Dog Friendly Cottages in Cumbria

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Andrea - Verified booking

  Having stayed here several times we were so excited to come back.

  It has always been our favourite lodge and we were disappointed we missed out on availability last year and had to book an alternative however we have been left disappointed this time. The lodge is starting to look tired and there are 2 great big dips in the floor (one in the hall and one in the main bedroom). There was no welcome pack. 2 years ago the children received selection boxes and we were left biscuits and wine, nothing this year and no information booklet, which I was told had been removed due to covid but as everything else was still there, it was pointless really. The children were disappointed that the tree didn’t work ie it didn’t light up. I did report this and someone came to look at it but a few hours later it was broken again and never worked the entire stay. The blankets left on the couch clearly hadn’t been washed as they stunk of dogs. There was a blanket in the second room wardrobe too the same. We know it’s a dog friendly lodge but we’ve never had this before. There were only coasters on the table in a lodge for 4 and only 3 big plates. There were no robes and slippers in the bathroom as pictured in the listing. The water dispenser in the fridge was broken (missing the inside tube) . The remote buttons weren’t working properly. We couldn’t change sound or turn channel down, only up on most occasions. The children found this most annoying. The speaker bar is broken so had to have volume low or put up with the echo it created. One day we tried one of the lodge games kerplunk to find it was all broken and had been taped together in many places. We were told there was a site WiFi but we could only every occasionally access the bar one and sometimes another lodge’s. It wasn’t strong enough to be able to sign in to Netflix or to stream anything. We went to choices health club but they had issues with the boiler so the pool was 35 degrees which was far too hot for a swim. We were disappointed to find the pub had closed for the season when we visited on 2nd January. Nobody had informed us of this and all the signage just stated the Christmas new year openings and no mention of closing. Sadly after 8 years of booking with Lake District lodge holidays, we will not be returning next year . The prices are insane and I have no confidence in the standard of accommodation after issues with cleanliness last year and now feeling disappointed this year with what really was our happy place.

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• Kelley - Verified booking

  The lodge is amazing, especially for dog owners and had lots of toy goodies for my dog, Lola, to enjoy, as well as lovely pictures of the owners labradors who are gorgeous!

  ! Unfortunately it didn’t have everything listed on the welcome email and I had to buy some poo bags and brought my own treats as the jar was pretty empty but I’m sure Lola didn’t mind. Very useful to have doggy bowls and towels as I’ve forgotten to take ours away with us before. I had to buy some poo bags so left them there for the owner/ next person to use, unfortunately no treats left to leave as Lola ate all ours. The park is beautiful and has lots of stunning views from all angles, as well as a lovely pub to sit and enjoy a drink or food overlooking the park and surrounding hills and the lodge was relaxing and private enough to enjoy feeling like your own little oasis. The lodge doesn’t have dedicated WiFi and no way of watching Netflix or prime, even via our mobiles, but it does have a move database with a selection of family friendly movies on to enjoy. The only downside we had was being without water for almost 8 hours on the Sunday from around 9am. We use these long weekends as relaxing time as a couple so only go off the park for short periods of time and spend most of our time on the patio, movie watching or in the hot tub. Not having water meant we couldn’t wash, which in turn meant we couldn’t use the hot tub either as you have to wash before/ after. This coupled with losing basic amenities like being able to flush the toilet all day spoiled our time relaxing. We only found out about the water issue when I rang to report it and was told to view social media for updates. No further communication or updates were given to me personally. The social media updates all had lovely apologies from the park and they offered drinking water (again only advised on Facebook, nothing locally) that we had to arrange collect ourselves but when paying over £1000 it’s not what you expect. As the cost had already doubled from what we’ve paid annually over the last 7 years we’ve been visiting, it meant we lost enjoyment of one of the two full days we had there, which was a shame and is definitely no reflection on the lodge, more Sykes Cottages and the parks management of the issue. Disappointing that even after arriving home we’ve not had any contact regarding this issue.

