Last Minute Windermere Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Anne - Verified booking

  There is no doubt that Lakeside at Louper Weir is a prestige rental.

  It is a beautifully built modern house with the most spectacular views of Lake Windermere. However it is not without faults - there were a number of things broken, not working or not up to the standard you would expect from a house of this quality and resulting price bracket. To name a few - the barbecue ignition wasn’t working, the tv in the second bedroom had no signal, the toilet seats are quite old and discoloured and need replacing, there was regular interference to the main tv signal. Also, the WiFi in the home is quite dated and is one of those systems that constantly kicks you out and you have to reconnect to. The equipment in the kitchen is fairly hi-tech but the instructions left by the owner are not helpful or comprehensive enough. They assume you know that you have to lift the glass off of the Tepan Yaki grill in order to use it - I stumbled across this by accident. Also the microwave was within one of the ovens and completely frustrating to use because of the complex menu system. The hob is too small for a home meant to cater for 8 persons. You can barely fit 2 pans on it. I was aware on booking that building work was taking place next door but was not aware how very intrusive it would be. The building project is vast and has been ongoing for 3 years. It involves the entire site to the right side of the building and the builders have a lovely view into all of the big glass windows on that side of the property. I feel the owners are not being open enough with customers about the privacy issues that this creates. The bedroom blinds are automated and if you want to enjoy the stunning views from the master bedroom, you have to have BOTH blinds open, which gives the builders a very clear view of the master bedroom and bed! This could be rectified by the owner but they have chosen not to do so. Also, our last day (Friday) we had 3 landscape gardeners at the property for the entire day when we wanted to enjoy the outside space and hot tub but felt awkward doing so. Finally, a couple of days after leaving the property we were emailed and asked about a missing soap dish as if we had taken it. We hadn’t and had treated the house with care and respect and to receive this email was a surprise and a disappointment In summary, we had a wonderful stay but the house needs some basic maintenance and the owners need to think more about their guest’s experience rather than their bottom line.

  Read more less >

• Alissa - Verified booking

  We booked the stay for much needed recuperation after my husband’s recent chemotherapy.

  However, although we were very much looking forward to the stay, we were very disappointed and would not book the property again for the following reasons: - weeks after our visit and without our knowledge we were charged £192 for a faint lipstick mark on a duvet (I’m sure a bit of Vanish would have done the trick!) and £4.50 for a supposed broken Prosecco glass that we didn’t smash. They also ‘waived’ a £45 fee for a broken tripod, again we have no idea about. We have stayed in many beautiful properties over the years and have never had this happen to us before. We left the property clean, tidy and respected it during our stay. - the building works next door were very imposing. The master bedroom has two sided glass walls, with beautiful views of the lake… and the building works next door! from 8am - 4:30pm the workmen could see right into the bedroom. I was caught in my underwear the first morning which was very embarrassing. The blinds are electronic and you cannot close just one side, so we had to keep all of the master bedroom blinds closed throughout our stay. - the noise of the works was very loud from 8am - 4:30pm so we could not relax outside in the day. Also, there was a lot of foul language from the workmen - we have a 3 year old. - I love to cook, but the size of the oven and hob was caravan sized so I struggled to make a big family meal. - we had good weather but with all of the glass the property was exceptionally hot and we only had 2 fans for 2 bedrooms. It was unbearably hot at night, the couples in the hot rooms didn’t sleep a wink. (We tried to rotate the fans). We did try to get more fans for the property but were told we were lucky to have 2. - the main sliding concertina doors to the patio / dining area were out of order - there are a lot of cameras outside the property so we felt a little ‘watched’. There is one on the master bedroom balcony so it didn’t feel very private when we were sat taking in the the views at night. We use lakelovers a lot and spend a lot of money on stays, regrettably this is our most disappointing stay to date. Which given the reason for our stay, was very unfortunate for my husband.

  Read more less >

• David - Verified booking

  The location of the house was brilliant, right on the lake and the inclusion of the kayaks was something we enjoyed even in October!

  All the rooms were a lovely size and included plenty of soft towels and two bathrobes in each room which was a nice touch. The kitchen was fully stocked with any gadget you’d be familiar with at home. We had two families staying in the house and the only thing I would suggest to consider is the driveway/ parking. We were able to get two cars out the front of the house but we had to manoeuvre round the gate entrance each time one car wanted to leave so if there were more than two cars this may be more challenging. There is an additional parking space on the winding driveway and you could get a car parked up by the road. With this house being designed for up to 4 couples we only had one gate entrance key, so on the occasions that we wanted to go out separate we had to agree who would be back first to open the gate which was a slight inconvenience as there was no way down to the property unless you left the side door open on the latch. We had a slight issue with the electric gate on arrival and we couldn’t seem to easily see any out of hours support which was frustrating. We got a call back at about 1pm the following day so if we were really stuck then this was far too late to be helpful. The battery in the electric gate key was not connecting properly so we were unable to open the gate upon arrival however it wasn’t until the morning that we realised this was our issue. The instructions mentioned a triangle fob (which we did not have) so we thought this was our issue.

  Read more less >

• Richard - Verified booking

  Cottage was OK.

  However if you want a shower you have to go from your bedroom down two flights of stairs into the basement. Its damp and fusty in the basement and there is a dehumidifier working overload. The shower and toilet room is rather cramped. Kitchen was nice enough and had everything you need. 'The living room is alright but nothing reclines but that's fine if you want to sit bolt upright after a long day on the fells. Advertised is a wi game - it doesn't work so why advertise it. The TV is old so your not going to have much variety on what you watch. Parking can be a bit tricky and you might find yourselves walking a long way from whichever street you can find to park on. The upstairs bathroom had a faulty toilet cistern - there was an instruction note to advise us it was faulty placed on top of the cistern telling us we need to position the flush handle just so after flushing - otherwise the cistern would constantly be filling and discharging via the overflow all night. We manged this fine, but the real disappointment was the fact that the owner then put a claim in after we left to replace the their faulty/damaged toilet !!!! They said we had damaged it. Furthermore, Sykes cottages endorsed their claim £200!!! We have used sykes cottages before. Never again - check out their reviews its alarming. Sykes cottages work on a basis of don't call us you'll never get through to us.

  Read more less >

• Hannah - Verified booking

  Double bed- needs to be king size as its so small myself and my husband struggled to stay in it.

  I slept one night in another room to get more space. Would gladly have had smaller bedside tables to accommodate. Needs mattress topper in all the rooms. The mattresses are so uncomfortable we didnt sleep the entire stay. Downstairs lights dont turn off on three nearest the window. No heating in kitchen or downstairs toilet working. In winter it is freezing and not enjoyable to use. Downstairs shower doesnt drain quick enough to be able to use, almost flooded hallway, took 2 hrs to drain. Mirror rusty in downstairs toilet. All directions on oven and hob rubbed off had to google for settings. This is very dangerous with a gas hob. One ring dial on gas hob doesnt work properly/dial sticks. Again very dangerous. Taps on bath move about/loose. Clocks not set to the right time (1 hr ahead) and unable to change some of them. Steak knives need updating very blunt. Could do with a measuring jug Could do with more than one baking tray for the oven. Signal on the tv goes out regularly. We have stayed at Thompson Cottage a few times over the years and previously enjoyed our stays. Unfortunately the property needs now some updating and money spending on it go bring it back to annacceptable standard. Unfortunately we would not be booking again unless the above could be accomodated. The bed situation being the most critical in my opinion.

  Read more less >