Kingfisher Barn

I would have given 5 stars if the boiler had not gone faulty.

The maintenance man came very quickly followed by a gas engineer but because it needs a new part it could not be fixed there and then so we had to manage without a hot shower for most of the week.

The property was comfortable, well equipped, and the location good - quiet and near the stream but only 10 minutes walk to the village centre.

We left feedback on a couple of things which could be improved, but there were no significant issues except the possibility of not being able to park nearby if the spaces outside the neighbouring house are occupied (it is not possible to park directly outside Kingfisher Barn); this could be clearer in the listing, which is why I gave it 3 smiles for 'Accuracy' and 'Facilities'. But it was still a 5* stay overall.

Kingfisher Barn is very clean and tidy cottage located in a the popular village of Staveley.

The cottage has a well equipped kitchen, including a washing machine. Two double bedrooms, each with a very comfortable double bed. An upstairs bathroom (watch your head) and a downstairs toilet. The living room was very spacious with large dinining table and a soft comfortable 3 piece suite. Good wifi and good television reception. Mobile phone reception was good also. Plenty of local guide material and board games provided. Parking was available on the road down the side of the cotttage. Staveley village is popular with walkers and it is easy to see why. A river flows through with foot path routes on either side. Further foot paths lead out to more distant and peaceful walks. The village high street has all the shops you can need. Including a Pharmacy, Spar shop, a couple of independants and even a good chip shop. A few interesting and specialist shops located in back street trade estate. In summary a Kingfisher Barn is a very comfortable cottage located in a nice thriving village.

Kingfisher barn was an excellent place to stay in the Lake District.

Staveley is a wonderful little village with many facilities, including a chip shop pizza shop spa shop Pharmacy among others. Accommodation itself was clean and spacious. The kitchen was very well appointed. There are many walks on the doorstep so no need to drive out to start any walks. Ambleside and Windermere are close by. All in all a perfect stay.

Patio doors had been left open did not find out till last night of our stay.

I been several times to this cottage and found on this occasion had a damp odour, could smell dogs as soon as you opened the front door. Heating didn’t work until we finally sorted it with my hubby being a heating engineer. It could do with a deep clean Kind regards Karen

This is a lovely cottage ideally located.

Beds very comfortable. Only niggle this time was washing machine not working. I reported it to maintenance team so hopefully fixed for next guests.

We appreciated the milk, teabags, biscuits and the cleaning pack.

Everything was spotless and in good working order. We enjoyed it so much we decided to to book another stay later in the year (unfortunately the day before the discount code from Sykes arrived). We would definitely recommend this property, especially if you have a four legged friend.

We had a lovely peaceful stay at Kingfisher barn, ideally situated with lovely local walks and easy access to the rest of the lake district.

The cottage is spacious, the beds and seating are comfortable, there are all the facilities you could need. Tall people need to watch your head in places in the bathroom upstairs but the downstairs cloakroom is very handy. There's loads of info on lake district attractions, cycle routes etc, some guide maps of local walks would have been handy but it's easy enough to follow the signposts, we took the short route to the top of Reston Scar, signposted up the hill on the other side of the river accross the bridge, fabulous views from the top, also lovely walks along the river.

Excellent property, very well equipped and comfortable.

Great location for exploring the lakes.

Great cottage!

Ideal location! Everything you would need, especially if weather not good!

Good location and easy access to local amenities.

Main bathroom is lacking in head room due to being up in the roof and the shower over the bath is a little awkward due to the slope of the roof.

Lovely cottage with everything we needed to help us enjoy our stay.

the only problem we found was the steps upto property. My mum has mobility issues and struggled going up and down. There are plenty of lovely walks in the area and we found the local pub in the village that serves lovely food although opening times need to be checked. Another lovely place for a pizza and a pint is the Hawkshead brewery.

We loved staying here!

