New Year Cottages in the Lake District

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Julia - Verified booking

  DOMVS was in a great great location - a few minutes walk from Windermere town & railway station, and slap on a bus route.

  It is a beautiful house with a grand, but comfortable, living room with large bay windows facing the lovely garden and wonderful views beyond. There is a small conservatory attached and access to the garden and patio sitting areas (one house level and one lower) which were lovely places to congregate at the end of the day for early evening drinks, as the weather was good. The kitchen was a good size and reasonably well equipped (see comments on inventory later) with a useful utility room. Likewise, the dining room has everything needed and just fitted 12 people reasonably comfortably around the table which occupies most of the room. This looked tight but worked well. Of note, it would cause less confusion if Sykes called this property the name actually on the gate as looking for DOMVS reveals absolutely nothing either on Google, or when there, since the house is called Rannerdale! (It’s also impossible to say, DOMVS!). 4 of the ensuite bedrooms were ample or large, and attractive, doubles, 2 seemingly quite luxurious (see later). The 2 twin bedrooms were, by contrast, very small and basic, with some issues (see under ‘rooms’). Of note, all the bedrooms, with the exception of the huge garden facing ‘master’ bedroom, had an aspect onto the road and were therefore subject to traffic noise and less interesting views (curious the house was built with most of the rooms not facing the beautiful garden and view at the back!). Not a major problem, but one needs to be aware of it as it is a well used road. As mentioned, this made it convenient, which was the upside of that. Issues with the property. 1. Very few bedroom windows opened, and if they did, it wasn’t very wide, which was a major downside and should be clearly indicated in advance. Ventilation in a bedroom is absolutely key, especially as most people in a shared property want to shut the bedroom door for privacy. A few of the rooms had fans, but a fan can only circulate air and, if there is no fresh air coming into the room, it is simply circulating stale air. We appreciate double glazing is to keep road noise out, but it must be down to the individual whether they prefer fresh air with traffic noise, or recirculated stale air. This problem was unfortunately, particularly noticeable in the small twin rooms, and in the tower room. This room, although fabulous visually, with multiple small windows along all four walls (so like the master bedroom, had a great view over the back from one set), gave rise to enormous challenges as not a single window was openable (despite a large claw bath in the room, which was a wonderful luxury in one way, but problematic ventilation wise, therefore, in another and had necessitated a dehumidifier in the room which did it’s best). Secondly, not all the blind pulleys worked properly or were accessible (??), so blocking out the sunlight on hot days was challenging. So we had to do some fixing of the little chains, some of which were insubstantial plastic, which came apart at the slightest tug. Since there was a significant amount of (wonderful!) light, it needed occlusion on hot sunny days and of course at night. Opening and closing every single blind each morning and evening was something of a challenge, not least, because there were so many to do, but also because some were almost impossible to reach, due to the geography and furniture of the room and the inaccessibility of the blind pulley chain. A taller person with a longer reach may have fared better. We set up a ‘Heath Robinson’ on one window over the stairs, leading down to the loo/shower room, in order to be able to adjust the blind. 2. No inventory; Sykes were not able to tell us what was and wasn’t there. For example, we were told there were no hairdryers, so some of us went to the bother of packing one, but in fact there were several. As most of us were travelling by train and some from overseas, this was not an inconsiderable nuisance, carrying the extra weight and taking luggage space unnecessarily. Also whether things like tea towels, dishwasher tablets, bin bags etc were provided. Whilst we appreciate that self catering means you provide your own food, by and large, it is absolutely impossible to bring every possible ingredient or kitchen item you might need for cooking, and it is customary for simple basics to be provided. There were some of these things there, but Sykes were unable to tell us, which which meant a lot of extra things being brought unnecessarily by the two side cars. This increases packing and unpacking time considerably and it is a waste of time. Clarity on exactly what is provided is essential, down to the number of cutlery, crockery and glasses sets, the types of kitchen implements etc. Cooks need to know what they are dealing with, which will dictate what kind of cooking they can do. 3. A certain amount of wear and tear was evident; as is to be expected in an old property, but certain functional things do need fixing, eg the dishwasher cutlery holder had large holes in it, which meant that cutlery dropped through, potentially hazardous to the function of the machine if not spotted, and with 12 people was hard to keep track of who knew, and who didn’t and who would remember! The glass shelf over the handbasin in one twin room was loose and hanging off its fixings, rendering it usable; therefore needs repair. 4. The waste disposal system was very confusing. The notices told us to put everything in the one large wheelie bin, where it would be sorted by the contractor into recycling and other. The large wheelie bin had a very big sign on the lid saying “no recyclables“! We’re also not aware of any other company offering this service and remain dubious about it, since, hearing the head of waste management in the UK on the radio recently talking about contamination of recyclables, it is pretty clear that prolonged exposure to grease permanently contaminates recycled paper for example, and it is hard to imagine in any case how any contractor could separate food waste from plastic, paper, card and so on. We would love a full explanation of how this is possible and it needs to be crystal clear. Everyone needs to be recycing as much as possible these days and we had taken great pains to keep our recyclables separate and were fairly astonished and sceptical when it was clear there was only one bin in which to put it all. 5. Rooms. The two twin rooms are quite pokey. It needs to be made very clear that the four doubles and the two twins are of very different sizes and standards. Twin rooms can be just as luxurious, but these were of inferior quality and really best for young children. We were six couples, ranging in age from late 60’s to mid 80s, and it was very hard allocating the twins for obvious reasons! Inevitably, neither couple were happy. If we had known in advance, we may well have chosen a property with more equal quality rooms, or, if we had decided this one was the right property, could have organised the room allocation in advance by whatever means, but it made a very awkward and time consuming first evening discussing allocation before we could all settle into the room we were finally allocated. 6. Other bedroom issues Moreover, the twin beds’ bedposts stick out at the top and catch the unwary; residents of these rooms sustained nasty bruises as a result of a hard knock, which didn’t add to their dissatisfaction of being in those rooms! Poor design. 7. One of the twin rooms had a faulty shower from the outset. The owner was there on our arrival day trying to get it fixed and was extremely apologetic and gave us two bottles of bubbly to compensate for the temporary inconvenience, which was felt reasonable, assuming the shower would be fixed the next day. It wasn’t though and, despite multiple visits from a plumber, remained unusable for five of the seven days of our stay.

