“After seeing the reviews, I was really looking forward to staying at Lake View with my mum for a little break away.”
The views are amazing from the property and you're provided with everything you could need to cook and prepare meals. The hot tub was the highlight for us, it felt really clean and was lovely to get into every night.
However, both my mum and I felt the place lacked warmth. The place was very clean but equally felt a bit clinical. I suppose this does come down to personal preference but it would have been nice to have some pictures on the walls, cosier dining chairs and more colour around the ...
The views are amazing from the property and you're provided with everything you could need to cook and prepare meals. The hot tub was the highlight for us, it felt really clean and was lovely to get into every night.
However, both my mum and I felt the place lacked warmth. The place was very clean but equally felt a bit clinical. I suppose this does come down to personal preference but it would have been nice to have some pictures on the walls, cosier dining chairs and more colour around the place. The bathroom is a wet room and is mostly black with no window and the bedding was all white along with the walls. The sofa was low down which we didn't mind but it is marked and a bit tired looking. Considering what you're paying, it's not amazing!
Collecting the key and dropping it off at the office at the end of our stay too was a bit inconvenient and a surprise as we'd never done a Sykes booking before. I feel a keysafe at the property would be much better, although again, that is personal preference.
Another downside is, currently, another holiday home is being built very near, off to the left from the property. Its a building site with noise and machinery over the hillside above what they're building! We weren't warned of this and it just wasn't nice to have that going on, on the weekdays, during our stay.
Parking is good but the multiple key fobs for gates was a faff. When we first arrived, we drove down the hill to the bottom, missing the fact Lake View was at the top of the hill. The hill is very steep and it was tricky turning round as the road isn't wide enough for 2 cars. It would be good if it was noted on the booking how far down the hill your holiday home is. I imagine it would be tricky to find in the dark.
The views are great as well as having the hot tub but we wouldn't go back to Lake View.
The hot tub is great but it's different to the one pictured and when you're sat in the hot tub or on the terrace chairs, you can't see the lake due to a wall blocking the view!
In hindsight we realise we booked the wrong thing. We wished we had booked a b+b further into the countryside but that is our mistake. I realise it's clear online the place isn't colourful and it's very white etc but it does look great online! It just FEELS like a cold environment when you're there.
Also, I presume this is normal when you do an AirBnB or holiday home stay (?) but we had to strip the bed upon leaving and put all laundry in a bag and clear our rubbish. This was unexpected and fustrating considering the stay cost £800+ for 4 nights. The place just doesn't feel welcoming. You're also threatened with a £250 charge to your payment method if you don't leave the place spotless. Consequently this was often in the back of my mind at a time you want to relax.
I suppose we were naive to thing the property was on its own, nestled away somewhere but it actually backs onto a main road and is part of a big complex of holiday homes which all look the same in style - grey - and are fairly close together.
Life jackets are provided which is great and kayaks were available to use but be aware they're big! We just couldn't lift them down the big steps into the water but I suppose that's down to personal strength. It's not clearly written down or photographed, where they're situated either.
If you're looking for a clean, open plan, mod-con filled space then this is the place for you but if you want somewhere private, with no fuss and a warm, cosy environment, I wouldn't book Lake View.
I realise some of my criticisms are about personal preference but I think other things I've mentioned would be an issue for most people!
A shame it wasn't what we were hoping it would be.
