Villas In The North East

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Michael - Verified booking

  Hi after reviewing the property and the pictures the place looked set to be amazing me and my partner have around 8 weekends a year alone in similar style places in different locations around the country with different agency's.

  As far as sykes go I had no issue but can't help feeling really deflated about the experience. Before arrival to the property I spoke to the owner and he sent me a generic text regarding the proper and what was needed. Bedding and towels provided a starter pack for the log burner and also details about the hot tub. On arrival to the property I was a little took back at the amount of rubbish and old empty cardboard boxes left around the place and general untidiness of the place it also didn't show very well on the pictures justbhow close all the other huts where to lady bird. We arrived around 4 after a long 3 hour drive the plan was to have some food and then have an hour in the hot tub as it was our first time booking somewhere with one. Unfortunately the text also stated the hot tub was unusable untill 8 p.m as it had to warm up to the correct temperature. Not abusive issue as the weather wasn't amazing so we could stay in the place have the fore on and keep warm in there. Unfortunately we went to start the fore only ro find that the starter pack consisted of a handful of kindling half a block.of fure lighters and around 3 or 4 lumps of softwood timber. As we have a log burner at home we know pretty well how long that would last and at best I'd have said an hour so after the long drive we had to head straight back out again to the local bnm to find kindling and logs to see us through the weekend. Before we left my partner had noticed the bedding wasn't the cleanest and it looked like stairs on the pillow cases so she wanted to buy some pillow covers. Also the towels provided were literally a hand towel each and a small bath towel. As the place had no heating othwr than the log burner and a small towel rail big enough to dry one towel at a time we felt the need to buy 2 extra towels for the hot tub as the the 2 provided wouldn't be dry enough to use after showering. Anyway we headed back to the site unloaded the logs set the fire only to find there was no means of lighting it no matches no lighters nothing. As im sure you can imagine by now it's around 6 o'clock dark wet and miserable we hadn't eaten or infact had a drink still at this point and had to go out again to get something to light the fire. It really set the mood for that evening with me if I'm honest as it was a surprise weekend for my partners 40th I picked it and feel I paid a fairly large amount of money for the weekend in comparison to a lot of other places but as it had a hot tub I expected this. So I was adamant on getting In the hot tub even though the weather wasn't great only to find out there was absolutely no outside lighting what so ever to even be able to get in it other than 2 sensor lights that kept going out constantly so the first night was a total write off. And other than having half an hour in it on the Saturday that was it we couldn't go in it after dark as we had things planned in the day time we couldn't go in it. Inhad noticed the 2 other plots round us with hot tubs did have adequate lighting so it could be used. The shower qas pretty good I can say really good hot water and pressure although the seal.on the door was damaged and leaked water onto the floor with no floor towel so had to use the hand towels for that too the decorating was good and clean but the bedding wasn't good at all and the mattress on the sides were dirty I didn't want to look any further. I feel for the money it really was great at all and I also feel the photos of the place were very well taken to make it look like it had a decent view it didn't really show how close the houses where to us and the fact that it was pretty much an eyesaw. I hadn't realised untill coming home i was informed by a friend Skinningrove happened to have been on t.v a few years back as one of Britain's toughest villages and I saw the video on you tube it really did sum up the area. Just to add maybe a few tea bags some coffee sachets and some milk wouldnt hurt for people on arrival and a few more logs and the means to light the fire also get the hot tub powered up esrly as your paying for that it should be available for use from arrival not 5 hours after also lighting needs to be up so its usable. In the last 2 years we have stayed in around 16 different locations and never have i had to leave a negative review in anyway or had the experience that we did this weekend.

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• Annette - Verified booking

  We spent a weekend at "The Stang Hideaway" in August, for a relaxing 3-night stay with my partner and our little dog.

