Holiday Cottages In Ambleside

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Christine - Verified booking

  We have just returned from a rather poor stay at Anvil cottage a d wanted to feedback before any other guests have to go through the same experience we did.

  We have stayed in a few houses in Near Sawrey over the years and we're excited to try Anvil Cottage after reading the description and seeing the pictures. However nothing could have prepared us for the smell upon entering the house. The stench of dog was completely overpowering, our kids didn't even want to go in which was such a poor first impression. The rugs were filthy and very old from which I presume most of the smell was coming from. However we carried on the kids were excited to see their room, however when our son climbed up to the top bunk, the whole bunk bed was so unstable and swayed so much he came back down crying. My husband ended up having to strap the bed together using car straps we fortunately had with us just to try and make it more safe and steady. As you can imagine we were not having a great start to the holiday. When we then went to use the toilet we were disgusted. It was covered with urine and hair. I have attached a photo. I had to clean everything, particularly as we have three young children. There were cobwebs in the bathroom as well. We tried to put a good face on things and get ready for bed, then when I pulled back the duvet the sheet was covered in dog hairs. They were literally ingrained in the bedding. Again, I have attached a photo. I just wanted to cry and leave. When my mum who is quite frail, went to use the chair in the large bedroom the seat sunk so low she nearly hit the floor. We made her a cup of tea and found the cutlery in the drawer was dirty and the dishes were still dripping (I presume from being washed but the cupboard was soaking which wasn't nice). There were dog hairs in the fridge and the dish brush we had been left was nothing short of disgusting, covered in long hairs and dirty. I felt like I didn't want to touch anything. It's such a shame as it obviously has character and was well equipped with firewood and plenty of pots and pans, plus the freezer and washing machine was great, but we really didn't enjoy our stay there. The icing on the cake was that the water pressure was awful, often no more than a dribble, and the shower went cold after only a few moments each time, again, really awful for my mum who has arthritis. I really hope this feedback is useful. We had every intention of rebooking for next year but we have gone with another house in Sawrey with another company.

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• Julian - Verified booking

  Cottage was in a lovely location, however, didn't realise how busy location was due to the number of tourists visiting Hill Top.

  This brings me to my first comment of which there were no net curtains within the property, only night ones. This resulted in a lack of privacy because some tourists would take photos of the cottage, which was fine but some people would also look through the windows which I found to be a bit of a pain. so there were certain times the curtains were closed whilst we we there. Secondly, at the beginning of the week, the boiler had a problem producing hot water. I spoke to the owner and was told there had been previous problems which had been fixed but the way to sort it out was to turn on the Immersion heater as required which was in the main bedroom.A bit inconvenient, especially when I didn't always remember to do it. The owner also said he would get an engineer in on the Saturday (the day we were leaving) which for me was not acceptable. It should have been sorted out, whilst we were there.Thirdly, I am not used to oil-fired boilers. This one was rather noisy and whilst running produced rather nauseous fumes. The boiler was located in a small Utility room near the back door. Fourthly, the garden was very small. We have three dogs. The picture on the website suggests it is much larger. Fifth comment, whilst the front of the cottage gave off a certain amount of charm, the back needs a lot of work doing on it, especially some of the drain-pipes. They are rusty with paint peeling off them. I suspect they are part of the original fittings. Lastly, the drive which is behind a couple of metal gates is small. Really only suitable for a small to medium size vehicle. With three dogs, we have a larger one. Manoeuvering was quite tricky, especially as the gates were mounted on posts which reduced the width somewhat. Best way, was to reverse in, which meant moving to the middle of the road to obtain the correct angle to reverse. Watch out for passing cars. When pulling out of the drive, make sure there is a second person to guide you out. You cannot see either left or right until you are in the middle of the road and the road can be very busy. There is nowhere to park outside the cottage. All-in-all, location was lovely but I feel the price of the cottage was rather high for what it had to offer. I spoke to the agent about some of the problems and was told the owner was aware of them. If so, why were they not dealt with?

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• Shirley - Verified booking

  We really enjoyed our stay at Anvil Cottage especially as I am a fan of Beatrix Potter and you really get a feel for what her life was like in this village and the cottage itself features in her work.

