“A lovely place for a family with older children to stay, comfortable and clean.”
Probably not somewhere for a family with toddlers or anyone with mobility issues as there were steps in the hall that led down to the bedrooms and bathroom as well as steps down to the garden and a step down to the conservatory. The second bedroom with twins beds was also very small and, although fine for children, it would be cramped for two adults.
On arrival, it was clean. However, there were wet towels left in the washing machine and nowhere to dry them on a rainy weekend. I have no idea how long they had been there as they smelt mouldy and, on pulling them out of the washer, they did have some mould on them. These really should have been taken by the cleaning staff (who presumably didn’t know they were there) so the washing machine was free if needed.
Most of the accommodation was good but the TV screen was badly smashed in the corner so, although it was watchable, it was a bit annoying as some of the screen was not visible. The previous occupants had mentioned it in the visitors book so it had obviously been broken for at least a week if not far longer. Although it did not spoil the holiday, it is not really in the same league as a broken mug and should have been mentioned to us at the very least. We did avoid booking a different cottage that weekend because it didn’t have a TV!
My main concern is that I tried to contact Sykes to inform them, but realised that it is actually hard to find an email address where you can get a response. Eventually, I contacted the customer relations email but still have not received a reply. It did make me question the level of out of hours support available had there been a more urgent problem such as a problem with the oven, fire or even the key safe to gain entry! The phone number (listed for landlords) was for during office hours, there was no option to ring or email on my account page linked to my booking and no contact listed in the welcome information. This has affected my likelihood of rebooking as I do think it is important that there is an out of hours contact available should it be needed, although I obviously wouldn’t have used this to report the TV.
Other than that, the booking process was easy and I liked the key safe and communication before the stay. I’d recommend a walk along the promenade where there is crazy golf, mini golf, tennis and a cafe. Also, you can take a trip from Grange over Sands station to the aquarium where there is also a steam train and/or steamers to take you across Windermere. Unfortunately, the aquarium’s not dog friendly but the boats and train are. Combined tickets can be bought. For dog friendly places to eat, Cartmel has some lovely pubs and eating places and is only a five minute drive from the cottage.
All in all, I would recommend the location - the views were fantastic and it was comfortable. I just hope Sykes take on board the feedback, as at the moment I wouldn’t like to be in one of their cottages on an evening if there was a problem such as a leak that would require urgent attention!
