Last Minute Cottages in Morpeth

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• David - Verified booking

  Overall we were happy with the property and our brief stay.

  It was easy to get in and out, keys via keybox. A few things left us with a feeling that it could have been an even better experience. And so in that spirit, I've typed a few things: We loved the kitchen, well equipped, with a large table, a great gathering space. The rooms were clean and the beds comfy. The lounge chairs and sofa also comfy although it is a little dingy in that lounge room and the lights are the excessively bright white LED ones which glare. They don't suit the fittings. Warm white lamps and covers to shield the glare would change things easily and make the room feel more comfortable.. It felt like good value - a nice place to stay for the fee paid. The location overall is good for exploring the area - Morpeth has most things and 10 mins away. The village itself doesn't have much but ok for short walks. Now the things that made it less than 'amazing': 1) The stairs, which others have mentioned, are quite steep and 'short' as in it's best to walk with feet pointing sideways when going up and down them. They are not carpeted, but wooden, slightly polished, which in socks (we left our shoes at the back door, we don't wear shoes inside) made us cautious walking down them. I imagine anyone less steady on their feet might also be wary. A photo of these would be helpful before booking. 2) Shortly after arriving we (the kids and I) went shopping, leaving my wife and the dog in the house. When we came back my wife told me that she was surprised to see the owner, who lives in the building next door (which we didn't realise is joined to this property via a glass door with a curtain across it). - who had knocked, unlocked the glass door and walked into the property. To 'reset the electrics' or something. Ok, fair enough, but use the front door maybe? As guests / visitors would. There is actually access from both sides of the property via glass doors with curtains behind (locked normally and with a 'closed' sign hanging on the door0 and this was not something we noticed from the original description. We didn't feel we had the place to ourselves because of this. To be honest, this one event really freaked out our teenage daughter who then insisted on checking the doors and cupboards before bed each night. I think photos of the connecting doors and an explanation in the description would have cleared this up. The connecting doors are not soundproof - there are gaps around the sides and floor and the curtain is drawn across on the opposite side - as in we couldn't add privacy ourselves. This was probably the biggest downside for us. Partly just because the photos / description didn't show it. 3) then there were some minor annoyances. The shower head doesn't sit in the holder unless completely vertical. If angled to shower, it falls out. of the holder. The extractor fan doesn't work. The 2nd toilet is downstairs and in a very small space - not upstairs where we thought it was as part of an ensuite (maybe we just missed this in the description). When we arrived, the toaster still had crumbs on it from the previous visitors. And the microwave had splatter on the inside of the door. Everything else was clean. So as I say, overall we were satisfied, and we really liked spending time in the kitchen, there were just a few things that took the shine off ithe stay and that we had not picked up / read in the description. So the above is said in the spirit of improving the experience for others.

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• Olga - Verified booking

  I have used Sykes cottages for many years now and unfortunately this was our least favourite cottage.

  I will list the positives and negatives. Positives: - very clean - great location for sightseeing - really peaceful and quiet at night - very comfortable beds - upstairs family bedroom nice size Negatives: - downstairs is TINY. As a family of four it felt very cramped, for example we had to rearrange the furniture to extend the table to eat a meal. Pictures of the cottage have been taken in a creative way to hide how small it is. Upstairs bedroom is the same size as kitchen, dining / sitting area and the bathroom put together. We were constantly bumping onto one another. - Water pressure is abysmal, it is close to impossible to take a proper shower - Washing machine is shared with other cottages and located in reception which is locked after 8pm. This might not be an issue for everyone, but I do washing every two days while on holiday so I do not come back home to a huge pile of washing. The washing machine is also used by the cleaner of the other cottages, so on one occasion I came back to find out that someone has turned off my washing mid way through the cycle. - Garden is shared an impossible to enjoy due to it being covered in dog mess, my children found out the hard way on our first day (this is a big no no). Occupants of other cottages let their dogs run free without a lead, doing their business on the garden lawn. - Internet is slow and unreliable - kitchen isn't well equipped if you are trying to cook a real meal, for example the biggest pot nowhere near large enough to cook spaghetti - no mixer tap in kitchen and bathroom, makes it really frustrating to wash up and use the bathroom sink - this is the first cottage we visited that didn't have a BBQ provided - noisy in the morning (dogs barking) As you can see, the negatives outweigh the positives. Due to its size, I would recommend this cottage to a couple with a dog who don't like to cook on holiday. For a small family, like ourselves, with two teenage kids, one autistic and needing their own space, another afraid of dogs, it wasn't a great choice

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• Frances - Verified booking

  This cottage is MUCH smaller than it appears on the website.

  There is no way that it could comfortably accommodate four people, as claimed in the listing. There were only two of us and we still tripped over each other. The only door to the living area gave you a nasty clout if you happened to be in the tiny kitchen, making tea or even worse, kneeling to get something from the fridge. (You open the fridge door and the living room door simultaneously at your peril!) This cottage would be wholly unsuitable for the frail or elderly as the only loo is downstairs and the bedroom is upstairs, so if you needed to use the bathroom during the night, it would be tricky. The Sykes description states "a lovely fitted kitchen with many modern appliances". There was a small fridge, no freezer, no dishwasher, no washing machine and an electric cooker that had clearly seen better days. It was peaceful only if you didn't mind barking dogs and people walking backwards and forwards outside. I accept that I booked this cottage in haste and did not examine the description as I normally do, but I do feel it is misrepresented and certainly doesn't deserve the three ticks Sykes have given it. As for "cosy" - claustrophobic would be more accurate. Sorry but I did not enjoy staying here. I have used Sykes cottages several times and this is the first time I have been disappointed.

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• Helen - Verified booking

  Lovely cottage.

  Very well equipped. Beds were comfortable and everywhere was very clean. It is a pet friendly home but you really wouldn't know this. The parking as in the description was very very tight and I only have a Polo, however we actually only moved the car once in the week we were there as we took advantage of the £2 bus fares on most days. The bus stop to Alnwick is about 40 steps from the house (slightly more steps on the way back!). The only one thing I would mention (and I did leave a note for the owner), is that the back garden is completely overgrown. It may be the owners are going for a "no mow" area, but there was nothing to suggest that, and I think the path from the back door to the parking area should be clear. On rainy days you get very wet legs! I think it would be almost impossible to clear up after a pet without going on hands and knees! All in all though a very enjoyable stay. I would definitely return because of the location and facilities.

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• Abby - Verified booking

  We had a fantastic stay over New Year.

  The property was lovely, spacious, and wonderfully quiet, which we really appreciated. The full house was immaculate, very clean and tidy. The kitchen facilities were great overall, but I do have a couple of suggestions for the owners as we stayed inside for the majority of our stay, and utilised the kitchen. It would be helpful to either provide a knife sharpener or replace the knives, as they were quite dull and made it challenging to cut some vegetables. Additionally, I’d recommend adding a larger pot, like a wok, to the cookware selection. We ended up asking family members who were visiting to bring a big pan so we could make spaghetti bolognese, though this might just be a personal preference! Great to have sky with access to the Netflix app too!

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