New Year Breaks In The Lake District

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Sarah - Verified booking

  The house is very well appointed, the bed comfortable, the shower powerful and hot.

  Cooking facilities and equipment generally excellent. Given it’s new I’d give the following feedback and hope it’s helpful going forward. Quilt tog of 15 was far too hot even after we turned the radiator off for the following 4 days. A full length mirror in the landing or in bedroom would be useful. Wi-Fi code info needs to be in brochure as would how to open bedroom windows as I didn’t fathom this either. It would be nice to include an initial bag of logs… if you arrive at 4/5 or later it’s not ideal to go looking and a real fire is part of the attraction… or provide for a small charge? A shelf in the bathroom for toiletries would be useful… otherwise people will put stuff on window cill and the paint will quickly be marked. Some baking sheets would also be useful … the pie dishes were fine to put things in but again will be marked very quickly … as I found them not easy to get all marks off even with a good dose of elbow grease. There is a leak from next doors waste pipe out the back and this gives a constant slapping sound which is irritating at night. And finally we would suggest being more clear about the tightness of access and egress from the cottage in a medium to large vehicle… we found it a challenge in our Kia Nero especially if the bins are not pulled right in… even worse in the dark. But these did not distract from a great time in a fab location… just might be worth consideration for the future…. We walked everyday from the property without using the car… did cat bells, round the lake, latrigg fell and the railway line to Threlkeld. In the car we went to borrowdale, bassenthwaite, and buttermere. Great hearty food at the dog and gun… goulash is huge! And tasty. Best meal a tFellpack… modern dining. Great selection of beers at the crafty baa.. and very filling sharing platter. Tourist information office full of very helpful staff, ideas for walks and guide maps at £1.25 for about 5/6 walks from the town. Highly recommend a stay. Many thanks

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• Kenneth - Verified booking

  We stayed at the adjacent flat last year and that one too had a dehumidifier that had to be run full time to control the damp.

  The attendance each morning of woodlice in the lounge exemplified the inherent damp problem. I suggest the DPM under the floor is ruptured. The matress cover was badly stained and smelt stale and we could only change it after boxing day when the office reopened, the exchange was facilitated by a pleasant lady. On departure we left a full box of Fairey washing tablets and a dozen toilet rolls on top of the fridge. I called at the office the following day (we are local people) and was told that the cleaner had not brought them to the office yet. I returned to claim the 'lost property' the next morning to be told the cleaner was off sick. I returned the next day to be informed after a pleasant conversation which then turned sour that it 'was my fault as I had left them in the cottage'. I am well aware that 'it is my fault' but as a customer I don't need to be reminded of my apparent inadequacies and the situation /discussion escalated into one of anger on my part for which I apologise. However I believe the gentleman involved should have a bit of retraining. He could easily defused the situation by saying 'here's £9 go and buy a new box'. The situation now exists that coupled with the damp, poorly serviced cleaning and inflamed situation regarding lost property now means that hell will freeze over before I use your agency again. If somebody wants to talk to me about the situation my phone is 07831817310 email ken@burchill.eu however I doubt I will be contacted

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• Eleanor - Verified booking

  We were moved to this cottage last minute the evening before our holiday by Sykes who suddenly cancelled our original booking.

  Only 3 alternative options were given, the other 2 being further from the lake district so not suitable. The owner was extremely friendly and helpful over the phone and the location in the centre of town was great, and we were grateful they accepted the last minute booking. It had a large kitchen, was clean and warm and a visitor permit for parking was provided. It worked well as a base for exploring the Lakes and isn't too far from Windermere and Ambleside. Our main issue was that this was not an equivalent cottage to the one we had originally booked (this was entirely Sykes doing and not the owner's who had given accurate details when we checked their listing so please don't hesitate to book this cottage if it meets your requirements). We had booked a 2 bedroom pet friendly cottage that slept 4 adults, with large living room and views, and had made sure this had wifi which my partner needed to be able to work, and also had a washing machine and dishwasher. Unfortunately the cottage we were moved to had none of these and Sykes suggesting this was an equivalent alternative for the same price I feel was very dishonest. My partner ended up having to leave early due to the lack of wifi and phone signal and there was only one bedroom and one bed, which would have been a bit of a squeeze if 4 adults had been coming! We have still had no response/apology or partial refund from Sykes and I would be very hesitant to book with them again after this experience.

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• Ed - Verified booking

  Overall, this is a lovely cottage that is generally well-equipped and in an excellent location.

  Staveley is a lovely village to stay in. The following comments are just things to be aware of / for the owners to consider to really improve the experience of staying at Stone Cottage. Firstly, and most importantly, please replace the mattress and pillows as these are very uncomfortable. I also don't think the bed is king-sized as per the listing. Secondly, little things, but please leave more than one toilet roll for a seven night stay. It doesn't cost much to provide enough toilet roll for the week, but it's very annoying for guests to have to go and buy their own. Also, please provide a towel and/or kitchen roll for the kitchen. Also, for people with a dog, regarding the garden, people should note (as the listing doesn't) that: 1) the neighbours have a right of access through the back garden so can just walk through the garden if they need to. They only did once in the week to put their bin out while we were there. 2) the gate to the garden is a metal gate with gaps between the bars so if you have a very small dog, they could probably fit between these bars. Someone had commented that they had this problem in the guestbook. I didn't mean this to be a complaining review as we had a lovely week, but I just think these are small changes that could really improve people's stay or things that people should be aware of before booking.

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• Tom - Verified booking

  Charming and very well equipped cottage in small village of Staveley, just a few minutes drive from Windermere.

  House is clean and comfortable with a decent sized living and dining area, excellent kitchen with good oven and everything you need for a week self catering. Nice conservatory/sun room at the back. There is a long lawned garden at the rear which our greyhound enjoyed running up and down. Bike storage available in the lockable garden shed although there isn’t much space so you may struggle to fit more than one bike in there (particularly MTBs). Decent sized bedroom with large comfortable bed and plenty of storage/spare bedding. Amazing shower. DVD player advertised on Sykes but not present - not a problem for us but worth considering if the forecast isn’t good! Location wise, Staveley is a great choice for exploring the area. Only ten minutes drive (or 25 min cycle) to Bowness and similar to Kendal. The village has a Spar for essentials and a few cafes, also a large Wheelbase bike shop which is very well stocked. The Hawkshead Brewery is well worth a visit, excellent beer and live music on Sundays. We really enjoyed our week in Staveley and would definitely stay at Stone Cottage again if we return.

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