Honestly everything about this property was perfect (the location, how spacious it was, the comfort of the beds, the kitchen, the views, everything!) and it would have got 5 stars if it wasn’t for the cleanliness. It was the first thing my 8 year old sister noticed when we arrived. There was crumbs in the kitchen on the table and chairs and a lot of the crockery was not clean :( There was hairs in the shower and dog hair in the bed that we noticed on the day we arrived as well. It wasn’t nice getting out dirty crockery and having to pull hair out of the bed. Another small thing to be aware of is how thin the walls/ floors are. We could hear the neighbours from underneath so much it seems like they were in the same room. As mentioned above we were travelling with an 8 year old and when she’d be playing and running around after dinner at 7/8 before bed the neighbours would be banging on their ceilings yet they would be up to really late hours way past midnight keeping us up with loud noises and talking/laughing. Whenever they slammed their doors shut it would quite literally shake the walls in our bedrooms. But as we were out most days this was only a small thing that became an annoyance at 11pm/12am when we wanted to get off to sleep and were being kept up (the little one went to sleep earlier and did wake up a few times because of how loud the neighbours were).

We had a lovely last minute family stay in Kingfisher Barn.

The property had everything we needed, was cosy and warm and was in a great location in Stavely.

A well-equipped accommodation for our short stay.

Nice and spacious living space. Slightly inconvenient having the bedrooms on the ground floor and bathroom first floor, but this can't really be helped given the design layout of the property, just something to bear in mind if guests would find this a problem. The only other issue is the lack of a designated parking space for the property. We followed the guidance in the guest info booklet and parked along what was the side of both ours and the adjoining property, which was on a minor road. However, on our return to the property one day, there were 2 other cars parked there already and I ended up parking quite a distance away from the property as there aren't really any alternatives to parking near the property itself.

Such a beautiful cottage very comfortable and clean.

Good facilities. Loved our stay but went too quick sadly. Would love to return

Great location and very helpful that there are buses and trains to Windermere and beyond.

Staveley is a lovely place. Properly itself was spacious and comfortable if a little dated as has been previously mentioned. The plastic flowers are unnecessary and are filthy. An extra bedside light in each bedroom would have been nice too, seems a bit strange to only give one person the option to read in bed. And yes there were no wine glasses! Otherwise the kitchen was very well equipped. Overall cleanliness was fine although there were a lot of dead insects on window frames and it did smell incredibly “doggy’ when we arrived. I know from experience that’s dog hair in the hoover. It’s also a shame that the smelly bins are directly by the entrance as you come in but I know that can’t be helped. These are just small moans though as overall we had a great time.

Loved it,in a beautiful quiet part of Staveley,walks straight from the door.

Quite spacious,very clean and the beds were super comfortable.I would be happy to return.

Lovely comfortable cottage.

Comfortable cottage, warm and welcoming.

We travelled by train so not having to go out to the Spar for milk just after we arrived would have been welcome.

A lovely spacious and comfortable cottage, though if 4 people staying, kitchen can only seat 2!

Kitchen really nice space and well equipped though limited under unit lighting or bulbs need replacing? Dishwasher would be good addition. Toilet in upstairs bathroom badly located as kept bumping our heads on beams immediately above it! Generally, we felt it needs updating as a bit dull, a feature wall in the lounge would help lift the room; not a lover of vertical blinds or ornaments. Curtains or shutters would provide character and more in keeping with age of property. It was well placed for visiting Windermere and Kendal.

Excellent situation on the edge of the village of Stavely- the shops, pub, brewery, cafés and some outstandingly beautiful walks are a few minutes’ walk away.

The steps leading to the front door are a bit tricky. The cottage is very well equipped, it’s a shame that all the baby equipment, airer and vacuum cleaner are just left in a corner of the lounge in full view but maybe I’m picky. There were also a few insect carcasses lying around but otherwise the cottage had obviously been well cleaned ready for our arrival. Finally it would be silly not to comment on the very noisy fire and the towels (rather small) that had already been mentioned in the guest book. I don’t want to put people off - the cottage is warm and comfortable and the view from bedroom 2 is delightful, I could literally count sheep on the hillside from the comfort of a very cosy bed!

A nice clean freshly decorated and equipped cottage with what looks new quality carpets through out.

A good modern kitchen with ample equipment, the only thing missing was wine glasses. Nicely situated in a the village of Staveley the cottage was welcoming on arrival with a complimentary kitchen essentials in gene one of the better cottages we have stayed at.

The property was cleanish (quite a few cobwebs) the external steps and the cupboard door in the porch were dirty/hanging very askew did not give a good first impression, the bedroom blind chain broke when pulling blind up or down.

