Penny Red Cottage

Great stay, great facilities, nice & clean, nice location close enough to Ambleside without being on top of it.

Good value.

Lovely cosy cottage in a beautiful location.

Ideal for walking into Ambleside and hiking in the hills. The cottage is very comfortable, clean and well equipped with stunning views from the top floor bedrooms. Both bathrooms have good showers and the kitchen had everything we needed. We had a lovely stay and would definitely book again.

Comfortable reasonable location kitchen well appointed all in all a great stay

A lovely small but perfectly formed place to spend a couple of nights.

We had everything we needed for our stay. Beds were clean and comfy, showers were fine and the kitchen had everything needed. Short (hilly) walk down to Ambleside centre and access to the Loughrigg Fell route where we walked along to beautiful Grassmere for lunch and some gingerbread then plenty of buses back. Good access to the rest of The Lakes too. Wish we could have stayed longer!

Lovely little cottage , but wifi didnt work and lock on bathroom door on first floor didnt work , apart from that couldnt fault it , hopefully will be back

The cottage is in a good location quite near to the centre of Ambleside.

The only drawback is the steep hill in order to get back, I realise that there is nothing that can be done about that but it needs to be highlighted as anyone with mobility issues will need a car for access. The cottage does have a large parking space, enough for all these new cars that tend to be the size of a small tank. The cottage was clean and tidy with a well equipped kitchen. The beds are comfortable but the staircase to the top floor is a little steep and has no handrail, so if you have kids you will need to keep an eye on them. Overall we enjoyed our stay and would stay there again.

The booking was seamless.

Accommodation was very comfortable. As others have mentioned, it's up a steep hill so if you don't have a car, be prepared for the walk. Otherwise very close to the town center and other attractions to explkre. Ambleside pier within a 30 min walk distance. The house on the bridge is also very close. The stock ghyll force waterfall and rydal cave and rydal mount are also relatively close. Suggestion for owners: please get the cobwebs cleaned. There are too many all over the bricks inside. The upstairs shower door needs repair. In welcome instructions, please mention that we have to open the latch and come in ourselves. We were trying to call the emergency number as we were afraid it would be trespassing to get inside the main boundary.

Lovely cottage in great quiet location, it is up a steep hill but this was clear from the description.

Dishwasher was broken which was disappointing and appeared to have been for a while. Would appreciate a small welcome pack, including a few teabags and milk etc as we have had in previous cottages. Overall a good cottage with lots of great walks from the door.

Lovely stay at Penny Red Cottage as always.

Very comfortable indeed and everything needed on hand for a relaxed time!

Nice cottage , easy to find , parking a bit tight ,other wise very nice

Our second time staying.

Lovely cottage in a great location with off-road parking, comfortable to stay in, and very pleased to see a new oven has been installed. However, we noticed a strong damp smell as we entered and the entire property could do with some TLC and a deep clean. The upstairs shower has visible mould and there were a lot of cobwebs in every room. The new fence provides privacy while still allowing views of the fells which is a plus.

Lovely stay at Penny Red, I remember it as a child and the new fence was certainly a bonus so stuff outside felt more secure!

Only issues were plumbing problems for dishwasher and washing machine so we couldn’t use these during a two week stay which was an issue, but we love the Lakes so not a lot deters us! Lovely spot.

We both felt it was in a great location and enjoyed the peace a quiet , for the price we paid it was good value, we would have paid more if it was more luxurious but was happy overall Thankyou.

We loved our stay at Penny Red Cottage which was very cosy and well equipped.

In a quiet location but only 6 mins walk to shops, pubs etc - a little more on the way back up the hill but it was good exercise. The parking space is a bit awkward to manuver but we managed ok. I'd definitely return to Penny Red in the future.

Cosy cottage with a good parking space.

Quality fittings & furniture throughout & lovely bath towels. Had no problem with the cooker as mentioned in previous feedbacks but the dishwasher & washing machine did cause a leak. Only little niggle was the tv which blocked the window somewhat & made the room darker.

Oven does not work properly.

Despite contacting you several times and it taking 2 days for someone to come out it still does not work properly. Putting it on 259c it still takes 30 minutes to cook a pizza when it should only take 10 minutes at 180c. Reading previous reviews this seems to be a problem that has been ongoing for some time. Also the dishwasher has a habit of stopping mid cycle and not washing

Had a great week in Penny Red.

