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Lake District Sleeps 12 Bed And Breakfasts
Cumbria
Domvs
Ref: S282004
Reviews 38
From
£446
per nightCumbria
Fell House
Ref: S589075
Reviews 13
From
£319
per nightCumbria
5 Bed Cottage in Keswick
Ref: S421645
From
£459
per nightCumbria
Squirrel Lodge
Ref: S700556
Reviews 14
From
£315
per nightCumbria
Cleabarrow Cottage
Ref: S282017
Reviews 2
From
£568
per nightCumbria
6 Bed Cottage in Martindale
Ref: S879707
From
£431
per nightCumbria
Thorney How
Ref: S527587
Reviews 33
From
£516
per nightCumbria
6 Bed Cottage in Keswick
Ref: S421698
From
£346
per nightCumbria
7 Bed Cottage in Ambleside
Ref: S480377
From
£280
per nightCumbria
6 Bed Cottage in Keswick
Ref: S684539
From
£388
per nightCumbria
Fir Trees
Ref: S1058528
From
£343
per nightCumbria
Yewtree House
Ref: S700561
Reviews 11
From
£543
per nightCumbria
5 Bed Cottage in Mosser
Ref: S421859
From
£222
per nightCumbria
6 Bed Cottage in Lamplugh
Ref: S421889
From
£229
per nightCumbria
8 Bed Cottage in Applethwaite
Ref: S421652
From
£260
per nightCumbria
Fair Rigg
Ref: S810699
Reviews 19
From
£285
per nightCumbria
9 Bed Cottage in Keswick
Ref: S421678
From
£711
per nightCumbria
Cranford House
Ref: S818962
Reviews 16
From
£393
per nightCumbria
6 Bed Cottage in Lamplugh
Ref: S421894
From
£229
per nightCumbria
Hazel - Woodland Cottages
Ref: S80866
Reviews 59
From
£259
per nightCumbria
Waverley
Ref: S820392
Reviews 9
From
£422
per nightCumbria
7 Bed Cottage in Boot
Ref: S421741
From
£271
per nightCumbria
Lonsdale Villa Retreat
Ref: S679717
Reviews 7
From
£535
per nightCumbria
8 Bed Cottage in Boot
Ref: S421373
From
£325
per nightReviews
What our customers say about their holidays
Justin - Verified booking
My principal comment is that I was not able to contact Sykes and my frustration was compounded by the supposed methods of contact remaining available yet not functioning.
The day before we were due to check in I was very nervous as I had organised for 11 friends to travel a long way, 2 from America, to spend a week together and nobody from Sykes was responding no matter how I tried to contact you. Although the rental turned out problem free and we all really enjoyed the stay my inability to contact Sykes persisted throughout. The owner thoughtfully rang to let me know that the builders might be a little noisier the next day: they were not at all and even one of them spoke to us to apologise for any disturbance they might have caused. But I heard nothing from Sykes although I am now receiving numerous messages asking for my feedback. I repeatedly tried WhatsApp and received what I now understand to be a series of different, automated replies. The replies, which usually took a day to come in, purported to be from a live person by informing who was messaging me and assured me that I would get a response to my enquiries yet not even one materialised and i now see that not a single message from me has been read. This happened many times (see full copy of WhatsApp attached below) I sent a question on Sunday 18.08 and received an immediate reply saying you would get back to me as soon as possible. 23 hours later, Monday evening, I was asked to confirm my name and booking which i did 10 minutes later. I then had to wait another day, Tuesday, when I received a message asking, âHow can I help you?â. I responded to this in 3 minutes. Once again i did not hear anything until the following day, Wednesday, saying that as it had been longer than 24 hours you were no longer able to respond but if i still needed help i should reply âYesâ. I did this but did not hear back until the next day, by now Thursday, saying that due to the nature of my query I should log in and send a web message (not working either). I pointed this out and asked another question on WhatsApp that generated the message saying you would get back to me as soon as possible. This time I did not get anything on Friday, the next day, but on Saturday received a message asking if there is âanything elseâ you can help me with and that if there is I should âjust respond to this messageâ. I duly responded within 2 minutes and 6 hours later Natasha asked for my name and booking reference (info already on the chat), âso I can helpâ. One again I provided these and it is now Sunday but I of course have not received a reply. If WhatsApp is not working, as is evidently the case you should not pretend that it does, nor continue to send messages that are not followed up. The message function I was advised to log in and use as an alternative was simply never working at all. I tried to use the âactive chatâ many times but having provided my details I always received an automated reply to the effect that due to the high level of demand the facility was not available; this makes no sense. We also tried to phone the office on the