  The views were gorgeous, and the location was as peaceful as a library on a snowy day. But there were a few surprises that gave us a good laugh! First off, the wine cooler was ice-cold—unlike the fridge, which was warm enough to double as a sauna . If you’re planning to brew some coffee, don't forget to bring your own coffee pods; the same goes for dishwasher tablets as there was non available and the free washing up liquid was limited to a very small bottle (use sparingly). The "fully equipped" kitchen was a bit like a game of culinary hide-and-seek, with basic items playing hard to get. And if you’re using the breakfast bar or that “sumptuous” sofa, be prepared to get very close to your partner—like, "hope-you-really-love-each-other" close, perfect if your on a romantic break! Now, let’s talk Wi-Fi. Remember the days of dial-up internet? If you’re feeling nostalgic, you’re in luck—this Wi-Fi will take you right back to the 90s with its charmingly slow speeds which can cause the TV to frequently show the circle of death when it tries to catch up, perhaps it was intentional to create a romantic atmosphere. The outside decking is lovely, but it could use a gate to be truly dog-friendly. And don't be surprised if you step outside to find a crowd in the treehouse—it’s open to everyone on the park, so you might end up with an audience for your morning coffee or romantic sunset. All in all, it was clean and the tranquility was delightful, the stay didn’t quite match up to the price given there’s a lot of competition in the area. Here’s hoping for some improvements in the future, but hey, we still enjoyed the peace and quiet and lovely views!

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• Cheryl - Verified booking

  The shepherds hut looked amazing online and quite rural , when you arrive you drive past sheds/diggers/lorries then you see the hut which had a huge JCB digger parked next door to it.

  The hut is not as remote as the photos would lead you to believe and houses are actually quite close. On entering the property we discovered it to be large with plenty enough storage for the two of us but everything looked tired, towels were well worn , bedding was bobbled, pots and pans were dirty. Later that day we wanted a glass of wine and discovered there were no wine glasses , we told the owner and he kindly left some glasses for us the following day with chocolates and wine as an apology. The owner made us aware that for the cooker we could only use the hob or the oven at once otherwise if we used both it would blow the fuse , we were told that a replacement cooker had been ordered but this was not replaced during our stay which turned out to be a pain. Once we saw through all of this we did have a nice stay as there is plenty to do in the area, sadly on the last day our stay was spoilt again . On the instructions it states that the property is ours until 10am, with this in mind we decided not to rush , so at 8am I stepped into the shower and then I could hear my husband chatting to someone who turned out to be the cleaner, she was outside cleaning the hot tub which was somewhat awkward as the blinds have gaps in them and I wanted to get changed !!! She then sat down outside waiting for us to leave , which we were both quite somewhat shocked at . Sadly we would not return to the property but the area is one would recommend.

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• Jemma - Verified booking

  The property is beautiful and very clean!

  !! The bathroom is gorgeous and the bathtub is a key feature. I loved having the bathroom door open to the outside overlooking the wheat field while soaking in the tub. Bed was very comfortable. Only a couple of things that need a little work. The owners would benefit from staying, cooking and cleaning there for a few days as there are some essentials missing such as dishcloths, dish rack to dry dishes, dish washer tablets and we may have needed more than one roll of loo roll. It didn’t hinder our stay too much, but it lost a bit of that luxury feel someone has worked hard to make. The other thing is, the photos are a little deceptive and don’t show you are attached to a caravan park at the back. It’s still secluded and very quite but attached to a caravan park that appears to hold people’s mobile caravans. We really enjoyed our stay and would recommend but would encourage the owners to look at little essentials.

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• Gudrun - Verified booking

  Lovely little hut, not as isolated as it looks in pictures, it's at the top if a glamping site but it still feels like it's your own.

  Hot tub is a nice feature and the outside space is well kept. Café/pub/restaurant nearby is very reasonably priced, good food, staff very friendly. Not much to Skinningrove, a small shop/post office, beach within easy walking distance, nice stretch with sandy dunes. Walked to Saltburn, Staithes also nearby. Overall a lovely little base, plenty of storage for belongings considering the size of the hut. It's well thought out and has what you need, wi-fi & TV excellent. Cooking is a bit of a challenge due to hotplates being slow to heat but it's workable for simple meals and it did the job for the small hut, not used the oven. Fridge/freezer excellent during the heatwave! We were very lucky with the weather and enjoyed our stay.

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