Dog Friendly Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Martyn - Verified booking

  We will start with the positives, the property is ideally located, close to the North Bay beach and local amenities.

  The beds we used were very comfortable. The Hot tub was clean and useable, it was located in a shed, which I appreciate is difficult to keep clear of cobwebs, but they did look well established. Sadly that is the end of the positives. We were disappointed with Sykes for the way the property was advertised, the property we rented did not meet up with the impression created in the sales description and photographs published on the website. For instance one of the bedrooms did have a TV as listed, there was a TV but it was not even connected to an ariel or power socket - contradictory to the sales description. The photos show a 'standard welcome pack', nothing was left, apparently the owners do not do this anymore, and know that the photos on the Sykes website imply there is a welcome pack, we were certainly expecting one having reviewed the sales photos on the website! The guest brochure even states, "by now you will have found the welcome pack and guest book", wrong and wrong again! The brochure is absolutely 100% out of date, not only for referring to the no longer offered welcome pack, it also gives the wrong code to connect to the Wi-Fi, incorrectly locates the Wi-Fi box, and tells you the property is strictly no pets, again contradicting the Sykes website description. I messaged Sykes before we arrived at the property to ask about the availability of stairgates, which Sykes quickly checked and answered before we got got to the property, so we were prepared in advance, and knew there were no stairgates being provided. However, when I registered my dissatisfaction with the property on arrival with Sykes, stating it was mis-sold, and the cleanliness was well blow par, rather than getting an acknowledgement or response from Sykes, it was the property owners maintenance team that contacted me, by text, saying Sykes had been in touch about the stairgate, and they could look in to sorting one out for us! Sykes ignored the message about my arrival dissatisfaction, and the ability for me to comment through the website was closed down. I am not sure if this was a coincidence or a deliberate act. I did state I was not happy and felt the property had been mis-sold, the very least you would expect from a company like Sykes is an acknowledgement, but no!! I am bitterly disappointed with the reaction of Sykes to my initial complaint registered on arrival at the property, and they know following my stay I was going to give them the full review. Hopefully Sykes will also read this review and provide me with an explanation as to why they failed to respond to my initial feedback on arrival at the property. One of the bedrooms on the second floor at the front of the property was unusable as a bedroom, there was only a net curtain up at the window, no blinds, no curtains, no way of even blocking out the street light located just outside the property! Sykes emphasise there is a bond required on the property for damage, I was worried about this so paid a premium and took out damage insurance, just in case there was an accident during our stay. But to be fair I should not have worried, as I reported to the owner / maintenance team (contact details were correctly noted in the guest brochure), the property is tired and looks uncared for and un loved. Two of the WC seats were broken, one of the light bulbs did not work in the WC's, some of the toilet roll holders were no longer fitted to the walls instead they were just placed on shelves or window ledges in the room. The shelf in the entrance hall had gouges / damage to the top surface, disguised by mail strategically place over it! When we arrived the house was cold, the heating was not on, we went to light the gas fire in the living room, don't be fooled by the picture, it does not work. We were actually told, it is just for show when we phoned to get directions on how to light it! You should not have to go out and buy basic cleaning materials when you arrive at a property, unfortunately we had no alternative, the place did not look like it had not been cleaned for a while, and there was no cleaning materials in the house. To give you a few examples, in the kitchen, there were still drink bottles in the cupboard, food