number suggested but when we were asked to chose an option by pressing a particular number on the keypad our choice was not recognised and we could not progress the call. This happened whichever phone we used. I did eventually find an email address that received a reply. Below is an unexpurgated copy of the WhatsApp. I accept that I was being stubborn in persisting to use the chat but it was frustrating and I retained a small degree of hope that I would get a response. [04/07/2024, 11:38:38] Justin Preston: Hello. We are staying at Thorney How from tomorrow. Can you tell me please if there is a coffee machine or maybe a cafetière please? We have tried calling, messaging and the live chat but none of these is working. [04/07/2024, 11:38:41] Sykes Cottages: Hi, thanks for contacting us today about your holiday! We have received your message and will get back to you as soon as we can. [04/07/2024, 18:51:50] Justin Preston: Is there any chance you could answer please? We have tried to contact you a number of ways but none works. [05/07/2024, 09:39:56] Sykes Cottages: Hi, you're talking to Lisa, Please can you confirm your booking reference and full name so I can help today? [05/07/2024, 09:41:02] Justin Preston: Justin Preston 26ZF3-24-EN [05/07/2024, 09:41:11] Justin Preston: Good morning [05/07/2024, 10:39:28] Justin Preston: Do you have an answer please? [05/07/2024, 11:14:32] Justin Preston: I tried the live chat and it is of course not working. It is very disappointing that I cannot contact anybody at Sykes. It is also worrying given that 11 of us are relying on you for our accommodation tonight and beyond [07/07/2024, 18:08:29] Justin Preston: Hi is there anybody there who could answer a question please? [07/07/2024, 18:08:32] Sykes Cottages: Hi, thanks for contacting us today about your holiday! We have received your message and will get back to you as soon as we can. [08/07/2024, 17:21:46] Sykes Cottages: Hi, you're talking to . Please can you confirm your booking reference and full name so I can help today? [08/07/2024, 17:31:30] Justin Preston: Hi, you asked this question previously on this chat and I replied. I did not hear back from you [08/07/2024, 17:31:45] Justin Preston: Justin Preston 26ZF3-24-EN [09/07/2024, 16:35:52] Sykes Cottages: Thank you, how can I help? [09/07/2024, 16:38:53] Justin Preston: I have been trying to contact you since Thursday and the immediacy has now passed [10/07/2024, 17:31:45] Sykes Cottages: Hi. As it's been longer than 24 hours, we're no longer able to respond. If you still need our help, please reply to this message with "yes" and we'll be in touch as soon as we can. Thanks for your patience. [10/07/2024, 17:38:50] Justin Preston: Yes [10/07/2024, 17:39:12] Justin Preston: You have not responded so far to any of my questions [10/07/2024, 19:49:40] Justin Preston: The rubbish was not collected today as it should have been. We intend to put what we accumulate now into the bin but it does mean it will be very full. We wanted to let you know. â[11/07/2024, 10:04:52] Justin Preston: â [11/07/2024, 15:48:53] Sykes Cottages: Hi you're chatting to Rose. As your query is regarding a complaint or review please head to the help centre and send us a web message in your customer portal through the link at the bottom of this message and our Customer Relations Team can investigate further and respond to you here. https://www.sykescottages.co.uk/account/login [11/07/2024, 16:17:15] Justin Preston: Hi, sorry it was not clear. I do not think my message regards a complaint or review. I had a question to ask [11/07/2024, 16:17:20] Sykes Cottages: Hi, thanks for contacting us today about your holiday! We have received your message and will get back to you as soon as we can. [11/07/2024, 16:21:29] Justin Preston: I tried the live chat but yet again that is not working and I cannot get the messaging function to work â[11/07/2024, 16:25:10] Justin Preston: â [11/07/2024, 20:15:29] Justin Preston: I have tried to use WhatsApp for 7 days and despite receiving responses purporting to be from a real person (usually after a delay of 24 hours) I have not had a single one of my questions answered. The live chat similarly has not worked once, the message function on my login does not work and when we tried to phone your automated system was not working. Fortunately we did not have a major issue but I am extremely disappointed with this level of service. [13/07/2024, 09:17:49] Sykes Cottages: Hi. We're just getting in touch to check that everything has been resolved for you? If there's anything else we can help with, please just respond to this message. Thanks. [13/07/2024, 09:19:51] Justin Preston: Hi, I have been trying to use WhatsApp to contact you for over a week. You have not responded to a single one of my messages. Is this working now please! [13/07/2024, 