Holiday Cottages With Hot Tubs In Grasmere

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Peter - Verified booking

  Overpriced and underwhelming.

  Firstly to clarify my wife and I enjoyed our break and the cottage was lovely and we did reflect this in the visitors book. However, the cottage is ‘connected’ to the tenant farmers’ accommodation so you can hear them ‘in conversation’ and ‘smell their cooking’ which distracts from your perceived privacy during the stay. Previous feedback has commented on ‘farm noise’ which there was very little of and was quite pleasant when you could ‘hear’’ the animals. However there are lots of ‘comings and goings’ throughout the day….people calling at the butchers, various ‘seminars’ and ‘experience groups’ visiting throughout the week. An example of this would be on our last evening sitting in the garden with a glass of wine when an amateur theatrical group turn up and start getting dressed up to start filming….so overall hardly secluded and private. I have stayed at ‘holiday inn express hotels’ where there is less ‘going on’ and have been more ‘relaxed’. With this in mind I would preferably pay far less to stay somewhere more ‘commercial’ where you at least understand what you’re ‘paying for’. The cottage is beautiful with very good facilities e.g. bathrooms/showers etc but I think you would be hard pushed to ‘comfortably accommodate’ six people in the lounge or cater for this number with the kitchen. The ‘fly in the ointment’ for us was when we were asked if it would be okay for the decking to be removed and replaced in the ‘hot tub’ area at the side of the cottage, to which we agreed without fully grasping the impact this would have. The decking had apparently been there for 13 years…so hindsight would suggest this could have been done at an earlier or more convenient time…during one of the many recent lockdowns perhaps? We realised the impact when the ‘joiner’ knocked our door at 10 past 8 in the morning to ‘check that we were up’ so that he could start his chainsaw and start cutting out the old decking…..we opted to go out for a walk returning at half three to find this being ‘loaded’ into a trailer with the consequent ‘backwards and forwards’ this entails. On another evening we were ‘put off’ from using the hot tub due to a ‘load of’’…yet to be used decking perched at the side of the building around it. Perhaps most disappointing of all, was on our day of leaving we had to be ‘clear’ of the cottage by 10 in the morning….but there was no one there to ‘hand over to….both tenants were out, one presumably working his farm and the other out in her van. Ironically there was (yet) another visitor going about the farm getting ready to go horse riding. If you are considering this cottage as an option it is a beautiful house with in a lovely setting, but is definitely a ‘business’ attempting to generate income from several areas of which you are only one. If you are looking for ‘picture postcard’ this may not be it….it wasn’t for us….we just felt like we were there for the ‘requisite week’ before being ‘turned around’ for the ‘next punter’ which may well be you. Definitely not worth the 2k plus that we paid. Disappointing overall.

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• L - Verified booking

  We stayed at Yew Tree Farm Cottage 2nd - 9th October 2021.

  Upon arriving, we thought it was paradise. A very old building, it was like stepping back in time. Because we arrived late we were grateful to be there. I did see a previous review saying about the lack of oven trays so we brought our own, and thank god we did. I am not sure the kitchen has been stocked with any new form of an appliance, utensil, or accessory since 1990! There were really not enough mugs or glasses for 4 people, let alone 6. And, we didn't think the glasses or mugs were clean. Then, the fun really started when my partner and I, who had the main bedroom, woke up to find about 8 wasps in the bedroom. By the 2nd morning, we had killed about 20 wasps, which was not fun, as my mum is highly allergic, and didn't have an epi-pen, as well as our 10-month-old puppy which kept trying to eat them. I rang the people on the 3rd day, after 45 mins of standing in rooms trying to get a signal. The man came around, shone a torch, and explained there was not much he could do and if we had killed 20 that was probably the nest gone. A bit shocked at the lack of concern, I repeat that there is no signal so anyone staying who got stung and needed medical attention would struggle to get an ambulance and we had no idea where the nearest medical centre was. I then had to call the heart of the lakes on the 5th day, whose response was equally as lacking as the man who had come over a few days earlier. NO one was interested. So we spent our holiday with 57 wasps in total by the end of our stay. Furthermore, the internet kept going down, so don't stay here if you need to work while on holiday. Also, we loved that we could take a dog, but the dogs on the site liked to defecate wherever they pleased, which meant dog turds outside your car door, outside the cottage gate, so if you don't like stepping in a steaming dog turd, I'd suggest a torch in the evenings and minding your step as you go. Dont expect a lie in either as you'll have lawn mowing before 9 am, barking dogs, and other farm work going-ons in the early hours. The hot tub has no cover over it, so if it rains you'll get a good soaking, as well as it being filthy. We didn't see anyone clean it with the daily chemicals that a hot tub should have. Oh and mind all the low beams that you'll regularly smash your head on as you walk about in both the day and night. Overall, if you love wasps in your bedroom, filth and dog turds, as well as an unclean hot tub then this is 100% the place to stay. Nice location, but we won't ever be staying here again. Heart of the Lakes, your customer service was a disgrace.

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• Louise - Verified booking

  Great base for the week, ideally located.

