Villas With Hot Tubs In Cumbria

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Michelle - Verified booking

  The cottage was average - not the usual standard of luxury we know from Sykes.

  There are a number of things that could easily be done to elevate it to luxury. It feels unloved, like a property that has been purposefully done up to let to the holiday market, but by someone who hasn't ever stayed in it to see what works and what doesn't work and possibly by someone who has never stayed much in holiday cottages themselves, so don't know the small things that make a big difference. For example, no shelves in the bathroom, so absolutley nowhere to put toiletries - that kind of thing just makes life tricky when you should be relaxing and not having to think about a problem to overcome - I appreciate it's a first world problem not being able to put your lotions and potions anywhere, but it felt like a battle. Another example of lack of thought was the freezer which is inside a kitchen cupboard, but not fully integrated. That in itself isn't a problem, but the door of the freezer opens in the opposite direction to the door of the cupboard it sits in. Coupled with the placing of the dining table and chairs, it was a battle every time we wanted to just get some ice out of the freezer as the cupbaord door had to be fully open to be able to open the freezer door and the dining table is in the way of the cupbaord door so that had to be shifted. It shouldn't feel like a battle to do stuff - real life has enough problems to overcome and holidays are an escape from real-life. The freezer door can bu hung easily from the other side making it much easier to get into. Other nice touches that would enhance the property - lighting. The living room/kitchen has two extremes of lighting - nothing or a runway of really bright spotlights, so sitting watching TV at night, reading or eating dinner at the table would be much cosier and ambient with a couple of lamps to provide an inbetween option. The sheet on the bed wasn't quite the right size for the mattress and it kept popping off and was really hard to put back on - all these things sound trivial even as I write them, but when you get a property where these things are right, you don't notice them, all you notice is how much of a good time you're having and how lovely the property is. When they're wrong, they focus your thoughts on the annoyances and there were a number of those that could be easily fixed if someone with an eye for detail took a practical look around. There were no details of how to recycle in the Property Information Booklet and there didn't appear to be different bins anywhere, just large black refuse bins - I found this surprising in this day and age. We took our recycling home with us. The description suggests a walk to Baycliff for a drink or food in the Inn, but I don't belive this should be included in the description - it's a 3.5 mile round trip on a very busy road - we love walking so the distance wouldn't necessarily put me off, but I don't think walking on such a busy and pavementless road, especially at night, would be very sensible - there may well be a public footpath across the fileds, but that wasn't obvious even with the maps we took - if there is a path then the proprty infomation booklet would benefit from this addition, otherwise remove the walk to Baycliff from the description or make it more accurate about what type of walk a trip to the pub would be. We really nejoyed the holiday, it was a good location for exploring the Lakes, but we would stay in Coniston or Grasmere next time - much prettier and definitely walking distance to a pub.

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• Graham - Verified booking

  To whom it may concern, I would like to bring to your attention my disappointment with my recent stay at the Oakwood Lodge, Windemere which was purchased through the Sykes Cottages Website.

  Unfortunately, this property was described as a lodge which it clearly isn’t. It is a form of static caravan with cladding which looks like a lodge. First impressions of the caravan were that it was acceptable, however this quickly changed when we spent the first few hours in the caravan with our 6-year-old and 9-month-old children. There was a dirty dishes in the cupboard, and we could not find a brush and shovel anywhere within. I did however find a mop which was filthy and unsuitable for use. Despite my wife washing it twice on a hot wash in the washing machine it was still unusable. This resulted in us having to use baby wipes to clean the mess on the floor. Which in turn meant our 9-month-old was restricted to the travel cot and highchair which was also unclean and unhygienic. The straps were covered in food and other detritus. The blind in the twin room was broken. It would go down but would not go up. As were both blinds in the living room, one had to be manually moved along due to the control stick being broken off, the other had the control stick attached but was missing key fittings and not held safely captive. The fridge was a really poor fit and would not shut unless it was lifted into position. The toilet seat in the main bathroom was loose therefore anytime you sat on it, it felt like you were on a fairground ride. There was also a crack on one of the floor tiles and the tile itself was wobbly. I did note that the proprietor was aware of the crack in the bedroom wardrobe mirror. For as nice a feature the hot tub was it in full view of the veranda on the neighbouring caravan. Maybe I was doing something wrong, but I could not get the decking outdoor lights to work, and I also noted that there was a broken spar fencing beside the hot tub. It should also be noted that the end drainpipe next to the living room was disconnected and clogged with weeds, twigs and moss. Critically though was the lack of Wi-Fi at the accommodation. Our welcome note stated that Wi-Fi was supplied by the site, however this Wi-Fi was very weak, slow and unable to penetrate into the property. Wi-Fi was only accessible outside the property. For a 4-star accommodation I would have expected our own Wi-Fi within the accommodation. In conclusion I was not impressed with the money that I spent for the service we received. This break cost my family £914, and I was very disappointed. I look forward to you response/explanation to these small issues I found Regards Graham Gulvin

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• Chris - Verified booking

  Good location for exploring the lake district.

