Villas In The Peak District

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• David - Verified booking

  This is a lovely spacious Derbyshire stone cottage filled with interesting period features and antique and vintage items, set in a wonderful village with excellent local facilities such as shops, pubs and eateries.

  The location is wonderful in the very heart of the village with ample parking and with access to the beautiful Derbyshire Dales. The cottage is cosy with comfortable beds and lots of hot water and heating. The kitchen has everything you need with clean ovens and crockery, cookware, etc and the en-suite bathrooms were much appreciated. There was a nice welcome pack with teabags, coffee sachets, biscuits and milk. However… the cottage is very tired in terms of the paintwork, which needs attention, lounge furnishings (very uncomfortable seating with nasty moth eaten cushions and grubby seat covers, threadbare rug and unpleasant dog hair covered throws, which I washed but we didn’t want to use them). The cottage needs a thorough deep clean as there was dust, cobwebs and grime at surface level behind beds, radiators, cupboards and along skirting boards etc. We didn’t go looking for dirt- it was obvious. The cellar, which is very visible from the downstairs toilet, is full of junk and very dirty. The washing machine was dirty and we didn’t want to use it. We did our best to clean the cottage before our family arrived, but the one vacuum cleaner (a ‘Henry’ vacuum in the upstairs cupboard), stank so badly that we had to open all the doors and windows after vacuuming. The bathroom floor cork tiles in the front bedroom en-suite had an unpleasant smell of urine and we had to purchase an anti-bac spray to clean them. No cleaning materials were accessible in the house except the provided washing up liquid and some dishwasher tablets. In the attic bedroom, the roof blind is broken and so it wasn’t possible to shut out the light for our grandson. That room is very basic and in much need of modernisation. The dining room has chipped wall paint, an awful tangle of wiring around the phone and internet router and grubby straw table mats that had food trapped in them. We attempted to clean some of these. There is an old plastic storage box outside the back door in the yard full of something?? covered in moss and one waterlogged log. We bought logs and kindling from the local shop to make a fire and cheer up the cottage. On the first night there was a freshly dead rat right by the back door, presumably killed by a cat as it had a neck injury, which we buried in the garden. This is no fault of the owner of course, but it added to a rather depressing feeling of dirt. We enjoyed our visit to this lovely area, but we certainly wouldn’t stay here again. We heard from a neighbour that Ivy Cottage has just been sold. Is this perhaps why it is looking so run down?

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• Mike - Verified booking

  This is a new conversion (2023 I think), so the standard of decoration, fixtures and fittings is very high, and done to a high standard.

  Generally it feels like a "luxury" property. As a new EV owner I particularly appreciated the chargers (I think that is now a requirement in new conversions). Kitchen equipment was good (though we still aren't sure what the thing in the middle of the hob was for), dishwasher, fridge etc. all good. We never used the washing machine. Looking at the back of the units the wiring install looked professionally done. The main living room/kitchen/dining area (one big area) was very comfortable. The property is on a nice quiet road, but also very close to town. The shared entrance was clean, access easy, and no noise from the other residents. Things that could be improved: 1. There's nowhere to hang/dry wet clothes. I wear a lot of wool, which can't be tumbled dried. Also, this is the Peak District, where some people will be walking and get wet. Some sort of line, outside, would be a huge improvement. This is something to bear in mind if you are keen walkers. (the rest of this list is really for the benefit of the owners.) 2. Our bed wasn't massively comfortable. 3. There were hardly any instructions for the appliances. We never really worked out the television. Other things we got working, eventually. 4. At least one of the instructions in the "welcome pack" is incorrect. The consumer unit isn't in a bedroom, so when an RCD tripped it took a fair bit of rummaging round to find it. I've corrected that in the welcome pack. 5. No shower curtain. Not sure why the owners didn't fit one. It doesn't affect residents that much, but over time there will be water damage/leaks in the bathroom, which the owners will have to deal with. Also in the bathroom, it would be good to be able to open that Velux somehow - it gets very steamy in there, with condensation all over. The extractor fan is as useless as most of them are.

