Dog Friendly Cottages in Cumbria

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Vanita - Verified booking

  The positives of Lords Leap, were; it was quite clean, nice and spacious, the beds double beds were very comfortable albeit on the small side and in general it had most things one would need.

  Jackie in the shop was a great help. The negatives were, there was no one to meet you on site and there was no contact to go to on site. The number given to contact someone was impossible to get through to and there was no mobile access. You could not place or receive calls whilst on holiday there. So when it came to wanting to organising day trips out, we could not call any organisations to book boat trips etc. We had to drive out and then organise our trips, so lost time and days trying to do this. The shower tray filled to it limits when showering, leaving ones feet in a pool of water, the washing machine seemed to wash the clothes but came out dripping wet and would not spin properly, so clothes had to be wrung out by hand. We put up with these things for a few days as we couldn’t contact the number given and didn’t know who to go to. Eventually we went to the lady in the on site shop, who then emailed the appropriate people. If there had been someone there on site or mobile access then we would not have had to put up with these things, (we would have gone to the shop sooner if we knew she would contact the appropriate people but thought that we would be bothering that person). In fact Jackie was very pleasant and very helpful and the shower situation was sorted out quite quickly and apparently they are fitting a new washing machine, which will benefit the next booking at Lords Leap (as we had left by the time this happened). The most misleading part of the booking is the on site gym, one of the main reasons for us booking this accommodation was that it had a gym. At no point when booking the accommodation did it say one had to pay for the use of the gym, until after the deposit had been paid. We found out that it costs £20 per week or £15.00 per weekend, which is extortionate! It cost us £18.00 per month for our gym where we live and whilst I understand prices, when in different locations and holiday prices can charge more, it’s far too much to charge, especially when it didn’t even mention one had to pay at all in the first place! and it was very small and equipment quite limited. There were 7 of us who would have used the gym if it was free or a minimal fee was charged, after all ones paying enough for the accommodation. But instead, neither of us went to the gym and therefore the providers of this accommodation lost out on 7 people’s money, plus a negative review on that point. On the whole Lords Leap was a nice place to stay, but I don’t think that’s it’s acceptable to pay for your accommodation and then be asked to strip all of the beds before you leave, after all we’re on holiday! And we paid a substantial amount for it.

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• Manasa - Verified booking

  Smardale hall was a unique and wonderful place for a holiday with the family.

  Our children called it the 'castle house' and the living room and the fireplace captivated them and us a lot. The beds were super comfortable and despite being old and huge, it felt pretty warm - particularly when we had the fire going. The kitchen was very well equipped and see managed to have dinner there most nights and even Diwali and a birthday celebration. We only met Steven the owner - once as he led us up to the place with his car at we got there in the night and couldn't see there we were going and again as we left. He was lovely and very hospitable. We loved waking up to sheep being rounded up in the pen and beautiful sunrises and sunsets through the many large windows. There is a local walk that is along the old train line that is really beautiful and friendly for all ages. If there are any cons, it would be that you need a car to get here and it's a B road at the end so be prepared for awkward backing up in case you encounter oncoming traffic. Good news is Sainsburys delivers groceries so you don't need to pack everything to go here. The bathrooms are in the turrets and are quite cold so pack some robes to keep you cozy as you get in and out of the shower. Finally, we tried the hot tub on one night but it was warm. We should have asked Steven to help get it hotter but we didn't. Mainly as our mobile phones didn't work there. However, the internet is super fast so you can keep in touch with the world if you want to and plan nearby adventures. Thank you for having us and hope to return in the future.

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• Allan - Verified booking

  Prior to the holiday we specifically asked about the pool and games room.

  These were the very reasons why we booked this particular cottage. When we asked prior to the holiday we were told that they were following government guidelines therefore we interpreted indoor pool would be open. Our kids were looking forward to the pool being open and were extremely disappointed to find out when we arrived that this was not the case. We asked at the shop and were met with a frosty response “who told you that”. Not the warm welcome you would expect. When we unpacked our things at the cottage there was no hot water, dishwasher was full of water, the dining chairs were all wobbly and the high chair was not working and filthy. After the frosty reception at the shop we did not think to ask about anything else. I would have thought with the Covid situation that the houses would have been in a better state of repair than they were. We saw the handyman towards the End of the visit so made him aware of jobs that needed fixing. The shop although very handy was extremely overpriced. I would expect to pay more for a bottle of wine obviously but not the extortionate prices. We book a cottage every year in the uk and this was one we would not go back to. If you have booked here don’t take your swimming stuff!

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• Helen - Verified booking

  This is a lovely property and great for kids as there is a lot of space inside and out.

  I heard my son telling someone he met at a play area that we were staying on a working farm and he was so excited by this, the goats scared him though lol. The house itself is large and spacious, agree with someone else, if you want brand new with whitewashed walls then this isn’t the place for you! This property is homely and because of the old style of the building the decor fits beautifully. Beds are comfortable, it’s very clean and the kitchen is amazing. The WiFi isn’t the greatest and one of us needed to work while there (self employed) and couldn’t connect the laptop to the WiFi, the owner came round and very kindly provided us with another WiFi and code which worked. The hot tub is lovely and placed where the views are beautiful; house one side which is great to Look at and fields the other. Kids were excited to see the steam train going past from afar, we had a little walk along the old railway line and we enjoyed playing hide and seek inside when it was raining. We took a couple of our own games to play but there are some there, the kids played with some dinosaurs they found. Overall, a gorgeous place that has been very well looked after and very clean.

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• Tony - Verified booking

  The cottage itself was clean, comfortable and cosy, the problem was the hot tub.

  We only booked this cottage because of the inclusion of a hot tub. My partner works in care and she was looking forward to spending plenty of time in the hot tub with the jets on to relieve the pain in her back and legs. We attempted to use the hot tub on the Sunday afternoon, the water was hot, only one or two of the of the jets were working, very disappointing, pretty much useless, there was one filter fitted the other was discarded on the grass besides the hot tub, there were a few valves not fitted and we found them in the cabin adjacent, the control panel was worn and some of the the buttons un-responsive. All in all the hot tub was in need of a very good clean and a lot of maintenance and repair, to be honest I think it would be more cost effective to replace. The cabin by the hot tub was also in need of a lot of maintenance and repair. I think you should remove the hot tub from your description of the accommodation until it is in a good state of operation as this is tantamount to false advertising, its not right to say there is a hot tub if it is not working.

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