Enjoyed our stay but think the property is in need of some upgrade.

We had a very comfortable stay once again.

The cottage was clean, warm. Stavely itself is a lovely village and we enjoyed the gelato icecream, the Eagle and Child pub, not to mention the brewery. It would have been nice to have a recycling box, although I do realise there are bins in the village. Thank you once again. We will be back.

Lovely place to spend our week.

Comfortable living space and bedrooms. We found the bathroom tricky to keep dry. Our teenaged boys are nearly 6ft and the shower screen was not quite big enough! But this is only a minor point. Our dog loved the loop walk over the river and around the village, too.

This cottage is a gem.

it’s in a really great location for lovely walks. It is well equipped with everything you will need for a comfy stay. I can understand why others complained re head height but I’m short and had no problems. My only grumble was when we arrived some of the cutlery and crockery was dirty but had been put away in the cupboard and not checked before we arrived. I look forward to coming back again.

Our booked property was cancelled so had to accept this properly which we would of never of chosen because of area , one bathroom and on road parking.

On arrival the porch smelt awful so had to Leave the window open the whole time . The bathroom was low ceiling height which made showers and using the toilet uncomfortable. The shower screen was too small which soaked the floor . When having a shower the water fluctuated hot and cold and when washing up . There was cobwebs everywhere and the diy boxing in the downstairs toilet wasn’t pleasant to look at , neither was it being in the kitchen . There is no soundproofing between our cottage and the one bellow , you can hear everything. Most of these comments have been brought up in the visitors book but nothing has been done . We can’t quite understand how this was more expensive then our chosen cottage (which was cancelled on the day and left little choice) possibly the over inflated COVID prices ? But thanks to Daniel at Sykes we still had a holiday and he honoured the cottage at our original booking price .

I understand that you can’t help having spiders but your cleaner needs to look up, some of the cobwebs where really bad.

The cottage is lovely and exactly like the photos.

However there a couple of points that I would like to make. The bathroom is well equipped but it is up some fairly steep stairs and, being in the eaves, the head height isn’t very good. My husband is “only” 6 foot fortunately but he struggled. If you had any mobility problems you could have trouble. The second thing is that there is no mirror whatsoever in the main bedroom. I took the dressing table mirror from the second bedroom into the main one but, if there had been 4 of us, that would have left that room with no mirror! A full length mirror would be good too. Having said all that we enjoyed our stay very much.

The cottage was clean, generally nice, kitchen was well equipped.

The lounge is big, and we spent some very nice evenings there. Stavely is a nice village as well, with a great bakery and brewery only 5 min walk away! However, there was NO wifi, which was advertised. When we called the managing company, they had no idea about it, didn't get sorted. Also, every morning we woke up to around 10 wasps hanging around in the lounge - either dead or dying. They would be on some windows, or fall dead on the floor/sofa/in my coffee. We couldn't figure out where they came from, but it needs to be sorted out - can be dangerous for children/pets/allergies.

Kingfisher Barn was very clean and comfortable for our recent stay.

The kitchen was very well equipped and the bed was extremely comfortable. Fixtures and fittings in the kitchen and bathroom were modern and there was plenty of space in the cottage for us both and our dog. I would definitely recommend it. There is a small flight of stairs up to the front door to bear in mind if you have mobility limitations and there isn't a garden area attached to the cottage, however, plenty of lovely local walks just on the doorstep and a very short walk to the village of Staveley. Fantastic bakery, with a range of croissant's to die for! Hawkshead brewery next door where they serve local IPA's and a range of burgers/snacks. The Eagle and Child Pub was great too, serving a really wide selection of foods on the menu. Staveley was a lovely village and the locals were also so friendly.

Lovely quiet position easy walk along the river to the shops

Fabulous cottage in great location that enabled us to travel.

Only downside was that property was not completely clean, dishes a bit greasy, bulbs did not work . When we contacted Sykes, the owner got in touch straight away and was very helpful yet his property management company still did not address issues with lights and dishes and when we saw a cleaner when leaving on check out and said hello, she was very rude. I would definitely book again , the only recommendation to the owner is to ensure they employ good management company who looks after their property well.

