Keswick Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• 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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• Neil - Verified booking

  Brilliant location for walking directly from the cottage.

  Nice and clean on arrival, but a couple of issues that could be rectified. Dishwasher not working, and sign on it looks quite old so may have been broken for a while. Extractor above cooker not working that caused fire alarms to go off when cooking fried breakfast. The bathroom door lock and catch was broken so door did not shut or lock. We did light the log burner 1 evening as it was a bit chilly, but it failed to heat the bedroom radiator like it says it should do. Also I feel the patio and back garden could do with some TLC as they both look neglected and overgrown. Don't get me wrong, we really enjoyed our stay, but we just felt these issues could be easily rectified with a bit of time and effort. Regards Neil Baker ****Owner Response**** Thank you for your feedback and we are very pleased you enjoyed your stay at Littlebeck. The cleaners informed us on the morning of your arrival that the dishwasher wasn’t functioning. The repair company said this was due to a previous guest mistakenly using a laundry tablet - the machine is now working fine. We have replaced the fuse in the extractor fan above the oven and spent this week working to improve the garden now that winter is over. We have checked the bathroom lock and the radiator in the bedroom. Both of which are working. It is worth noting that to heat the radiator in the bedroom from the fire will need to be going for some time, as it needs to warm the water in the system. However, there is an electric radiator in the bedroom if you require additional warmth.

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• Tracy - Verified booking

  What a great spot!

  Location is brilliant. Well situated for walking & public transport around the area. The property is right on the roadside. Unloading was tricky. The roads are narrow and fairly busy. It was noisy during the day, but we were out most of the time. Parking wasn't too much of an issue. Although it's a small parking bay. We managed to get one car in it and the other, we parked further down in the village. The property is very spacious and well laid out. We were two couples. Great to have 2 bathrooms. Well equipped, with everything you need. Beds were comfortable. Towels weren't great, old and on the small side. We were only given 2 small bath towels and a small hand towel, per couple. Although clean, being an old property there were a few spider's webs up in high places. The heating & hot water were difficult to navigate. The boiler wasn't set at the correct time. Fortunately we were able to reset this after a lot of fiddling about. The central heating wasn't great. The gas fire was very useful, once we had worked out how to light it! There were no logs for the fire, (It was July), but we needed some heat! Typical British weather. We contacted the office and spoke to them about a few issues, as we didn't want to be charged. Front door lock sticking, no logs, broken blind, kitchen cupboard fronts, loose. All minor but we were assured this would be sorted that day. True to their word it was. We also had logs delivered. Great service from Sykes. Overall, a very enjoyable stay.

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• Carole - Verified booking

  Thank you again for yet another fantastic cottage booked with your company.

  The location was amazing, key was easy to access. On entering the property, it was immaculate, warm and clean. Exactly as it had been advertised. Gorgeous bathroom with a lovely hot shower. Well stocked kitchen with every utensil a professional chef would be proud to use, resulting in some fantastic meals. Very close proximity to the bus stop from Seatoller to Keswick. A quick 3-minute walk down the lane to a local hotel which doubles as a bar for non-residents. perfect location for in good weather some amazing climbs and hikes within walking distance. We encountered no problems with using the National Trust car park literally 50 yards down from the cottage. One negative comment maybe to be reviewed for future guests the television was confusing to access. After 2 days of trying, we finally figured out it was operated via Firestick which required the log in details sited on the TV screen, this was so tiny we would suggest enclosing all the operating instructions including passwords etc within the welcome pack. Could maintenance also fix the guttering to the rear of the property? It is broken resulting in water penetrating the outer wall which will arise to major damp issues over time. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our time, and would return in a heartbeat as we would with the other properties within your portfolio. We look forward to booking with you again very shortly. 10/10 xxxxx

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• David - Verified booking

  We stayed for two nights and enjoyed our stay.

  The beds were comfy, the kitchen was well appointed and the shower worked well. We were out and about most of the time and the weather was a bit damp so we didn't use the garden. We used the TV once and didn't encounter any of the problems others have reported. We couldn't find the outside bin to put our rubbish in when we left. As others have said, the parking situation is a bit odd. We used the NT car park. One thing worth noting for non-members is the ticket machie only takes coins - who carries £8 in coins these days? Fortunately, I'm a member of the National Trust for Scotland, and althought the NTS has a different parking scheme from the English NT, I left the NTS sticker on the windscreen and no-one seemed to mind. (Possibly no-one checked). There is a notice on the ticket machine that overnight parking isn't allowed, which is confusing but again no-one seemed to mind. Is there an official agreement with the car park operators that tenants in the village may park overnight? The instructions for the flat mention a parking space across the road: is this just the bit of road that is slightly wider than the rest, because it isn't marked as a parking space the way us city types are used to! There were freshly painted double yellow lines on both sides of the road and I didn't want to chance parking there.

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