School Holidays 2017 Cottages In Blaenau Ffestiniog

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Robert - Verified booking

  If ever a cottage has had the owner's love poured into it, then this must rank amongst the very highest.

  Not much to look at from the outside (let's face it, it's only an old miners cottage), but from the moment you open the door, you can't help but be impressed (well, we were anyway!). A small hall (with laminate flooring for dirty boots) leading to a really comfortable lounge with a large sofa and a most welcome solid fuel stove (yes, even in July; it was great!). A nice solid wood sideboard supporting a suitably large Panasonic TV with freeview box - nothing cheap here. There is also an expanding solid wood dining table and four dining chairs. I would guess that the downstairs was once two rather cramped rooms that have been knocked into one - a good idea which works well. The kitchen has therefore been added an a full-width extension to the rear, and what a kitchen it is, with top notch appliances and both a dishwasher AND washing machine. Upstairs has a large full-width double bedroom to the front and a smaller single bedroom and bathroom to the rear. All very sensible and satisfactory. Previous feedback has mentioned that the hot water is miserable and yes, it is rather slow. It gets there, but with no head from the cold water tank, it just takes its time! The owner has agreed that this is not ideal and will be converting this to a full mains-pressure tank shortly (he only finished the conversion in May this year, so give him a chance!). I'm sure he will update his description accordingly. On the plus side, the shower is really good and the dishwasher works - what else do you need hot water for?! So, if this is the only gripe, PLEASE do not let this put you off. As others testify, the location is quiet yet accessible and the view from the garden is just lovely- remote and romantic. It just remains for me to say thank you for allowing us to have our holiday here - we can't wait to come back. Robert & Tamzin

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• Linda - Verified booking

  Cottage is bright and airy, cosy and charming in a rural location.

  It had everything we needed for a comfortable, pleasant and restful stay. Owners are very personable and easy to deal with. Gaining access was straightforward. Parking is relatively convenient although there is a steep climb up a narrow path to the rear of the property, bear in mind when unpacking and loading the car on arrival and departure. The garden is private and the setting is altogether very peaceful. A couple of things to note, stairs are steep and narrow which caused me some anxiety. I navigated them slowly, sideways each time - there is a handrail, Hot water is plentiful, it is very hot so be careful. There is a selection of games, books and information which could do with a bit of a sort out and refresh as all a bit tatty and out of date. The cupboard itself was disorganised, dusty and cobweb strewn. On that note the vacuum was situated in the wardrobe in the bedroom which deterred me from hanging up my freshly laundered clothes. Whilst I could have moved it I did think it a little strange as the housekeeper’s cupboard was next to it, surely it could be stored there, out of the way. No disrespect, I love l a Henry. The local village is a low key affair and nearest hostelries are approximately a 10 min drive away. We were very content to cook, light a fire, read/chat or watch Netflix most evenings after a busy day out and about. I personally found having 5 remote controls too much, although thankfully James was on the end of the phone, promptly to assist. Perhaps a simple radio would be a welcome addition for those of us who find smart TVs a little too clever. Plenty to do and see in the surrounding area. We enjoyed our stay, it was relaxed, restorative and recommended.

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• Anna - Verified booking

  My second time to this lovely, cosy and welcoming cottage.

  No problems with booking, key and travel information and the cottage is exactly as advertised. It’s definitely not for anyone with mobility issues or young children as the path up to the cottage is fairly long and steep, as well as a narrow steep staircase up to the bedroom. The cottage had everything i needed except maybe a decent pair of scissors and knife sharpener (which of course are very minor), plenty of towels, blankets and comfy bedding and pillows and a really nice big bed with a lovely view! Make sure you bring some bird seed with you as there are loads of beautiful birds who visited! I had a Tesco delivery on the day I arrived which was crucial! The driver was amazing and brought everything up to the cottage so I didn’t have to lug it all up the path, so this is a must :) The only downside this year unfortunately was the house that sits opposite the track up to the cottage was having extensive building work done, therefore lots of noise from power saws, drills diggers and hammering. I know this is absolutely not the owners fault but this really impacted the peaceful position of the cottage, which was one of the reasons I chose it in the first place. There were also traffic lights which covered the end of the track which meant getting out was a bit hairy. As I said, not the owners fault but there you go. I have booked to come again next year as the cottage itself is just lovely, it’s in a perfect position for visiting Criccieth, Harlech, Porthmadog, Pwthelli and more! Definitely recommend Harlech beach if you have a dog, it’s massive and plenty of room for a good run with the pup! Hopefully the building work will be complete next year :)

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• Stephen - Verified booking

  We did enjoy our stay at 19 Cwmorthin Rd and it was much as we had hoped for.

  Loved the view from the kitchen and of a generous size that made preparing suppers a joy. For the most part we discovered all the switches for this and that to work and the heating was very cosy, but never did discover how we were to get general hot water through the taps in the kitchen and bathroom and coped without it. The shower was fine but took time to get accustomed to; no two showers are ever the same! A great base for our trips as we managed days out to Conwy, to Anglesey and finally the hill climb to the top of Moelwyn Mawr for which the property is ideal as a starting point. For any who take a full look at the property be aware that the one parking space is directly out of the front door in a small space there and NOT at the adjacent terrace end. One issue I would leave with Sykes is that I felt that the two pages of instructions in the folder could really be expanded a little, to give a fuller description of the workings of the property: this would definitely include a description of the local council recycling instructions with which I would happily have complied had I but known the rules laid down! Even the green bin, seen outside every other property along Cwmorthin Road, was seemingly being used for storage and not available for general rubbish; this did leave me scratching my head as to how best dispose of our gathered waste at the end of our stay.

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• Peter - Verified booking

  This cottage is amazing.

  The location is perfect - you can stand at the kitchen sink and look directly out into the mountains. As soon as we stepped out of the front door we had a choice of several different walks to go on. Strike upwards for the mountain or the upper Stiwnog reservoir, or down to the lower reservoir or into Blaenau Ffestiniog, we did both. We also had a kickabout on the school football pitch at the bottom of the hill. The cottage itself feels fresh and light. There is a modern kitchen with a huge window letting in tons of light separated by a door from a very comfortable sitting room and a log burner set in a fireplace with tons of character. Lots of room in the fireplace to store all the logs we needed for the evening so no need to go anywhere once we had settled down. The bathroom was clean and fresh with a modern finish and another fab view of the mountain. The bedrooms are clean and comfortable. They both have wardrobes so there was plenty of storage for our clothes and space to stow the suitcases. To cap it off there is a shallow feeder pool for the reservoir about 100m away from the cottage that is perfect for skimming stones and paddling in. We spent a few hours there on our way back to the cottage when our son wasn’t quite ready to go home yet. We had a super relaxing stay and really enjoyed our time here. Thanks.

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