in the freezer, vapes in the cupboards (we do not smoke or vape!), there was a vimto spillage and food debris on the kitchen work surface, stains in the WC's (might be explained by the missing loo brushes), toothpaste in the bathroom sinks, dust behind the taps, hair and dirt in the drawers in the bedrooms, dust, dirt and cobwebs at the side of the beds, dust and cobwebs on the floors and in the corners where walls meet ceilings, deep scratches to the floors in the games room, the stair carpets had not been vacuumed, there were food crumbs on the chairs in the dining room, dog hairs and stains on the furniture in the living room, black mould growth on shower heads and tiles in the showers, I could go on, but I suspect you have got the gist! It was poor. We did have the cleaners come out to remedy some of the issues we pointed out to them, and as I reported back to the maintenance team, you could see where they had been, which was an improvement on the very low starting point! I showed the cleaners some of the damage, I showed them the stained towels that were left out, and bed sheets that were stained with what looked like paw prints and dog hairs, I actually asked if they would use them, to which they said no, they told me the sheets and towels could all be changed. They weren't. The maintenance contact we had been talking to said the cleaners (his staff) had reported everything back to him, but still the maintenance issues were not picked up and resolved, nor were the sheets or towels changed during our stay. The beds were not made properly for our arrival, on some beds the duvet was crumpled in the duvet cover, it just needed pulling straight, the towels looked like they had been thrown on the bed rather than neatly folded and placed, which when they looked like they needed a clean too just did not create the right impression at all. It was clear, not only was the cleaning a poor standard, but more importantly there had not been a deep clean between paying guests. We do not want to arrive to find other peoples debris or dirt, unfortunately this is exactly what we found, and we had to start cleaning ourselves before our other guests arrived. We felt embarrassed with the quality and cleanliness of the property we were inviting our guests to stay in with us. Look at the website photograph of the dining room, it is set up for multiple guests ready to eat, this was exactly how we found it on our arrival, the crockery was dusty, the glasses were smeared, the placemats were dirty and stained, everything needed cleaning before we could use it! Not sure how long it had been sat there, but it was long enough to gather dust!! In the games room, there is a pool table, but the cues do not have tips even though a chalk block is provided. The dart board and darts are not compatible. There is a downstairs wc and shower off of the games room, but not only does the door not have a lock, but the whole locking mechanism has been removed leaving a peep hole through the door, far from ideal, the below sink cupboard handles are corroded and have sharp edges! I fail to see how Sykes can rate this property with 4 stars, there does not appear to have been a recent inspection of the property to check it was fit for purpose and ties in with the sales description / photos posted on their website. It certainly doesn't live up to what is advertised. At best I would describe this property as STUDENT ACCOMODATION standard, it is not luxury by any stretch of the imagination. There are notes all over the property / guest brochure that this is not a party house, yet there must be 5 or 6 bottle openers / cork screws, but the kitchen lacks some basic equipment like scissors or baking dishes. The bedrooms are relatively spacious, but not one room contains a wardrobe to hang clothes up. If you do have 14 or 16 people to stay in this property be aware that the living room is not big enough to seat you all, there are two settees (6 people) and two chairs (2 people), that is a long way short of seating for all, though the games room does have another 3 person settee in it. I am far from satisfied with the performance of Sykes as our booking agent or the property owners for the delivery of the product we thought we were purchasing. We always leave rented properties clean when we depart, in this instance when we left, the property was definitely much cleaner than when we took possession!