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• Wayne - Verified booking

  We had a very disappointing experience at Beck edge.

  It does look exactly like the pictures on the website but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Parking is a problem. The roads around the property are very tight and very busy, not only with vehicles squeezing around the corner but also cyclists and pedestrians passing by right in front of the house, making it difficult to park and unload the car. The road noise woke us up in the morning due to a manhole cover which clank’s every time it’s driven over. The allotted parking space to the side of the house is really tight and you have to park close to the house wall to not block the neighbours drive. The key safe is located on the opposite side of the property through the rickety gate next to the side door and a scruffy rotting log store (not a great first impression). The key safe itself was difficult to operate and the front fell off once it had unlocked. Before we arrived we did received a message informing us the dishwasher had broken, which is annoying but these things happen. (There was a hand written note in the kitchen confirming this). The general feel of the place is dated and maintenance and investment in the property over the years is clearly lacking. Some of the issues we encountered were mentioned in a previous review and had apparently been resolved. The front door lock sticks and is really difficult to lock and unlock from the inside. (It’s identified in the safety paperwork as a fire exit which obviously is a big safety concern). Cupboard fronts, doors and plinths in the kitchen are poorly fitted and tired. I’m not sure the filters in the extractor fan have ever been cleaned? They are yellow with grease and the ceiling above is stained. The fridge doesn’t seem to be working efficiently, the lights doesn’t work, the bottom shelf is broken and the door is being held together with some sort of foam/adhesive. The manual in the kitchen is partly handwritten and difficult to read especially the oven instructions which have been crossed out and sketched in biro! There’s a sealed unit in the rear kitchen window which has broken down and is full of condensation along with a spotlight and bulb that have blown. This room just smelt very stale so we had to open all the window to freshen the place up. The blinds throughout the property are dirty and offer no privacy from the surrounding properties or roads. As previously mentioned the array of towels supplied are very small and really old, I’m not sure why they haven’t been replaced years ago. The main bathroom was functional and the water was hot but the rainbow shower curtain wasn’t very clean and had mildew around the bottom of it. The beds were fairly uncomfortable but the bedding old and worn, the single bed didn’t smell great and my son refused to sleep In it. We had a 2 night stay booked but decided to cut it short and travelled home a day early as we felt really uncomfortable at Beck edge. Although this property might be acceptable to some we felt it is in desperate need of a refurbishment and freshening up, there has clearly been no investment in the property over the last 20 years and it shows. And for such an outstanding area of the country where you have to pay a premium to stay, the standard of this property is simply not good enough. It’s very disappointing as we’ve used Sykes on several occasions and properties are usually of a very good standard, but unfortunately not this one.

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• Ji - Verified booking

  Hi When we arrived the cottage appeared to be a little tired from a previous stay there .

