Banks Place

The house was cosy once we bought some matches to start the fire.

Great location Keswick great place to stay with good access to walking. If you are planning on cooking meals you might want to bring a few things as kitchen is very basically stocked. Only one wine glass as well. On balance a good place to stay.

Very good

Very small, hard to access but otherwise everything is as advertised, Compact, clean and perfectly placed for the town centre.

I stayed as a single occupant but would be comfortable for two. Tv left a lot to be desired but one doesn’t go to Keswick to watch TV. Would revisit.

A great location in the lively town of Keswick.

Bus, boat and boots, we never used the car once, everything was on our doorstep. Only one negative, and it is relatively minor, the property is looking just a little tired. A bit of TLC with a paintbrush would freshen it up.

We loved our stay at the Cottage.

It was comfortable and clean. I was delighted with the Scrabble Board and we had 2 games. It was great to be so near the centre as we had come for the Keswick Convention. I was very surprised that there wasn’t a microwave, they are a basic gadget these days and I had prepared meals in advance…but one can adapt…just took longer and used more gas. I found it hard to turn the gas hob on. Any ring I tried, I’d press the gas button and sparked a flame, but even though I held the flame on full, as soon as I took my hand off the spark button the flame went out. It was a problem almost every time we tried to use it and it was sometimes 5 or 6 times before it held the flame. I loved the idea of a deep bath. A real luxury as we only have a shower at home. I did enjoy my bath, but the plug didn’t stay pressed in properly. I didn’t realise that until I turned off the tap and got in. I was not sitting on the plug, but I realised the bath was emptying. I held it down with two fingers while I washed with the other hand and when I pressed it again it opened more fully and the bath drained quickly. I apologise for the fact that I hadn’t realised that the little laminated paper with the info about the frier/oven dish was near the back of the cooker and a small area of the instruction curled and was a bit burnt. We wanted to speak to the owner of the cottage but had to send our message to Sykes Cottages to say that it was burnt in the hopes that a new one could be put in place when the cleaner came. But I don’t suppose it could have been actioned in time. There are instructions in the file about how to use it though.

The cottage is in a good position very near to the town centre, you don't need to use your car much if you don't want to, as access to the town is obviously very close, the lake and other forms of travel are not far away.

The cottage unfortunately would benefit from a deep clean, as the skirting boards were dirty on the tops, the mold needs addressing from the shower tray, the radiator in the bathroom needs a good clean and the carpets would benefit from a clean as well. Most of the walls have marks on them, showing a good lick of paint would not go a miss, it just generally felt not maintained very well, feel like it needs some TLC. The kitchen could do with more storage, as basic items such as cutlery etc have to be left out on the works surface as are other items, and the lack of a microwave was a little disappointing, but given the lack of space I'm not surprised. We know the place is small but looking other cottages in the same row of houses, their kitchens are far better thought out. We have stayed in many houses in the Keswick area over the last nearly 40 years of going to the lakes, but were unfortunately a little disppointed with this one.

The cottage exceeded my expectations.

There was a fully fitted kitchen, books and games. Excellent instructions in a book with ideas of places to visit. Very clean. Massive bathroom and airy bedroom. It was great to have bedding and towels. I liked the eco touches and the location was so central. Very comfortable.

Centrally located property just off main street close to all amenities.

House clean and tidy with everything you neededParking outside,always a premium in Keswick-albeit down a very narrow alley- don't bring a big car!!Have stayed there before and no qualms about doing so again. Very good stay

Another lovely stay at Banks Place (our 4th!

) well equipped and very convenient. Perfect spot for exploring the area - walking from the door, no need to use the car.

Hi.

This was our 3rd stay at Banks Place - another lovely week. The house is centrally placed for everything. No need to use the car as we walked from the doorstep. The bus service is really good - we went to Cockermouth for the day and have previously caught the bus to Buttermere. A clean, comfortable place to stay - we’ve even booked again! Thank you

We had a lovely few days staying at 3 Banks Place.

The approach is very narrow but we managed ok and parked the car in the front of the cottage for the whole time we were there. The cottage is very central and fairly well maintained, although the bench outside has definitely seen better days! As others have said the stairs are very steep but that is to be expected in an old cottage and we managed them without a problem. The bathroom is excellent with a great shower and bath and the bed is very comfortable. Nice that sheets, towels, toilet rolls and soap were provided. The only fault we found was that the blinds in the kitchen and bathroom are broken and a microwave would have been very useful, but on the whole we were very pleased with the cottage and thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

Lovely property, had everything we needed for our stay.

. great location. We didn’t use the parking as prewarned by other reviews about the difficult access and limited spaces. Took the anxiety away though of getting parking elsewhere by pre booking a space on a driveway through the Just Park app about 7 mins walk away on the Penrith Road. Only sad thing for us was having to leave half way through our stay due to a sudden family bereavement. But will definitely be back.

