Riggbank

Lovely property well appointed and with easy walking distance to the waterfront.

Hot tub was great and we used it daily. Constructive feedback for the owner - the double beds would be more comfortable as kings or better still super kings. And the basement games room is a real bonus - but needs shorter pool sticks to play properly in the narrow room - and the table tennis net was broken. Minor constructive criticisms of an otherwise great rental property.

It is a fantastic place to stay, especially locational.

It was clean, comfortable and spacious. Minor issues for us was the front door being very difficult to lock when warmed by the sun. The shower head in the 1st floor ensuite is below head height and won't stay above. Like I said, minor issues, we had a great stay and would stay again if in the area.

Lovely home which is located close to Bowness (10 min walk to the lake) and Windermere (29 min walk uphill).

It comfortably sleeps 6 people with plenty of furniture for everyone to be together or have space when needed. I had a problem on arrival with the shower cubicle in bathroom of the top bedroom. Contacted Sykes immediately and between them and the owner it was resolved the following day. Maintenance team great and Sykes phoned 3 times to make sure it was progressing as it should. Couldn’t fault them or the owner for their quick resolution. The hot tub was braced by a couple of hardy people not afraid of the Baltic weather. All in all a great stay and I’d go back again.

Standard of cleaning was poor, hot tub was dirty and the water greasy so we only used once.

The basement/ games room was full of spiders (we removed 14 so the kids would relax). Shower tiles were dirty, the bedroom with single beds was covered in mould. Its a shame because thd place and location is really lovely but it feels a bit unloved where maintenance has been deprioritised. One of the blinds in the lounge was broken and the mattress on the top floor should have been disposed of a couple of years ago, the springs have no resistance at all resulting in an uncomfortable week of sleep. Some extra blankets may be an idea. Also a few touches would really improve the experience eg; no soap in any bathroom? Also 4 mugs and only 2 medium wine glasses. The house accommodates 6 people? Its clear from the guest book that some of the issues eg; mould have been left unresolved for several months. Also pool cues were unusable which the kids were really disappointed about as one of the reasons we chose the place was for the facilities like this as advertised.

Beautiful cottage on a great location - about 10 mins walk to Bowness and 20 mins walk into Windermere.

Parking is on the street outside and although it gets busy we were able to get 3 cars parked all within a few feet of the house. The lounge, dining room and kitchen are a great size, there’s a small yard with a hot tub out of the back door which was lovely to spend some time in - even in the rain! The bedrooms and shower/bathrooms are split over the 2nd & 3rd floors, they are all really comfortable and clean. There is a basement with a shower room & a games room but we didn’t use this space. It’s been mentioned on other reviews but think there is a problem with damp down here as it has a musty smell - it’s a shame but it didn’t spoil our visit at all. Would definitely recommend the property to small groups or families.

There are positives about the house - it has the potential to be amazing.