It completely delivered on the cosiness the pictures suggested. The two large beds were super comfortable with quality mattresses and feather-down duvets, so we slept a lot and really well. And the main room was made up by the log burning fire. Overall the place just smacked of quality and some good attention to detail. The furniture - drawers, tables and side units - was all good quality, and the main bathroom was really stylish with underfloor heating and a towel rail that actually got hot. Both bathrooms had good showers, and having a bath was a treat. The kitchen was decent but there were issues with the toaster and main oven taking ages to cook things because they never really got hot enough. (Easy to replace a toaster but the oven is a slightly bigger problem.) Other little bugs were that, although it was really nice and cosy, the fire desperately needs serviced/repaired because the door and chimney seals are shot so we were tearing though fuel (Note: Dec/Jan booking). We ended up having to buy logs because the coal we took just wouldn't burn properly and didn't give off any heat. Not the end of the world but almost a disappointment. And one other bit of wear and tear that needs to be sorted out is that the shower head holder in the main bathroom is a bit loose and wobbly which meant the shower would sometimes drop down or flop around the place. Not a huge problem but was a bit annoying. Don't let any of this put you off though, because Penny Red is a really nice place and we would definitely go back.

We recently stayed at the penny red cottage, the cottage itself is described as being in the town.

However it is not, it is a 5 minute walk from the town which for most that wouldn’t be a problem however the booking does not mention the massive hill you have to climb to reach the house. So a simple 5 minute walk into the town turns into a sweaty tired mess. So it would have been nice for a heads up in the description of the area on the booking. I was happy to find that the kitchen is decently stocked with kitchen equipment however the tap in the kitchen drips which is really annoying and there is no description on how to use the oven or washing machine so that took us 15 mins to work out. I was also very disappointed to find that the stunning double bedroom on the top floor with lovely views, the main light does not work so you have to rely on the bed side lamp to navigate yourself round the bedroom. The main disappointment of the house was the extractor fan in the first bathroom is broken. When the wind blows on the house it rattles and makes a ton of noise which is very distracting- sounds like a ping pong ball is bashing round inside. For a house that could comfortably house 4-5 people in the main seating area in the sitting room there is only 3 seats available a sofa and sofa chair, I didn’t quite understand this as there is enough space for a bigger sofa. But if 4 people turned up only 3 can sit down and watch some tv. Apart from that criticism the stay itself was lovely, it has private parking with a spacious gap, the bathroom and bedrooms are very clean and cosy with a nice view and the location is nice.

Really lovely cottage in a great location Parking is a great bonus Cottage clean, comfortable and spacious for 4 Let down slightly by kitchen setup - small bin, lacking cooking equipment, oven on the blink Would definitely recommend and stay again

Issues with boiler and leak from heated towel rack in 1st floor bathroom.

Very cute cottage though

The cottage was excellent, Just what we wanted.

It was clean, tidy and very comfortable. The facilities in the cottage were also very good. Showers, bath and living quarters were very well maintained. Would definitely stay at the cottage again.

Very comfortable, clean & ideally situated holiday cottage.

The only problem we had during our stay was the heating control unit kept resetting to frost setting which involved us having to manually override it several times a day. We could not find any instruction in the cottage information pack relating to the heating control unit.

Lovely location and clean cottage.

Boiler old and only partially functional. Didn’t use the main bathroom once for a shower as a result and used the electric shower on the second floor instead. Boiler was eventually switched off by contractor and heaters dropped off instead for last 2 days of stay. Boiler replaced after checkout. Roof leak in main bedroom during Weds evening rain. Moved to top floor bedroom as a result. Upon check out, fridge appeared to be leaking from bottom left. Nice property but could do with some investment from owners.

-garden gate does not stay closed and bangs in the wind.

When reported to heart of the lakes staff they said they were away of the issue - there is an issue with the drainage. When using washing machine or dishwasher water back flows into the kitchen sink which is very smelly - no cleaning products were left in the properly eg kitchen cleaner, which made cleaning the property difficult - the vacuum cleaner does not work very well which makes cleaning the property difficult - property was dusty and not very clean - plug socket for kettle was partly coming out the wall - shower in the main bathroom did not seem to get hot enough

It was perfect for a family.

