Dog Friendly Cottages in Hawkshead

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Alice - Verified booking

  We had incredibly high hopes for our weeks stay at Lakefield.

  We love the Lake District and have spent many years holidaying in and around the area. We always take time and care to read reviews prior to booking anywhere. Sadly, the reviews were, from our perspective, very misleading. The positives included the stunning view (we highly suspect that this is THE main selling point) You cannot fault the rolling hills, glass still Esthwaite water, and the sheep happily grazing and all only a stones throw from Hill Top House...) The garden is very well kept, the sofas were comfy, and the kitchen utensils well stock (but no sharp knives) However, none of these things quite made up for the less than average level of cleanliness. We arrived to find dust and dead flies laying in the main large window cill, and dust anywhere that was higher than table top level. Rust is clearly visible along the edge of some of the bathroom mirrors. The multitude of family games was let down by a) being precarious balanced atop one another in the hallway cupboard (getting them out was a game all in itself!) and b) most of them missing pieces. The electrics looked like something of nightmares, cables and extension leads everywhere, along with rather alarming signs reminding guests to be sure to switch things off to prevent burn outs or fires?! We were surprised that this house has passed any recent safety standards for it's electrics. The word 'luxury' is too often used without real justification and this was certainly the case at Lakefield. Beds, ensuite and hot water do not a luxury holiday home make. Lakefield was, by some way, the most disappointing home we've stayed in. We still can't quite fathom the extremely high scoring reviews it receives both on the LakeLovers website and in the notebook left out for guests to write in. Being asked to strip beds and put some items in one laundry bag, others in another type of bag, was all just a bit of an unnecessary faff and frankly, given the amount we paid for the holiday, one would expect that to be left for your cleaners to do. There was only one toilet roll left per bathroom (for a household of 8 ppl, you can guess how quickly that ran out) A quarter jug of milk was left in the fridge, and no welcome pack. Only one bin liner was left, which again, for a house for 8 guests was full after the first two days. No recycling in site, guests have to bag it up and dispose of it in Hawkshead. The carpets and rugs are threadbare in places, the general level of decor was well below par, and clearly hadn't been refurbished since the 1990s. My son described the upstairs as having a 'hostel vibe'... Fairly apt to be honest. The garage with table tennis table was dusty and uninviting and not really adequately sized for the table size (avoiding running into the wall was all part of the challenge!) We just feel that the website (along with the owners direct website) really didn't provide an up to date or realistic description of the house and it's amenities in their current state, and that made us feel let down. We were holidaying with friends and I felt ever so disappointed that what we had booked was of the poor standard that we discovered it to be. If there was a way of being reimbursed for these sort of situations this would be the only time we've ever felt any drive to follow up. To the owners and to LakeLovers, please update your website photos and description accordingly so that others might avoid the same disappointment in future.

  Read more less >

• Richard - Verified booking

  A great place for 2 and a dog!

  Massively relaxing and very welcoming. Great walks from the door and despite almost persistent rain did manage a couple of dry walks - and one of two wet ones too! The Tower Bank Arms is a fantastic pub - large helpings of good quality food but must book well in advance as it's not that big. Other excellent restaurants in Ambleside - the Doi Intanon great for Thai and the Old Stamp House for a 'posher' meal. For a rainy day a visit to the 'Pencil Museum' in Keswick is great fun - and they're not short of pencils! *Not for the review but we needed something sending to the cottage and used the address given in your pre holiday information. There is more than one Lakefield Cottage in Near Sawrey so would advise adding Ees Wyke to the address to ensure delivery. Luckily intercepted the postie who told us where he had delivered our item.

  Read more less >

• Mark - Verified booking

  A nice clean and comfortable cottage.

  Well equipped and maintained. Absolutely stunning location with an abundance of walks and places to visit. The two local pubs both provide good quality food and welcome dogs, ours loved his frequent visits. Hawkshead is a lovely place to visit and the cafe on the lake is a lovely place for a breakfast or afternoon tea. I fished the lake and the facilities / advice from the owners was brilliant. This is one cottage that we'll be returning to at the first opportunity as we only manage to explore a small fraction of the area and we hunger for more

  Read more less >

• Petra - Verified booking

  A perfect house in a perfect location.

  Works well for a group with different abilities due to the ground floor facilities (there are 2 steps by front door and 2 into the main living area to consider). Room for up to 5 cars. Well equipped for families like ours who love to cook and spend quality time together. The open fire was lovely and the view like a living painting. Perfect to park up and walk. But equally not too far to get to Ambleside, Hawshead or Bo'ness. Highly recommended a stay at Lakefield House.

  Read more less >

• Richard - Verified booking

  A beautiful holiday home in a stunning location.

  Excellent facilities and an unbeatable view from the the house. The furnishings are plentiful and very comfortable. The kitchen is very well equipped. The beds are very comfortable. Many thanks to the owners and to the housekeeping team for providing another outstanding holiday at Lakefield House (our third). The directions provided by the agency contradict those provided by the owners - follow the owners' advice!

  Read more less >