15:14:38] Sykes Cottages: Hi, you're talking to Natasha. Please can you confirm your booking reference and full name so I can help today? [13/07/2024, 16:13:38] Justin Preston: Justin Preston 26ZF3-24-EN Now 14th and no response As I said earlier, we all enjoyed the stay: the house is in a superb location. The bedrooms are very well decorated, the beds very comfortable and generally finished to a high standard. The showers could perhaps be updated but otherwise the sleeping area was very comfortable and generally excellent, exceeding expectations. The kitchen was adequate despite the oven being a little temperamental but retained the feel of being in a youth hostel. A few more luxury appliances, perhaps a coffee machine, would improve the feel. The main observation was that it was a shame that the kitchen could not be integrated into the living area somehow as those doing the cooking were isolated from the rest of the party for long periods. The only other disappointment was that the best part of the garden was not available to us. There was one night when those in the smaller cottage were sitting outside, enjoying a glass of wine In the sun and a great view of the sunset on the hills. I realise that there is little that can be done but the outside space available to us was a little disappointing and not as accessible as we would have like. There were many other things we did like about the property and overall we were very happy with it and enjoyed our time there hugely. If there is anything else you would like to know please ask as I would be very happy to assist if I can.
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Julia - Verified booking
DOMVS was in a great great location - a few minutes walk from Windermere town & railway station, and slap on a bus route.
It is a beautiful house with a grand, but comfortable, living room with large bay windows facing the lovely garden and wonderful views beyond. There is a small conservatory attached and access to the garden and patio sitting areas (one house level and one lower) which were lovely places to congregate at the end of the day for early evening drinks, as the weather was good. The kitchen was a good size and reasonably well equipped (see comments on inventory later) with a useful utility room. Likewise, the dining room has everything needed and just fitted 12 people reasonably comfortably around the table which occupies most of the room. This looked tight but worked well. Of note, it would cause less confusion if Sykes called this property the name actually on the gate as looking for DOMVS reveals absolutely nothing either on Google, or when there, since the house is called Rannerdale! (Itâs also impossible to say, DOMVS!). 4 of the ensuite bedrooms were ample or large, and attractive, doubles, 2 seemingly quite luxurious (see later). The 2 twin bedrooms were, by contrast, very small and basic, with some issues (see under âroomsâ). Of note, all the bedrooms, with the exception of the huge garden facing âmasterâ bedroom, had an aspect onto the road and were therefore subject to traffic noise and less interesting views (curious the house was built with most of the rooms not facing the beautiful garden and view at the back!). Not a major problem, but one needs to be aware of it as it is a well used road. As mentioned, this made it convenient, which was the upside of that. Issues with the property. 1. Very few bedroom windows opened, and if they did, it wasnât very wide, which was a major downside and should be clearly indicated in advance. Ventilation in a bedroom is absolutely key, especially as most people in a shared property want to shut the bedroom door for privacy. A few of the rooms had fans, but a fan can only circulate air and, if there is no fresh air coming into the room, it is simply circulating stale air. We appreciate double glazing is to keep road noise out, but it must be down to the individual whether they prefer fresh air with traffic noise, or recirculated stale air. This problem was unfortunately, particularly noticeable in the small twin rooms, and in the tower room. This room, although fabulous visually, with multiple small windows along all four walls (so like the master bedroom, had a great view over the back from one set), gave rise to enormous challenges as not a single window was openable (despite a large claw bath in the room, which was a wonderful luxury in one way, but problematic ventilation wise, therefore, in another and had necessitated a dehumidifier in the room which did itâs best). Secondly, not all the blind pulleys worked properly or were accessible (??), so blocking out the sunlight on hot days was challenging. So we had to do some fixing of the little chains, some of which were insubstantial plastic, which came apart at the slightest tug. Since there was a significant amount of (wonderful!) light, it needed occlusion on hot sunny days and of course at night. Opening and closing every single blind each morning and evening was something of a challenge, not least, because there were so many to do, but also because some were almost impossible to reach, due to the geography and furniture of the room and the inaccessibility of the blind pulley chain. A taller person with a longer reach may have fared better. We set up a âHeath Robinsonâ on one window over the stairs, leading down to the loo/shower room, in order to be able to adjust the blind. 