Little Ellers

Apart from a few cleaning issues and some minor maintenance problems that had not been reported by previous occupants it was an excellent holiday home.

We loved the property, a beautiful house in a lovely setting and perfect location.

The house was warm, spacious, comfortable and well maintained. We would return without hesitation!

Beautiful house & garden.

Very spacious house with great character. Very clean & well maintained house. Quiet area & a short walk to the pub!

Absolutely beautiful property in a wonderful setting in one of the most beautiful areas in the country (world?

). Easily accessible and within easy reach of shops, pubs and restaurants and some wonderful walks. Would highly recommend this property and hopefully we will return in the not too distant future.

Booked this via the British Avios Estore but Syke cottages have not recorded the transaction so will not be getting the points.

Disppointed with Syke Cottages as this is not the first time this has happened.

When we first arrived at Little Ellers we could not believe the size of the property, it’s huge.

There was 10 of us 6 adults and 4 children. There is plenty of space, patio is a lovely area to sit in the evenings weather permitting.

Pros: Little Ellers was perfectly placed for our holiday as we visited the Keswick Convention every day the 7 days we were there.

It was a 30 minute walk away – perfect for enjoying the views of this beautiful part of the world. The property was clean and had more than enough space for all 10 of us (6 adults, 4 kids). As well as the many bedrooms, the property has a number of reception rooms, all of which are very spacious. The garden was large and well kept – a lovely space for the kids to let of some steam. It was enclosed too so we felt we could leave them to it if we adults wanted to stay inside. Cons: None of the middle floor bathrooms had locks. Some of our party didn't mind, others really did. Only the downstairs toilet and top floor bathroom did. We noticed that the middle floor bathrooms had lock-holes which we assumed meant the doors could be locked – we just didn't have the keys. We contacted Sykes Cottages on Saturday, Monday & Tuesday about this but only received a conclusive answer on Wednesday: there were no keys for the middle floor bathroom doors. Though Sykes said they tried to ring us, none of us had good mobile signal, so our phones didn't even say we had missed a call. To Sykes credit, they have said, in the future, they will contact customers online / via email if they can't reach them by phone, rather than assuming customers will get a missed call notification and call back. The kitchen only stocked a few tiny sieves – a normal or large sieve would have been helpful. Conclusion: Little Ellers is a beautiful and spacious place to stay. Despite the few niggles mentioned above, we have booked this lovely property again for next year's convention/holiday. (To the team at Sykes Cottages & to Little Ellers' owner, if those few niggles were rectified, we wouldn't hesitate in giving this property 5 stars!)

We all loved the stay in this beautiful house with a large garden and thoroughly enjoyed the surroundings We do appreciate it is a huge house to clean and maintain cleanliness, however a better inspection is needed before letting it out to your next guests May we also mention to invest in cooking utensils especially new nonstick frying and wok pans?

Also a storage of bathing/hand/ kitchen towels would add to the comfort Thank you Yours sincerely Alan and Lia Moth The Netherlands

Little Ellers was ideal for a three generation get-together of 10 - ages ranging from 3 to 72 years.

A lovely house from the very useful utility room entrance (especially handy in wet weather), to the spacious, comfortable and well-equipped rooms. Surrounded by a beautiful garden (perfect for play and for enjoying the sunshine if you get any!). Excellent location - close to Nichol End for canoe etc. hire and a lovely walk through woods to Derwent Water at Hawes End (where you can catch the launch round the lake). Our only slight niggles were lack of locks on upstairs bathroom doors, no salt and pepper in the kitchen and only 2 lots of hand soap for five bathrooms. In general we all loved the place.

Fabulous house, well equipped in a great location : We are local and know the area well but were holidaying with a few couples from various parts of the UK and France: They were equally impressed.

Had a great time at Little Ellers it is a lovely house in a great spot.

Disappointed that there was only bath towels (very small) and not bath sheets and only one hand towel per room (not one per person). All but one rain shower would only work on the top shower head. Downstairs toilet door knob needs screws in to stop it falling off all the time. The top bedroom was a bit of a let down, no where near the standard of the rest of the house. Has for the cleaning well!!! we were asked to leave the house has we would like to find it, but this would of taken most the week to bring it up to my standard. I have been a cleaner for the last 12 years and I don't think any furniture was moved during cleaning. The remote for the telly in the master bedroom was nowhere to be seen, it was under the bed with dirty tissues and socks so that is were it stayed. You just need to have some sort of quality control check on the cleaning. I know how hard it is to get staff but for the money I spent I really did expect the best.

