Oaklea

We have stayed here many times and the property has gradually declined and really needs some investment now.

The curtains in all the bedrooms are ill fitting - way too long - and in some cases missing hooks. The one on the main bedroom is now ripped in several places. I tried to ring on our arrival day to report this and although I tried several different numbers I didn’t get through to anyone. The garden is so over grown the light is blocked out significantly which has led to green patio tiles and the loss of smaller plants underneath which get no light. The patio is also littered with tree debris which we would have swept up ourselves but there’s no broom available in the house. The bush at the front also needs a prune and the lovely climbing plant from previous years is long gone. It’s such a shame as it wouldn’t take much work to prune the trees/bushes back and let the light into the garden again. The fence panel closest to the house is broken. The trees/bushes are also overgrown into the dustbin space and encroaching on the drive. There are very few plastic shelves left in the fridge door and at least one is cracked. The house in general is lovely but is desperate for some TLC.

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We have stayed in this property three times now, and find it to be a great space to meet up with friends. The kitchen and TV room is especially good to gather in due to its size. The house is well positioned in Ambleside and is a short walk down to town. For the owners only The mattress in the first bedroom on the right needs replacing or at least a topper on it. The TV remote controls in that bedroom did not work and one of the lamps did not work as the bulb did not work. I am not able to comment on the other bedrooms as I did not use them. The main bathroom shower is still leaking and their is no grout round one of the floor tiles. This is likely to cause damp patches before long!!!

The cottage was lovely really clean and well maintained.

Really close for Ambleside and we walked from the cottage most days. Certainly be back

Lovely property, we had a great stay, it had everything we needed and more.

The fire could do with a glove with the handle get rather hot.

Lovely spacious, warm, cosy property.

Well described although I feel it would have been helpful for our ageing limbs to have known about the steep hill back up from Ambleside. The 5/10 minute stroll into the town was much longer on the way back. We found that the shower in the bathroom was only usable if hand held so showers were taken in the downstairs shower room. A shower mat and grab rail would have made the base safer (same for the bath). Kitchen was in the main very well equipped but could do with lighter pans. I found the heavy cast iron made them difficult to lift out from the back of a low cupboard. We took an afternoons tour round the Lakes in a minibus which was excellent and picked up in Ambleside. Lots of local eateries and we loved the pub just down the road for its ambience and real fire. We visited in October and had a couple of dull, dry(ish) days. In warmer weather we could have used the patio. We left a day early just in advance of the arriving storm Amy. It was a good decision though we would have loved another night in the house.

The perfect property for our holiday with friends.

So much space and furnished beautifully. Everything was perfect.

Very spacious cottage.

Although we were only 3 people it could easily have. accommodated 6. All the facilities you could need, very clean and warm, and enviable water pressure in the showers. The designated parking spot is also very convenient. The property is in an excellent location, only a 5 min walk from the centre of Ambleside or the Golden Rule pub, but also very handy for several walks with incredible views that can be done from the doorstep (Red Screes 776 m and Wansfell Pike 487 m).

We absolutely loved everything about it and we are now just going to stay at this property

It was a lovely cottage.

Just a couple of issues. The bed in the main bedroom not very comfortable. And the shower down stairs not very good. The towel rail wasn't working in the ensuite bathroom. We had are elderly parents with us so if going into Ambleside it is down a very steep hill. But only a 10 minute walk away.

A lovely property - home from home.

Clean, well equipped and very comfortable. The location is excellent. We had a great time and would definitely recommend and book again.

Overview: Beautifully appointed, really well thought out, spacious cottage.

Ideal location for walks and town. Such a lovely place to active from, or rest inside. Lots of space - super large dining kitchen, utility kitchen. Adjoining snug lounge with high quality wood stove (clearview for those who know). Beautiful retiring lounge,(which we didn't even get to), opening on to an outdoor secluded patio. Lots of solid light oak around (beams, doors, skirting boards, staircase), clearly quality fittings, along with local slate detailing (alcoves & entrances). Upstairs we loved the bedrooms. It goes without saying the beds were all super comfortable, but also the thought put into the surroundings - local pictures, slate lamps, books - it was just lovely. I can't recommend Oak Lea highly enough, it was exactly what we wanted and then some. PS. being 3 minutes walk from the centre of Ambleside for drinks or meals was a real bonus, as was being able to do three walks from the house without touching the car. Thank you Oak Lea.

This was the second time we stayed in Oaklea.

Family and friends have stayed with us. Lots of room to gather downstairs to socialise. Great location to town. Ambleside is a lovely quaint town, with lovely shops and good food establishments. However we struggled to eat out on the Saturday nights, we recommend to book or go out early. Our main advice for the property is to sort through the kitchen cupboards as too much clutter, there is a need for new pans as not many to cook with. Also the beds are too large in the bedrooms at the top of the stairs on the right. Therefore there was limited space to pass the beds, to get to the wardrobes. Finally, the sofas in the lounge (especially the two seater on the right) are extremely uncomfortable and need replacing. All in all we would definitely stay in Oaklea again, and have and will recommend it to friends and family.

Reasonable property in a great location.