The cottage was very nice and clean….

parking a big problem!, wasn’t able to park anywhere nearby and for the last 2 days managed to get on the roadside and didn’t realise because hadn’t been told we should have used the parking disc so will be receiving a parking fine in the next few days I expect?

Upstairs was comfy, clean and warm, the sash windows rattled in the wind and kept us awake all night.

Downstairs was cold without the fire. The fire was great, but store room padlock was upside down and tricky to open. There is an ant infestation, anything left on the side was attacked within seconds.

Lovely little place, extremely clean, great location.

Excellent location in town.

Upstairs is the best part. Bedroom plenty of storage. Super bed and bedding. Bathroom stylish. We had to travel light and Sykes themselves disappointed us in that. Before we we went they replied to a phone enquiry about a hairdryer not mentioned but the cottage turned out to provide one. A second enquiry if thered be milk on arrival etc. A Sykes employee politely but unhelpfully used the wording that they would not confirm either queries in case we were disappointed. We agree heartily with negative comments in the visitors book and were horrified to read from the previous weeks guests where the gentleman actually fell down the stairs injured and they left for home early. Stair gate as an option and a warning by Sykes both needed as the guest rightly says. In our 70s ourselves we must have stayed in scores of cottages home and away. We havent actually used Sykes before. But nearly all the below are in the visitors book. No personal storage space for food Shelving needed on the empty wall Shelf would take teapot flowers etc Provide microwave next to the toaster Cupboards tiny so inadequate crockery Utensils good but cutlery minimal Teaspoons OK Glassware sticky This and crockery needed washing first Kitchen bin no pedal or button lid unhygienically removed by hand Bin also smelt Gas hob constantly difficult to light and stay lit instructions please Husband good with TVs but Humax constant unplugging needed obviously unhelpful to many guests Freezer compartment nearly full of encrusted ice Worktops sticky finish tho antibacterial provided it doesnt clear it. Standard Lamp not working couldnt see replacement bulbs in cupboard. Wrecked bench outside see neighbours in comparison Upstairs stairs dangerous very small landing can see how fall could happen Bathroom chair thick with dust Bin lid broken and stained inside lid Bathroom shelf needed especially as chair so dusty The owners have replied in some cases in the book e.g new boiler and duvet replaced last summer but not to the oft mentioned concerns. They stated they do an annual stay themselves. Come on Sykes. What are we paying over 800 pounds high season price for

This is a nice little terraced cottage near the centre of Keswick, so very convenient.

It is well presented, comfortable, clean, and adequately equipped. Being so small, there is not much space for any extras, e.g. nowhere to put food supplies, so we kept stuff in a box on the floor. The fridge is very small too. Upstairs, the bedroom is supplied with drawers & a wardrobe & a comfortable bed. The bathroom is lovely, but would be improved with shelves for personal belongings. I would not recommend this cottage for elderly people like ourselves as the stairs are very steep, and close to the bedroom & bathroom doors. My 84 year old husband fell down them in the dark trying to go to the bathroom in the night and was quite badly injured. I would suggest the owners should fix a stair gate at the top, and this situation should be mentioned in the details given about the cottage. The television is very complicated to use, it took us about 10 minutes to find the news programme we wanted each time, by which time we had missed the headlines! We left a day early as my husband was unwell after his fall.

Great location, lovely and cosy.

Property kept very clean and great bathroom. Parking a little tricky, but that's the same issue all over Keswick ! Would recommend and use again.

A really beautiful cottage with pretty much everything we needed for a 4 night stay.

We set out to have a car free break, using the train and bus to get there, the location of the cottage made this easy once we were in Keswick, everything was within walking distance. We found the bed comfortable, plenty of room and storage space in the bedroom. The bathroom was amazing! The Kitchen was well equipped and the lounge area was comfortable. We did manage to get the TV working, just needed to follow instructions and be patient. The only slight downside to the trip was that on the weekend evenings there was a fair amount of noise from the nearby bar. Probably made worse by the fact that we had extraordinary warm weather and we had to have the windows wide open. (A fan in the bedroom would help with this). In all we really had a lovely, relaxing time in Banks Place, its a lovely cottage with character and we would definitely recommend!

Great central location.

Lovely old style bath. Parking very tight indeed. Bed was uncomfortable.

cottage very comfortable, and well situated in centre of Keswick.

Good facilities, everything worked. Ginnell very narrow for larger cars. Stairs very steep for us at close to 80, but we had no problems. Needed log burner almost every evening in Feb, as lounge radiator not quite enough. Loved bathroom, great shower and brilliant bath.