Great location with not much more than a 5 min walk to a bustling little village. Quiet street and we always found somewhere to park close to the house. Lots of places to visit within a short drive. The living and dining areas are lovely, although I had to clean some dried food off of the dining table before we used it. The house is unfortunately let down by what seems to be a lack of attention. It looks like it would have been beautiful when first done, however, this is what we experienced. The kitchen was clean-ish, it was manageable but there were fruit flies, lots of them. We bought fly strips on day 1 but they were still there on day 6, although less so. Apparently a bowl of apple cider vinegar and dish soap would have worked. The hob only works if you're using 1 or 2 pans, and even then sometimes it would randomly stop. We tried using all 4 and it kept turning the heat off like it was losing connection (it's an induction), or as you're changing the heat setting on one of them, it's also changing another one at the same time. Really annoying. There's no bread knife, the rest of the knives are very blunt, everything just seems to be chucked into drawers. I think there was only a peeler because one lady wrote in the guest book that she bought it and left it there! It could do with a good clean and sort out and then leave some cupboard space for guests to put food etc. We had to move stuff to create some space in the cupboards to keep the bread etc away from the flies. We were only left with one bin bag, one little cleaning cloth and no kitchen cleaner, just a nearly used random bottle of bathroom cleaner in the cupboard. There was washing up liquid and dishwasher tablets. The recycling situation is not clear. In the information it says all recycling goes in one bin which seems odd as other people on the street clearly have separate recycling bins. Also, the book says collection day is Wednesday but we looked it up and it said it was Friday. Some of the jets are broken on the hot tub and it's not private out there at all, you're completely overlooked by next door. We read in the guest book that lots of people had complaints from the neighbours when using it which really put us off so we only used it once. The basement was once a bedroom but is now a games room. It is very damp which you can smell - I get that's it's a basement but there is the smallest humidifier in the world down there. At least get a bigger one. There is a small pool table which turns into table tennis. The pool cues need replacing, they're sellotaped up in the middle and one barely has a tip. You could feel the damp in your throat being down there, it made you not want to be there for too long. There was a PS4 in the next room but we couldn't make it work and wouldn't have wanted to sit down there anyway. We could have done with a few decent bath towels for the shower but obviously that's not a deal breaker, just becomes another thing that hasn't had much thought. We didn't have any hot water to the top floor and there was no information in the folder about it. We figured out how to turn it on which is fine but the folder could do with an update. It generally just needs a bit of maintenance and a good scrub throughout. The bathrooms could do with a few hooks put up - there isn't anywhere to hang your towel. The guest book in the house has been stating the same issues for the past few years and I'm really surprised there aren't more recent reviews online! I don't usually leave reviews myself but it annoyed me that nothing had been improved with this house and they just keep taking peoples money. It didn't spoil our time there, we managed, but I wouldn't go back and I couldn't recommend it.

Absolutely fantastic holiday cottage for our family of 6 (4 adults and two children).

Perfect location- just a short walk to town and the ferry to Ambleside. The kids were delighted to discover the basement games room- we could enjoy hot tub, playstation, table tennis and pool after spending our days out walking. Clean and comfortable, would definitely book again!

I have raised issues with Sykes however for potential customers, there was mould on the showerhead, the charging cable for ps4 missing, hot tub missing head rest and one was broken, hob only 2 working out of 4.

Really dusty and needs a good clean, a lot of cobwebs visible. The damp smell in the basement has been highlighted in other reviews and is still there. Great location but property really let itself down.

The property needs a really good clean and the basement smell needs addressing.

Apart from that we had a lovely weekend

Lovely house in a lovely location.

Unfortunately the house just needs a little TLC. Basement is un-useable due to strong damp smell. Bathrooms need a serious clean and regrouting of shower cubicles. Chair in lounge needs repairing - couldn't sit on it as legs looked like they would collapse. Overall a nice house with huge potential just needs cleaning, stains from chairs removed, cobwebs dealt with, shower mould dealt, white fluffy towels or just do not bother supplying the thin towels. Clean the oven (I attempted it). Decor is nice, just let down by cleanliness. Parking is easy and convenient. Great location to Bowness. Quiet neighbourhood

The house was clean, inviting and tastefully decorated.

It is in a great location for access to both Bowness & Windermere. We booked for 6 adults and found we had everything we needed. The hot tub was a great addition. There are a couple of points need addressing however:- 1. The bed in the top floor dormer bedroom was extremely uncomfortable, the frame of the base was broken at the foot of the bed causing the mattress to sag in the middle. This was raised by someone in the guest book a few months back and still not fixed, made it a poor experience for two of our party (my wife and I) 2. The damp in the basement needs addressing, we noted it was previously an extra bedroom but is now a games room because of the damp. Nobody would want to spend any time in there, the smell was strong and could even be smelled from the lounge. 3. The chair in the lounge looked like it was going to collapse if anyone sat on it, you could see the legs buckling inwards, we avoided that chair, but someone's going to get caught out soon! 4. Shower screen required in separate bathroom on first floor. We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday but feel we need to point these flaws out, any group of 6 would hit the same problems and could complain more vehemently than us.

Lovely house, beautifully decorated.

