Villas In The Lake District

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Andrew - Verified booking

  Holiday cottage was absolutely lovely but marred by a couple of things: 1.

  When we got ready for bed on the first night, the bedding had a damp / musty smell that was unacceptable to sleep in. We had to go into Kendal the next morning to buy washing powder and Frebeeze. All bedding had to be washed on a hot wash and dried before we could sleep in the bed, which somewhat curtailed our day by having to be on hand to do the laundry. The towels had the same damp smell and fortunately we bought our own towels so did not use the towels provided by the cottage. 2. Due to the snow, we got stranded on Saturday and could not make it back to the cottage - which is nobodies fault. Fortunately we found refuge in a holiday park about 12 miles away. We contacted Sykes to advise them we could not make it back to the cottage in case the cottage owners wondered where we were due to the snow conditions. When we did eventually manage to arrive back to the cottage (by foot due to roads being impassable for the car) on Sunday morning, the owners greeted us by saying "we turned off the heating as you hadn't come back" - bearing in mind the cold temperatures and not getting back to the cottage on the Saturday night, it seemed very miserly for the owners to turn off the heating when we would have welcomed a warm cosy cottage to return too. We asked the owners if we could stay an extra night due to the road conditions (Police advised motorists not to travel due to the snowy and icy roads conditions), the owners said we could stay - thank you. Only for about 2 hours later to receive a text from the owners saying it would be and extra £100 to stay for an additional night. As the weather conditions dictated our options, we agreed to pay the additional £100 but there seemed little goodwill due to the exceptional conditions and whilst the cottage itself was lovely, it left a feeling of the owners penny pinching on energy costs and trying to benefit from cashing in on the weather situation. A few minor points: electric plug socket in the kitchen is loose and could be dangerous. Shower leaks a little and wets the toilet roll. Light in the lounge flickers on and off.

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• Arun - Verified booking

  A quick couple of points: 1.

  Location is great. 2. One of the best decorated properties of it's category that I've come across. 3. Property is mostly well maintained but some things have been a let down that could be improved: - One of the most uncomfortable mattresses I've ever come across. Despite there being a heavy topper, could feel most coil springs against my back the whole night making for a very uncomfortable sleep. - Cobwebs in a number of places within the property such as behind curtains, top of kitchen units etc and a thick coat of dust accumulated over time under the bed frame with a pill lying down there - whatever it was for. - No separate key to the one bedroom suite/Flat on the first floor - the only lockable door being the main entrance door on ground floor. This made it feel rather insecure for us - it's like being able to lock the one external door but not the door to the flat itself as there were no keys provided for it. Further, there's a curtain on the outside of the flat door to allow someone outside the flat to view into the flat rather than having that curtain on the inner side of the flat to let residents close it for privacy or to open and look out if needed. It may serve some purpose but not one I could understand as it was external to the first floor flat allowing a view in. - It gets very dark outside shortly after 4pm in the winter months - the lighting that's outside the property but within the lodge area is very dim and insufficient - most people end up having to walk around within the property grounds with a torch when they need to. Better/brighter street lighting in the gated area would be much appreciated by most tenants I'm sure.

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• Jane - Verified booking

  The Gallery is a wonderful romantic bolthole.

  Everything was spotlessly clean on arrival. The open plan room is large enough to have living, kitchen, dining and bed zones without any sense of being cramped and there is plenty of storage. The kitchen is equipped with everything that most cooks would need, but the location is within easy distance by car or bus if you prefer to eat out. There is a small patio with table and chairs and use of the lovely communal gardens, thronging with wildlife. Thoughtful touches such as a rug and folding chairs if you want to go out on a picnic, plus books, games, DVDs and CDs galore on those days you might want or need to snuggle down. Just over 100m off the main Windermere to Ambleside road, there is only a faint hum from the traffic. There is a bus stop at the turn off and currently fares all over the Lake District are pegged to £2 - a really cheap trip up to Keswick, for example, with no fuel or parking costs. Brockhole Visitor Centre is only a 5 minute walk away. Three things prevented it being perfect: 1. The listing photos imply there is a view of the lake, which is not so and I was extremely disappointed about this. 2. The hot tap for the bath and shower is rather temperamental. 3. I note from another post that one of the window's double glazing had blown and this has not yet been fixed. Despite these niggles, I would recommend The Gallery as a lovely place to stay.

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• Rachael - Verified booking

  Thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Dove Tail Barn.

  What a gorgeous location nestled away from any hustle and bustle and very little traffic on the country roads near by. Made for lovely evening walks without needing to drive out somewhere. The owners were super friendly and helpful (we never needed anything as everything was there for us and explained on arrival) but any time they were out working and saw us there was always a friendly good morning and a little chat about where is good to go etc. The bed at Dove Tail Barn is absolutely amazing, we both said it's the best nights sleep we've had in a long time. Very comfortable (though my partner did comment he was a little shocked at first it being low down to the floor). The sound of the rain pitter pattering off the roof as you doze off is just the best. The bed linen itself was lovely and fresh smelling, very cosy and plenty of pillows if we'd needed more. One of my favourite things was watching the farmer in the fields opposite herding his sheep up with the quad bike, very clever! Overall we've had a super time and left feeling relaxed after a few days in the countryside! Highly recommend and we'll definitely be back.

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• Tim - Verified booking

  The Gallery was a revelation to us, we were incredibly impressed with the quality of the accomodation and the fixtures and fittings.

  It is an excpetional place to stay and the owner(s) should be very proud of what they have achieved with it. We couldn't fault anything major. The only flaw we could find is that as shower lovers we felt that the money spent on a whirlpool bath could have been invested in a more powerful shower!? It's in a beautiful location and although we ventured to Ambleside, Windermere, Grasmere and Bowness we were so incredibly pleased to be staying away from the crowds. We spent most of the week very locally, and walked around a deserted Brockhole and down to the lakeside almost every night. It was a joy to visit and the minor issues we had while we were away were dealt with at speed and very professionally - the local powercut completely beyond anyones control! We would suggest that a dedicated phone line for guests might help with dealing with enquiries and issues rather than having them share the line with enquiries about portential bookings. Finally to anyone considering The Gallery - please don't book to stay here yourself, we'd love to come back and stay again!!

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