  It seems to need redecoration inside , though on the surface looked clean - it is in need of a deeper clean of the oven ( this was pretty dirty & caked with old grease on all sides / oven roof ) , shower needs deeper clean , toilet brushes need replacing (as these were rusted & disgusting ! ) Inside kitchen cupboards need cleaning . The self catering facility needs to be reviewed by the owner - no casserole type dishes , poor condition oven tins , only 3 mugs , No milk jug & a rather old dirty plastic measuring jug only to use for liquids . No salad type bowl etc - we did struggle with2 small white lasagne type dishes daily . We loved the location & generally the coziness of the place , but were disappointed by the fact that only one of the 3 beds were made up with a bottom sheet ? This sheet also was definitely not fresh ( had creased markings where 2 people had been sleeping & not clean ) We did contact the office , when we could get a signal the next day , as we arrived later than expected at 9pm ( the pay phone in the cottage doesn’t respond to the ‘touchtone ‘ button selection of your system !) . Your staff did say that someone would drop some sheets off “within the hour” , though we were very happy to collect some ,on the Sat ( given we had to sleep on awful mattress protectors ) . However , no one from housekeeping turned up at all - we were fed up trying to get through & didn’t want to waste our holiday with the effort . So went out & bought some as it was much quicker ! We didn’t expect to have to do this , which was a shame & hope next time that housekeeping manage to ‘ cover the basics ‘ that have been paid for . Another note for the owner - the first metal gate REALLY needs to be fixed - we are relatively fit & it is a struggle as it has to be lifted & dragged along the pathway ).We understand that they are looking to landscape the garden area - the metal gate is a good place to start . Some basic cleaning products available in the sink cupboard would be useful too . We were left with one tea towel, no fresh dishcloth & a used sponge for our stay ( fresh tea towel left for us under a dirty sink !!) In the past with Lakelovers we have been left a clean ‘ welcome pack ‘ of fresh dishcloth , new sponge , etc . Seems a shame that these small issues were left out at this cottage . Hopefully you will read this & rectify for people in their next stay ?

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• Rachel - Verified booking

  Hi The cottage is beautifully situated and very comfy re beds and sitting areas and kitchen.

  However there were a few things that could be improved: There were no commercial bags to but the rubbish out and a quite threatening notice stating that if the rubbish was not but out in these then we could loose our deposit. I contacted Lakelovers on Saturday 11th Sept and on Wednesday 15th Sept to explain this and was told bags would be delivered to us, this never happened so I was unable to put the rubbish out for collection. There are 3 gates that need to be opened and closed every time you come to or leave the property the first gate is very difficult to unlatch and to swing open any person with any disability would find it impossible to move. The TV in the kitchen is unusable it will not tune into any channels and many visitors have commented on this in the guest book. The shower stopped draining after 3 days and I had to clean it out, a pretty disgusting job it was full of old hair. This should be part of the cleaners cleaning routine and not left to guests to sort out. The fly swat needs replacing it is falling apart and there are a lot of flies around. The dustpan was broken and so practically unusable. There was no sieve in the kitchen so very hard to drain rice, the colander had too large a holes in it and was going rusty. There was no soap in the kitchen. There was no washing up liquid or dishwashers tablets in the kitchen. There were no hand towels or tea towels in the kitchen and the cottage is listed as providing towels. These last 3 items were very disappointing at a time of the pandemic when we are trying to encourage everyone to wash their hands immediately on entering a property. The welcome pack was disappointing I agree with other visitors that a pint of fresh milk would be nice and maybe a box of biscuits and forget the bottle of wine. This property is quite pricey and so I would expect the above things to be present I think the owners need to reassess their priorities and Lakelovers needs to ensure that they are maintained. I might hesitate to book again through Lakelovers. The week before we stayed in a Sykes property and the standards were far higher. However the Lake District itself and the position of the property ensured we enjoyed our holiday. Yours Rachel Bayly

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• Paul - Verified booking

  Lovely little cottage in Little Langdale.

  For the price it was good value and we were appreciative because we had booked it last minute. The location is good for exploring the local walks and hills such as Lingmoor. It also was very well located for some great mountain bike routes that I am familiar with. Well equipped kitchen. Beds were very comfy. Useful bike store which just about squeezed two mountain bikes. A few small points that could easily be fixed: I would ask that the owners get a new TV. The TV appears to be over 10 years old and is a bit small and with poor sound quality. In my view there is no excuse for this at all. Please also get more crockery. There is a full size dishwasher so it could easily fit 3 meals worth. Having only 6 plates and limited cutlery means the dishwasher needs to go on after every meal. At one point we had a few friends pop round but there was not even one plate each. I got the feeling that the owners didn't really want people in their cottage as there were about 20 little notes all round the cottage, giving various instructions. I can see the merit for some but others like telling you how to open a blind, reminding you to close the shower door, or why the freezer might rattle, were a bit unnecessary. Two little points which the owners perhaps can't easily fix is that there is no parking and it can be very difficult to park near the cottage during the day. Early morning and after about 5pm it is fine. Unlikely to be a reality but a residents parking system with a pass to put in the window would solve this. The walls feel rather thin so sound does carry around the cottage. WiFi is not great for obv reasons, but does the basics and just about powered Netflix. No mobile signal at all in the area.

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