Villas With Hot Tubs In Pickering

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Ruth - Verified booking

  We had a thoroughly enjoyable 5-night stay at The Lodge over Christmas.

  The house is huge. There were 16 of us, including 3 children and a dog, and there was plenty of room. Having two separate reception rooms was great. The two pre-teens could play games on the TV in one room. The adults could gather and talk in the other. The wood-burning stove was very cosy. We used it every evening. The beds were very comfortable, with crisp cotton bedlinen. The house was very clean and well equipped (although the kitchen needs an electric whisk or a hand whisk, and the cutlery needs upgrading). We enjoyed the lovely garden and the hot tub. The WiFi was excellent. Having Netflix and Prime on the TV was a great bonus over Christmas. The dining room, though a little cramped, did seat all of us for large family meals. The huge wooden kitchen island was ideal for breakfast and lunches, and general communal gathering. The first floor bathroom was wonderfully luxurious but not really enough for all the people on that floor, especially when the ground floor lavatory was out of commission (see below). There were great things to do in the area: I highly recommend the North Yorkshire Moors Railway Santa Special steam train ride from Pickering and the stunning medieval wall paintings in Pickering church. The Coachman is a great up-market pub and we enjoyed the Boxing Day live music with a few pints in The Peacock pub. Two things detracted a little from our overall enjoyment. The ground floor toilet next to the dining room got blocked on the second day and was unable to be fixed so was out of commission for almost all of our stay. Julie sent out maintenance people, who did not arrive until late afternoon of the third day. They were unable to fix it as the problem was not to do with the Saniflo system but with a blockage in an outside pipe. This meant the shower was also out of commission. This was awkward, given the number of people staying. In addition, the toilet spontaneously overflowed on Christmas Day night. I know it was Christmas but I would have liked this to have been attended to. Not having this toilet and this shower was an issue. Secondly, the heating was quirky. When we arrived at 4 pm, the house temperature was 8 degrees. We zapped it up, but it took 3 hours for the house to reach a comfortable temperature. The annex, where my 96-year-old mother was staying, was cold a lot of the time. We were able to fix this somewhat by ensuring that the 2 electric convector heaters were switched on at 8 pm, but the annex was generally cold for most of the time and not really cosy for an older person. Other things to fix: the ground floor annex loo and shower need upgrading, but they do function OK. The dining room table was two tables put end to end, and although it seated 16 easily, the join between the tables did not leave enough space between the table legs for a person to sit comfortably at that place. The welcome pack was lovely but next time please provide milk and a few tea bags, or let us know in advance that these are not supplied. Our groceries were not delivered until 7 pm and we would have liked a cup of tea before then. There are no shops in the village. The nearest place to pick up groceries is 5 miles away. Some of the upstairs windows were unable to be opened. Recycling arrangements are unsatisfactory. There needs to be a clearly-marked receptacle for recycling. Having both the recycling and the rubbish in black bags meant that our guests constantly put rubbish in the recycling and vice versa. The kitchen needs more than three tea towels. We also needed a few larger bath towels. Please tell guests to bring kindling and firelighters for the woodburning stove.

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• Loren - Verified booking

  Lovely place it was huge and definitely did what it needed to do.

  I wouldn’t say it was 5 star though, maybe 4 stars for a couple of reasons: It wasn’t very clean, all the coasters and matts were still dirty and a bread stick and plaster was found down the side of the sofa in one of the living rooms. Some of the bedrooms were absolutely freezing, I believe this is because the radiators didn’t work properly and needed bleeding as they were on but wouldn’t get any hotter and unlike other rooms in the house they had single panes of glass where as other rooms had a perspex sheeting ontop. When we arrived it would have been nice to have some sort of welcome hamper with a bottle of wine/prosecco and maybe some biscuit, tea bags and milk in the fridge, as it was a lot of money for 3 nights but there was no nice little thank you waiting for us. I have paid less before and got a lovely welcome hamper in previous Sykes cottages. I would have also expected a couple of matches and firelighters for the wood burner as the first night we couldn’t get it lit. It did say on the website these would be provided for the first night. Some of the rooms were a little cheap looking, one room was decorated amazingly, if all the rooms were like this then it would have made it feel a lot more up class and 5 star. The downstairs room was nice but the corridor leading up to it seemed really outdated, almost like a school locker room, this was one of the rooms that were freezing. I would also add it would benefit from having more mirrors in each room as it was hard for a large group of women to all get ready at the same time by sharing mirrors. And possibly more sockets closer to the mirrors as it was hard drying and styling hair so far away from the mirrors. On the other hand the showers were always lovely and hot, it was a lovely quiet village, the kitchen was amazing I loved the huge island it fit all our alcohol, snacks and more for the weekend. There’s a great pub up the road called The Coachman Inn, serving amazing food, but the service there was rubbish, I’m saying this just so others who go can expect that. The hot tub was great, it had a lot of grit in it obviously from people walking on the decking, but this would be hard to manage. It is a 15 minute drive from Dalby forest and a 20 minute drive from Scarborough. I would definitely recommend it to large familie/parties. Thanks for having us! Loren

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• Alastair - Verified booking

  The Lodge was a perfect house for our large family Christmas.