We stayed here a few years and the new patio and work on the garden made it much better outside.

A good house with children who had plenty of space both inside and outside. Good to see that towels were supplied this time, although they could have been better quality. Expensive during school holidays but a good family house.

Thank you so much to the hosts for making their lovely home available - we loved our stay at Little Ellers, which is a beautiful house in the most lovely grounds.

We were a family group of three generations and the house had plenty of space for us to spread out and for young children to explore. The house has clearly been lovingly and thoughtfully restored and it was very comfortable and well stocked with crockery/kitchen utensils, Miele washing machine and dryer etc. The beds and bedding were very comfortable and all rooms had decent curtains/blinds which were most welcome. The bathrooms were lovely and no issues for us with hot water. The garden is beautiful and full of wildlife including bunnies, birds, pheasants and the occasional deer. The property is very well located for exploring the Lake District with plenty of things to do/places to eat in walking distance (Keswick around 30 minutes away but some closer) and many more within short driving distance. There are two marinas with watersports equipment available to hire a short walk away and we had a fantastic guided paddleboard around Derwentwater with Lake District Paddleboarding. We were a little concerned before arrival about the many negative reviews left previously. However, I am pleased to report that the vast majority of the points raised have been addressed by the owners and we needn't have worried. A few points to improve. Considering the size of the property, cleaning was of a decent standard around the majority of the house/kitchen/bathrooms etc. However, the property could do with a deep clean (e.g. there was thick dust under the beds, a deflated balloon behind the sofa, thick dust and bits of broken crockery under the fridge etc). The bath towels provided are small and thin/not very luxurious which is a shame given the standard of the rest of the house. The very early checkout time was a bit of a struggle - even moving to 9.30 would allow a bit more of a relaxing departure. It would have made things easier if a high chair and travel cot could be provided and query if this is something that could be offered for a small additional charge. We can't wait to visit again!

Annoyingly the WiFi went down on Friday our last day.

We could not get a response from anyone as to how to reboot & couldn’t find a router! Areas of dust under beds & on television trolley in the main bedroom. Generally clean otherwise. Sheets were clean. Kitchen well equipped. Boot/Utility room very useful! House was cosy in the freezing weather. Lovely house which has been cleverly modernised without losing the Arts & Crafts details. Excellent position for access to town & climbing & walking. One thing that should be dealt with is provision of recycling bins. We found the compost bin a few days into our stay. I knew where to recycle bottles and paper but we needed different bins in the house! As a family we really enjoyed our stay.

Spacious, well maintained and comfortable property with absolutely stunning views towards the peaks the rear.

Outside, while it is not entirely secluded - and the main road is sadly very audible close by - there is a reasonable amount of screening from the neighbours on either side and the garden would be lovely in warmer weather. Snow on the mountaintops at New Year was breathtaking and we enjoyed the location. Inside everything was clean, comfortable and in good repair, and there was loads of room for ten adults and a couple of active toddlers. We were pleased in particular that the kitchen was very fully equipped (knives that are actually sharp! enough saucepans! a food processor! - we would rather have plentiful cookware, crockery and glassware than a limited matching set any day) and able to cope with lots of people cooking, feeding children etc at once. The large boot room was brilliant. Two living rooms and a separate made a big difference when there were kids running around, and although the dining room was a bit of a squeeze for everyone at mealtimes we managed at least one "sumptuous evening feast". We were not really looking for a "luxury" property - more, something as spacious as possible and reasonably priced, which is what we got - and we had read between the lines enough to realise that the rather breathless agents' puff was probably to be ignored. The plumbing seems to be unable to cope with ten adults, unfortunately - more than one of us had a cold shower every morning. Bath towels were comically tiny and there were no hand towels. Beds were of quite variable quality and bedding was nothing special. It felt miserly not to be given enough loo roll or bin liners for a week - no one wants to have to go shopping for loo roll on holiday. There is good wifi but limited phone signal. You are asked to strip your beds and take out the bins - and if you want to recycle anything, you have to drive it to a council site. The fireplaces are sadly not to be used (which we think should really be mentioned in the agents' description). It would have been nice to see more of the interior decoration reflect the arts and crafts design of the house - it's got some original features, but the furniture is an assortment of new, repro and older stuff which has the vibe of a family home that has had a reasonable amount spent on it - but has certainly been nowhere near an interior designer. None of that spoilt our enjoyment of the week - we think the place was a reasonable price for what you get and it would clearly be expensive if not impossible to address some of those things. Nevertheless, we've stayed in large propeties where few if any of those things were an issue, and if a property is marketed as being at the "luxury" end of the market, it is no surprise that there are complaints that it does not meet the kinds of expectations that will create. On a brighter note, fizz on arrival was very welcome. We also appreciated the fact that the property was very well heated at a cold time of year and that we could control the radiators and the thermostats on each floor ourselves - not always the case with larger properties and made a big difference.

