Dog Friendly North Yorkshire Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Margaret-anne - Verified booking

  Barforth Hall Dairy - Not Clean, Not COVID Compliant, Not Able to Stay We booked Barforth Hall Dairy for a week long stay but had to leave after 36 hours due to a failed “Additional Clean”.

  We highlighted issues to Sykes & the owner 1 hour after arrival - the place was not clean and therefore not safe for a family visit during a time of COVID -19 restrictions. the water and substances in the kettle upon our arrival (please see Appendix 4)  The dried in food evident on dining plates, making these not safe for use on our arrival (Appendix 5)  The sticky substance covering on the work surface in the kitchen  The dirty condition of the utensils intending for cooking, which contained several cobwebs. The owner does not dispute that these were present in Barforth Hall Dairy at the point of our arrival and after the second clean on 3.7.21 but said the photos ‘had been taken to look bad’. The fact that there were cobwebs on cooking utensils hanging above the sink after 2 supposed cleans WAS bad. It was certainly bad for our family - Cooking utensils being cleaned and safe to use for our arrival is a basic expectation in hospitality. In addition to the missed cobwebs during the “Adfitional Clean” we were still left with  Dead insects in kitchen  Remnants of food still present on dining plates  Removal / replacement of bath mats which appeared to have been utilised by previous guests  Removal / replacement of toilet roll which had evidently been used by previous guests  Food crumbs / debris in drawers of freezer Furthermore the situation was exacerbated when the cleaner who carried out the “additional clean” used our towels and did not use separate sponges etc . COVID-19 guidance states that towels and sponges should not be shared – the towels we brought from home and the dish sponge left for us at Barforth Hall Dairy were both soiled during the second clean, meaning they were no longer in a condition to be safely used by our family. We binned our towels at the property when we left early on the Sunday morning. The owner offered us £50 to make up for the issues but thinks it’s acceptable to keep the £759 paid for a holiday we couldn’t have - we had to leave 6 days early! We are now taking this further which is completely new territory for us. Check out the reviews of Barforth Hall - they’re the same owner & frighteningly similar to our experience. I wish we had - we wouldn’t have made a booking. This place was not clean, not COVID compliant and as a result we did not have a holiday.

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• Andrew - Verified booking

  We were looking for a relaxing couple of days and we ended up wanting to stay longer!

  The location is fantastic, nestled into the countryside on a working farm with horses in view of the hot-tub and out the front along with the Alpacas! We had no issues finding the cottages, the Sykes instructions (as Paula advised) were great, anyone struggling can use the "What3Words" Navigation of ///stencil.racetrack.marshes to get to the front door. Easy to contact the owners, I missed Paula on the phone but we managed to email, and her responsiveness was superfast ( I asked for some extra logs and they were there before we even got back to the cottage ) The Hot tub is simple to use and once heated up once only needs an hour or so each day to get up to full heat, everything needed is provided. We took some plastic "glasses" and it's so relaxing sitting in the hot tub with a drink and just watching the sunset with the horses in view. Locations wise - perfect of Barnard Castle, Bowes Museum, Raby Castle etc are within easy reach by Car and there are a multitude of excellent walks (especially along the river) to get some fresh air and enjoy the English Countryside. The cottage is exactly that, a cottage on a farm. It is not clinically clean - and there are some cobwebs etc but that's to be expected. The kitchen is a good size and has almost everything needed to cook a decent meal in (we made Carbonara & Pasta from scratch and all we were missing as a grater (so we got pre-grated cheese!) The lounge is very comfortable with a good size TV if thats needed. The wood burner makes the room cosy and warm in the evenings (when you can drag yourself out of the hot-tub) Bedrooms were roomy and well fitted out, the 4 poster was great! Comfortable and spacious with pristine bed linen. We had absolutely no issues with either the heating or the hot water (shower was lukewarm - but wasn't an issue) Bath was hot. All in all a fantastic place to stay and get away from it all. Responsive owners, well-equiped cottage in a great location!

