Dog Friendly Villas In Otterburn

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Amanda - Verified booking

  We had a mixed experience booking Dovecote Cottage.

  The cottage itself was as described and it is nice and roomy, but we feel there were many omissions and inaccuracies in the listing and information provided. We had to contact Sykes even before setting off from home as the 'get in' instructions said we needed to phone one of the two numbers provided a minimum of 48hrs before the booking. I did this and got someone who said they were staff at the hotel and that the cottage had 'some sort of automated system' but were completely vague and they explained they didn't have anything to do with the cottage. Sykes checked with the owner and said the booking information would be corrected and that I would receive a text with details on the day of the booking. There was no pub as described, with-in 0.1 mile. The hotel next door was never open during our stay - as far as we could tell. Directly opposite the cottage is a 'ruined grand hall/hotel', next door to this and just in front of the cottage is a 'workers yard' where work starts noisily at 8am everyday with utility vehicles driven back and forth in front of the cottage. Behind the cottage is a small holiday camp of lodges (not mentioned at all in the listing and somewhere we would not have chosen to stay) with lots of noise from children and groups in hot-tubs. On arrival we phoned the other two members in our party and told them not to bother coming - we knew they wouldn't have been happy with the location. Finally, we had an unfortunate 2 hours, starting at 2am in the morning, with the smoke alarm sounding every 10mins. This was positioned at the top of the stairs on a 10 to 12 foot high ceiling. We tried everything we could to turn it off (there was no guidance in the handbook, and no ladders etc at the property). Ultimately we ended up phoning the owners at 3.30am who, after suggesting we find something to stand on, agreed to come to the cottage with ladders. Unfortunately the issue couldn't be resolved and with our consent the owner had to disconnect the alarm. We realise that this is just one of those things - but it had a massive impact on the enjoyment of the previous evening and the following day was a write-off as we didn't get to bed until 4.30am. As noted in the other comments, the cottage is nice and roomy and excellent value (priced competitively) however, it's the omissions; carefully chosen photo's and lack of attention to detail (no numbers on the oven dial, standard double beds not king size, no log burner starting kit (take starter, kindling and logs), no shoe tray (take bags or mat to put shoes in/on), poor shower pressure (choose the button at 3 o'clock), and no comments book for feeding anything back discretely) that made us feel like we hadn't had the best experience. On a positive, we did see lots of wild life; red squirrels, birds and deer in the grounds, and the cottage was warm and comfy.

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• Margaret - Verified booking

  Overall the interior of the lodge is clean, well equipped and comfortably furnished.

  The quality of bedding & towels is good and the supply of dvd's, toys, games & books is a nice touch. There was a good supply of hot water however the cold tap in the kitchen runs warm initially. We assume the hot & cold pipes are too close together? We found the heated airer had a broken catch so it would not stand properly making it rather dangerous if there are children or dogs in the property. The only reason we have not given Treetops a 5* review is lack of attention of tidiness of the exterior. Understandably due to the many surrounding trees there will always be an element of leaf detritus. However the decking had not been swept for a long time with lots of leaf matter around the whole area. Dead leaves were in the hot tub scoops one of which is falling to pieces. There were bird droppings along the railings and on the outdoor furniture and the hot tub was splattered. The overall appearance of the exterior with cobwebs, debris etc let's down what the lodge offers internally. It would also be useful if there was a book with details of how the equipment worked. There were a number of instruction leaflets in a drawer but nothing relating to heating, the automatic rubbish bin, soap hand dispenser etc.

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• Lucy - Verified booking

  Really fabulous property.

  We were in the area for a wedding at le petit chateau. Had to contact the owner a few times prior to arrival and communication was always prompt. The cottage was not only in a perfect location for the wedding but in such a beautiful location itself. We explored the surrounding estate having a picnic at the near by lake one afternoon and really enjoyed the extra touch of binoculars in the property which allowed for some brilliant star gazing on the 2 clear evenings we had. Fabulous facilities within the property and it’s always great to have a full size fridge/freezer although my favourite room was the bathroom, it was just incredible. The beds were extremely comfortable and all 3 of us got incredible nights sleep! Absolutely fabulous couldn’t fault the property or its location at all. Would recommend to anyone who is looking to explore the nearby area, we drove to the Scottish Borders, had a day trip to Bamburgh beach and spent a day exploring Beamish, knowing we could get home to the perfect cosy property!

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• Helen - Verified booking

  Lovely comfortable stay, we had heavy rain so log burner was welcome.

  Nice roomy house/cottage fairly clean,could be better, cushions on the sofa could be cleaner, carpet edges dusty in bedroom no ventilation for shower steam will cause future problems. Bedroom door know drops off. Plenty cleaning supplies,and we got a food delivery no problem. Loved watching the wildlife out of the kitchen window and after stocking up the supply of bird food saw many birds we don't get back home delightful with a cuppa tea. Walks around the area very nice. Nxt door didn't open for the public so local pub in village 2 mile away. The mill was great for Sunday lunch and nice cakes and scones dog friendly too. Cottage warmed up quickly and kept it's heat in. Would like the surroundings to be resurrected to former splendor but the area was quiet and peaceful even tho lodges were in close proximity with outdoor hot tubs. Would return again.

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• David - Verified booking

  The lodge itself was amazing and can't fault the cleanliness and everything within the lodge.

  The estate it was on was a little remote and it was a shame the pub wasn't open at all for the whole weekend. I'm guessing this is seasonal. One element that did spoil our weekend was the lodge behind us. It was occupied by 3 ladies who felt it was appropriate at 6am on a Saturday morning to be shouting at each other whilst drinking Stella and letting their dogs run riot around the front of the lodge, this continued for the majority of the morning and the same again on the Sunday, albeit a little less drunk!!! There were others who did not obey the reduced noise levels past 11pm, which was a little annoying!! We will he visiting the area again but will he looking at alternative accommodation, which is a shame.

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