Durham Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Philip - Verified booking

  Disappointing Stay.

  Having read previous reviews we thought as we had not visited Barnard Castle that Church Cottage would be an ideal place to stay to celebrate my wife’s 65th birthday. However, I cannot understand how many positive reviews could be given as our experience is completely different. Upon our arrival on a cold January day, we found that the cottage was extremely cold, and the heating turned off plus there was a terrible smell coming from the kitchen. Investigating we found that the smell was coming from both the fridge that had not been thoroughly cleaned and a broken freezer that had just been left with offensive discoloured fluid inside. On contacting the owner, he did come round immediately and said that he had put the heating on for just 30 minutes that day as some people like properties to be cold on arrival but on a cold winter’s day in an old property I said it was not acceptable and the heating was turned off not on a timer. He did clean the fridge also stated that he was aware that the freezer had broken but why he had not replaced it was baffling as the cottage had not been occupied before we arrived. He did arrange for a replacement freezer which came the following day but unfortunately that was too late for us as my wife who is a coeliac had prepared several meals for the week which were frozen and had started to defrost before the replacement came and some had to be thrown away. I managed to turn the heating on, but it took 2 days to get the cottage up to a comfortable and acceptable temperature. We also found that whilst on the surface the cottage looked clean, we found that upon closer inspection there were issues, mould on the bath sealant, around the window and on the non-slip bathmat. All the window frames in the cottage also had not been cleaned for what looked like a long time as there was a build-up of dirt and fluff on every surface. In addition, we found the oven and grill pan was not particularly clean and the baking/oven sheets unusable. We were unable to find any cleaning products to do basic cleaning up for any spills that we made and why none were provided was mystifying and we had to purchase our own. We were not enjoying our stay and did not feel that we could celebrate my wife’s birthday properly so decided to leave early and advise the owner of our reasons. What I need to understand is how Sykes managed to give this property a 4-tick rating and whether they do any follow up review rating as things change within a property as it appears they don’t and without it gives customers a potentially misleading rating as my rating for this property would be between 1-2 ticks.

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• Rainer - Verified booking

  Church cottage is a good size for 2 adults or 2 adults and 2 younger children.

  The situation is very good as Barnard Castle is a pretty and pleasant town. We actually enjoyed the church bells (not very audible through closed windows) and had no noise from birds at all. Parking is fine as well. Shops close by, so really a plus. The setup of the cottage is good, with good-sized rooms throughout. Only a hall is missing for hanging up coats and leaving shoes. The kitchen was well-stocked, unfortunately previous visitors have displayed a lack of understanding of cooking utensils as all medium-quality non-stick pans were scratched. Dishwasher, fridge and washing-machine worked well, we did not need the freezer. The extractor fan is of the noisy type and does not work well at all, but there is a second window above the sink. The bed had boards for springs and a simple and to our taste not comfortable mattress (you could feel the springs and metal frame through the coverings). The mattress was clean and did not look very old, probably simply did not have the right quality to start with. The 3-2-1 seater combo suffered from a similar problem: very uncomfortable to sit in. To summarise: this could be a great little cottage in an attactive location, but it needs a bit of investment. As decent sleep is essential for a good holiday and comfortable sitting when spending time in the cottage, we know what we would change first. With these changes in place we are very happy to recommend Church cottage. [Please do not publish: Could you tell the owners that the front left hot plate of the cooker does not seem to be working? At least we could not make it work.]

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• Zoe - Verified booking

  I’m going to start with the positives of which there are many.

  Great location, really close to the centre of Barnard Castle yet felt really tucked away & quiet. (Though do bring ear buds if you’re a light sleeper as the church bells ring every 30 mins through the night). The cottage kitchen is really well equipped - it has everything you could possibly need. Comfortable beds & sofas & the cottage feels really spacious yet cosy. However, when we stayed in September, it obviously hadn’t had a good deep clean for a very long time. The kitchen table felt sticky & the kitchen cupboards doors & radiators really needed a good scrub to remove tea stains & general kitchen grease & grime. There was thick dust on the fire surrounds & on top of the dressing table mirrors in both bedrooms & on the plug sockets & skirting boards behind the beds & sofas. In the bathroom, around the taps, bath & shower screen was absolutely filthy & I had to clean this before we could use it. There are lots of fake flowers & plants throughout the cottage which were also thick with dust. I did message the owners on departure & offered to send them pictures but they said they would go round & organise the cleaners to come in to do a deep clean. I really do hope so as this really spoilt it for us & it’s a real shame as the cottage itself is beautiful.

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• Jess - Verified booking

  The Miner’s Hall really has the Wow factor and the photos really don’t do it justice.

  It’s huge, and has everything you need, want & more. Everyone in our party was always busy doing something. We had pool & darts tournaments, played the pac man & space invaders on the games machine or were chilling in the hot tub. We loved having a murder mystery night round the grand dining table. When we weren’t busy playing games we were chilling in the hot tub (best I’ve been in) or at the bar. The bedrooms are all huge & had plenty of storage. The laundry room was a huge bonus & allowed us to dry our swim wear & towels. Cooking was never & issue as there was loads of cooking facilities, machines & utensils. We ate out at the Shepherd & Shepherdess pub which was great value for money & tasty home cooked food. The homemade chips were lovely. Beamish is a short drive away and was by far the best museum I have ever been to or taken my kids too, so brilliant we went twice. We found everyone we met in the area friendly & accommodating & would love to return one day. The only things that could make it better are an enclosed driveway for the dogs, and a light above the dart’s board, but that’s just being picky really.

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• David - Verified booking

  Lovely property which has had a sympathetic restoration to enhance its grade 2 listing.

  Situated in a quiet location overlooking the church and ancient graveyard yet in the town centre a great place for visiting Barnard Castle and the surrounding area The cottage is warm and cosy, and despite its age has plenty of room with good sized bedrooms. It has no private outdoor space, however that was not a problem for us. Parking is on street yo the rear but very hit and miss as to whether you can find a space, we used the long stay car park over the road and just paid for the week. The only improvement for us would be a proper mirror in the bathroom. One warning if you are tall be prepared to dodge the light units in the kitchen, especially the unit next to the oven and hob. All in all a great cottage and contact with the owners was great and they are happy to provide local information.

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