Last Minute Windermere Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Joanne - Verified booking

  Not perfect Lovely cottage in a scenic spot with great dog walks on the doorstep.

  Great location for getting into Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside etc There were a number of frustrations with our stay, however: The garden doesn’t adjoin the cottage so rather than being able to simply open a door to let dog out we had to put his lead on and take him across the roadway to access the garden - not ideal in middle of night or poor weather - this detail is not clear in the cottage specifications. The door knobs on both access doors can be tricky to turn - we spent way too much time frustrating trying to twist them open. The kitchen pack is inadequate, barely enough washing up liquid for 2 bowlfuls of water and only a few dishwasher tablets. We ended up buying a bottle of washing up liquid. There was only 1 toilet roll! I didn’t expect there to be a week’s supply but thought there’d be more than one roll. Again we had to buy more. No hand soap in bathroom or kitchen - we had to buy 2 bars of soap. Main room is described as king size - the bed is not king size, just a standard double. Misleading. There was only one log for wood burner and a meagre amount of kindling. Specification said fuel would be provided. Again, I wasn’t expecting a week’s supply, but in previous rentals you get a couple of night’s worth of logs? One log!! Frustrating and disappointing. Wood burner has no companion set, so no poker or tongs to assist with fire stoking. Shed key is missing. I was so incredulous re there only being one log I wanted to check the shed in case there were more there - folder in house says shed key in top kitchen drawer - it is not and could not be located. Main bedroom would benefit from curtains, the horizontal blind not adequate to block out the glare from the neighbour’s security light which repeatedly came on and off. To summarise we had a lovely week in the Lakes, cottage is very attractive, but is missing some simple touches which would have elevated our stay to something more special. There is nothing in the way of greeting or hospitality so if you do choose to stay here bring your own loo roll, soap, salt and pepper (both cruets were empty), washing up liquid, logs and kindling. Reading previous reviews, the vast majority of the frustrations I have outlined have already been documented by previous guests so I have no confidence they’ll be taken on board.

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• Joanne - Verified booking

  Not perfect Lovely cottage in a scenic spot with great dog walks on the doorstep.

  Great location for getting into Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside etc There were a number of frustrations with our stay, however: The garden doesn’t adjoin the cottage so rather than being able to simply open a door to let dog out we had to put his lead on and take him across the roadway to access the garden - not ideal in middle of night or poor weather - this detail is not clear in the cottage specifications. The door knobs on both access doors can be tricky to turn - we spent way too much time frustrating trying to twist them open. The kitchen pack is inadequate, barely enough washing up liquid for 2 bowlfuls of water and only a few dishwasher tablets. We ended up buying a bottle of washing up liquid. There was only 1 toilet roll! I didn’t expect there to be a week’s supply but thought there’d be more than one roll. Again we had to buy more. No hand soap in bathroom or kitchen - we had to buy 2 bars of soap. Main room is described as king size - the bed is not king size, just a standard double. Misleading. There was only one log for wood burner and a meagre amount of kindling. Specification said fuel would be provided. Again, I wasn’t expecting a week’s supply, but in previous rentals you get a couple of night’s worth of logs? One log!! Frustrating and disappointing. Wood burner has no companion set, so no poker or tongs to assist with fire stoking. Shed key is missing. I was so incredulous re there only being one log I wanted to check the shed in case there were more there - folder in house says shed key in top kitchen drawer - it is not and could not be located. Main bedroom would benefit from curtains, the horizontal blind not adequate to block out the glare from the neighbour’s security light which repeatedly came on and off. To summarise we had a lovely week in the Lakes, cottage is very attractive, but is missing some simple touches which would have elevated our stay to something more special. There is nothing in the way of greeting or hospitality so if you do choose to stay here bring your own loo roll, soap, salt and pepper (both cruets were empty), washing up liquid, logs and kindling. Reading previous reviews, the vast majority of the frustrations I have outlined have already been documented by previous guests so I have no confidence they’ll be taken on board.