When you first walk into the property it looks amazing, but after you’ve stayed a couple of nights, you notice the issues flagged in previous reviews and that updates that are needed. The house and garden needs a bit of TLC and general maintenance, particularly in the bathrooms. In the main bathroom, water leaks out the corner of the shower screen (even after positioning the shower head to point away from it). There’s a big patch of water damage on the landing carpet because of it, which will eventually become a bigger problem for the owner if not sorted. The left tap on the sink is also loose and falls off. In the master bedroom en-suite, the same problem with the shower screen, plus the toilet roll holder falls down and needs tightening up. The downstairs shower is the best option, but the pedal bin in there needs replacing as lid is no longer attached to the bin. In the master bedroom the curtains are very thin and the light pours through, and the curtains in all of the bedrooms are a bit ill-fitting. The kitchen is well-equipped, but most items needed washing before use as they weren’t left clean and obviously hadn’t been checked. The living rooms were both fine, but sofas could be better, a spring is poking up into the seat on one of them. The garden was the biggest disappointment, it needs a tidy up and the furniture needs replacing - it’s completely covered in rust and no cushions are provided. The location is fantastic though and the biggest plus, an easy downhill walk to the centre of Ambleside and Stock Ghyll Force - which you can also hear from the garden! All in all we would recommend staying here, but the owners really need to go round the house and take the feedback provided by everybody on board, if they want the house to be as nice as it has the potential to be.

Bath/ shower seals on bottom of shower screen kept falling off in both bathrooms , then the floor would get wet .

Some of the bathroom floor tiles in the main bathroom were cracked. Too much clutter in the kitchen cupboards, not enough big glasses a lot of miss matched stuff filling cupboards. Beds not especially comfortable, probably in need of new mattress’s . Main bedroom too light in the early morning, needs darker curtains to block out the light. In fact some friends of ours stayed here in 2019 and looking at their comments in the visitors book , they said the same about the place . Maybe it is time to spend some money on the place ! We enjoyed our holiday and would definitely go back if all of the above has been sorted .

This is a lovely house but comments made in the guest book suggesting improvements, (going years back), still haven't been addressed .

The whole house is overlooked, blinds in the living room would be good. The garden is a courtyard and again , overlooked. There were 4 of us and the space was fine and it's location is good.

We loved our stay at Oaklea and would highly recommend this cottage.

We were a family of six adults and Oaklea suited us very well. Excellent location, so easy to get into Ambleside. Parking was fine. Whilst Oaklea is 'right on' the road, this wasn't problematic. Master bedroom v comfy; other two beds reported to be a little less so. Kitchen and lounge lovely. We'd definitely return. Thank-you.

From the photograph of the outside of the property it did not seem to be overlooked or indicated that it was on a busy road due the number of cars needing access to their properties.

In our party the children aged 4 and 7 were not able to go into the garden unsupervised as the gate lead straight onto the road. The cottage was well equipped but the kitchen needs to be decluttered as there was far to many pots and cutlery in the draws and cupboards. Two of the floor tiles in the en-suite were cracked and loose. It would have been helpful if there was up to date information available in the cottage of things to do and places to visit.

This property is both excellent and very poor.

The ground floor is excellent, great spaces and a pleasure to use, well appointed. Upstairs is right for six. This seems more for four. I appreciate there are three double beds but a bit shoe horned in. Outside is the problem. The property is overlooked on almost all sides. The front of the house is Ona road right to the window. Contrary to the picture this is not a quiet spot. There is a whole development of houses past the house. Due to the two speed bumps right outside the house there is perpetual noise. Parking, the worst point. This property has off-road parking for one car. It’s a good sized space but if you have a good sized vehicle, it’s hard to access and harder to leave as it is blind on both sides. The other allocated space is on the road outside of the window. It’s not a space it’s too small. I left my car there and had to move it twice as others couldn’t get past. I’d you like your car you wouldn’t leave it there. The property is ideally placed around 3-4 minutes walk and you are in the town

We thought the cottage was generally nice but feel it could do with refresh and de clutter, the kitchen has far too much stuff, the mattresses are not comfortable at all and in our opinion not fit for purpose, the main bedroom has a huge topper on it to try disguise the poor state of it, the other beds which our 11 and 8 year old girls slept in complained springs were poking them.

It’s supposed the be 4 star gold. No hand soap in any bathrooms which we found annoying as had to go out and buy x 4 Not really acceptable in the current climate We’d definitely not return or recommend Oaklea . Lakelovers highly recommended though

We stayed here 2 years ago and were so impressed with the facilities we wanted to come back again.

Again cleanliness of bedrooms and bathrooms were excellent however the kitchen was far from this. We had to wash everything we used from dirty cutlery, oven trays and grill pans which were greasy and sticky - so disappointing. We also found the bins outside to be almost full (looks like a neighbour maybe had a party, full of bottles) so we struggled to get rid of our rubbish however we used council bottlenecks etc instead.

The cottage was in an excellent location and very comfortable.

Whilst the kitchen layout was fantastic the utensils needed some TLC and I would recommend that the pans be replaced and investment be made in a set of decent sized dinner plates. Some of the pans also had no handles making it quite difficult to cook an evening meal. Positives were location, excellent showers, good sized bedrooms all with TV’s and 2 very comfortable living areas. Overall a very pleasant week.