Last Minute Cottages in Grasmere

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Philippa - Verified booking

  I wasn’t going to leave a review as I don’t like giving negative feedback however after receiving a photo from the owners today via Sykes holiday admin to ask how to clean something off the sofa , I am Now compelled to write a very honest review .

  I have rated it as two stars as an overall experience. I accidentally booked the wrong dates at Christmas . I immediately realised and tried to change the date but it wouldn’t allow me and as it was a late reservation I wasn’t able to get a refund so the full amount was payable , therefore I asked to change dates a few minutes later , however the property owners responded in the morning refusing the request . It was my fault I didn’t check the date properly, annoying but my fault so sucked it up , thought it a tad mean of the property owners not allowing the date change since it was an immediate request after booking it , however since they wouldn’t agree we ended up just staying for a shorter time even though paid for longer . When we got there all was okay , it wasn’t as clean as I expected . As you do , you have a look about to see where things are , a kitchen draw rammed with maintenance stuff , and tins of paint and baubles in the bathroom cabinet, bit random . The heating, we read in the pack, was timed to go off after 1 hour so you had to keep putting it back on , prob hence why it felt so cold on arrival, there was damp in the kitchen which was making the paint peel, black mould behind the curtain in the kitchen, stains on the bedroom carpet , pans dirty , one for example looking like someone had boiled milk in it and scum around the pan , black mould in the shower , my socks were dirty from walking around in the property, and it felt cold which wasn’t what we wanted as we planned to walk all day and have cosy evenings . I think the heating going off after an hour is an attempt to stop people leaving the heating on . However for comfort it’s a bit annoying having to keep putting it back on or forgetting and then feeling cold so you go oh put the heating Back on . However once repeatedly turned on and thermostat turned up it did warm up nicely . It said logs were provided in the Pack but there was just a couple of logs left and none delivered . The pack didn’t say where we could get logs from so bought a lot from the co op shop in the village . When we were leaving we noticed there was a small store out the back which had some wood in it but not sure if that was for the holiday cottage , that wasn’t made clear and we didn’t take any from There . The kitchen felt like it needed more thorough cleaning so ended up washing things before using them . The tv is an old flat screen so not a smart tv so couldn’t access Netflix or prime etc . Looked like the green bathroom hand towel had a bleach mark on it and tired. Black scum around the bottom of the shower and a little bit inbetween the tiles in the shower. The log burner glass wasn’t clean so obscured seeing the flames when it was on . However the Bed was super comfy and the quilt and pillows super comfy too , Infact I would have to say the cosiest bed I’ve slept in . Had a great nights sleep which for me is the most important thing . The water was hot too which was good for having a shower . There is a sensory garden literally a couple of meters from the front door so a nice little place to go to since this property doesn’t have any outside space . Also it’s a few meters from Dove cottage where Wordsworth lived for a bit . Parking was good as there’s a pass left in the property to park for free which is about a 4 minute walk from the property . The kitchen had everything you needed in it equipment wise for a small break . Since the house didn’t feel “loved” we didn’t feel we needed to do a photo inventory . There were many unclean elements to it . Therefore when we receive a photo today of what looked like speckles of cream on the leather sofa and asked what it was so they could clean it was rather insulting . It makes you feel like you’re going to be held responsible or charged for something you weren’t responsible for which has really put me off . As the property was far from immaculate it’s insulting to be then made to feel you’re responsible for a cleaning item . Brain wave …. Having just thought .:::: we did have lemon cake from the co op with icing on the top , is it possible it’s a bit of the icing ?! Maybe . Who knows . I suggest the owners try cleaning it first before contacting people who have rented it from them. the rest of the property needed cleaning properly rather than a surface clean . finding something and then quiz what it is to the previous renter is rather insulting as there’s many cleaning items I could question . I dropped something which fell under the kitchen cupboards as the cupboards are sat on legs , I don’t fancy going under the units. The owners and Sykes have made me Feel uncomfortable now as this case is open and there’s a communication thread going on , they have given me a reference number which makes it feel formal . I would be livid if we get a request to pay some charge rather than the owners attempt to clean . Not what you want to be experiencing from staying somewhere for three nights and then a case opened on you for something which at its worst if it was us was a bit of icing off a cake . If I saw it I would have cleaned it off for a start ! I definitely have higher standards of cleaning than what was offered here .

