Dog Friendly Cottages In Keswick

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Joseph - Verified booking

  We were sadly very disappointed with our stay at Holly Cottage.

  When we first arrived, we were greeted by a cold house with a strong, dank smell, concentrated in the downstairs bathroom and cupboard, but noticeable across the house. This smell was present throughout our stay. Whilst bedding and carpets appeared clean, the house seemed in real need of a proper deep clean or maintenance. There were dead flies in light fixtures, what we assumed to be mud splattered up the wall in the hallway landing, and further dirt marks on the walls in the kitchen, what looked like water marks on the walls of the back bedroom and lounge, hair on the bathroom wall, and wallpaper that was chipped and peeling throughout. The furniture was also tired in places, with the cupboard in the bedroom having parts half hanging off. When we got to the back bedroom, we also noticed that the light and shaving fixture above the sink was hanging off the wall by the wires, with the glass lampshade on the floor. It looked like this had damaged the sink too. Upon seeing all of the above, we were of course really quite upset and wanted to talk to someone who could help. We noted that the first port of call should be Lakes Cottages according to the slip in the kitchen, so we rang them but were sent through a call tree which never ended with anyone who could help. We were eventually able to get through to a person at Sykes, who told us to go to the Lakes Cottages office in town, which we did. We spoke to the individual there, who was unfortunately not able to be much help and didn’t seem familiar with the property, and told us to get back in touch with Sykes, which we did. We got through to a representative, who we explained everything to, and said would call us back. An hour passed before we phoned back to follow up, which was when the number informed us that the phoneline was closed for the evening, which we hadn’t been made aware of beforehand. At this point, I hope you can appreciate we were really upset and felt quite abandoned. We left a message on the emergency line for Sykes, as it was the only number we could find, and in the end booked a hotel room for the evening. We didn’t feel it was right to complain about the house’s condition being unacceptable whilst simultaneously staying there, and wanted to give whoever would respond the opportunity to rectify the situation. We did eventually hear back from the emergency line, who were helpful and told us to keep hold of our receipt to organise reimbursement. We appreciate this gesture, but haven’t heard more about how to actually arrange this. This individual said they would organise a cleaning of the house and maintenance to fix the bulb by the following morning. We did get a call the following morning, from an individual at Sykes, asking us if the situation had been resolved. We went back to the property and were able to see that nothing had changed, which we relayed and were told again it would be resolved as soon as possible. We returned to the house in the evening, and found that the heating had been fixed, but the house wasn’t cleaned and the socket was still hanging off the wall and was hot to the touch. We felt as if nothing was going to change so made the decision to unpack and try and make the most of our stay having already lost out on a quarter of it. We were called again by Sykes who relayed that the lightbulb has been fixed and the heating was working: We were in the room with the lightbulb still hanging off the wall, so confirmed it hadn’t. It wasn’t till the following day that we noted it had been removed. We want to make clear that Sykes does not offer the ability to contact the owner or even indirectly speak to them, which means the owner wasn’t offered the chance to put anything right. What we do hope, however, is clear is how difficult it was to resolve any of the issues that were present, and how let down we felt by the service and the stay. We haven’t ever complained about a stay before, but felt so disappointed and frankly upset that we felt we had to. We would appreciate a response, as well as a response about how to settle reimbursement for the hotel stay.

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• Helen - Verified booking

  This cottage is described as dog friendly, which is why we booked it.

  We were told right from the start that dogs were NOT allowed on the beds, or indeed any of the furniture, and were not to be left alone in the property. These are usual requirements, and perfectly reasonable, and we would do this anyway, without being told to. What we were NOT TOLD until we arrived there and found the notice on the table, is that dogs must be confined to the "ground floor". At first glance, this doesn`t seem unreasonable, however in practice, due to the layout, it means that we had to shut our dog in the kitchen at all times, and only the kitchen. If we wanted to relax in the lounge, watch TV, have a drink in a comfortable chair instead of a hard kitchen chair, we couldn`t have our dog with us.A " dog friendly" property where the dog can`t be in the lounge?We paid to hire the whole property, but in practice, could not use the lounge area, or have the enjoyment of it.This put something of a damper on our holiday.We are not happy, and feel deceived. We realise that this is the owners choice, it is his property, and it may suit some people, who wouldn`t mind. However, prospective hirers should be told the terms on the write up, so that they know what to expect, and can make an informed choice. We had these terms, previously not mentioned, forced on us on arrival. We holiday with our dog because we want her with us. Had we known from the start that she had to stay shut in the kitchen, and not join us in the evenings, we would never have booked this particular property.