  Our two sons loved the 5-aside court and had a brilliant time playing with younger and older kids. However, there were elements that were disappointing. Directions for finding the lodge were poor and incorrect. A wrong gate entry code in our arrival email meant we caused a holdup trying to get into the park. Very poor cleanliness when we arrived. There were pills and medication left loose on the carpet in one of the bedrooms. If we had been with very young children this would have been a serious concern. The floors possibly had been hoovered but we found the hoover was broken, quite obviously so and there was a dustpan but no brush. One of the curtain blinds in the bedroom was completely off the wall and just on a dirty floor. The screws had physically been pulled out of the wall. Despite advertising there was an allocated space to BBQ, there was no BBQ slate or brick to protect the decking, meaning that despite the advertising, we weren't able to - a shame considering we had good weather. There is no WIFI at the lodge, despite advertising to the contrary. When we enquired about this at the main reception we were told the wifi signal there was probably too weak. The hot tub was lovely, a real bonus at the end of the day. This doesn't appear to be cleaned or tested daily, although there is a sign to say it is. On two occasions the filter was left in pieces in the water and not put back together. After mentioning this to reception, there was no visit or fix so we just used it as it was and hoped for the best. We were told the bar, restaurant and areas surrounding it were not dog friendly by the park reception prior to the visit. This was incorrect, dogs can go everywhere apart from the play park. We phoned Sykes twice during our stay to try and fix a few of the bigger problems. The Sykes helpdesk were very good. Ringing us back when the line got disconnected was much appreciated. Even after these calls only some of the problems were fixed, and required people coming into the lodge during our holiday to try and do maintenance, which seemed the wrong time for this to occur. The help desk also informed us that they only hear of problems when people phone up to let them know, which begs the question what sort on ongoing maintenance contract is there? If I was the owner of this lodge and was renting it out, I would be pretty frustrated at the problems we encountered. For this amount of money, I would look elsewhere for a family holiday.

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• Amanda - Verified booking

  The double bed is too small for two people and no, we’re not overweight.

  I took it and can honestly say it’s the worse bed I’ve ever slept in. A big thick winter duvet during a heatwave, old and worn duvet cover and pillowcases, and, horrible pillows which have created a problem with my neck. I daren’t join my husband in the twin room as he said the same and the beds looked fit for children, not adults. The red decor is depressing and old fashioned and those Roman blinds don’t filter air through. The shower in the en suite is very small so we used the one over the bath. The toilet flush in the bathroom isn’t in very good working order. The little tv in the main bedroom doesn’t work. I had maintenance man out who appeared to fix it but then when I went to bed to watch it, it was broken again. I don’t believe for a second that you’re not aware of it either. The oven doesn’t look safe, you can only turn it off by switching it off at the main switch on the wall. What happens if someone assumes it’s been turned off and goes out? The switches on the oven are faulty? I was surprised that there wasn’t any handsoap in the bathrooms. There was some in the kitchen. We also had to ask for toilet paper. I wouldn’t class staying in the lodge as cheap and there are areas which didn’t meet my expectations which didn’t make me feel like I’d got value for money. Nobody had swept the decking and it was filthy. I think someone needs to take a good look at it and maybe have a night in ‘that bed’ so that you understand what I’m saying. The position of the lodge was perfect under the trees during the heatwave. Ps why are kitchen weighing scales in one of the kitchen drawers without batteries? Neither use nor ornament.

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• Hafiza - Verified booking

  Not clearly advertised.

  It should be advertised as a ground floor apartment rather than a cottage. We were in snowdrop cottage. Cosmetically it looks really good & very modern. Instructions in regards to where the accommodation is located initially seems clear but when you’re driving past the place it’s very easy to miss because the images shown on the website don’t match up the actual external entrance steps leading to the property. We had to drive around & knock on the doors of at least 4 peoples houses before someone finally sent us the right way. The property looked clean upon first appearance. When I lifted the bed covers back to look inside the bed it was covered in lots of hair. I had to use the washing machine to get it clean again before we could use it again. The washing machine was combined with a dryer. The dryer function was so hard to use every time you tried using the dryer function alone it would start washing again first. I put the wash on at 8pm and it was 6am in the morning before we got half the bedding dry & got in bed. The dishes inside the drawers had food stains & remnants on them. The heating couldn’t really be controlled properly. When we turned it on coz it was cold we’d be waiting for hours and it still wouldn’t warm up. However around 11pm & throughout the night it would be boiling hot throughout the whole place even when we turned it down & opened the double patio doors to cool the rooms down. There was no windows inside the bedroom that could be opened. The patio area wasn’t very secure as someone could walk up the stairs from the main road & walk around the house & onto the patio as there were no gates.

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