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• Alan - Verified booking

  When we arrived on Sunday 21/11 at 1600 it became clear that the Cottage had not been cleaned prior to our arrival.

  We contacted Customer Service and I spoke to Laura who was great. She called back about 1815 to tell us that there had been a mix up and that the Cleaning contractor did not know that we were arriving that day. She stated that the best option was, if we were acceptable to it, to book into a nearby hotel for the night and Lakelovers would cover the cost. As the Daffodil Hotel was over the road from the Cottage and had availability we agreed that we would do that and we would pay and claim it back from Lakelovers. I did express to Laura that the inconvenience this was causing was worthy of some form of compensation. We put a few things together and went to the hotel. I got a call from the Cleaner to explain that they had got mixed up with the planned visit from a Visit England Inspector the following day. Anyway we were advised the following morning that the Cottage was ready and we went back over and properly unpacked etc and started our holiday. I made efforts to contact Lakelovers on numerous occasions to discuss the repayment of the monies for the hotel and to express our concerns over what had happened and, to this day, the only time anyone actually came back to me was when they called to arrange the refund of the hotel. No call or communication to apologise, no communication regarding my request for a gesture of compensation, nothing, as if it never happened. There was a gentleman there who had been in contact with us before we arrived to arrange the access for the Visit England Inspector and to whom we had been very helpful and I tried to contact him but nothing came back. He got what he wanted from us and it seems didn't care that the help we had given us actually came back to bite us. So, from our perspective it seems that, since Lakelovers have been taken over, the new Management don't consider Customer Service to be of any importance outwith their love of an automated message.

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• Gary - Verified booking

  Due to having to cancel the initial booking due to Covid the staff helped us out with great empathy and consideration.

  But I will add I emailed a week prior to our holiday to ask questions on the Cottage and I had no reply whatsoever, the email was a reply to an email sent from Sykes, this was disappointing. As for the Cottage, I was not exactly blown away as I was expecting. The living room area was clean and tidy, but the kitchen and dining area not so. Table was sticky, oven greasy and just generally looked grubby. Bedroom was ok and bed comfy. Bathroom could also do with a good clean especially the shower cubicle as large areas of mildew that could easily be removed. Shame the shower head cannot be lowered as having a short wife she could not adjust to her liking. Finally there was no information on refuge collection or recycling so all our rubbish went into the black bin, I feel this could be explained better. Oh, also the car parknticket provided had expired on the 30th Sept, this inimly noticed on the day we left so I really am hoping we do not get a fine from the Stock Lane car park as this will be passed on. Overall we had a fantastic holiday on a beautiful area

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• Gemma - Verified booking

  I recently stayed at Silver Howe.

  The apartment was spotless and it really does feel like home from home. I loved the views from the living room and the welcome brownie and milk was a lovely touch. Anne messaged me to make sure I had settled in okay. The shower was great and the bed was lovely. I loved everything about the apartment and was sad to be leaving. There are so many walks you can do from the apartment meaning you do not need to use the car. There are 2 walks from the garden, just go through the gate .The information booklet was a great help, along with walking maps. Grasmere village is a 10 minute walk with shops, cafes and bars. There are also good transport links to Keswick and Windermere. I cannot wait to book again. Thank you Anne for the perfect apartment and I had the perfect week.

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• Andrew - Verified booking

  Cottage is in a good position with easy access to Grasmere.

  The sitting room and bedroom have been recently refurbished. The kitchen has not. The cottage was filthy on arrival and had not been cleaned. Considering all the information regarding Covid-19 on your website and the importance of hygiene, this came as a surprise. There was mould on the cabinets in the kitchen, there was food debris and crumbs on all the kitchen work surfaces and in the cutlery draw. The hob had not been cleaned for sometime. we spent an hour cleaning the cottage before unpacking. We washed every item of cutlery and crockery before using it. The parking permit for the Stock Lane car park in Grasmere was out of date. This caused a degree of anxiety as we were constantly worried about getting a parking ticket.

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