  Nice cottage, we loved the upside-down layout and view from the front window. Plenty of activities to door from premises! That said there were quite a few minor issues with the cottage which on their own would be quite tolerable but when added together took the gloss off what should have been a memorable stay… 1. The driveway! I dread to think how many miles of tread we shredded off-of our tyres going up and down, especially on arrival with a fully laden front wheel drive automatic car, no word of warning about that. It was a bit slippery when damp due to rain/drizzle too. You need to mention this in the listing. Anyone with mobility issues needs to bare this in mind. 2. The cottage, whilst tidy wasn’t exactly clean, we found wrappers and crisps in the lounge and slices of raw meat around the bench at the front along with rusty bottle tops. Given COVID cleaning should be over and above! 3. The rubbish bin was overflowing, which meant we had to bag things up until after the rubbish collection, incidentally we put the bin out for 2 Hart Head Barn (which was unoccupied) as that was also overflowing. 4. Skirting boards, all generally paint chipped. 5. Upstairs Shower room, loose towel rail. 6. Twin Bedroom. Slats kept falling from the beds which meant the two in that room didn’t have a comfortable week. The door handle kept coming off. There’s also a mark on the wall. 7. Master bedroom. The wardrobe is a bit lop sided meaning the doors wouldn’t shut properly. Also, the shower was a bit ropey to be honest, believe it was billed as a luxury suite… 8. Kitchen, once we found the correct instructions things were a lot easier, we found these in the crockery cupboard, the information pack had the details for the old oven. Needless to say, we’ve put these into the pack for the next occupants. A lot of the cups/mugs are chipped. A 2-slot toaster for a 6-occupancy cottage seemed at odds, as did the single cafetiere! Fortunately, we brought our own… 9. Courtyard was a bit scruffy, not be swept in a long time, bits of the damaged ratan furniture all over. Evidence of confetti and cigarette ends in various places. There were also wine glasses down the side of the hot tub, which we couldn't reach. Incidentally the hot tub was lovely after a walk or a bike ride. Could be a really excellent place with a little extra effort. Too many minor issues. Real shame!

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• Enfys - Verified booking

  We had a great stay, ideal location, so atmospheric and ideal for those who like to travel back in time and imagine themselves living in another reality like I do.

  I wish I'd brought period costume with me but there was sadly no room in my case. Also my 14yr old brought me back to reality when the WiFi kept turning off and there were no instructions as to the location of the router. All it needed was to be turned on and off. Previous families have suggested updating the guest information book but I notice this hasn't happened yet. This would save guests having to bother the tenants. For anyone reading this it's next to the switch for the lamp on the landing behind the magnificent chest. The tenants were very helpful and friendly, very busy people but happy to help even when in the middle of a workshop. Also they do have bus loads of tourists (like us) attending on occasion so do look out for friendly Americans requesting to use the loo. Maybe a sign on the external toilet door for those guests would be helpful? Although, we were happy to oblige by allowing them to use one of the 3 bathrooms in the cottage as had no idea what alternatives there were beyond the flower bed or a bush! Also you never know when you might get caught short yourself! My only other point of concern was the abundance of fruit flies in the kitchen. This must surely be a season thing? The cottage kitchen was very clean. The cottage is by a stream (may be irrelevant!?) and I note the mesh on the front door of the tenants cottage. Perhaps such a measure might be considered at Yew Tree, although may spoil the old world charm for photos, would potentially stop the appearance of 20 dead flies in your wine. We made sure food was covered and the bin emptied at least 2 times in the week but still every morning it was fly armageddon in the kitchen and the hoover came out. The beds were really comfy, loved the large bath and the hot tub was fab after an evening swim in Coniston water or a long walk. All of this added to our adventure in the Lake District and I feel very grateful and privileged to have been able to experience such a special place with all its quirks and charms.

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• Anita - Verified booking

  We loved staying at Hart Head Barn - it was wonderful.

  It's a very comfortable property, well equipped, super comfortable beds and loads of space to relax in the lounge which can be a challenge to find. The hot tub was a bonus. My sister and I enjoyed a long overdue catch-up chatting and star-gazing whilst the men in our lives relaxed in front of the TV. Just one thing really that would have made the experience perfect - the mirror in the main bedroom is way too high up on the wall to use to dry/style your hair, put make up on etc (not that we used much make-up!). There isn't a single mirror in the house where you can 'sit and style' apart from outside the bedroom in the hallway which isn't ideal. My sister and I took it in turns to sit on the floor. It's not a show stopper but would be a nice facility to have. Much as I loved the house, I'm still recovering from knee surgery following an accident in Dec 2022 - and the walk back from the bus stop or the pub was an absolute killer for me. I dreaded it to be honest at the end of each day especially if you'd just had a nice relaxing meal - to then have to 'climb a mountain' to get home was not how I wanted to end my evening. Personally, I also didn't like the access by car either - it's way too steep for my comfort zone but I realise that this wouldn't faze most people and it's not something you can change of course. In summary, loved the house, loved the convenience, centrally located, loved the views from the property but didn't love the approach to the property and an accessible mirror would have been the icing on the cake. Thank you for contributing to a memorable stay, once again in the Lake District.

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