  If you like a mix of quaint, quirky and modern then this cottage is for you. The lounge and dining room are very traditional, and the bedrooms too. However the kitchen, utility room and downstairs bathroom are modern and have everything you need. We were very comfortable in the cottage but there were just 2 of us. I think if 6 were in the house it would feel a little cramped. The garden is not as large as it looks in the photos but it is a lovely spot to sit - very peaceful. The whole village is peaceful. There are a few points that I feel need to be emphasised in the description: 1: the stairs are quite steep to the upstairs rooms. 2: parking - there really is not room for a large car in the small parking space at the side/rear of the house - you have to open the green wrought iron gates to access this space from the main road through the village. Also - beware of the iron plate that sticks up in the middle of the entrance to the parking which is to act as a stop for the gates. Our car struggled to get over it. There is no space for parking on the street as the cottage is right on the road and on a corner. 3: Take matches. If you want to use the log burner take matches just in case there are none in the cottage. The recommendations for eating at the Tower Bank Arms were great and we ate there 3 nights out of 4 - 2 were booked in advance thankfully as they were fully booked. The 3rd visit was a cancellation. The staff are great, the pub is cosy and the food is wonderful. But BOOK before you arrive! We also ate at The Cuckoo Brow Inn as it had also been recommended - I think they were struggling due to being short staffed and the bar/restaurant area was very brightly lit so a slightly strange atmosphere - but the food was good. Anvil Cottage is very much part of the history of the village as can be seen from the pictures and articles in the Dining Room - be prepared for groups of tourists to take photos and even look through the windows and on one occasion sit and have a chat with each other in the front porch! We really enjoyed our stay and would return....if I am still able to tackle the steep stairs. Would love to return to the Tower Bank Arms....remember to book!

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• Fiona - Verified booking

  Anyone booking the cottage needs to know is that it fronts the busy A591 that runs from Windemere to Keswick and which carries heavy lorries.

  It is on a mini roundabout as well. All the windows over look the main road and it would be very noisy if you wanted the windows open in the summer. You also need the blinds half closed in order to ensure privacy downstairs during the day as the public can see straight in. The first step down to the front door is extremely steep ( about a 12" drop ) and the car park space is very small. I was told my Skoda Octavia would fit but in reality only a Fiat 500 or a Smart car would fit comfortably. Our main problem was securing the property. The first day we went out we locked up and put the key in the key safe. On our return I just pushed the door open as the lock had failed. I rang Sykes straight away, and although someone came out on the Saturday night, it took until Wednesday for the lock to be replaced resulting in us having to hide valuables such as laptops before we went out as we couldn't be sure the lock was secure. A couple of times the lock failed the other way and we were locked in and it took a lot of jiggling to get the door open. The underfloor heating in the sitting room wasn't working as the controller needed a new battery but both the out of hours maintenance men said they don't carry spares and we were given a portable electric heater. When we left at the end of the week the underfloor heating issue still had not been resolved. Inside the cottage is tastefully decorated, clean and cosy, the wood burner very efficient, the kitchen well equipped and the bed very comfortable. We did enjoy our week but it wasn't as relaxing as it could have been because of the worry of securing the cottage and its contents.

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• Linda - Verified booking

  This is the second year we have stopped in the cottage at New Year and once again loved every minute.

  We have booked again for next year If you are reading other reviews, I would make the following observations. This is the 3rd place we have stayed in Near Sawrey, the water pressure in the village can be quite low, and it's an electric shower. Don't complain about something that is outside the owners control. Many houses in the village have no off road parking, the fact that Anvil Cottage does is a bonus. We managed to get an E class Merc in the garage and a 4x4on the drive ( and close the gate without problem). If you bring more than 2 cars April to Sept you will have a problem as there is no onroad parking in high season. The ground floor has stone floors with rugs, it can be cold on the feet in places. Absolutely perfect for dogs, but take slippers. The bath towels are small, we take our own as we are quite large Ample supplies of wood etc to make a fire every day, but would recommend buying or bringing kindling and fire lighters. There is a house up the lane that sells kindling. It has one of the best equipped kitchens I have ever stayed in as holiday accommodation, but you might want to take your own pepper grinder. We occasionally had problems with the downstairs toilet, but never had to plunge it. We tied to ensure we only used it for wees and used upstairs for the rest We ran 2 computers and 6 phones of the WIFI at full signal and had no problems with it at all Make sure you reserve a table in the Tower Bank Arms, the food is excellent, but they are usually fully booked by the previous day.

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