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• Amanda - Verified booking

  For Mike - the owner and Skyes Cottages Last week we spoke about the house and when asked about the poor reviews regarding cleaning etc, you said 'you can't please everyone'.

  I'm sorry but for a house costing 3K to rent for a week this one isnt okay for anyone. It's very dirty and many things are actually broken. Some are even dangerous, i.e. stair gates. Stair gates - Neither stair gate is fit for purpose and if used, could actually cause harm to a child. One is using an allen key in the locking mechanism to keep it closed, which can easily be taken out while the other simply doesn't close and hold. One push and the door would be open, child down the stairs. Both should be thrown away. Replacment cost £20?? The house is beyond dirty. Having met the cleaning team of two on our last day I'm not surprised. How can two people clean a whole house in 5 hours. However that's not our problem and shouldnt be an issue for any renter. The staircase hasn't been cleaned in forever. We had to buy slippers to use inside the house as socks were filthy from this floor. The main areas were clean but shower cubicles, mirrors, round toilets, corners were grubby and some areas, just plain dirty. Plumbing system - The plumbing cant operate with more than one shower running. freezing people or burning them if other taps are running. We had to shower in rotation - not funny for 12 people! The bath in the main bathroom leaked water onto the floor. The edging to step up to the bath is hanging off. Shower in the same bathroom is actually broken - only hanging by one hinge. The door handle is also broken. The bath side is broken in the ensuite room above the smaller sitting room. Has sharp edges and the main shower head doesnt work at all and the water temperature gauge on the shower is broken off so it's hard to change the temperature. The shower hose has black mould/rust on it. The toilet roll holder is broken. Ovens - Next to useless. The temperature doesnt change no matter where you put the dial. The ignitor does not work consistently in the main kitchen oven causing gas to disperse while you try to light it. The seals on both ovens do not seal and heat is lost constantly. Making them very difficult to use and supper time stressful when you need to feed people. One oven even blew out while cooking leaving gas flowing but no flame. Luckily it was spotted. There doesnt appear to be any carbon monoxide monitors near either oven. Smoke detectors - the oven fiasco led us to look for smoke detectors and we found two - both very old. Thank goodness we didnt need to test them. Seems very few in such a big house. Hot tub - You said someone would be in every day to check the hot tub but we spent some full days at the house without a visit. By Thursday there was grey foam on the top of the water, which we looked up to find that it's caused by an imbalance of PH - which basically confirms no one has checked it. The shower plug in the hot tub room was blocked so couldn't be used. Bins - the bins were full when we arrived. We recycled what we could by taking it elsewhere. Kitchen equipment - has been mentioned in previous reviews - Blunt knives, toasters that don't work. The least of our concern ultimately but even so. I think a renter should expect working equipment. Cost of a toaster - £50? Beds - so many complaints about the state of the beds. Bedrooms above the main sitting room had the worst mattresses with springs clearly visible. Apart from the discomfort it caused, the noise from the twangy springs kept waking the occupants awake. Single beds were also a problem - twangy mattresses and even a bolt had fallen out from one of the beds. One of the bedroom doors didnt even close. We stripped the beds when we left and I'm surprised your housekeeper hasn't thrown the quilts out. Grim is how I would describe them. Pillows equally minging. Air hockey game / pool table Nice features but .. air hockey didnt work. It was balanced on two of the four broken legs to keep it standing up. We managed to fix the plug. The pool table pockets were broken. I think your photos of the house reflect the house but I would suggest you try viewing it. We took photos and videos should you wish to see the evidence of those things mentioned. I dont think any of these points are petty. In fact I could make many more. I did message you on Wednesday night and try to speak to Sykes but neither were successful. Not that I thought for one minute you would take any notice Mike. The reviews speak for themselves. Same things mentioned over and over again. Unfortunately the holiday home memories this year are negative, This is the worst house we have ever rented. How Sykes gives you 4 ticks is beyond me. I will be be posting reviews on this property. It may be too late for us but it might stop someone else having a stressful holiday.

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• Elle - Verified booking

  Had a wonderful stay here at The Power House for my 60th birthday celebrations.

  ........6 adults, 3 grandchildren and 3 dog's. Absolutely fantastic stay, plenty room with us all to spread around. I'll start with the positive stuff........lovely and warm (once we got the heating on). Beds comfortable, lovely powerful showers. Spacious bedrooms.Two very spacious kitchens with all the amenities you need. Absolutely fantastic, huge hot tub (or as my grandson called it "the pool") spent endless hours in there, absolutely loved it, and there's a nice sauna, all in a separate huge summer house kind of building. Two huge lounges (just incase you want to get away from any of your noisy family). Pool table came in handy to give each other a thrashing at pool, and there's also a game of air hockey too. We took our own board games, but from what I could see, there where games in the cupboards, can't comment further as I didn't get them out to look at. Lovely front, secure, spacious garden for the dogoes to run round in, can imagine it would be absolutely gorgeous in warmer weather. Gorgeous beach about 10 minutes drive away, flipping cold though (but it was 15th and 16th January). Couple of negative things to point out........ One of the radiator's in the lounge where black sofa's are didn't work, and with it being middle of January it made a big difference to the heating in that lounge, was quite cool, but after a few board games and a few drinks, we soon warmed up. The bath panel in the far bedroom down corridor had pieces missing from it at the top , some of the blinds looked a bit tired, like the en-suite one in the above bedroom mentioned. Some of the bed pillows could do with changing, they where rather flat. The air hockey table could do with a screen in one side of the legs. And I also noticed in the lounge where the grey sofas are, the left window as you walk in, some of the plaster on the right side of frame is all flaking off. Child gates could also do with updating, they where a bit naff, and not so child safe. It was just the smaller things like this that I marked the property down on with star rating. But can I just add, none of this had an impact on the wonderful time we all had, we truly did have a lovely time. And considering how big the house is, we did have it lovely and warm and cosy. So Mike (owner)..........sort these minor things out and the star ratings I'm sure will increase. Thank you for a wonderful stay x

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• Sonia - Verified booking

  This property is amazing!