Great place.

Big bedroom, two nice lounges, well equipped kitchen. 5 mins from Keswick and some great walks in the area.

Fantastic building in an excellent location but the house needs a thorough deep clean.

We found dirty window frames and windows, bathroom venetian blinds and pull down lights in kitchen thick with dust, congealed food under the garden table and plenty of cob webs. The dust bin was full from the previous guest and was not due to be emptied until the following Thursday. Extremely disappointed that no recycling facilities were available or at least information about where recycling facilities could be found. It has a miss match of furniture throughout out the house with some grotty old furniture, especially the chairs in the kitchen which need a good clean and seat pads replacing. Beautiful large coffee table in the lounge which needs to be re-polished. The house is for 10 but only 8 dining room chairs and the table was very wobbly at one end. The garden table also only has 8 wooden chairs and no seat pads. There was no other seating in the garden. When stripping the beds on departure, we found the mattress cover on the king bed was grubby and stained. Also a badly stained mattress cover and dirty pillow in the top floor bedroom. We were lucky to have very nice weather and disappointed to find we could not regulate the under floor heating in the kitchen, it was far too hot. There is also lots of chipped china. For the cost of this house we expected lovely large bath towels and nice bedding. This house in the present condition cannot be classified as ‘Luxury’ Very disappointed.

Areas that require immediate attention: Several plates and mugs were chipped- these really need to be replaced and were clearly never checked before our arrival.

Only 1 towel per guest, would have expected a hand towel each Hot water went off most mornings after 4 showers or on some days after 10:30am. For a house with 10 guests staying this is not acceptable Guest arrival pack was very poor - sachets of coffee, tea, sugar and UHT milk but nothing else! We regularly stay in self catering accommodation and this was really disappointing Wardrobe in the bedroom was so foisty that it could not be used Garden furniture would have benefitted with cushions for comfort A sign on the book shelf asking us not to touch the books was seen as unwelcoming. Blankets in the bedrooms need a good wash - were not suitable for use. Under floor heating in the kitchen could not be controlled - this was stifling during the hot weather we had and could have been avoided. Allow guests to be able to adjust this themselves. Positives: Beautiful house and location Boot room was really useful for a walking holiday Kitchen was well equipped

We were a family group of 3 generations from mid 20's to mid 80's.

Little Ellers was perfect, a very large house, in a very good state of repair with all the needed equipment. Location was great to do walks up High Stile, Skidaw, Blencathra and Derwent Water store line without needing a car. We ate in the local pub the Farmers Arms, which is the only negative thing I can say. Definitely recommended and I hope I go back one day.

We have been on many holidays to the lakes and have never found the arrival/departure times so restricting.

Given that we were asked to bag used towels and strip beds, 9 a.m. was far too early a departure time. We would normally start breakfast around then. A poor end to a very good holiday.

It is a phenomenal property and we had a fantastic time.

We had 3 generations staying and all were equally impressed. Beds were great, bathrooms excellent and space was perfect. Garden also great. Downsides were that we felt we had to give the kitchen the once over when we got there as there were smears left by cleaners. I think everyone is heightened at this time but it was noticeable and something we wouldn't expect from somewhere so nice. Couple of residents freaked out by a number of mouse sightings if you can get on top of that! Proper BBQ would have been great.

We didn't feel the property was adequately cleaned with alot of dust apparent.

There was a mouse & mouse droppings in the kitchen.

All aspects of the accommodation were excellent.

.. spacious, everything worked, all the family from grandparents to grandchildren loved the house.

The property was so amazing the children spent the first two hours exploring and looking for Narnia!