No problem with neighbours. Kitchen utensil knives need sharpening and damp smell in basement. We had problem with cold showers. The only one that was hot was in the Double room on first floor.

Such a wonderful home we had a great long weekend.

The house was comfy and cosy. The kids loved the games room. We didn’t get to use the hot tub because of the weather but a nice addition. After reading the feedback from others I can say it’s been taken on board. The house felt very clean and there was a welcome pack of bits for the kitchen cleaning, toilet rolls in each bathroom. No broken bed or mirror. The only thing I’d say is king size beds would be much better but definitely not a deal breaker. Location was perfect and the house is decorated lovely. I’d recommend and also book again myself.

Stunning,well designed, great space near to the centre.

Games room in cellar a bonus. Great social spaces and decor. Everyone loved the themed rooms Think the maintenance crew maybe letting down the house - it deserves better. Less than 1/4 of toilet roll left and no spare - I’m okay with using up but going shopping when I get there given all the stuff we brought is bad. Just say “toilet roll not provided” not enough for 6people. Needs a bread knife. (Serrated edge) and so many people have complained about the attic room bed but not even a note left to say it’s being looked at. This could be sensational as it’s so beautiful - you’d expect the finishing touches. Having said that , now I know I need to bring toilet roll - I would book again.

Really lovely place to stay.

Everything great in the house apart from no hot water in the shower on Sunday night, only on the top floor. Also neighbour next door shouting to tell us to shut up early Saturday evening when we were in the hot tub. Spoiled the atmosphere a bit. Would definitely stay there again though. Thank you

We enjoyed our week staying at Riggbank.

It was a large comfortable house with the wonderful addition of a hot tub and a games room. Parking was easy on the road outside and with only a 10 minute walk to Bowness it is really well located. The house was very nicely furnished. Unfortunately even though it's clear that a lot was spent on the matching furnishings in each room there are a few things that need to be looked at. The bed frame in the attic room was broken at the bottom as was the free standing mirror in the first floor bedroom - both were reported to Sykes (even though feedback previously stated issues with both) so hopefully they are fixed for the next visitors. The quality of the mattresses and bath towels were very basic and not in keeping with the quality of the rest of the house - or the rating given to the property. Both double mattresses felt very soft/well used and the bath towels very thin. Coat hooks / boot holder in the hall would be useful instead of having to take wet things all the way through to the cupboard past the kitchen.

We loved our holiday, the house was lovely, very clean and very well equipped.

Suggested improvements could include: Some hooks in the first floor bathroom would be very helpful as you have to put your towel on the floor at the moment. The bins could be explained a bit clearer too, we got help from the neighbour who kindly explained what happens with the rubbish from Riggbank. The mirror on top of the chest of drawers in the double bedroom on the first floor needs to be fixed securely as it fell off and hit my head as I was closing the bottom drawer.

Overall the property was great however the cleanliness left a lot to be desired, there was discarded food stuffed down the side of the settees and under them (it looked like no attempt had been made to clean under the furniture) there were items of dirty clothing discarded under a bed.

Perhaps it would be nice to offer guests the opportunity to pre-book a welcome pack, milk etc. The supply of cleaning materials i.e. tea towels, washing up liquid, bin liners and spray cleaners etc was sadly lacking as was the amount of toilet paper which amounted to around 1 roll per person for a stay of almost 1 week. Should it not be noted in the description that these items might be required.

Excellent holiday home.

Well presented and comfortable house with lots of space and an added bonus of a bathroom for each bedroom. The living space was a great size. The hot tub was brilliant and easy to use in their quiet yard. Plenty of towels provided! The location of the house was fantastic, very close to the main town via an easy walk. We had no problem with parking on the street in front. We really enjoyed our stay and will definitely be looking to come here again in the future.

We had a lovely stay at Riggbank.

Access was straight forward and first impressions were great. The bedrooms were all comfortable and the kitchen was well stocked. It was lovely to have a bathroom per bedroom, although the main bathroom could do with a shower screen or shower. As per other reviews, the basement floor had a stale smell, but I’m sure if we had used it that would have disappeared in time. It’s a difficult space to ventilate and didn’t detract from our stay at all. The hot tub was a welcome addition, very private but with debris behind it, no doubt left over from previous guests, which was a shame. On street parking could be an issue but we were lucky enough to get spaces outside the property. It really did feel like a home from home and we all said we’d definitely return in the future. The position is perfect for walking and visiting the area.

