Villas In Bamburgh

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Alastair - Verified booking

  The flat was very good, comfortable, clean, well furnished and with excellent views.

  We loved it, and had a wonderful stay at Sandpiper! We want to make you aware of a few issues : Our main problem was access to the main gate. We arrived on a cold evening as it was getting dark. The code did not work, despite many repeated attempts and we could not enter. I phoned the local contact number and left a message, but no-one called back (still no return call, even after a week). We were completely stuck and getting colder, and so eventually I climbed the wall and retrieved the key. (probably not advisable as I am in my late 70’s, but fortunately still fairly fit!). This issue of the local contact not answering the phone, needs to be sorted out. Later we discovered an unlocked gate at the other side of the building - this could be given as a fallback option if the gate code does not work on the large metal gate. The key collection instructions are inadequate and need revising. We wasted time unsuccessfully trying the keys in the wrong door, near the key collection point, until we finally realised that the entry for Sandpiper is through a different door on the left of the building. External signs should be provided showing which flat is in each building. Another main issue was the quality of the exterior lighting. This needs updating as the paths and steps were extremely dark at night with no PIR lights. A real safety hazard for people like my wife who has some problems with balance and mobility. We would also suggest that the heating is turned on in advance of guests arriving. All radiators were off when we arrived on a cold November evening, and the flat felt very cold. A larger TV (with instructions) would also be an improvement, as this screen was too small for the room. When we settled into the flat we really enjoyed it, and had a really great stay. Thank you very much !

  Read more less >

• Patsy - Verified booking

  Sandpiper was a lovely apartment, warm, clean and very comfortable.

  The down side was there were two couples sharing and only one key fob that opened the main gates. We repeatedly asked for another fob and were 'fobbed off' saying they only ever gave one key fob per apartment which I know for a fact isn't true. The solution according to Northumbria Coast and Country Cottages was when one couple went out, to put the key ring with the fob in the safe box on the garage wall and then when the other couple went out they retreive the keys, open the gate and then put the keys back in the safe. So, when we arrived back sometimes in the dark, we had to stop the car, open the pedestrian gate, putting the code in which doesnt always work, go to the key safe to get the key that opened the main gate. All this was such a hassle. The letting agent said they would contact the owner but we heard nothing back. I do feel that the maintenance company must have spare fobs but was told they dont. All this has left us feeling that we will not book again through Northumbria Coast and Country Cottages especially as they have either amalgamated or been bought out by Sykes and their service has deteriorated, you can no longer ring the local offices instead you are put through to Sykes. I would add that the second set of keys at the apartment was not for Sandpiper but for an apartment called Meroo so we had to go into Seahouses and get a second set of keys but without the fob for opening the main gates. Such a shame but we wont be booking Sandpiper again.

  Read more less >

• Sue - Verified booking

  We enjoyed our stay at the cottage.

  The location right next to the beach was fabulous. The cottage itself was comfortable although a little bit tired, the double bed was not particularly comfortable and mattress creaky upon exiting. Some things were well worn, the table had lots of scratches and the chair legs were dangerously wobbly for example, we reported everything we found, but as it said you gad to report everything within 24hrs it wasn't the best start to our holiday thst we had to go round cataloguing everything, so that we weren't blamed for it. We liked the little veranda space, but found other people dogs in the shared space quite annoying, our neighbours dogs were very excitable and barked and jumped up whenever we went out the back, not sure which dog owners it was, but they also didn't pick-up their dog litter straight away which wasn't very nice when we were trying to move across the shared space. I would definitely say the narrow stairs and downstairs bathroom, are not easy to negotiate particularly in the middle of the night. We ended up leaving the bathroom light on, so that we could see to get up and down without waking everyone up. Despite the small issues, we still had a really enjoyable stay.

  Read more less >

• Hazel - Verified booking

  The Property is listed as Dog friendly, however it is a shared courtyard, so Dogs must be on the lead when you are sitting outside.

  Worth looking at the map before you book, I was mislead thinking we had some access to the beach from the pictures online, however the beach is a couple of miles up the road, although 2 bedrooms have a lovely sea view. The Kitchen was large and well stocked, however doesn't have a table and chairs in there, perhaps if it didn't have 2 fridges and a few less empty cupboards it would open up a lovely space to socialise by the fire place. The actual dinning room is in the hallway, accessed through the lounge, so all your food needs to be carried through the lounge and dirty crocks back again, also no dishwasher, also bit of a dark and cold room, not great for playing games etc or relaxing after eating. Anyone with a bad back wont get comfy in the lounge, the Chesterfield suite was very uncomfortable, and a lack of side tables to put a drink on in the room was a bit annoying. As someone who looks for comfort first when booking a Holiday Cottage, myself and my party were a little underwhelmed by this place, however it would be a perfectly placed spot if you where just using it as a base and not to socialise in.

  Read more less >

• Rachel - Verified booking

  The owner got in touch with us prior to us getting there, seemed a really nice guy, he told us the washing machine was broken but he hoped to fix it before we arrived using local tradesmen.

  On the Wednesday prior to leaving we contacted him to say the washing machine was still broken and the dishwasher had now stopped working. He told us it was an old one and needed replacing. He replaced both on the Friday morning! So we had no washing machine and no dishwasher for most of the week. The pictures of the cottage are very deceiving as it does not show that it is a semi detached and that there is a public footpath to the side of the property, we had numerous people walking past so of privacy there was none. The picture also doesn’t show how tiny the rear garden is, it measures approximately 10 foot square. The front garden with a washing line is shared by two adjoining cottages so it’s impossible to hang out your washing. The walk to the beach which is as says around 600 metres is great to it, on the way back you have to be an active Walker as the route is very steep. The furniture is very dated and quite uncomfortable. To sum up it is not the best cottage we have stayed in In the area and we would not recommend this cottage to our family and friends.

  Read more less >