Heated floors in the hallway was great for drying wet shoes and socks. The bedrooms were huge and spacious. Normally we argue about who gets the smallest room but couldn't find one. The ground floor was perfect for cooking and sit down meals for 10 people. The house and grounds could facilitate hide and seek games lasting well over 30 minutes. We could walk into Keswick, up to Cat Bells, around to the Marina to catch the ferry or round the lake. On rainy days there was enough space for exploring the house, the Tv / Netflix, libraries of books with enough rooms and sitting space to not feel cooped up. Beds were good for all the guests Only downside was the noise from the A66 which you heard in the garden (camped out one night and were woken at 5am by lorries) There isn't a downstairs bedroom (for disabled guests and the stairs are a bit difficult) There isn't a BBQ for eating out but the kitchen had easily enough grill space. Loved the place and will definitely be returning.

The house was far in advance of our expectations.

Extremely comfortable and lots of space for a family. Comfortable beds and loads of bathrooms. The sanitaryware is exceptional!! after all it is Imperial: Only complaint: There is no rolling pin to roll out pastry. Thoroughly recommend the place a beautiful house in fabulous countryside. Many thanks Best regards Tony Everett

The listing says towels aren’t provided but they were provided.

It would be helpful to update this as brought a whole suitcase full of towels that we didn’t need! Could they provide more mugs? We had lots of rounds of tea and coffee and there weren’t enough! The only part of the house that wasn’t clean was the back porch which didn’t seem to have been swept in some time. The rest of the house was great though. Wonderful secluded location on a private road - I think you could make more of this on the listing as it was even nicer than we had expected! One of the photos shows another house in the background which made me think it would be surrounded by houses but it wasn’t at all. Overall a lovely stay in a very special house. Many thanks!

The luxery, location, space and comfort.

What an amazing house!

So big and beautiful with lovely furnishings throughout. You can see the care and attention that has been put into each detail from the large kitchen with all modern appliances, the modern bathrooms with waterfall showers, through to the comfy seats and couches throughout. The house is so lovely you just want to stay inside and enjoy it. The house is on a private road in Portinscale which means it is wonderfully quiet and tranquil which is just what we needed. There are 5 bedrooms and sleeps 10 but we only had 7 so didn’t even use the 3rd floor. We had 5 adults and 2 kids and there was more than enough room for everyone to have their own space. And then there is the garden which the kids absolutely loved and could get lost in! The house is a 5 min walk from the farmers inn which is a lovely pub that serves fresh, hot, delicious food in the evening. It is 25 min walk through to Keswick which is a great little village and you are surrounded by walks to newlands and cat bells. We absolutely loved it and would highly recommend the house. Some suggestions. If you like a proper mug of coffee in the morning, I would suggest bringing your own cups as the cups in the house are tiny and don’t satisfy your caffeine need. We have rented a number of holiday cottages before and you usually receive to a welcome basket with a couple of local treats on arrival so I was surprised that there was only a couple of teabags, sachets of sugar and coffee etc which were a bit uninspiring. Each confirmation email we received mentioned that there were no towels in the house so we brought loads with us and there were towels in every room so would be good for that to be removed from email to avoid bringing unnecessary luggage with you. The bed in the main bedroom is 2 singles zipped together which was ok but not the most comfortable.

Absolutely loved it and had a fabulous time.

The house and gardens were ideal.

This is a brilliant house for a large family or, like us, a group of friends, to spend a holiday in the Lakes.

The only disappointments were that: * the garden was extreamely overgrown - a team of gardeners arrived to tidy it up on our last full day but we weren’t given any notice that they were arriving * there are no instructions for the extensive range of appliances * there are no airers to dry wet clothes

Hi - here's some feedback from our group - stay was 16-23 June 2018: Person 1: 'My feedback is that the house was lovely and spacious but odd - it felt as if whoever had done it up had suddenly come to a halt (or run out of money!

