accommodation is also part of the holiday, which in this case was very poor. I would not recommend this cottage to any other holiday makers.

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