School Holidays 2017 Cottages In Bowness On Windermere

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Sarah - Verified booking

  Before reading this review, please note, we are not people who complain often and like to give fair and honesy reviews.

  We want to provide honest feedback to the owner, so that guests can continue staying in this beautiful location. The owner has a pure gem of a property to rent out and we would love for them to continue to benefit from this. Winster Fields is set in a beautiful and peaceful location. It is a spacious, and has all the amenities you will need for a comfortable stay. We stayed in this accommodation 4 years ago and were really looking forward to returning for our holiday this year. Unfortunately, when we entered the property, it smelt 'fusty', like it had been shut up for weeks. There were wasps and flies all over the surfaces and the kitchen was filthy! The cutlery and crockery were dirty in the cupboards, the bin smelt, there were food stains up the walls, the cooker hood and tiles were covered in grease, as well as the lights in the kitchen. It was clear that the property had not been cleaned properly before our arrival. If cleaners had been in, then they really didn't clean it properly. There were public hairs in the bathroom sinks, and urine splattered on the toilet brushes. We were less that impressed in arrival. Such a shame as we couldn't fault the property four years ago. We contacted Sykes straight away, who were very apologetic and contacted the owner in a timely fashion. We were informed that the cleaners would be in the day after our arrival, but nobody appeared. I then contacted sykes again and they arranged cleaners for the following day. They did come this time, but again, it was clear they only did the bare minimum and only dealt with the issues I had provided pictorial evidence for. In my opinion, the owner needs to liaise with the cleaning company regularly and discuss non negotiatiables for weekly, fortnightly and monthly cleans to ensure everything is cleaned regularly. In addition to this, there are maintenance jobs that need to be reported to the owner, who lives away. Light bulbs were out, damp patches on the ceiling and a broken chair. These all should be addressed quickly to ensure a comfortable stay. There needs to be some investment into thsi property now, as it is looking worn. Decorating needs to be done, new frying pans and utensils in th kitchens and new sofas and cushions as they are worn and smell. I am disappointed to be writing such a negative review as we love the location and had such a lovely stay 4 years ago. We enjoyed our holiday in the lakes, however didn't feel as comfortable as we should have done in our accommodation, due to the cleanliness.

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• Mark - Verified booking

  Very disappointing holiday, the listing for the cottage was incorrect.

  its advertised with wonderful gardens and outdoor areas, which we were then informed by the owners 5 days before arrival, non of these facilities were available due to COVID. I'm sorry but COVID has been going on since march and we booked in June so they basically lied in the listing to get the booking, and then the small print of a general email 5 days before a holiday stating garden and summerhouse is closed is not acceptable. Upon challenging this the owners simply refused to even open the summerhouse and let us have an outdoor table and chairs. Their attitude to customer service is appalling, and they are hiding behind COVID to probably save them money on cleaning costs at the sacrifice of customers enjoying well needed breaks. The cottage is small, the main bedroom doesn't even have a kingsize bed, just a small double, all mattresses need replacing, wallpaper is pealing, bath panels are broken, carpets are stained and covered up with poor quality mats and the kitchen and contents are far from clean and fresh..... In summary I would choose a different cottage!

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• Joanne - Verified booking

  The dishwasher was not very effective and as there was no plug for the kitchen sink, this presented a challenge for washing up!

  There were items in the kitchen that had to be washed before use as they were not clean, including the oven baking trays. There appears to be an issue with ants in the main bathroom and some were also found in the twin bedroom. The cottage overall was not particularly clean, lots of cobwebs which had clearly been there for some time. The sleigh bed creaked every time you moved on it so was not conducive to a good nights sleep. Parking was difficult and would be better if there was a marked bay in front of each cottage. Also in this cottage as it is the first as you go into the courtyard, you can't park a family size car in front of it and leave enough room to open the stable doors to the kitchen, whilst allowing space for other cars to safely pass. On a positive note, the location was good and the garden was (over the main road) was very nice. I would have no issue with booking through Heart of the Lakes again in future, however I would not return to this particular cottage unless there were improvements made - it really needs some TLC.

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• Rodney - Verified booking

  Great location, very picturesque and quiet.

  Good size comfortable house. It needs a proper deep clean, unwashed cutlery, sticky hob, TV remote control was filthy. We left the house much cleaner than we found it. Happy with the price but we wouldn't return unless we could be assured the house had been thoroughly cleaned. Generic descriptions of property were misleading. We thought that it had a wood burner and an external EV charging point. We couldn't find either, although the adjacent cottage had a wood burner. The new front door lock was problematic and requires resetting. It took several attempts by others in our group to open the lock from the inside of the house which could be a safety hazard in the event of an emergency. The hot water system cut out on 2 separate occasions and required rebooting and we were relieved that your responsive and helpful customer support lady was available to take my call and instruct us on how to do this. Apparently you know of this issue and it's surprising it hasn't been rectified. I trust you find these comments helpful.

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• Ian - Verified booking

  We enjoyed our stay at The Old Chapel.

  Lots of interesting places to visit in the area. We did a couple of local walks from the cottage trying to avoid the main road. Second Bedroom en-suite very cramped and the sink plug did not work so sink would not hold water. Great idea having a website with all the instruction manuals for the appliances however I think other information could be added including local information like nearest shops, doctors, hospital, takeaways, places to visit as we did not find this information in the cottage, most owners seem to provide this. The Sun Inn pub is within easy walking distance, they were friendly and we enjoyed a delicious Sunday lunch. We only found out on the last day that the TV had a Amazon Video account setup, this would have been useful to have known at the beginning of our stay Again something that could easily be added to the https://www.lakeschapel.co.uk/ website. Overall we were impressed with the cottage and the area. We would like to return again sometime.

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