  We were initially concerned that it wouldn't feel like Christmas but we need not have worried as it had certainly been made to feel Christmassy, thank you! We were grateful that we could get in touch with the owners/ managing agents fairly early on as there were a few issues that needed addressing and getting an answer from Sykes was impossible. Thank you for sorting out the secondary glazing for our stay and although I know that you are in the process of changing these, we do still feel that clients should be made aware that some windows can't open if these are left in place. Despite the size and age of the property the house was extremely cosy. The one area that could do with a little more warmth was the corridor to the downstairs bedroom - perhaps curtains at the doors/ carpet on the floor? With all 15 of us using WiFi, we were grateful to have super efficient broadband! Thank you! The property is fairly well stocked with equipment although a few more mugs and extra tea towels (or let clients know to bring more than the two provided) would be beneficial. The dishwasher is also fairly old and although it worked ok during our stay, is held together by a plastic wire and has a very wobbly bottom shelf. It was also really handy to have a hand soap for each basin, thank you. The garden is huge and although we didn't use it as such, having the grounds and the hot tub was fantastic. We visited The Coachman Inn a number of times and can highly recommend. The little shop that also serves fish and chips was very handy and the butchers also has various provisions. There are some good walks, both local and further a field. If I could give the owners/ managers a separate star rating it would be a 5 as they were always at the end of a phone and very happy to sort out the few issues we had despite it being Christmas. I am absolutely sure that once all the updates have been completed at The Lodge, it will receive a very well deserved 5 star too.

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• Louise - Verified booking

  We recently spent a weekend at The Lodge for a family celebration, and all had a great time.

  The Lodge is suitable for a large group, with plenty of space over 3 floors. The kitchen is a fabulous feature, with a large central island for gathering round. 2 seperate sitting rooms both had comfy sofas, together with a TV in each. Large dining room allows all guests to gather and eat together, although it was disappointing to find that the Aga is a non working feature! The property is listed as 5* but I feel there are several factors which let it down, and do not feel it is worthy of those 5 stars. The dishwasher - this was damaged and has been 'repaired' using string! Unfortunately this repair does not work and meant a lot of washing up, which is not what we wanted to be doing while away. The external lighting was practically non- existent. The light near the hot tub is damaged and non operational, and the only light that came on, lit up after you had gone past the large step/trip hazard. The downstairs bedroom annex is in desperate need of updating. The toilet and shower room are awful and feels like you are in an old church hall! The loft rooms are also quite soul-less and need some TLC, something as simple as bleeding the radiators to heat the room would help!. There are numerous problems with curtain tracks in the property with hooks missing, curtains falling off, or not opening/closing. Despite there being lots of pans in the kitchen, there is a lack of serving bowls. A coffee machine would also be a great addition. Most self catering properties we have stayed in have a 'staples' cupboard where you can find salt, pepper, sugar, herbs etc. but there was absolutely nothing like this which meant a trip out for basics. Finally, you are asked to strip the beds and leave all bedding down in the dining room....I am sorry but that is not something I expect from 5* accomodation. This said, we had an enjoyable weekend and if a small amount of money was spent on finishing touches, we would recommend the property.

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• Julie - Verified booking

  We were very pleased with the property in general.

  The well kept garden was secure for all the children, who played there all week, especially in more overgrown section which was their jungle hideaway and adventure playground. The kitchen was well appointed and was the focus of the house. Plenty of good quality crockery and cookware so that we could prepare family meals together; a pity therefore that there were a couple of minor items missing. Good knives need a sharp edge, but I couldn't find a method of sharpening them. Resorted to using an old trick of using a terracotta plant pot rim to get a decent edge, until a late arrival brought a steel with her. Also a whisk would be useful, as making scrambled eggs for twelve proved to be an issue. The bathroom and shower rooms were very clean and well maintained, there was plenty of provision for the number of guests the property can hold. Similarly, bedrooms are airy and light, with good quality bed linen. A couple of the rooms had wardrobes that are looking a bit tired, but this is another minor concern. To my mind the bigger issue was that in a majority of rooms the Windows would not open, in fact the sash windows were covered with a sheet of clear Perspex. During our visit it was warm and the inability to open windows prevented us having a cooling breeze circulating the upper floors. We would return to The Lodge, it is very easy to reach Scarborough and other parts of this beautiful county. The location is superb, the general setting is superb and the house makes having a family holiday easy.

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