). Given the amount charged, it was rather lacking in certain areas: - lovely kitchen but not enough mugs - and they were a bit random and seemed to have been inherited with the house - no garlic press - why no waste bins in all the bedrooms? - surely they could provide towels - or at least hand towels in the bathrooms - shelves in the bathrooms would have been nice - is that what the random cake stand in one bathroom was for? - why was the top room like a garret? no carpet on the stairs, not even a rug in the room, just painted floorboards - and the wall round the window was bare unpainted plaster - why assume that whoever stays in the top room doesn't have many clothes? there was a small 3 drawer chest of drawers and no wardrobe or hanging space at all - we hung clothes on the writing desk and window catches on the landing, using coat hangers liberated from downstairs - there was a very random selection of reading material, which presumably came with the house - some books and maps on the local area would have been nice - there were logs in the garden suggesting open fires - but the fireplaces had notices saying No Fire - that's not very welcoming And French doors opening into the garden would have been nice BUT they were helpful when I complained about that awful hard mattress - please thank them for that - though to be honest I think they should provide a new mattress oh and cleanliness - I found a pair of forgotten shoes, some dead flies and boiled sweets under the locker by my bed!' Person 2: 'The only thing I would add is I think they should provide a set of towels for everyone given what they charge and also a bit more personal touches/warmth to the place with rugs and pictures. Being really fussy, a welcome pack with a bunch of fresh flowers/food items would be appropriate for the standard of accommodation. They have done this in the places I have stayed in Scotland'. Person 3: 'I would suggest they should put mirrors in the bedrooms. I had one in my room but was about 8" so it was annoyingly small. I agree with Person 1 about cleaning. I looked under my bed and it looked very dirty with a tissue or two left behind' Thanks and kind regards

The property is very large, comfortable, and well-furnished.

The grounds are also spacious, with a large area of maintained lawns, although much of it is overgrown and not accessible. On arrival at the property the mountain of rubbish at the gate, and large grease patches on the stone doorstep, proved to be a foretaste of the general level of cleanliness inside the property, which really does it a disservice There was little evidence of the floors having been swept / cleaned, even though they are all hard, and therefore easy to maintain. There were sticky patches on the stone floor in the entrance hall, as well as the kitchen, and grease on the worktops. There were no cleaning products available at the property We were unable to dispose of any household waste until the end of the week, because the bin was full to overflowing and left out on the road Although we eventually found manuals for the cooker etc in one of the drawers, there was no property-specific manual, as we have always found at other companies' rentals There was only an out-of-date calendar for rubbish/recycling collections, along with some confusing instructions about what could be recycled. There is a washing machine, but nowhere to hang anything to dry / air - fortunately we had a wonderfully sunny week. Overall, our experience could have been so much better with a little attention to detail eg house cleaning and garden maintenance

Little Ellers is in a great location with easy walking access to Keswick and the surrounding area.

The property is large and interesting. The gardens are large while not well kept. The property was not cleaned properly. The basics (kitchen and bathrooms) were fine but shelves, under beds etc were very dusty. The couch/settee and cushions smelt in the main lounge. The garden outside was (while beautiful and large) was overgrown with large weeds in the paths. We enjoyed great weather but were disappointed that there was no BBQ or garden chairs available. We bought a bbq and left it there. We had no access to the large garage or shed which would have been useful for bike storage. We enjoyed our trip, but felt for almost £3k for a weeks stay, some finishing touched were needed.

This house is simply stunning.

It was, however, in need of a proper clean. The dust was thick on polished surfaces and under every piece of furniture. The top of the fridge was thick with grease and under the kitchen island was very bad. There were old veg and chips under the dining table. There was bird dirt on one bedroom windowsill inside and also on one bedroom chair. There were empty plastic bottles and milk cartons lying at the door - the cleaner will have had to step over these to get in! However, all beds and bathrooms were clean and very comfortable. However, I suggest no one with the slightest hint of asthma books this property. There are no instructions on what not to open - we opened a drawer holding a picture frame with broken glass - thank heavens one of the children didn’t open it - to be told it was the cleaner’s drawer. There’s no indication of this. A fuse also blew in the kettle, there were no spare fuses to be found. I also couldn’t find a duster so used Kitchen roll. We certainly left the property much less dusty than we found it although I didn’t do all the surfaces. This property is lacking 3 things in our opinion : A good clean(er) A Dyson hand held vac Proper instructions We paid a lot of money for the week and the property is certainly worth it and we had a great holiday but it is a disservice to Little Ellers not to have it dusted and properly cleaned. We recycled all our tins, bottles etc. as my son knew where the recycling was but, again, no instructions in the house. It takes hardly any time to flick round with a duster, nor to wipe the kitchen down properly. I’d have done the fridge but, again, no appropriate detergent to be found.