Dog Friendly Cottages in Cumbria

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Dominic - Verified booking

  I booked Dixons Court a year ago on 17 January as a venue large enough and comfortable enough for my family who would be travelling from America to spend Christmas with me.

  For £3.5k I had quite high expectations but they were not matched by the reality. Firstly the property was extremely cold on arrival. The thermostat when we finally located it was set to 17' and throughout the week continually reverted to that figure. Its positioning, just above the radiator in the dining room, meant it switched off whenever that radiator heated up leaving the rest of the house cold. We learned that we had to keep that radiator turned off. The top bedroom didn't heat up at all. After a couple of days of our guests being cold up there I managed to bleed the two radiators. That seems to me like simple maintenance that should be done by the owners. On Christmas Day we woke to no heat and no hot water. I again contacted Sykes but again got no response. Eventually one of our party with an engineering background worked out that it was because there was not enough pressure in the system and managed to get it working. None of us were impressed - not how we expected to spend Christmas morning! More minor concerns - the stove drove us all mad! By the end of the week I had learned how to use it reasonably well but it is not suitable for use by many different non-expert users. Generally the kitchen was inadequately equipped for a party of 11. We managed to produce all our meals only because we had brought a lot of our own equipment. There is no WC on the 2nd floor and just two WCs on the 1st floor serving 10 people. We would have grumbled about this even if they had both worked but the one in the bathroom continually got blocked. The presence of a plunger indicates that it is a recurring problem. Why has it not been sorted? I spent much of my Christmas week unblocking a toilet! I could go on. We put our most senior couple in the top room because of the en-suite facility _- but they couldn't use the bath and the bed was too low and they cracked their heads on the beams, .... and all the stairs. So to sum up. The price indicated comfort and luxury that was not present. The written description is inadequate. The managing agents were worse than useless- no response to phone calls or messages.

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• Amanda - Verified booking

  The lodge is described as child/dog friendly, but there is no gate on the decking.

  There is a gate in the picture. We were not happy, as we have a golden retriever puppy. We booked this lodge as it was dog friendly and had a gate, so we could let him out on the decking. We texted the owner, to ask for help. We had a missed call from them, as we were walking the dog. They did not leave a message and made no attempt to contact us. They knew we were not happy. We ended up having to use some of the patio furniture to block the gap, so he could come out on the decking. This meant we did not have enough seats for us all to sit on the decking. We paid so much for this particular lodge, so we could all sit out together. The front door is quite difficult to lock. We ended up having to only use the patio doors when we went out. The couches are not comfortable at all. We had read other reviews saying this, but assumed the owners would have done something about it, as there were a lot of complaints. We found a wine glass with lipstick from previous guests. The cutlery wasn't very clean. We read a previous review saying they had received a welcome pack of food. This is not the case - you do get cleaning items, soap and shower gel. The decking is in desperate need of power washing, and the roof really needs cleaned. The lodge is a nice size. The main bedroom is very big. All of the beds are comfortable. The dining table is a lovely size. There are plenty of kitchen utensils etc for use. WiFi was never a problem. Initial contact was good, plenty of communication right up until arrival. Keys were easy to access. Just very disappointed with contact when we arrived, as owners did not seem to be interested at all.

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• Sarah - Verified booking

  Had a great week here with family - 10 of us, all over 18.

  The property is in an ideal location, next to a car park where day tickets can be purchased cheaply each evening (though over the bank holiday weekend we avoided moving our cars since spaces were hard to find at that time). It is conveniently close to shops, pubs, bus stop and all local amenities. Rooms are well furnished and the property provides ample space, although the sitting area on the first floor is rather cramped for a large group. However, since the space is open plan and the kitchen and dining area are all together, this does mean the whole group can be close to each other. Table would not easily fit more than 10 people, though there is another small table nearby and stools for the kitchen counter. One bathroom is ensuite to the attic bedroom which means it is less easy to access for guests in other rooms, but there is a shower on each of the other floors, and two toilets on the lowest floor. Towels could do with replacing however, as mentioned in a previous review, as they are rough and worn, with one having a hole in it. The kitchen is well-equipped and there are plenty of glasses, crockery and cutlery etc. Only issue we had was that there were no dishes suitable for use in the microwave and more medium sized saucepans would have been useful. Overall the property is quirky and charming, and we would be happy to re-book if the occasion arose.

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• Miss Fox - Verified booking

  It's an absolutely stunning location, very close to Cathedral caves and Slaters bridge. There's quite a lot of people walking past as it leads to the Cumbrian Way. Very tight road down to the cottage - single lane. Pub about 10 mins walk. The cottage itself is very old so it's quite higgledy piggledy and amazingly thick walls. Lots of steps everywhere so not brilliant for people with mobility issues. Bathroom is downstairs and it's fine - decent space and decent electric shower. It was clean. Kitchen is a good size - underfloor heating works in a small area of it. It's equipped ok. The plates and glasses were dirty though so we had to rewash them. There's a small dishwasher. The downstairs bedroom smells strongly of oil which we notified Original Cottages about and they sent a handyman who said he's been out before due to the same issue. It needs fixing as it's not pleasant. The window is painted shut in the room apart from the small top one which can open a couple of inches. We left that open and the door and the windows in the adjacent rooms but it still smelt of oil. Upstairs theres a small single and a double room which were pretty comfortable. The sitting/dining room is cozy. Comfortable sofas. The internet is ok - not great signal. Could do with some boosters as the walls are so thick.

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• Margaret - Verified booking

  1.Excellent location.

  2. Cleanliness poor(under sofa , skirting, windows in kitchen, oven door) 3.Sauna good however no infra red.This feature was why we chose this property, we spent time from our holiday sourcing batteries for the remote( £7.40) which still didn't rectify the problem. 4.No plug in bedroom basin, hot water tap in downstairs shower room not working, toilet roll holder broken. 5.Top floor bedroom freezing, took a long time to heat , very uncomfortable. 6.One would expect for the price, supplies like toilet roll for 7 guests would be plentiful, very disappointed. 7. Towels not great, hole in one and one stained quality All of these issues could have been easily remedied , it is an accumulation of little things that affect your overall experience . We would suggest a few changes that would enhance the experience.. Sensor light to steps leading to front door the light only covers the door area, a little unsafe with pets and children. A more generous welcome basket, tea and coffee is a little poor at this price point ( underwhelmed). Checklist conducted prior to arrival, advise guests of any issues, eg Sauna no infra red. This property could be great but shouldn't rely solely upon its location and expect guests to overlook its unnecessary flaws.

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