2. No inventory; Sykes were not able to tell us what was and wasnât there. For example, we were told there were no hairdryers, so some of us went to the bother of packing one, but in fact there were several. As most of us were travelling by train and some from overseas, this was not an inconsiderable nuisance, carrying the extra weight and taking luggage space unnecessarily. Also whether things like tea towels, dishwasher tablets, bin bags etc were provided. Whilst we appreciate that self catering means you provide your own food, by and large, it is absolutely impossible to bring every possible ingredient or kitchen item you might need for cooking, and it is customary for simple basics to be provided. There were some of these things there, but Sykes were unable to tell us, which which meant a lot of extra things being brought unnecessarily by the two side cars. This increases packing and unpacking time considerably and it is a waste of time. Clarity on exactly what is provided is essential, down to the number of cutlery, crockery and glasses sets, the types of kitchen implements etc. Cooks need to know what they are dealing with, which will dictate what kind of cooking they can do. 3. A certain amount of wear and tear was evident; as is to be expected in an old property, but certain functional things do need fixing, eg the dishwasher cutlery holder had large holes in it, which meant that cutlery dropped through, potentially hazardous to the function of the machine if not spotted, and with 12 people was hard to keep track of who knew, and who didnât and who would remember! The glass shelf over the handbasin in one twin room was loose and hanging off its fixings, rendering it usable; therefore needs repair. 4. The waste disposal system was very confusing. The notices told us to put everything in the one large wheelie bin, where it would be sorted by the contractor into recycling and other. The large wheelie bin had a very big sign on the lid saying âno recyclablesâ! Weâre also not aware of any other company offering this service and remain dubious about it, since, hearing the head of waste management in the UK on the radio recently talking about contamination of recyclables, it is pretty clear that prolonged exposure to grease permanently contaminates recycled paper for example, and it is hard to imagine in any case how any contractor could separate food waste from plastic, paper, card and so on. We would love a full explanation of how this is possible and it needs to be crystal clear. Everyone needs to be recycing as much as possible these days and we had taken great pains to keep our recyclables separate and were fairly astonished and sceptical when it was clear there was only one bin in which to put it all. 5. Rooms. The two twin rooms are quite pokey. It needs to be made very clear that the four doubles and the two twins are of very different sizes and standards. Twin rooms can be just as luxurious, but these were of inferior quality and really best for young children. We were six couples, ranging in age from late 60âs to mid 80s, and it was very hard allocating the twins for obvious reasons! Inevitably, neither couple were happy. If we had known in advance, we may well have chosen a property with more equal quality rooms, or, if we had decided this one was the right property, could have organised the room allocation in advance by whatever means, but it made a very awkward and time consuming first evening discussing allocation before we could all settle into the room we were finally allocated. 6. Other bedroom issues Moreover, the twin bedsâ bedposts stick out at the top and catch the unwary; residents of these rooms sustained nasty bruises as a result of a hard knock, which didnât add to their dissatisfaction of being in those rooms! Poor design. 7. One of the twin rooms had a faulty shower from the outset. The owner was there on our arrival day trying to get it fixed and was extremely apologetic and gave us two bottles of bubbly to compensate for the temporary inconvenience, which was felt reasonable, assuming the shower would be fixed the next day. It wasnât though and, despite multiple visits from a plumber, remained unusable for five of the seven days of our stay.