Easy to find things around and all what you would expect a cottage to have. Lovely and cosy.

This was our first trip to the Lake District and we had a fantastic time.

We have fallen in love with the stunning scenery and will definitely return. We appreciate the cottage is old but it does need a good clean. We never normally leave reviews but felt this one was important to the owner especially if they are employing a cleaning company. The hand mirror and towel rail in the second floor bathroom were covered in dust on arrival. Throughout the cottage there were cobwebs and spiders everywhere including in the bread bin, amongst the cutlery, pots, pans, dishes, plates, glasses, corners of the rooms, around the windows, between the bannisters etc. On the one occasion when we chose to cook something in the cottage we had to clean the baking trays before we used them as they were filthy. The shower head and shower lead in the bathroom on the top floor were mouldy and needed a bleach. When we removed hair from the shower plug we were horrified to see what else came out - it was clear this had not been cleaned for some time. The toothbrush holder in the bathroom on the top floor was mouldy. We even found toe nail clippings on the floor which wouldn’t have been there if the cottage had been hoovered. There were tea stains down the wall in the bedroom. The boiler kept making loud banging noises throughout the night which woke us all up. There was a wasp nest outside the window of the main top floor bedroom which meant we couldn’t open the window as the wasps were swarming. Penny Red was in a perfect spot with beautiful surrounding views and close to the centre of Ambleside. It was on a hill called The Struggle which was fine for us but some people might find this difficult. It was a bonus having a designated car parking space. The cottage was well equipped with everything you need for a break in the Lakes but it just needed a thorough proper clean.

We really enjoyed our stay at Penny Red Cottage; it was comfortably proportioned and had everything that we needed for the stay.

The beds were extremely comfortable, always a bonus especially after a long day in the hills. Location was perfect for Ambleside, and even though it is on the hill out towards Kirkstone the walk back from the village was fine. I perhaps would add to "parking space on the left" in the details - "next to the garage". We were pretty certain this was the correct place but was grateful to know for sure from a neighbour. It is definitely somewhere we would consider staying at again. Thankyou.

The cottage provided an excellent setting for a relaxing few days away.

It is cosy, warm and clean, with the most beautiful views from the windows of the surrounding fells and fields. Thank you. It is true that there is a short, steep climb up from the town, but this is nothing unmanageable for someone of average fitness and it means beautiful views on arrival. The only issue we had was that we did not find the TV remote control and did not receive an answer back on texting the number in the cottage folder for assistance. This may require a review.

Really enjoyed our stay at Penny Red.

Lovely little cottage as we expected.Would stay here again and is a great base for Ambleside as you only need walk 5 minutes and your in the centre for pubs,shops and restaurants.If your big walkers, it is central to all main villages,fells,lakes and mountains. Thanks, we’ll be back!

Nice cottage which was well equipped with everything we needed for an enjoyable stay.

Great location, short walk into Ambleside and footpaths into the fells just up the road

This is our second time staying at this lovely cottage.

Comfortable and clean and we will be back. Thanks for the memories Penny Red.

The cottage is up a very steep hill called The Struggle!

This was not clear at all from information given and would cause big problems for anyone with mobility issues/not fit. Mattresses were too soft - needs a mattress topper to give some firmness plus needs a mattress protector on beds. And an anti slip mat in the bath.

Wonderful cottage in a perfect location to stroll down to the town.

Spotlessly clean with very comfortable beds. Lovely quiet location. Instructions and correspondence from Heart of the Lakes was spot on.

Easy to book, very helpful staff and great information on line.

The cottage was brilliant in an excellent location and I would definitely return again in the future.

Great views from the cottage, situated on a very steep road which made for a steep walk home from town, this is fine for most but anyone with mobility issues would struggle.

Beds are very soft. Otherwise a great cottage & a great stay.

We had a wonderful stay at Penny Red in Ambleside: the cottage was beautiful, efficient and comfortable.

However we do not feel that the outside area matched the quality of inside - weeds and a lot of overgrowth, and the garden furniture needs either painting/tidying up or replacing. Overall, we would definitely return and throughly enjoyed our break.

good comfortable bed and quiet location.

happy to stay there