  It has a fabulous staircase which opens out onto two parts of the house. It may have been two separate holiday lets in the past as there are two of almost everything. Two kitchens, two lounges, two entrances (only one in use during our stay as one of the keys was absent for the first door.) 6 bedrooms plus a mezzanine room. Bed linen was clean and fresh. There is everything you need pots and pans wise to cook for a large gathering- there were 15 of us with 3 babies and 2 dogs. We cooked every night and with two ovens managed to cater well enough, my only big bug bearer was trying to find different utensils and having to go between two kitchens all the time! The main kitchen dining table converts to a pool table so the boys loved that. The hot tub house is a great addition to this property with its own shower room too. We couldn’t quite get the program right for the bubbles to stay on for more than 30 seconds at a time though, but it was clean and checked daily for the right chemical mix by the owners. We couldn’t get the sauna to work, but it wasn’t a big issue. Recycling of rubbish was not clear, and I think the owners need to specify somewhere in their literature about which bins are used for what purpose?! We certainly couldn’t work it out so did our best! The garden is smaller than expected, but there is space for at least 5-6 big cars on the driveway. It is about a 10 minutes walk to the most local beach at Skinningrove and 15 to the better bigger one with fine golden sands, and very clean. We loved the beaches in the area and Saltburn is only a few minutes drive too. There is also a shopping area with a big Asda, Aldi and Food outlets, B&M etc within a few minutes drive. I did a huge online shop beforehand from Sainsburies that was delivered on the day of our arrival and there was plenty of fridge and freezer space to stock everything. Whitby is a bit further along the coast, about a 1/2 hr drive so well worth a visit, and there are also some beautiful bays such as Staithes and Runswick bay that also have nice beaches along that journey. Long coastal walks are great along the beaches of Marske and Redcar - (about 15 mins) you can time it so tide is out!

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• Malcolm - Verified booking

  It's not easy to find something suitable for a large group that pleases everyone, but the Powerhouse certainly does this.

  It has to be experienced in order to believe! Surprise for wife's 70th. She had no idea what or where, On arrival met by birthday balloons and streamers all over hallway and stairs! 3 minutes later 5 faces appeared on balcony and she almost had a heart attack as it was our daughter's family! Choice of at least 6 bedrooms and assisted by grand daughter, she chose the "olde worlde" 4 poster with en- suite. Family unloaded our car and took cases up while she recovered with a glass or three. Meal time arrived and our daughter took her to local fish & chip shop (recommended). She returned to be met by "apparently stray" black dog who she did not recognise, still being in shock, This dog was soon followed by our son's family! It then dawned that she had all of our family together.(Just within lockdown rules, although she had thought that they were all otherwise engaged) After the meal we explored this fantastic place. 2 kitchens, 2 lounges with tv and entertainment system. Snooker/pool table and the icing on the cake - a separate building housing an 8 person hot tub and sauna, complete with mood lights and i pod compatible music system. At least 6 bedrooms (I lost count) 3 with en-suite bath/shower. 2 additional showers and a family bathroom with shower. This converted and modernised coal mine building provided absolutely everything. Our group was 11 humans aged from 10 to 71 years together with 1 well behaved dog, although can accommodate more comfortably. Local facilities include general store, pub, beach and disused harbour, hill walks, takeaways and much more. I cannot thank Mike and Lorraine enough for providing this fabulous experience (even essential supplies were available on arrival) and hope that their business prospers. Experienced from 30 April until 7 May 2021. Best wishes, Andy and Marion

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