“Thank you for letting us stay in your cottage, we had a lovely holiday.”
However, we were without heating for 2 nights with a baby, with no recompense. Sykes were great at bringing 2 portable heaters straight away, but these were nowhere near enough to heat the house or get rid of the damp in the air, and were a faff to move round the rooms. While we appreciated it was fixed on the first working day, that's too late for a holiday cottage where you've paid a lot of money, and only stay a few nights.
Additionally, it's worth noting that the shower bathroom smelt really bad and had to be aired before use, and there were curly hairs in the bath. The shower is very low power and more importantly it changes temperature often and quickly even with no other water being used in the house, once turning truly scalding hot on me. The visitor instructions need updating as the thermostat in the hall does not appear to control the heating, and the bin is collected on Thursday, not Tuesday. The garden is incredibly steep, which is not shown on the listing photos, and the listing would benefit from being updated for this as I had anticipated more space for my child to play. There are lots of trailing brambles on the ground that aren't ideal for children. The drier keeps turning off after a couple of minutes. The wifi is very dodgy and only worked on and off. We couldn't get the radiator in the lounge to work. These are all things that would prevent me recommending the house to any of my friends or family, unless the price was significantly lower.
That said, the house was beautifully clean, no dust anywhere, and no cobwebs (which had been mentioned in previous reviews). The sofas aren't welcoming (as per previous reviews), but were fine for me, just needed firmer cushions behind you, of which there were several round the house. The rooms were a good size, the kitchen was well stocked and everything in good condition (with a large freezer that was a welcome suprise!). We had a welcome pack with dishwasher tablets, rag and sponge. The location was excellent and very peaceful, with only views of fields or trees outside of every window.
I would stay again, but only if I could be assured that the heating could be controlled to make the house warmer, as we never managed to get it fully warm, and in winter it can be bitterly cold in the lakes. I didn't really want to spend leisure time in the house because it wasn't cosy, so we spent as long as possible out of the house, that would be a problem if the weather was wetter or colder!
Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback.
We are pleased that you enjoyed your holiday. We are sorry for the issues that you experienced with the heating.
We do take all comments on board, and will ask our Property Services Team to take a look.
The Lakelovers Owner Relations Team
Property Owner