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• Tonya - Verified booking

  I cannot rate this cottage highly enough.

  It is beautifully furnished and to a high standard. The beds are very comfortable, the towels are soft, the shower is fantastic and the carpets are really soft underfoot. All the bedrooms have blackout blinds so we slept really well. It is equipped with everything you could possibly want. There is also lots of helpful local information, including suggested walks, in the cottage. The outdoor seating area is a morning suntrap and well sheltered, so you can sit out and enjoy the gorgeous view over breakfast. It is also very quiet. Holme is such a lovely village and the village pantry shop is amazing. It is tiny, but has all you could want, including a wide range of takeout food and home made goods. The pork and apple pies are worth a particular mention. The pub is nice with good food and the village has a very friendly feel generally. The bus stop to get to Holmefirth is right opposite the cottage, which is handy. Parking was no problem despite having a number of cars between us. We were able to walk from the house to the vineyard in 40 minutes and i would strongly recommend doing one of their tours. Local taxis also proved very reliable. However, what really makes this rental standout from any others is the hosts. Emma could not have been more helpful or friendly. She provided lots of helpful information prior to our stay and responded very promptly to any questions. When we were unable to attend at the last minute due to illness, she was very understanding and accommodating. When we were able to re-arrange, she did everything possible to make our stay memorable, even leaving a birthday cake to mark a special occasion. There are many little touches that she adds which really do make it stand out above others. We would not hesitate to return or to recommend it to others.

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• Neil - Verified booking

  It was a pleasure to stay at Ivy cottage for a lovely (if rainy) week.

  The cottage is thoughtfully appointed with lovely personal touches throughout - the owners have carefully left many notes with helpful instructions to guide the guests. Three points of note; a) I might recommend that prospective guests be alerted as to the very 'full' nature of the gardens, which do impede access to the front of the cottage with large suitcases. From the roadway to the conservatory entrance, the foliage does over grow the walkway, which made navigation of our luggage a challenge. Since we are from abroad, and travelling for a month, we did have many larger suitcases - perhaps Sykes might consider some form of check-box on their application form to alert the owners to the fact that renters are coming with luggage as such - ? b) We were a little disappointed to have renovation workers begin construction work on an adjoining cottage at 0615 on our final Saturday morning, using the adjoining walkway to gain access around back of the property. The early morning hammering and cartage was a little alarming so early in the day. A gentle chat with the neighbours might avoid this for the next guests. c) a note on the booking form for Ivy Cottage noting that the Pub is 'closed' for the foreseeable future would have been helpful. One filter I rely upon when booking a cottage from Canada, is the close-location of a Pub. Since the 'Quiet Woman' is not open, that might have been good to know. The Royal Oak is nearby, but not really within walking distance. The Pub in Crowdecote was also closed when we walked over High Wheeldon....a similar disappointment. Otherwise, it was a happy and restful week at a lovely cottage in a wonderful region of the UK.

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• Claire - Verified booking

  We stayed in this cottage for 1 week and it was perfectly located.

  It is in the heart of Hartington, which has a variety of well-stocked local shops and 2 good pubs (1 being a hotel). There is a parking space outside the front door, but all parking in the village is free and usually there are plenty of spaces. The house is spacious and the 3 bedrooms - 1 king, 1 double and 1 twin - all have their own bathrooms. As there were only two of us, we used the back king size room and the bed was fantastically comfortable. There is a downstairs loo, which is adjacent to the spacious hallway. Washing machine facilities are in the basement. The living room is cosy, with 2 x 2 seat sofas and 2 armchairs. There is an open fire place for chillier evenings. The dining room has enough space for larger families and the kitchen is well stocked with crockery etc. The enclosed garden is particularly pretty and is visited by small, interesting birds. The neighbours have access rights to the bins. Be aware that the garden gate closes securely, but has no lock. You can pop across to the pond and cheese shop, from here. The gardener comes each week, usually on a Tuesday. There are some great local walks from the cottage, so if you didn't want to use the car too much it is ideal. I would certainly recommend staying in this fabulous cottage.

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