Christmas Cottages in the Lake District

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Andrew - Verified booking

  Cottage was all we expected and more.

  The photo’s rarely, from web to actual, do the property justice and with the Kirkstone we found it was even better. The views are across countryside at the front of the property which were beautiful which always seemed to have sheep and so many weather conditions that no hour was the same. Was as spacious as we were expecting and everything looked new and clean-lovely wood burner too. It was easy to jump around the Lake District from here and the lanes are not too small either (mind you, we’re from Devon and the lanes here ARE small) but be prepared for lots of pools of water after heavy rainfall though this makes rivers then become full and more exciting. In terms of all that you want from the Lakes everything is within an easy car journey and Ambleside seems to be a gateway to most places. It was easily our favourite small town and had most of all we needed there. The nearest big Supermarket type shop is a 10+ mile journey away but if you shop ‘local’ in Ambleside there is plenty of smaller shops. Bit of a black spot for communication at the cottage, phones etc, so be prepared to be in contact when you’re back in range outside of the valleys but there is Wi-fi provided. All in all we had a great time (wife even did the Park Run in Ambleside) and we visited over 15 bodies of water in the week with a favourite being Grassmere and Rydal (next door to each other) followed closely by Tarn Hows in the sunshine and the beautiful Buttermere on a slightly overcast day. End of the week was more damp but didn't ‘dampen’ our enjoyment. Highs-Lakes and walks (oh, and the Gingerbread shop in Grassmere) Lows-Parking everywhere in the Lakes is at least £2 (spent about £10 a day on parking-take lots of £ coins) and, if there is a toilet, 20-30p for a Pee! Enjoyable WInter/Spring holiday with some great photo’s in the bag

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• Tony - Verified booking

  The cottage is well located in Outgate, only 200 yards from a pub serving lovely food & beers.

  Hawkshead & Ambleside, are a few minutes drive away, with the serene and beautiful Esthwaite Water, Near Sawry (& HillTop) & Wray Castle not much further. This side of Esthwaite Water is quieter for traffic too (without the crowds in Bowness & Windermere!!) It is in a 'complex' of several linked properties (looks like they were one long property) behind a gate with adequate parking for 2 cars and a sun terrace. Inside it was very clean, spacious & comfortable with very good central heating for our chilly stay & loads of storage. Excellent TV too (42" I think) unlike many other places which go for a minimum size. The only criticism is that I guess the previous occupants failed to mention the blocked drain in the shower which we found the next morning. This could have been cleared before we arrived (interesting to note that the cleaner didn't notice it either - no need for running water when cleaning a shower?) One easy improvement would have been a more comprehensive welcome pack on arrival. A few biscuits plus some coffee & tea sachets is minimal nowadays. A cottage in Dorset where we stayed last year provided milk, tea & coffee, a homemade cake, bottle of wine and flowers! Now that's a welcome pack! Sykes management have been very good (we did have a problem unrelated to this property and not caused by Sykes, and they did a good job in trying to sort it out).

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• Wendy - Verified booking

  This was our first visit to the Lake District and we deliberately chose accommodation in the centre of Ambleside so that we could easily access local amenities.

  The apartment is small, but perfect for 2 people. It is well equipped and is a few doors down from 2 local convenience stores, so easy to stock up on essentials. Although the weekends were busy with visitors (we stayed in June), we were pleasantly surprised by how relatively quiet it was during the week, especially considering that the bedroom and living room both face onto the main street. Parking space behind the building was easy enough to negotiate for a small/medium sized car (ours is a Toyota Yaris) and it’s worth mentioning that there is back access to the accommodation as well as going round the front. Also worth mentioning that finding the parking space initially was a little tricky as there is no signage on the road and the apartment name is only visible once you have gone down the slope into the entrance. This is also the case at the front entry to the building, as there is no apartment name on the door or bell pushes. Suggest it may be worth including the house name in the entry instructions? Otherwise, pick up and drop off of keys was very easy, including drop off after hours. Would definitely recommend, thank you.

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• Fiona - Verified booking

  It's a comfortable flat in a great location.

  Although it's very central, I didn't find it at all noisy. The kitchen was well equipped, though I ate out a lot as there is such a good selection of restaurants nearby. I had a couple of small reservations. One was the heating: the storage heater was supposed to have a boost function for evening heat, but I couldn't find the button referred to in the instructions. The electric log stove worked really well as an alternative, though. The other issue was parking. The entrance to the space is very tight because of a pillar to one side, although the space itself is generous enough. But the main problem was that a van belonging to a neighbouring business parked in the driveway during the day. When I arrived, this was blocking my access to the parking, and on other days I was blocked in. I realised who the van belonged to but it was at best an added inconvenience to have to approach them if I had wanted to use the car while I was there. (Luckily I didn't.)

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• Jun - Verified booking

  The cottage is sited in an excellent location and equipped with high quality appliances, fixtures and fittings which we have enjoyed very much.

  We would like to thank the owner for providing them. We appreciate the lockdown situation so the place wasn’t used for a long time. However, the cottage had NOT been cleaned properly at all. I had a severe asthma attack on the first night. After hoovering the whole house, the drum was full of dust and we sent a photograph to Sykes to show this. The kitchen was in a bit better condition thanks to the previous visitor’s cleaning (see their reviews). Therefore we are extremely disappointed with the cleaner who let us and the owner down! It’s the first time we have stayed in a beautifully done cottage yet NOT clean. We thoroughly cleaned the cottage before our departure. If we had followed the holiday rule of leaving the place it was when we arrived, the two drums full of dust would have been sprayed back on. Imagine that! Therefore the cleaners should not rely on guests goodwill of cleaning week by week.

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