The holiday cottage was ok.

You could see that at some point it had been lovingly furnished etc. However - the bottom bedroom was unusable. It smelled terrible - damp and musty. This is obviously an ongoing problem as it’s mentioned a lot in the visitor book and they have a dehumidifier there which is dong very little. The bed frame actually had mold spores on it of which I have pictures. Most of the bathrooms had black mould in the shower or round the bath in places. The hot tub was freezing cold and full of mildew on top. Randomly a guy turned up to ‘fix it’ halfway through our stay and said he had no idea it had been rented out and no one contacted us to say he was visiting. There are not enough mugs for 6-8 people to use and we kept getting a lot of fruit flies in the kitchen despite putting everything sea in cupboards or the fridge. The next door neighbour actually stood outside and watched me park my car one night, then went back inside - very intimidating and strange man. I wouldn’t recommend the cottage until some serious work had been done on the bottom room and a general spruce up.

Our only issue was the hot tub - it is just lukewarm - needs setting higher but still fun Also the crockery was beautiful but 4 mugs isn't enough for an 8 person house Decor beautiful - lovely house and downstairs fine for a teenagers maybe a bit damp/dark for the rest of us

The cottage is located in a fantastic place and is decorated really nicely.

The furniture was very comfortable and was was clean. It was advertised as a four story cottage, although the basement was completely unusable. My son was desperate to use the PS4 but with no way of even turning it on, he couldn't. You couldn't spend more than 5 minutes down there with the terrible damp. When we arrived, the hot tub was cold and we were unable to use it for the first 24 hours despite having planned our first night in there. Our biggest issue was the fact we had no hot water for the first three days. Until we asked the hot tub maintenance man if he knew what was wrong - he told us he knew the house needed a new boiler and came and did something. The hot water came on in one of the showers, which the 5 adults then had to take turns in using for the duration of the remainder of the week. I then got a call to ask if someone could come and replace the boiler on the Wednesday, which I said wouldn't be possible as we were still having our holiday there. I think that for the price we had to pay, knowing that there would not be hot water for the family to use is totally unacceptable and I would like a response to this. Regards Dan

There are numerous mentions in the guest book going back over 1 year that there is no remote for the TV downstairs- which is still the case rendering the TV room pointless.

The damp smell in the basement is overpowering and there is black mold in the bathroom. The rest of the house is lovely though. Unfortunately we had no hot water on 2 days as the boiler needs to be replaced, this spoiled things somewhat. We left a day early.

Was a lovely and big holiday cottage, had everything we needed and was perfect for our little holiday!

The neighbour next door had a few complaints but im sure you are used to hearing this as a few comments in your book said the same, didn't ruin our holiday tho, lovely decorated and perfect location, thanks for everything Amy

Heating was not working all weekend, had to go home a day early.

Flys all around the property Hot tub outside not welcoming, all moss on the hot tub cover, also had to ring maintenance as the hot tub wasn’t working properly No remote for down stairs TV The cooker hob turned on but didn’t work

A lovely property and very warm and clean.

One of the few that we have booked that has lived up to our expectations. Well done.

Lovely property.

House had all the necessities we needed as a family. Was very clean. Few damp patches in places, blinds need a bit of tlc and the basement bedroom is quite damp, wouldn’t recommend anyone with asthma etc stay in that room (although the basement lounge seems ok). Close enough to walk into Bowness and Windermere. Bus or boat links to see further around the Lakes without having to drive. WiFi was not great and I would recommend taking the PS4 off the listing as it couldn’t be used due to the poor connection. Hot tub was worth it we used it every day. Definitely recommend this property lovely area

A lovely location ideal for exploring the area and an easy walk into Bowness and Lake Windermere.

The house was stunning and very well equipped with a perfect setup for two families on holiday together.

