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per nightDeborah - Verified booking
I wrote to Sykes Cottages and the property owner reporting the concerns I had about the property regarding the level of dampness in the cave area.
My complaint to Sykes is below, which was also copied direct to the owner. "Whilst we understand the cottage is part of the castle, the tunnel area is very damp and smells mouldy. There are three air fresheners in place in the tunnel to try to hide the bad smell which is overwhelming. There is a dehumidifier in what should have been the wardrobe space and the whole cupboard smelled mouldy. Therefore you had nowhere to put your clothes. I have respiratory problems having had pneumonia in the past. The dampness would be leading to spores in the air affecting my health. Each day I had to empty the dehumidifier which was full demonstrating how damp the place is. We did speak to the owner and he admitted there was no airflow in the tunnel area. He said he had tried to drill this previously but failed to get all of the way through. This needs to be fixed or people to be warned. The lack of airflow has exacerbated the issue. People should be pre warned that the place is damp. This should be in the property description. This is a health hazard. Particularly if you have any respiratory problems. We ultimately decided to leave after only 3 nights as I could not put my health at more risk. The place needs air flow to make this safe. This trip was for our honeymoon. If the advert had stated that there was a problem with air flow and damp in the old part of the cottage then we would have gone elsewhere". As noted above I would not have booked the cottage had I been aware of the dampness issues as I was hospitalised when I previously had pneumonia. This break was for our honeymoon. So even more disappointing. I have been in discussion with the property owner about reimbursement as we left the property early. He had agreed to make a refund on 11 September and despite having chased this up no refund has been made. I think it is important that other potential guests are aware of the issue up front and in the listing it needs to say that the cave area is damp. Having looked on line to see if anyone else reported any issues I have now found two similar complaints on Trip Advisor made in March 2024 and August 2024 about the level of dampness in the property. This is a health issue and Sykes Cottages have never responded to the complaint I made either, which I also feel is inadequate. I will be chasing the owner for a full refund, but felt that sufficient time has passed that it was important for me to put the review on line. I will also be putting the same review on Trip Advisor so others are alerted to the issue.
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Aman - Verified booking
When we got to Cosy Cave, the first thing that we noticed was that the garden is not enclosed, what looked like a fence dividing the 3rd property in the photos of Cosy Cave were now a set of planters.
The grass area is not really accessible as there are no stairs or ramp to get to it. But thankfully as the property sharing the courtyard/garden (of which we were unaware of before booking) was vacant for our stay we were able to make some use of the courtyard. When entering Cosy Cave it presented well, was clean overall but there were a few things that could do with a clean (kettle was extremely limescaled and bed sheets had a couple of small patches of dried blood on them). Getting into the evening, it was getting rather cold so I searched for a heating controller but could not find anything, I changed the heaters from 0s to 5s but no luck in warming the property up. I emailed stanhope castle and they sent someone round really quickly to give us the heating controller. The issue with the controller was that in Cosy Cave it is very hard for it to get a signal to actually turn the heat on or up. We tried searching online and found that someone else also had heating issues here as the heating controller is kept in the property above Cosy Cave. Again we were lucky no one was booked in upstairs! There is a dehumidifier in Cosy Cave that is next to the TV room. After 1 night this gets full and needs emptying other wise will not be running. Whilst it is off you can really feel a difference in your chest when sitting in the TV room. The damp/moisture is a real problem in that room. We also found that our clothes from our suitcase felt damp as we kept our suitcase in the walk through section to the tv room. What also doesn't help is that the heater in that room does not warm up much at all (even when on 5). If those 2 issues were fixed it would make that room so much more enjoyable because the TV is great and the surround sound was amazing. The bathroom was really nice and clean. The pressure in the shower was great! The hot tub was really nice! We did notice however there were some bits at the bottom of the hot tub, not sure if these fell in from the cover or if it wasnt thoroughly cleaned. The cover is a bit worse for wear but with use that happens. We did clean the cover and the gazeebo as it was covered in spider webs etc. If we had known that the courtyard/garden is shared, not really enclosed and that the grass area is not really accessible then we would not have booked Cosy Cave. With the moisture issue in the TV room it feels unsafe for us to stay the full length of our stay so will be leaving on Thursday.