Unfortunately we left an item at the property and after a lot of phone calls customer services have utterly failed on every occasion to resolve our issue.

All it takes is for someone to do what is asked. Not hard really. They like taking your money but don't ask them to solve a problem, too hard. Very disappointed.

Loved the Kingfisher Barn cannot wait to book again.

My only negative is I didn’t want to come home

We really didn't like the toilet in a cupboard in the kitchen.

The upstairs toilet was not comfortable for a man to use - very short on head space due to the extreme sloping roof. The shower side panel over the bath is too short and consequently, the floor could get very wet!! When we arrived, the first thing we noticed was a cupboard door missing in the kitchen, together with one of the drawer fronts. These were found in the entrance porch on top of a cupboard! There were also two light bulbs not working. All this was reported to your office a couple of days after we arrived and we were told that something would be done, but nobody arrived in the next three days. The downstairs was spacious and well equipped, but the toilet and bathroom facilities were not sufficient for four adults. We had a good holiday and the weather was really good.

In light of the coronovirus pandemic you should have cancelled our booking and either refunded our money or held our booking over to another date.

As it was we left a day early. This spoilt our visit.

We found upon arrival that we needed a code to obtain the keys from a secure holder next to the door.

The booking.com call centre was eventually helpful but it involved a long waiting period where we weren't confident that anyone would eventually answer. This system assumes that you have mobile internet access, good English and plenty of phone time. The apartment itself was lovely and spacious. The bathroom upstairs was good but tall or heavily built visitors may find the space somewhat limited.

We had a lovely week in Kingfisher Barn, however our feedback echoes that in the visitor book within the cottage - the king size mattress urgently needs replacing as it’s terribly saggy and gave us both a stiff back, and the hot water on the shower has only one temperature, scorching.

Also, it would be helpful if your instructions mentioned where to park.

Lovely comfortable cottage.

Great village with excellent pub, The Eagle & Child. I found everyone that I spoke to in the village exceedingly friendly I thoroughly recommend it.

Not having a designated parking space was the only issue, parking on the road was not ideal due to tractors and their trailers passing at speed a couple of times per day.

Location and accommodation very good.

2nd time at Kingfisher Barn, so we knew what to expect - all excellent again.

There was just something about King Fisher Barn that has made it my favourite.

I felt really comfortable living there, a home from home with added quirkiness. Some lovely peaceful walks on the doorstep added to the experience.

Lovely location, however parking was not well-explained in the online information.

Very comfortable, well-equipped, although wi-fi and TV a little variable. Plentiful local information leaflets (some prices a little out of date) and helpful apartment information. Piano was a bonus!

Lovely lounge and kitchen.

Good place to be based for exploring the Lakes. However the bathroom needed some attention - mould around bath where sealed to wall, shower screen too short for position of shower head so water on the floor, toilet seat loose, no toilet roll holder. Bedroom smelt of damp, WiFi not working for half of our stay. I would not stay at this property again.

We had a fabulous time in Kingfisher barn Staveley Cumbria.

It was everything we hope for and more, tastefully furnished and like home from home. Great location for walking in the fells and only 10 minutes drive from Lake Windermere with it's bustling atmosphere and a wide variety of restaurants. An amazing place for star gazing as it has very low light pollution. The staff at the Cumbria office were extremely helpful and friendly, offering advice on places to dine that were nearest to the cottage which really helped. We would definitely recommend it, and would happily stay here again. regards the courtney family.

We had a great week walking and eating in the local pub.

The apartment was very comfortable and dog friendly. Had an extremely enjoyable week.

Had a brilliant week in a fantastic location made even better by the weather.

Would like to have been better informed about lack of parking as we had two cars. No complaints otherwise

We had a great relaxing holiday.

Cottage was well equipped, cosy and comfy and very well situated in a quiet area in the village. We particularly like the way the owners have utilised the space. Brewery, bakery and butcher close by and recommended. Been to Staveley several times and just love the area. Thanks again

The accommodation was of the high standard we've come to expect with Sykes Cottages.

Cleaners turned up and knocked the door at 9:40 - made up feel pressured to leaving.

Cobwebs on ceiling in each room, had to hoover ourselves.

Excellent cottage, extremely well equipped and perfect location .