We stayed here for the week of 16th - 23rd August 2013 with our extended family including 11 children under 8. We had visited the property after we booked and discovered to our horror a pond in the garden. Having expressed our concern to the leasing agent he bought fencing material for us to fence off the pond on our arrival.
We were delighted that the property is extremely spacious with 4/5 public rooms, so plenty of space to chill out. Almost all bedrooms have en suites which is great and there are 2 dishwashers, 2 kettles, 2 ovens, a large upright freezer and large upright fridge as well as a small fridge in the kitchen.
There are many nooks and crannies to explore in the garden, however there were numerous nettles which we had to hack down, the trampoline had been removed and the tree house was unusable.
The big jacuzzi in the conservatory wasn't working, one kitchen cupboard door was falling off and the salad drawer in the large fridge was badly cracked. With a little TLC all these could be rectified. A previous reviewer had commented on the lack of table tennis balls, but when we arrived that had been rectified.
However having said all that, it was still good value for money with interesting outings within reach, and an excellent play park in the village. All our families would be enthusiastic about a return visit.
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We were searching for an affordable holiday rental for three nights for a group of friends including children and babies. Lots of places wouldn't rent for only 3 nights and lots were too expensive for our budget. This was one of the cheapest we found when taking into account the number of rooms.
The amount of space we got for our money was amazing, so many rooms and places for people to relax. If we had filled every room it would have been very cheap per person. The location was fantastic, the views and the nearby villages and surrounding area is gorgeous. We went to Windermere one day, spent another day in the garden and had a walk to the small park/playground in the village that was about a five minute walk away so the children could play. We had a lovely break away and taking into account the price we paid we were very happy with our stay.
A few things that could be improved:
Maintenance: we had a few things that didn't work. The amazing jacuzzi bath that is in the photos ...the jacuzzi function was not working so was just a bath. The showers have an electronic panel that work a number of horizontal jets and an in shower radio etc...on two of the showers were not working making one shower unusable and one only with cold water. The advertised tree house is not available it is tucked away in a corner in a state of disrepair surrounded by bits of wood so children need to be kept away. It would have been a great feature if this could be fixed up. There were no balls for the ping pong table so bring your own as we couldn't use this either. Some of us felt that these should be removed from the advert or mentioned that currently not available if they are not working/ in usable order.
Some of these things could be down to not knowing how to work the baths and showers (although I think they were genuinely broken) however that leads me on to what I think is really missing with this property...communication.
There is very little communication with the owner after booking so I was assuming there would be a folder with instructions and info about the house and the area. There was nothing, there is a pin board in the kitchen with leaflets etc on but very few were useful. If this were provided (with instructions on how to turn on showers and who to contact if not working, how to walk to the local pub/ shop etc) and everything was regularly checked to be in usable order this property would have got a full 5/5 rating.
Will recommend to friends but with the advisory: do not expect perfection and you will not be disappointed.
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How easy was key pickup/access to the property? | Overall condition of the property |
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Friends getaway | Families with young children |
Large groups |
Value | Location |
Service |
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How easy was key pickup/access to the property? | Overall condition of the property |
Bedding & mattresses | Kitchen & utensils |
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Friends getaway | Older travelers |
Families with young children | Large groups |
People with pets |
We had a fantastic weekend with a group of friends. There were 10 adults and 8 children. We all arrived on the Friday night in really bad weather, but the diresctions were good and we soon got settled. I had a problem with the heating, but I had not seen the instructions taht had been left on the noticeboard. I phoned Jules and got it sorted no problem. We ordered an idian for us all Friday night and it was delivered no problem and good value. The house for the weekend was outstanding for what we wanted, which was a get together. The kids loved all the different rooms and hide and seek was a definate highlight. At no time during the wekend even with 18 people did it feel cramped. We are already looking forward to next year.
How easy was it to book the property? | How helpful were the directions to the property? |
How easy was key pickup/access to the property? | Overall condition of the property |
Bedding & mattresses | Kitchen & utensils |
Bathroom cleanliness | Other facilities & amenities |
Service |
Friends getaway | Families with young children |
Large groups |