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Donna - Verified booking
It should be in the description that you do not have live television, that the television relies on the internet and you can only watch internet channels.
This was a problem and the internet dropped out when the weather was bad. We couldn't catch up with the new/current affairs, and would have liked to have known this about this beforehand. The cottage is beautiful, but seems a bit more of style over substance. There isn't anywhere to sit and eat, except on your lap on the oversized, uncomfortable living room chairs, not ideal. A kitchen to cook in, even if it is only breakfast, is great, but you need somewhere to sit and eat it. It would have been nice to have a bedside table of some sort, as someone who needs to put their glasses somewhere, and need to access easily so that I can see, this was an irritant. As was the lack of bedside lights. You either had to put the lamp on , which was near the window and when you turned it off, had to walk in the dark to the bed, or leave the harsh overhead lighting on, and again had to get out of bed to turn it off. The fixtures and fittings where exceptional quality and the property was beautiful, but didn't work well the way it was set out. The cleanliness was exceptional and the welcome package was very thoughtful. We also never used the hot tub, which is one of the reasons we liked this property. It is in an out of the way corner that is not nice, and the shelter that had built up over it, was quite low, making it difficult to get into the hot tub, so we didn't bother. You have to climb steps to get into the hot tub, but the gap between the steps and the shelter roof, was very low, and made it difficult to get in, it also didn't feel luxurious in the corner they had put the hot tub, didn't feel private, which I guess is why they put up the shelter. Overall this property is beautiful and finished to a high standard, but wouldn't recommend it , as there were too many annoying things wrong with it, I am just glad we only stayed for a long weekend, if it had been a week, I would have left and asked for a refund.
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Alicia - Verified booking
We booked cosy cave for a christmas getaway, and what a perfect location for Christmas it was.
The apartment was perfect for 2 people, it was very clean and the extra christmas decorations and nibbles were very thoughtful. The bed was comfortable, the bathtub was a lovely touch, the kitchen had everything but a corkscrew opener (we'd accidentally brought the one bottle of red which had a cork in in it), and the little tv book was so romantic. The whole place was very cosy and comfortable. The village amenities were ample for us at christmas time and the local people were all very friendly and welcoming. We didnt eat out, as it was christmas we got an asda delivery (.and ordered way too much food) this delivery found it's way to cosy cave very easily. There are plenty of walks to go on around the area with some interesting sites, this was wonderful to do after consuming way too much food over the festive period. It would have been nice to have been able to control the heating ourselves. The the radiators seemed to come on only late at night and go off in the morning. We got ever so stuffy through the night but when we went for cold walk during the day we took a while the thaw out once we were back in the apartment due to the radiators not being on. This is only a very small issue as even without the radiators on during the day/evening the cave tended to be comfortable, I just like rooms to be filled with warmth to feel super cosy. I would definitely recommend this accommodation to everyone I know, I think it has features to impress anybody. As soon as we drove away I began thinking about booking it again for a summer holiday. It really is very impressive inside and out.
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Neil - Verified booking
Weâve had a relaxing week.
The kitchen was well-stocked with cutlery, utensils and the essentials. Furnishings and bathroom are lovely- certainly quirky. Outdoor area was nice and we enjoyed breakfast and long days outside in the sun. Saying you had a lawn was a bit of a stretch. A âwelcomeâ basket would have been nice. Other Sykes cottages have left us dog treats, home-baked cakes, butter, biscuits etc. That was missing here. Weâd have liked the hot tub a couple of degrees warmer. The bed could be bigger. Wo-if was unreliable. Tab needs more stable connection to channels. We stayed in probably the most expensive week of the year and it cost £931. Although we had a nice time, the accommodation needs some TLC and attention to be worth this much. Around the £700 mark would be a fairer price. Also lacking was a better thought out indoor eating area. The place where we hung our clothes was covered in spidersâ webs and spiders. Yes itâs a property from the 13th century but a bit of TLC is needed. The two arm chairs could be replace with a lovely comfy two-seater. These were not as comfortable as they looked and actually the premise of a cinema room was stretching it a bit far! In essence- a quirky property. Not 5* and excellent - more 4* and good with improvements needed.
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