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Mike - Verified booking
Like a bad dream.
.. I was disappointed with our stay at Squirrel Lodge in December 2023. I appreciate that VRBO/Sykes are only going to try and show the good stuff about their property on their books in their web images, and they really have done that in this instance. So, the good bits; the lounge is OK, with plenty of chairs for the 7 of us that were staying, but I'd worry if all six rooms were fully occupied. Kitchen is OK, but again, very small if the house is fully occupied. The dining room would seat everyone around the large table, but that's where the good stuff dries up. I can't directly review the bedrooms on the first and second floor, but we were on the third floor, some 45 stairs up, which was tedious to say the least. But if the bedroom had been half decent I guess the exertion of getting up the stairs would have been worth it. It wasn't, it as terrible. As was the other bedroom in the attic. It was like a cross between student accommodation and a hostel. It was the kind of room you have bad dreams about ending up in if your life had gone wrong. I like to stay somewhere that is as nice or better than my house. This was not. The bed was small and terribly uncomfortable. The cheap foam duvet and pillows were as bad as the mattress. Very little storage. Furniture that wouldn't look out of place in a charity shop. Then woodchip walls have been patched up to within an inch of their life over the years. The décor was shockingly old and, the workmanship (if you can call it that) was woeful. It has obviously been a hotel at some point in is past, which is fine, but I would have expected it to have been fully refurbished when it moved from a hotel to a rental property. The rooms still had numbers on their 1970's doors and there were Health & Safety fire signs all over the place. How Sykes can rate this property as 5 Ticks giving it 'Exceptional standard with a degree of luxury' I have absolutely no clue. I have no axes to grind with anyone either at Sykes or VRBO, or anyone else connected to this property. I've stayed at some wonderful properties in The Lakes, but I feel that everyone should know exactly what they are getting with this property. I very much think that there is a place for a cheap six bedroom holiday let in Keswick, and this may be perfect for you, if it is, then fill your boots. But it's a no from me.Â
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Rebecca - Verified booking
Overall we had a good stay.
The equipment was plentiful and the large dining and sofa area was useful for the group. 7 of the bedrooms were great as ensuite but note that the 8th room is very far from the bathroom (have to go downstairs and through all the living spaces- we didn't realise it was this far from the description). We had an odd experience that made us feel uncomfortable and I hope the owners learn from it and don't do it to any other guests. We requested a highchair and were pleased that it was in the house when we arrived and we used it in the evening. The next morning, the highchair was gone. I called Sykes cottages and we received a new highchair outside the front door that evening. The owner/housekeeping have accessed the house without our permission, that we privately hired and removed it (without consent) and offered no explanation or apology. The whole group felt disgusted that someone had been in the house while we were in it - with children and adults sleeping and removed something without permission. We paid a lot of money for private hire so we were deeply disappointed and did make us feel on edge.
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Beth - Verified booking
Thorney How was the perfect place to base my womenâs leadership retreat.
Nestled at the foot of Helm Crag it is ideally and idyllically situated with limitless opportunities for hiking from the house and surrounded by stunning views. The house itself was spacious, beautifully designed with a clean and comfortable aesthetic mixing cosy cottage with contemporary living seamlessly. Bedrooms were spacious and comfortable, the shared living spaces was ample and the presence of both a big porch and drying room made for super easy transitions in and out the door to and from the fells. We also had catering provided through Thorney How which was nothing short of superb. Jack provided nutritious, home-cooked, beautiful and utterly delicious meals and snacks throughout our stay, removing the stress of having to think about food and providing a level of care that enhanced my retreat enormously. All in all this house quickly became a home for our group and provided the warmth and comfort for us to be able to enjoy every element of our retreat with. Couldnât recommend highly enough and will definitely be using again!
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