Last Minute Cottages in Hawkshead

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Hannah - Verified booking

  We had a lovely week at Rowan Cottage.

  The bedrooms were immaculate and beautifully decorated. The bathrooms were very clean, shower over the bath not fantastic but not bad either. When we first went upstairs and opened the door to the main bedroom with ensuite it was like walking into a very nice hotel room. Downstairs was very comfortable and clean, but not all new which with 2 dogs I really do prefer as you aren't constantly worrying all the time. The sofas were lovely to sit on and plenty of room for 4 of us and the 2 dogs. The small porch from the garden gave a good area for drying the dogs feet and a door between the kitchen and living room was great, also a door from the living room to upstairs. So easy to stop dogs going were you didn't want them too. I keep going on about the ease with the dogs, but for us it makes a big difference to how much you can relax when in someone else's property. The garden was lovely, again great for the dogs, secure although a very small dog may get under the gate. Our smallest is a jack russell and he couldn't get out and he really tried when he saw a rabbit run under the fence! Footpaths opposite the cottage so plenty of walking. The Cuckoo Brow Inn in Far Sawey was very welcoming, we ate there a couple of times, if you like big portions you won't be disappointed. Dogs welcome and just a few minutes walk. It wasn't really the weather for sitting in the garden but I am sure it is beautiful in the summer. Well kitted out in the kitchen so everything you need if wanting to cook properly, even down to a set of kitchen scales. We had seen someone elses review saying no milk so had taken some with us, which there wasn't so that was helpful. At first slightly disappointed to find no welcome items at all, it is a nice touch when you get in after a long drive (and a breakdown) to find milk and biscuits, just that little something when you arrive. There was a cleaning kit, with sponge, couple of bin bags and dishwashing tables which was nice, but no washing up liquid (we had taken dishwasher tablets, but not the washing up liquid!). So I would definitely say you need to take everything you need with you, tea/coffee etc, shops are a good drive away. Also no logs at all for the wood burner, but the cottage was so warm we didn't need to light it anyway. The heating is excellent in the cottage, we kept turning the radiators off as getting too warm. After we had been there a couple of days, we decided that the owners have gone to so much trouble to make sure that the practical and comfort side of the cottage is top rate, that we would much rather have that, than a welcome gift on the table but other areas lacking which is often the case. We would definitely stay here again.

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• Mitchell - Verified booking

  We enjoyed our time at Wykefield.

  We think it's important to highlight that some pictures of the outside of the property on the website are misleading. You see the whole house structure, but half of the building is the "Esk Wyke Country House Hotel". The windows facing out the downstairs 'nook', the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom all overlook the hotel car park. People are coming and going from there at all hours. You should be aware of that prior to booking. The main attraction of the house is the extension with the elongated dining room and kitchen which is lovely. The extra fridge-freezer in the garage is not mentioned in the description and would have been really useful to have known about when planning food to take. The tennis table in the garage is not very nice and bendy, so wasn't useable. The beds were comfortable. Despite the water being non-mains supplied, the pressure was great and reliable. The appliances all worked well and we liked the utilities. There's lots of board games, DVDs, maps, interesting books and a well-equipped kitchen. As pleasant, well equipped and thought out as the house is, we feel it's expensive for what you get. There's no proper games room or other facilities that for £2,500/week you should be getting at this range. This is a nice house, and a really great stay, but not at this cost. Especially with the hotel at peak season next door, with their suite windows overlooking the garden you're relaxing in. It's a well-placed location with several walks, towns and facilities nearby. It's of note that Beatrix Potter stayed in this house (prior to it being half hotel) and decided she wanted to live in the Lakes because of it! Esthwaite Water, which the garden overlooks, is privately owned and inaccessible so it's for view only. Overall, this is a good stay but pricey for what you get.

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• Peter - Verified booking

  We had a wonderful time.

  The cottage is beautiful and very well kept, in fact it exceeded our expectations. It would have been nice, though, if more had been mentioned in the blurb about the very low ceilings, particularly the area between the kitchen and the corridor, and also the central ceiling beam in the lounge. We had quite a few bumped heads! So really the property is better suited to shorter people, ie no more than 5'5". But this is a quibble really. We loved it, despite the bumped heads! One thing we should mention; on the day of departure, we noticed some minor dripping from the low ceiling onto the floor at the junction/corner of the kitchen passageway and main entrance corridor. We couldn't work out where it was dripping from. Given the age of the property, it could be tracking from anywhere. Loose or missing rooftile? We couldn't see any corresponding dripping on first floor. There had been heavy rain the night before so maybe that was the cause. It should definitely be looked at/sorted out though. Many thanks

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• Hannah - Verified booking

  We really loved our stay here and appreciate in particular all of the luxury, homely touches.

  The location was so good that it was practically shown in the World of Beatrix Potter museum (well the view was). Everything felt thought of, and made our stay just perfect. We have stayed in a lot of Airbnbs and Sykes Cottages but this was our favourite so far and would love to return. Unfortunately we parked in the neighbour's space (it seemed empty and unkept so assumed it was available) next to our garden, if you could maybe be a bit more explicit on where we can park that would be great - as he seemed fine with us pulling up alongside the garage in the courtyard instead. There is space for 2 cars by the front door but a bit trickier for a 3rd. We can't unfortunately return during the summer months as the garden is not suitable for children (the sheer drops are even more severe than I realised at booking). There's a park on your doorstep to take the kids out for a run around! Thanks again and hope to book again!

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• 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.

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