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• Catherine - Verified booking

  We alerted the property owner and booking.

  Com of the time of arrival . Received an email suggesting they would be there to hand over the key.I had no other information given to me at this time. When we arrived at the property there was no one there. We hung about for an hour then went to the local pub to try and phone for help as we had no signal on our phones. We waited on the phone to Booking.com on the pubs land line for nearly an hour with no answer. At this point we were very hungry and tired (also aware of using the pubs phone)and went to another local pub to get some food. I did go on chat at booking .com for advise and also emailed sykes holidays , booking.com several times. I could not get a signal. On chat they said they would get back to me within half and hour. I had told them that I had no signal. At 9pm we went back to the property hoping someone would have come or left a note etc. On looking around outside we realised there was a key in the key lock but at no point have I been given a code. My son tried for nearly an hour to get into the code and eventually cracked the code and got the key. I am unsure what we would have done as I expect everywhere was booked. We would probably have had to drive all the way home. You can check the emails and chat and at no point did anyone give us the code. When I eventually got in we had access to wifi and noticed that Booking .com had tried to phone us at 8:30pm. This was useless as we had no signal and I had clearly told them that on the chat . Very stressful and annoying start to the holiday. We were not expecting to go out for a meal due to covid and had brought all our meals to cook. I would like some compensation for this awful start to our holiday!

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• Mark - Verified booking

  We booked Wychwood for a weeks stay in Grosmont and luckily we had some great - although cold - weather.

  The property benefits massively from its own parking space and if you know the village then this is a massive plus point. Overall well equipped cottage and we were very happy with our stay and the welcome box of goodies was really appreciated. We found the kitchen well equipped to do whatever you need to do and all the appliances worked well I found the log burner a challenge to keep lit - mastered it towards the end of our stay tho and it kept the lounge really warm and cosy. The bedroom downstairs was the only one we used and found the mattress super comfy ! No issues at all getting a good nights sleep after days out walking. There are plenty of walks direct from the property - for a short one would recommend waking the old Toll Road (Barnards Rd) into Egton where you can get food and drink a plenty! It’s also a couple of mins walk to the local pub The Station Tavern who serve excellent food and proper ales - try the Parmo !! The village co-op is also right on the level crossing and stocks pretty much everything and you can withdrawn cash from the Post Office inside when it is open. Further afield it’s a relatively easy walk on the old railway track bed to Beck Hole or Goathland. Do check opening times of the Birch Hall Inn at Beck Hole if you plan this - and it’s cash only. Overall a thoroughly enjoyable stay in a brilliant former iron workers cottage which is well appointed well equipped and clean and tidy. If you do have any issues then the owners are quick to respond either by text or call. There is no wonder it is rarely available ! We will be back !! Thanks again Mark, Di and Oscar the retriever.

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• Pam - Verified booking

  The cottage is in a lovely position with wonderful views across Rosedale and a very pleasant garden.

  There was, however, an issue around space. The ground floor open-plan living/dining/kitchen area was tiny and smaller than it appeared in the photographs. Even with only two guests and a dog, we were cramped for space and we certainly wouldn't have wanted to be in a party of four. We felt that we would have had more room to move on a narrowboat. There are some small inaccuracies in the cottage description. The first floor bedroom does not contain a standard sized double bed and fuel for the wood-burning stove is not included as implied. There was enough for the first night but the expectation was that guests would provide the rest. Most cottages state this explicitly but this cottage did not. It is also not made clear that neighbours have access through the garden. The cottage was clean and well presented but evidence of a previous canine visitor was clearly evident on the lawn when we arrived and had not been cleaned up. We do not have satnav and were concerned that directions to the cottage were very poor, being both confusing and contradictory and bearing no relation to either a standard road atlas or an OS map. Sadly, the two requests made for further clarification from the owners went unanswered. We were greatly helped by the Phillips Street Guide to North Yorkshire which enabled us to make some sense of otherwise incoherent instructions.

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