Great value cottage , great location , bathroom and bedroom lovely , kitchen diner perfectly adequate and cozy.

Will be back if it stays reasonably priced.

This was our 2nd stay in Banks Place.

The central location is super - access to the town and walks meant we did not use the car all week. The cottage is cosy, clean and well equipped, the bath is fantastic for a long soak after a walk in the hills. A lovely place to stay in one of our favourite locations.

Excellent property, well located, and we enjoyed our stay.

Both of us having mobility issues at time of visit made the awkward staircase difficult, but if able bodied, it was fine.

This is our 2nd visit a lovely cottage minutes from the town centre.

Access is narrow for cars I always by a permit for the longstay carparks. One comment went to use the frying pan found it still had food left on it aswell as the spatula I presume it was from the previous people.but not checked by cleaner.this hasn't put us off from returning .

Nice and close to Keswick town centre.

Lovely comfy bed. However, television didn’t work even though this had been reported in the guest book since November 2021! It was advertised as having a jacuzzi but only had a bath, even though it was a lovely deep one. The heating went off at approximately 9pm and was off during the day. There was no way of altering this - property is not double glazed so the property cooled quickly. There is a log burning stove but we did not want to get this going so late in the evening. The area around the outside of the property was very untidy and covered in weeds. In the photo there was a lovely wooden bench. Now there is a very scruffy dilapidated one. A microwave would have been helpful. Some of the cooking utensils had damaged handles. In conclusion, we were very disappointed with this property. We have stayed in Sykes cottages before and we have been extremely satisfied. We don’t think this property meets Sykes usual high standards.

A super cottage right in the heart of the town.

Very clean, everything you need for your stay. Bed comfortable, shower great and the bath was fantastic for a soak after a long day walking. Perfectly placed for all the local walks and in the evening for bars and restaurants. The alley you drive down to gain access is extremely narrow so beware. We only just managed it in a medium sized car (ford Kuga)

Lovely little cottage right in the centre of Keswick, perfect for a couple.

Being a cold February we unfortunately found the radiator in the living space downstairs to be inadequate, and the wood burner difficult to sustain over a period. Otherwise could have used a microwave. Overall we loved it despite the above criticism.

Great little cottage really cozy and great location Parking is slightly complicated due to narrow access but once navigated is ideal

Excellent location in Keswick, parking space not easy to access with bigger car, as stated, but plenty of free street parking close by.

Loved the bath, perfect relaxation after a day out,

The property is centrally located and hand for all attractions.

It was very clean and comfortable but I had trouble with the stairs. I have dodgy knees and found them very steep and narrow. That’s down to my age though. The entrance to the parking is narrow , as described, but I got my Toyota Rav 4 in okay. The service from Sykes was excellent.

There was a musty smell in the lounge when we first arrived.

The bedroom had 2 small single beds that were joined together and it was not comfortable at all with our feet hanging off the end. We did go to the Sykes office as soon as we arrived but they didn't really offer any help (they said the smell must be the cleaning products?!) I went to get a cushion from the bathroom cupboard and it was literally caked full of dust and was unusable. There was only one spare parking space which was full but parking was easy enough on one of the side streets a few minutes walk away. The location was great and it was right in the centre of town.

Great little cottage very comfortable only feedback would be there was no parking and the water pressure in the cottage was really low which meant the shower wasn't great!

However the fact the owners left wood for the fire i thought was great i would definitely go back to this place! The bed was also really comfy! Thanks

Although the accommodation was very good Keswick is like the Blackpool of the lakes totally gone down hill in the last 25+years myself and my dad have been coming up will not stay in this area of the lakes again we knew because of the current situation it was going to be difficult but nothing like we expected came home 3 days early will always come back but not to Keswick sorry keswick

We had previously stayed at Banks Place though not in late February / early March.

Although the cottage is in an excellent location there are several aspects of our stay which were unsatisfactory. There is no underfloor heating on the ground floor (as it says in your details), the logs for the fire were not 'kiln dried' and were in fact somewhat damp so they smouldered rather than burned (we do have a log burner so are used to the heat it can produce), it was not possible for us to access the Sonos sound system without a password,there was a strange collection of glasses (1 champagne/sherry flute, 1 wine glass) and the clock on the ground floor needs a battery or connecting to the electricity supply (the clock is large so you do tend to look at it and it is disconcerting when the time does not change!). As has been mentioned elsewhere, it would be useful to have a microwave - possibly instead of the coffee machine. Despite these negatives we had an excellent, relaxing break in Keswick and would consider returning to Banks Place if the points mentioned can be rectified.

Lovely cottage, very comfy bed and beautifully decorated.

We were a little chill as the heating was timed to go off at 9pm and we were out dining getting back around 9ish. It took a while to get the log burner going- the wood was good quality but not seasoned so damp. November break so frosty evenings and mornings. Overall very happy and appreciated the character and age plus loved the location for local amenities.

