Lodges & Log Cabins in Hawkshead

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Red - Verified booking

  We got home yesterday and we had a fantastic week at your cabin at White Cross Bay.

  It was clean and comfy, our dogs quickly settled in and we certainly had enough living space in the kitchen and lounge. I'm pleased we stayed at Top Lodge on the edge of the camp rather than in the middle of the site where I'm sure it would have been noisier and busier. It was very quiet and peaceful until our final night when we got a rowdy party of five blokes staying at a cabin 10-15 yards away - and they were out drinking and talking loudly till well after 1am. Perhaps the camp owners should impose restrictions on all-male groups renting lodges as well as insisting on a lights out, silence first policy after midnight. We loved the woods behind our cabin, taking our pets up there every day. As for the minuses. The lodge seriously needs more shelf/cupboard/drawer space. We had to keep the food/drinks we'd taken up in bags because there wasn't anywhere to put it. The same applies re our clothes in the bedroom. We could have done with more cupboards for pants, socks, shirts, tops, etc. The bed was just OK and the duvet just about big enough. Easily the biggest bugbear for me was the joke of a basin in the bathroom. I could hardly clean my teeth in it never mind have a shave! I ended up having to shave in the kitchen sink! I just do not see the point of having such a ridiculously impractical basin that was neither use nor ornament as my grandad used to say. I've stayed in all sorts of places all over the world over the last 50 years and never come across a basin so pointless. I also had to call you to get the proper key safe code when we arrived after apparently being sent a new code by email. I should have spotted the new number but it would be a big help if you could banner headline such a change in emails in future to make sure customers don't miss it. But all in all we had a fabulous week and would return, perhaps to try one of your lakeside lodges next.

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• David - Verified booking

  Dear Sykes, we have stayed in a number of your cottages over the last 5 years and have always had a very enjoyable holiday.

  Unfortunately this lodge did not live up to expectations. On arrival the lodge was unbearably hot and we discovered that someone had put the boiler on its maximum setting. The following day when the building had cooled down, it smelt musty and damp. Possibly the heating was left on full to mask the damp! The bedrooms were both very small with inadequate storage space for our clothes, no chest of drawers in either room and the wardrobe was only equipped with three coat hangers. The double bed had what was without doubt the most uncomfortable mattress I’ve ever had the misfortune to sleep on. It sagged in the middle and was so soft I could feel the slats in the bed frame. The duvet was at best 20 mm thick and the cover was torn around the popper fasteners. Despite the fact that the holiday was to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary we ended up in the two single beds in the even smaller bedroom because they were marginally more comfortable! The bath had a very obvious repair in it and the basin was so small you banged you head on the bathroom cabinet when you tried to use it. We discovered on our last day that the shed contained a black bin liner full of decomposing kitchen waste, which probably accounted for the number of flies around the property. We had stayed the previous week in one off your lodges named Iona in the village of Strontian in the Scottish Highlands. This was a delightful cabin and was £200 pounds cheaper than the Skiptory Howe lodge. We paid more than £100 pounds a night to stay in this property and consequently expected a much more luxurious well equipped lodge. I have taken photographs of the problems we encountered which I am happy to send you. I also would expect some form of compensation because this holiday was not a memorable experience in a positive way!

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• Simon - Verified booking

  Overall a very nice lodge.

  However there were a few issues which were also picked up in the visitors book, for example, the double bed was uncomfortable - felt like it was sagging in the middle, the mechanism to switch from shower to bath didn't work and I found it difficult to maintain a relatively constant water temperature, also there was initially a musty smell to the property including the kitchen cupboards.The window in the main bedroom room didn't open and the cushions on that bed did smell so they went outside for the week. The sofa positioned in front of the TV was quite uncomfortable. That sounds like quite a moan but it isn't, this is a well equipped property and we enjoyed our stay there. The lodge is quite overshadowed with trees which suited us but if you wanted to sunbathe on the generous decking area then this isn't the place for you. At the rear there is a shed which we used to store a couple of bikes and a gate into the woods which was a god-send for the dogs. Fortunately no-one was in the lodge above us so it was a peaceful place to stay. With regards to the site I would say it is quite limited in the facilities on offer; there is a small shop. a small-ish 1.5m max deep pool which opens to guests from 10am to about 5.30pm and you have to book in 45 minute sessions at least a day before to use it, there is a small gym, jacuzzi and sauna, a play area for children under 12 and a sports court. There is a pub/restaurant which does a take-away menu (our burgers were really nice but beware the roasted veggie option - dire - perhaps we hit it on a bad day). The site was tidy and well maintained with plenty of woodland - all in all the positives outweigh the negatives.

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• Amanda - Verified booking

  I booked this lodge at quite short notice so I got it for a reduced price, under £600, rather than over £800, and ordinarily I wouldn't have been able to afford it.

  It is a smart clean well-furnished lodge, beautiful kitchen and bathroom areas and a big L shaped sofa which was very comfortable. The double bedroom was also very comfortable but as is often the case in self catering accommodation, the single beds mattresses had definitely seen better days. I usually go on holiday with my sister so one of us has to use a single bed and they are invariably lumpen and saggy and this was no exception. We had a really relaxing stay - despite the size of the White Cross Bay site and the proximity to other lodges the lodge still felt very private. The site was quiet while we were there - perhaps in the height of the season it might be noisy. I didn 't really like the White Cross Bay site, the people staying on the site didn't seem to be mountain walkers or outdoorsy people, and there were quite a few random people wandering about who didn't look like holiday makers or maintenance. But the lodge was lovely. My only real gripe was the lack of any usable wifi - it was impossible to use the 'smart' tv as a smart tv, so no access to any streaming channels and there was no DVD player. Also, the decking areas need a bit of TLC. I would stay in this lodge again if it were on Burnside Park or Limefitt Park which both belong to the same company, I wouldn't personally stay on the White Cross Bay site again, but I would recommend the lodge.

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• Wendy - Verified booking

  We arrived on the 2nd of January.

  The cottage was nice, clean and had all the facilities. The park was pleasant also. We’d not been there half an hour when we had an urgent email from Sykes cottages to call them. We did so, sorry I cannot recall the name of the lady we spoke to, but she said the resort was closing on the 3rd and we’d have to leave a day early. We had originally booked the break from the 1st to the 3rd but altered it to the 2nd to the 4th at the property owner’s request so they could get cleaners in on the 1st. If we had known the cottage was only available for 2 days instead of 3 we would never have booked it and sought alternatives. We were very disappointed. We were offered alternative accommodation at nearly £300 for one night! Three nights had cost us £400 so this seemed extreme. We were told the cost of the night would be refunded, but no compensation was offered. We then enquired as to what time we needed to leave. The lady at Sykes said she had made an executive decision and we could stay on the Friday for as long as we liked. The next day another representative from Skyes told us the owner wanted us out by 11 am. I am very disappointed in this total failure of communication. At the moment it seems both the owner and the agency are more than happy to take money but are not willing to do the right thing when they make a mistake.

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