Christmas Cottages in the Lake District

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• David - Verified booking

  Danes Court is the end section of what was the former Vicarage so it is a very characterful property which has been well renovated to give an authentic lifestyle experience.

  The property is on a quiet lane and is heavily wooded around the home so there are lots of birds and we saw deer, which was lovely. The outside seating/BBQ area is small, but adequate, but it was a little overgrown and scruffy. It would also be nice to have some more comfortable outside seating, in which to relax. Because of the house's location it soon loses the late afternoon sun even in mid summer which is worth bearing in mind. There is no other outside seating area or places to relax outdoors. The property was fairly well equipped with nice crockery and cutlery although it lacked some attention to detail in presentation and some of the usual kitchen utensils were missing and the glassware is mismatched which gives a less than 5 star feel. The King bed was comfortable. Both of the showers are electric and we only used the walk-in shower, but we both had reasonably hot showers, although some of the fitments needed repair and a soap dish would have been nice. The WiFi is a bit slow, but it is fine for email and google. It struggled (and often failed) to upload photos so we gave up trying, although we managed to stream the TV without any problems. There are a couple of coat hooks in the hallway but some more would help as would some in the vestibule, and a clothes airer would be useful. The access road is small and quiet. We did a couple of lovely walks straight from the house and it was easy enough to drive to other parts of the South Lakes. Thank you to the owners for sharing their property and for an enjoyable stay.

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• Jane - Verified booking

  The house is beautiful, but it shouldn’t have been rented out with the water system in the state it was in.

  There was no hot water running through the en-suite shower, and the flow of the bathroom shower was so light it was hardly worth using. A few hours into our stay, to our horror, water started pouring through the landing ceiling through both floors. Cracks started appearing in the ceiling. I called a help number and received some advice from someone who had been outsource by Sykes and we had to turn off the stop cock by going down into the cellar, we couldn’t find a ladder to get into the attic. It stopped eventually and we were told a plumber would be there in the morning. We had to get up at 7 in the morning for him. He said the lid had come off the water tank, he’d put it back on, and said it wouldn’t happen again and we were safe to stay. We were only there 3 nights and hoped we could just enjoy the stay and have baths instead of showers. But the next day it happened again. The plumber was called again but didn’t come on the Sunday. We wasted so much time and it was a huge stress. It’s not what we paid for. It was also mentioned that a plumber had been in recently, so this seems like bad workmanship. Clearly the shower system wasn’t tested nor the issue with overflowing tank adequately addressed. We have video footage and I’m waiting for a response on compensation. Sykes haven’t been responsive as I’ve chased a couple of times since they said they’d look into it.

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• Andrew - Verified booking

  The electric wall heaters in the lounge were controlled by the owner on her mobile phone.

  She kept turning the temperature down on them and sometimes off completely. We had to telephone her numerous times and ask her to turn the heating on or up, because the room was freezing. It was snowing outside when we were staying there. The Lake District can still be extremely cold even in the summer. The broadband service was so erratic and slow it would not allow Netflix or iPlayer to operate, so the tv was useless. We ended up using our own Vodafone data for the internet. The amount of stairs you have to climb from the front door up to the bedroom is 28, which is even a struggle for someone who is fairly fit. They provided us with one small bath and hand towel each for two weeks holiday, which is really penny-pinching, considering that there is no washing machine in the apartment to wash laundry. The property comes with an allocated parking space, which is ideal in the centre of Windermere. The apartment is located in the centre of Windermere, with shops, restaurants and pubs right on your doorstep. The lounge and bedrooms were decorated to a good standard with very nice furnishings. The kitchen was well equipped with everything required for cooking and eating.

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• Sally - Verified booking

  If you want a secluded property, miles away from anywhere, this is the property for you.

  If you want a property with modern fixtures and fittings with other people near by, then i'd give Danes Court a miss. Whilst clean, there was an over powering, lingering smell of wood polish but a huge amount of cobwebs, especially in corners. There was also a packet of mouldy crumpets in the orange bread bin which had been left by previous guests. Theres a lack of utensils in the kitchen but loads of sideboards and mirrors! We couldnt use the wardrobes due to the fusty smell inside, probably due to lack of use. The shower in the ensuite is so tempermental and difficult to use we all ended up using the shower in the other bathroom...the one with the broken blind so anyone (we only saw 1!!) walking the lane could see in. Blackout blinds would help, especially in the blue bird bedroom. Whilst the heating worked, having the sofa blocking the radiator made the lounge cold and damp feeling. Logs to use in the lounge would have been a nice touch, even in August. It was nice to have a washing machine but other than the radiators there was no airer to dry them on. Overall the property is as described and the pictures do not give a true picture of size and how seculded it is.

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• Pamela - Verified booking

  The directions should be updated.

  “Cinderella Me” is now “Lakeland Retreats” and Morrison’s is now Sainsbury’s. I drove around the one way system 3 or 4 times before I spotted the entrance to College Court! The accommodation itself was lovely - comfortable and clean, well equipped and excellent location. Maybe not suitable for young families due to the internal staircases and cream sofas! The provision of only one parking space could be an issue for some guests because the only option was to park on the street and there are parking restrictions between 9am and 6pm. I had a friend stay for one night. She moved her car into one of the empty spaces in college court for 5-10 minutes to unload and immediately one of the permanent residents came out to tell her she couldn’t park there. The same happened when she did the same to pack the car. Also, it might be useful for guests to be aware that if you wish to eat out in Windermere, you will need to book well in advance! I tried to make reservations a week before our trip at the beginning of September and was told by more than one that they were fully booked until mid-October. Takeaway was difficult too, with two Chinese restaurants closed.

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