Big House Wedding Venues

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Owen - Verified booking

  What a wonderful place to stay!

  A very well equipped, comfortable cottage, with a lovely view of hills and a large pond. Everything you could ever need for a holiday base. The hot tub is a fabulous bonus, we were star gazing in that most evenings. The pool table was fun too, we had not played pool for years. There are many good books to read, sky TV, all you want if the weather is bad and you wanted to cozy up indoors. The lodge is very stylish and warm, but you also have the benefit of a wood burning stove for those chillier evenings. It is a very short drive to the shops in Castle Douglas.Threave castle and gardens is nearby. You take a boat ride to the castle, which is unique. Another great castle to visit is Caerlaverock castle, it has an unusual design. There are lovely woodland walks in Dalbeattie forest to Kippford Bay, which is a nice place to visit. There's a great pub restaurant (The Anchor Hotel) which serves fantastic food. A must do is feeding the wild goats and red deer, we took several kilos of carrots and they were gone within minutes. Hahaa Logan's fish pond is a unique place to visit, and Logan's Botanical Gardens is amazing! The Wood of Cree is another beautiful place to visit, with lots of waterfalls. Walks around Glen Trool, Kirroughtree, Clatteringshaws Loch are wonderful. Of course you can walk up the Merrick, if you are fit enough. A drive down Raiders road is good if you want a nice forest drive. Stinchar falls is another nice walk to a waterfall. There are many waterfalls to discover in the Galloway, if that is your thing. Eskrigg nature reserve is a great place for bird watching and looking out for red squirrel. There's so much to do in the Galloway, a week simply isn't long enough. We will definitely stay at Hardhills Cottage when we next return to the Galloway, I doubt you could wish for a more lovely place to stay. Thank you.

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• Rebecca - Verified booking

  I have just returned from a week long break at The Lodge in Greystoke, Lake District, with my husband and dog.

  We had a fantastic stay and I wouldn't hesitate to book again. From the moment we walked in we felt at home, the property was spotless and a lovely hamper was left for us. The property itself is well worth the money and rating. It is excellently appointed, spacious yet homely. There is no excess clutter and each room is tastefully decorated in keeping with the property. The gardens are lovely and the house backs onto a forest area that is part of the Greystoke Castle estate. The property sits at the edge of the 'village', a 2 minute walk along the road and had a shop/post office, swimming pool and pub serving home cooked meals. The house is comfortable enough to stay in without needing to go out, however we like to visit the area. Penrith is a 10 minute drive and is full of local amenities and some nice restaurants, we can recommend 'La Casita' (Spanish tapas) and Four and Twenty (contemporary British) as well as Chapter 12 tearooms for a great scone! Things to visit nearby: - outdoor swimming pool (1 minute from the cottage in walking distance) - Alpaca Walk from Base Camp North Lakes (18 minutes from the cottage) - Boat cruise from Pooley Bridge pier (20 minutes from cottage) - Breakfast by the river in Pooley Bridge at Granny Dowbekin's (20 minutes away) - Keswick town centre (25 minutes away) - Lake District Wildlife Park (30 minutes away) - Abbots Jersey Ice Cream park (18 minutes away) - Aira Force waterfall walk and tearoom (15 minutes away) We had a wonderful holiday, the best in a long time, I'd wholeheartedly recommend this cottage for it's comfort, luxury and cleanliness - the cottage was spotless! If you're looking for a peaceful, relaxing stay with the option of short journeys for activities. Look no further. I couldn't have asked for anymore! Thank you to the owners for having us.

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• Katherine - Verified booking

  As per previous listings, we arrived to a very cold property.

  The heating was set to off, and it took all night to heat up the property adequately. It felt as if the property hadn’t been heated for a while. The bedding felt cold that it almost felt damp. The house if beautiful and it’s such a shame little things like no welcome basket and no heating set your impression on arrival. Key safe is also very old and hard to read. It needs a new one. There was a Xmas gift left for the owners we assume, that had been there a while, as well as post. This should be removed by the maintenance and should not be there for guests to see. We would return, but I do have concerns about damp in the property due to its incredible sea front location. We didn’t use the lower bedroom, but it’s clearly damp with paint flaking off all round the patio door and the curtains had been pulled down at some point and put back up wonky. This room smelt damp, luckily we didn’t need to use it. The main lounge is superb. Views to die for, but again, visible damp round the bifold doors. We didn’t dare open these due to the weather. The sun room would also be lovely in summer, but far too windy and cold to use it. Damp signs again where paint is coming off on the landing. Such a lovely property it would be a shame that lack of heating is adding to the damp that being on the coast inevitably creates. We left 2 days early due to the weather but nothing to do with the property. A lot of investment has been spent, would be a shame if proper maintenance affected this

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• Surineer - Verified booking

  My first long stay in whitby and this property was a great little hub for the week.

  On arrival we literally parked outside and used the 1hr permit provided to unload our vehicle. Additional long stay permits were provided too but parking in those were tricky. A bit of patience, waiting and circling around usually provided a place when someone left. However there is plenty of free parking available before entering the main permit zones which are a 5mins walk from the accommodation. Other reviews mention the sofas but they are now updated the broadband was high speed and perfect throughout. This property is small and compact which can be a plus or negative based on the visitors own tastes. We liked it alot. Pros : Great location Some parking permits provided Off the main street so added privacy High speed broadband Cozy Clean Dog friendly Cons : Small Little kitchen space Tight steep stairs, potentially problematic for certain people. Overall we found this place good value for money, it was clean, cozy and well located. The doggy shop is literally outside. Parking in whitby as a whole is difficult and not the fault of the property and we were provided with permits for our stay. If we come to whitby again we would actually consider this property again.

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• Lesley - Verified booking

  Disappointing stay and unlikely to book again with Sykes.

  The cottage was not clean with dust & cobwebs, black mould on the cracked bathroom tiles & cracked, broken and dirty bath side, no hot water from the taps only the shower - also the shower hose broken. I had to boil the kettle to wash the pots. Exposed wiring to a light fitting and the ceiling boards ?filler hanging down. The beds were uncomfortable, albeit the bedding and towels were laundered. The carpets threadbare and ?tears covered with masking tape, you could feel the sharp carpet grippers when using the stairs. Sadly the cottage smelled foisty and damp and the peeling plaster/paint not repaired or the damp in the second floor bedroom cleaned off the wall. I would never normally give a poor review I would just put it down to 'one of those things', but this week I had my grandchildren with me as a seaside treat & they said the same things, my granddaughter giving it a 1 out of 5 as we left on Friday. It's a real shame because the cottage could be a little gem of a place if it was well maintained and spruced up.

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