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• Katie - Verified booking

  Directions to get to the cottage were rubbish and after a 9 and half hour drive to get there, the last thing I wanted to do is drive around in circles.

  Parking situation is completely inaccurate, unless you have a two seater city car then you won't fit on the so called driveway (court yard) even then there is a pinch point between neighbouring house and garden wall. The TV signal weak and TV would go blank and state TV signal is weak, we reported this heart of the lakes as it caused much upset for our little one. I think this could be resolved if foliage when removed from the electric cables. Bathroom: the sealant has gone on the bathtub, again reported as I don't want this to become an issue for the owner with leaking ceilings. The ceiling is pealing away like there is wall paper on it, this is not helped by the fact there is no fan, there is also no water pressure for shower. Windows were painted shut, this is a big bug bare for me incase of a fire risk. Storage heaters I've never used before, when we arrived it was a little chilly and no hot water, even though the setting was on timed. We turned on the storage heaters hopefully to take the chill off and spent the next 4 days dying of heat (and not being able to open the windows made it really uncomfortable during the night). Key missing for the shed, which stores the seating cushions for the garden, however even if it had cushions the chairs where unsafe to use as they were rusted through, reported to heart of the lakes. No direction as to where the wood for the fireplace is, I found it on the last day and put a log in the fire and filled up the basket for the next person. The doors are sticking on ceiling causing damage to the property, and the carpet. No curtains in bedrooms just blinds, which made it too light in the mornings. No views unless you go outside, you are overlooked by neighbours both front and back. People renting next door spent one evening just walking around their garden looking in at us constantly. Very well equipped kitchen however not a single cupboard space for food. The shelf falling off the wall in the kitchen, which has the toaster on. Ok now the good bits. Good for location to Windermere and bowness, Ambleside even Keswick easy to get to. Leave the property and there are amazing views. Very quiet location Very well equipped kitchen Beds were quite comfortable.

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• Louis - Verified booking

  A lovely stay with only minor requests ~ This is our first time staying at Yanway having stayed in many other cottages within the Troutbeck area.

  Only this time we had both our 9month old daughter and, as always, our dog with us. Please do not be put off by the driveway, we were able to fit our Ford Puma on the drive easily, yes, we did need to reverse back up the drive to get out or perform a few point turn to turn around but the driveway space itself was perfectly fine. The side entrance to the property is fantastic for popping muddy paws and dirty stroller wheels in without coming through the property itself. The garden area is directly opposite and our dog could take himself over there and back of an evening. No bother. Also, you can both access the bed on both sides. The space is deceiving online but we had no trouble. We were able to set up a travel cot in the second room which worked well. Overall, a more than comfortable stay and we would revisit again. My only request would be that there is a stair gate available on the top of the stairs. Where we have stayed before we had a roller stair gate and these were handy for our little crawler. For those bringing small children, we brought along our own highchair as there was not one provided. Also, fresh milk, tea, coffee would be appreciated on arrival but this would not deter us from coming back. Very cosy! Thank you.

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• Andrew - Verified booking

  The electric wall heaters in the lounge were controlled by the owner on her mobile phone.

  She kept turning the temperature down on them and sometimes off completely. We had to telephone her numerous times and ask her to turn the heating on or up, because the room was freezing. It was snowing outside when we were staying there. The Lake District can still be extremely cold even in the summer. The broadband service was so erratic and slow it would not allow Netflix or iPlayer to operate, so the tv was useless. We ended up using our own Vodafone data for the internet. The amount of stairs you have to climb from the front door up to the bedroom is 28, which is even a struggle for someone who is fairly fit. They provided us with one small bath and hand towel each for two weeks holiday, which is really penny-pinching, considering that there is no washing machine in the apartment to wash laundry. The property comes with an allocated parking space, which is ideal in the centre of Windermere. The apartment is located in the centre of Windermere, with shops, restaurants and pubs right on your doorstep. The lounge and bedrooms were decorated to a good standard with very nice furnishings. The kitchen was well equipped with everything required for cooking and eating.

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