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• Sarah - Verified booking

  The owners are clearly doing what they can with the layout of this property and we acknowledge that some things can’t be improved due to the sloped ceilings etc.

  The positives: Overall very clean, quirky accommodation with ample goods such as toilet rolls, cloths, washing up liquid, hand wash etc. Great location. Good instructions and no issues getting into the property. Negatives: We couldn’t find anywhere to park to unload on arrival late at night. This was up and down all week, sometimes it was easy to park outside and other times we were way up the road. Needing to kneel in the bath for a shower. We accept that this is the only likely option in this property. The crockery and glasses looked like they’d been hand washed by the previous guests and put away. Some weren’t clean. We ended up leaving a day early as the beds were crippling us. We like a firm mattress but these were beyond a joke. I ended the holiday exhausted with a sore back, hips and shoulder. My partner really struggled with his back after the first night but by day 3 was in agony with his shoulder to the point he couldn’t lift his arm or drive by the end of the week, which has righted itself since we got home. We tried putting blankets under the sheet for him which didn’t do much, but a padded mattress topper may have resolved this. It really took the shine off our trip. The house feels like a compromise due to the parking and shower. We’d have accepted this for the price if the beds were comfortable but sadly it’s unlikely that we will return here again.

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• Tracey - Verified booking

  On arrival there wasn’t even a pint of milk for a coffee.

  When we went upstairs on the first corner step it threw you off balance and into the corner- we think the step is broken. The bed nearest the window was like sleeping in a crisp packet because of the mattress protector it crackled every time you moved and there’s black mould and torn paper underneath the window in the bedroom. Polystyrene tiles on the ceiling in the downstairs loo and boiler room, the door to the boiler room would not close so this could not contain a fire. There’s no warning sign in place to for the boiler room because as you go through you step up and my husband who is only 5’7” banged his head with some force the first time he went through. The extractor in the bathroom didn’t work and only one light worked in there. There were 6 empty air fresheners doted around the property 4 of which were placed like ornaments on the shelving in the dining area. We know it’s an old property but it could be beautiful and there’s so much wasted space, it’s all worn and very dated. We love the area and as you are aware normally love where we stay but we will be much more careful picking our next accommodation. We are aware that we could have contacted the Keswick office regarding these issues but we did not want to wait in for someone to come and we did not want a stranger in while we were out. The property should have been checked thoroughly before we arrived.

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• Janet - Verified booking

  Holly cottage is in a prime location with the co op supermarket directly opposite and all other shops, bars etc within a few minutes walking distance.

  The bus station is just around the corner. Parking space at the back of property along with outdoor seating area. The kitchen is of a good size and very well equipped. Cleaning products, tea towels,oven gloves are all provided. There were even spare bulbs and batteries if needed. In the kitchen there were also cook books available and herbs and spices if you would rather cook for yourself. The lounge was comfortable and I can see that previous reviews have suggested settee uncomfortable. The owner has listened to their customers views as the settee has been changed . There is a downstairs toilet available which is a bonus. Upstairs there is a decent sized bathroom, single bedroom and a double bedroom. Plenty of wardrobe space and lots of hangers. There is a hairdryer in the spacious main bedroom. The whole cottage is colour coordinated in shades of greys and yellows. On our departure we met the owner of the cottage and she was most interested to hear if we had any complaints or suggestions that she should act on. As far as we are concerned the cottage is perfect in every way and we wouldn’t change a thing. Hopefully we will return to Holly cottage again in the future. A lovely holiday highly recommended.

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