Very nice cosy place.

Multi fuel burner great for the evening/night chill.

Cosy ,comfortable cottage enjoyed are stay.

Another little arm chair wouldn't go amiss down stairs! We visited Whinlatter forest Park ( about 5miles away) lovely walks, St Bees on the coast , Whitehaven and of course several walks around Derwent Water even took in a rugby match at Keswick Rugby Club ( there is also a football team who plays at the back of Hope Park) Would definitely return to Banks Place!

It’s a great location, unfortunately we could not use the jacuzzi bath tub because the stopper plug was not working properly.

They did try to fix the issue with a drain plug, but unfortunately that did not solve the problem. It was one of the main reasons we chose this location so that was very disappointing. Also, the lack of a microwave makes it challenging to warm up a quick meal etc, but all in all it was a very convenient location so we ate out most nights.

The cottage was perfectly placed and beautifully presented.

We had such a lovely short break.

The cottage was placed superbly for us to walk into Keswick.

Once we parked the car we used the local bus services to get to some beautiful places to walk and explore, there was a few minor issues with cottage like no area to prepare food , very tight entrance for parking but overall great stay thanks!!!

Sadly this cottage had things missing which we normally expect in a self catering cottage/apartment, firstly and most important is that there was no MICRO WAVE or a tea pot in the kitchen, next the lack of no coat hooks near the front door or anywhere, and an indoor front mat for wiping feet would have been nice and finally no toilet roll holder, a free standing one would have been nice to have instead of having the roll on your lap.

Perfect location, walking distance to everthing!

Lake, shops, buses, Theatre & cinema, walks all from front door. The Tourist Information Office in Moot Hall know all there is to know about their local area and spend time with you to ensure you get the most out of every day. The cottage is warm and cosy to return home to every evening.

We weren’t unhappy, however there are several things we felt would be an improvement, for instance, a shelf or cabinet in the bathroom would be beneficial, hooks on the bathroom and bedroom doors would be useful.

Giving the time of year it would have been nice to have the underfloor heating at our disposal, also the downstairs radiator was in affective, it was one of the coldest and wettest weekends of the year, these facilities are a necessity in the British Climate at Winter time. We also discovered they were ants in the living room/kitchen area, and on investigation they were coming in through gaps between the skirting and the flooring. The front and rear of the cottage certainly left a lot to be desired, household electrical goods to name but a few left lying there, if it had been a good weekend, you certainly wouldn’t want to spend any time out there.

A cosy, well-equipped and very centrally located cottage.

Would happily visit again.

Lovely cosy cottage in a great location, very close to town centre and a good base to walk from.

Only negatives are parking is very difficult due to the narrow alley and we were slightly disappointed that there wasn't a DVD player. However, the cottage was lovely and we particularly liked the log fire and jacuzzi bath.

Great location, within easy access to the town,plenty of options for eating.

Access to car park very tight.

A cosy, comfortable cottage in centre of Keswick, close to amenities & a convenient base for exploring the beautiful Lake District.

The property description about parking outside the cottage is disappointing & misleading because (i) the alley way to Banks Place restricts vehicular access to smaller cars only (ii) the allocated parking space was blocked by a car with a flat tyre during our stay.

The cottage is very comfortable - the only thing missing is a microwave - this is not a problem for us but could be for some people.

As you know, the parking is tight so customers do need to be aware of this but, at least, there is the option of parking!! We have been to this cottage 3/4 times and love it, especially its position - within walking distance of everything in town.

It was Spectacular!

A lovely little cottage in the heart of Keswick, local pubs, bars, restaurants, shops- was perfect! Spent every day out walking, exploring and enjoy the Lakes! Breathtaking views, good value for money! Felt like a home from home and we are already planning our trip to the Lakes!

When I booked the cottage I looked for one that had parking.

The information online said it had parking outside the cottage. On arrival the car could barely squeeze down the alley to the cottages. Inside the cottage in the information folder it says do not attempt it if you have anything larger than a small car, too late, once in you can barely get out again because of the tight bend! Also in the folder was a scrappy photo of the parking with an arrow pointing to a space that says "can park here if it's available, first come first served". There are about 8 or 9 cottages, and parking spaces for 3 cars, two of which are private. There was a car already in the space that did not move whilst we were there. The nearest parking, if you can find a space, is several roads away, as the nearest car park is a short stay only. The cottage is in a great location but we would not stay here again as we like to park the car and not use it again once we are in Keswick, and we like to be able keep our eye on it. The booking information is misleading and should be changed.

Couldn't have a good shower the water was running hot and cold then not enough hot water for a bath boiler is old and not big enough to hold a lot of water