So, I don’t want to be too negative because we had a lovely holiday in the end.

But We were disappointed on arrival because the house was quite dirty, Sykes sent out a cleaner and they explained there had been a water shortage in the week…so the floors hadn’t been cleaned, which then led us to think what else hadn’t been cleaned due to lack of water?! The basement smelt super damp and is very cold, it was a shame as we had in-laws staying down there who had quite weak chests and it effected them a lot, we aren’t sure if it was due to the damp or a chestiness which developed over that week anyway. We would have stayed down there but our baby was also suffering with a chest infection so we didn’t want to risk further illness on him with the damp. They did drop a dehumidifier off for us which got filled up very quickly. I genuinely think they need to offer discount for this or warn people or offer refunds if you decide not to go ahead because it’s not enjoyable or good for peoples health. I don’t rate the experience you get with Sykes properties over the air bnbs we’ve had in the past. It’s not personal but equally I hadn’t done it before so didn’t know. I feel the price of rental for this property isn’t reflected in the quality of it. Pros: - brilliant location - bowerness and Windermere on your doorstop with lovely eateries and shops and close to the lake. - easy to commute to amazing national trusts and other locations - good social space - Skye’s we’re quick to react to any problems - towels provided - hot tub easy to use and lovely Cons - There was no cleaning products left so take your own - Wasn’t cleaned for us on arrival - Basement rooms very damp - Top floor bathroom fan broken and stayed on for 2 days straight through the night - Small back yard/ no garden

Thank you the house was perfect, very clean and plenty of space.

We had a great time and would recommend staying here.

My friends and myself absolutely loved this property.

Tastefully decorated and finished off. Spacious light and airey. We will look to book again I think. The only thing I would say is the basement bedroom needs looking at damp wise. It smells a little foisty.

The cottage was superb and we all thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would 100% book again.

My only criticism is that the bathroom on the 2nd floor, adjacent to the twin room, would benefit from a shower screen and a fixing to position the shower higher. Apart from that we can't wait to return again in the future.

Really nice property, well furnished throughout.

Kitchen has everything you can need. I did take tea towels and washing up things but they provided a little welcome pack with everything we needed. The basement was perfect for my 14 year old. He loved having his own space. Hot tub was a great bonus. There was however no slippers and only 2 towels. This wasn't an issue for us though as we took our own. A back door mat would be useful for after using the hot tub. We had no issue with the neighbours like some of the reviews had mentioned. The lady to the left was lovely, took the time to talk and tell us about the local walks. I would highly recommend this property, we would definitely book again.

This property is just beautiful, set walking distance from Bowness it offered great accessibility to the village but we found it difficult to leave as it was so comfortable and the hottub was a great way to unwind after a long day hiking.

Highly recommend this property it offers a real home from home feel with everything available to make the stay luxurious.

Loved our stay!

Everything we needed… perfect home from home experience . Lovely location! Only issue we had was with a fault to the electrics on the lower floor! It wasn’t the best as meant we had to juggle the sleeping arrangements out as unable to use the shower on that floor…. Owners did contact us on our arrival date though and did make us aware that they couldn’t get anyone out until after new year. So it was just one of those things.. We just made the best of it and enjoyed our stay! Thank you xx

Absolutley Perfect Everything we wanted and more than what we needed.

The house was immaculate Perfect location Cant reccommend enough We will certainly be back again and again, and again!

Beautiful place, will definitely be booking again

Really enjoyed our stay!

The location was perfect, the house was clean and very comfortable and everybody had a great time. The only suggestion I would make is perhaps a house manual would be a great addition and we couldn’t locate any cloths or wipes to wipe the table down after eating but that really is minor we would come back again in a heartbeat! Loved it, thanks so much.

Super disappointed with the state of the property we booked (which was meant to be 5 star) for the reasons we have already discussed in detail with you.

The service we have had has been poor and we are left feeling that Sykes really doesn’t care at all about it’s customers. We will definitely never book with Sykes again and will tell as many people as possible about the horrific experience we have had with Sykes.