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• Laura - Verified booking

  Elder Lodge is a lovely, well maintained property with excellent amenities and stunning views.

  The service from LDLH was very good, including when there was a power outage affecting our lodge, which they dealt with almost immediately. Our only issue with the whole stay was the poor service at The Haybarn (onsite pub and restaurant) and the distinct lack of stock in the on site shop. The opening times of The Haybarn seemed to be limited to 6 hours per day (3pm to 9pm), with no lunchtime service which we found odd during half term. We had to figure this out for ourselves as the times weren’t clearly advertised anywhere. Whilst the food was very nice, the service times were abysmal - we waited well over an hour (sometimes closer to 2 hours) for food each time we visited. The tables were never fully occupied during our visits, so this can only mean that they were understaffed, which again seems really poor planning for half term. In addition, the communication about wait times was virtually non existent - only once did the app we ordered through inform us of a wait. The staff were very pleasant but it was obvious they were run off their feet and very stressed. The shop seemed to sell out of all essentials whilst we were there, which again seems poor planning on the part of the park. If I was an owner I’d be disappointed that the already basic on site services weren’t up to standard for guests staying w/c 31 May 2021. I’d love to visit again, however the extortionate prices for 2022 (almost double what we paid this year) coupled with concerns about the service on site would make me think twice at this stage. As a side note, I think it would have been nice to have some kind of welcome/info pack in the lodge, with basic information about the site and local area. This has been the norm in other lodges we have stayed in throughout the UK and I think guests would appreciate it.

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• Zena - Verified booking

  From the moment we arrived on my 50th I was really excited as I had previously phoned and mentioned it was my 50th on arrival so was hoping for maybe a small token card or something but nothing I was a bit disappointed.

  The place however was great it smelled so nice and was very clean . Our room was great there was lots of storage and the bed and bedding was so comfy even my husband said it was and he is fussy . My 15 year old daughter had the other room I asked to put the beds together so it was a big king-size she was delighted and the shower room was brilliant with good storage wardrobe too. We booked this especially as it had a hot tub and wow it was amazing myself and my husband had never been in one and it was spotless clean . It was pouring down but was so warm and with the flashy lights you forget it's raining . The little additions of the dog leads poo bags etc was such a nice touch I was impressed. My husband is the cook in our family and he loved the kitchen so much storage pans etc and the oven was amazing we had full chicken roast on Sunday cooked so well sitting round the big table watching a bit of tv . My dog loved it too all the walks round about and being able to be safe on the decking . I could go on how amazing our stay was all day but the only problem we came across was the tv only free view my husband loves his tv we even bought out fire stick but no I ternet connection . We didn't come away to watch TV all day but after a long walk you should have the option to watch more than free view channels. I would defo come again we had a good time .Next time also I think I would book Asda delivery to the site as booths etc was so expensive. All in all great comfy quiet beautiful place loved it . Thank you will definitely come again

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• Nicholas - Verified booking

  The barn is furnished to a reasonable standard and is adequately equipped.

  The bedroom a little less spacious but the bed is comfortable. The accommodation is well heated. The upstairs bathroom is well set out, although it was problematic getting hot water to come through. The internet connection is totally unreliable and kept falling out throughout our stay. In 2025 it is expected when renting property to have full reliable internet connection. This impacts on communication and has a negative impact on the holiday as a whole. The TV is also a necessity, the only connection is an Apple TV box, which without an apple subscription is useless. At the very least Freeview should be provided. The TV is only a smart to when connected to the internet, this one needed an Ethernet wired connection, which sadly wasn’t present. There was no wheelie bin or information regarding the disposal of rubbish. A little more information about the facilities in the property would have been helpful, for example, the hob has no visible settings and no manual available, difficult to know high or low heat. There is a manual for the oven. Thank you for the welcome pack, much appreciated.

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