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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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Anna - Verified booking
This was a lovely place to stay for a long weekend with my dog.
The property was very clean, comfortable, warm and had everything you could need for a short stay. I loved how quiet the area is, there are only a few properties close by and it is set back from the road. I really enjoyed watching the wildlife in the garden and of course my morning visit from the chickens! Just some considerations for any future visitors: There is no mobile phone reception at all in this location and this wasnât a big deal once I as settled as there is wifi, but I arrived in the dark (not planned) and couldnât see where the property was as there is no artificial lighting in the area at all. I used the postcode for the satnav, which to be fair took me pretty much to the right locationâ¦..so to help, if you enter the track through the gap in the wall, the property is up to the right which you can access either end of a track that runs parallel on a slope on the right of the one through the gap in the wall (hope that makes sense!). As I had no phone reception I was unable to call for directions or use âwhat three wordsâ. However, John saw I was a damsel in distress and came to my rescue (shows how close I was!), which I am grateful for; and he set the property up for me when I arrived. In daylight everything was very obvious! I say all of this with absolutely no criticism to this lovely accommodation, more to help anyone else who arrives in the dark. Even with my confusion on arrival, I would definitely stay here again and recommend it to anyone who is visiting the area. Me and my dog enjoyed some really lovely walks in the local area and relaxing evenings. Thank you for being lovely hosts.
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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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Grace - Verified booking
Lovely holiday for a week , great base to explore surrounding areas.
Parking was a little difficult as it involved 3 point turns up a grass hill in order to turn round and to get in to the allocated spot which on rainy days didnât feel the best as your car has go to do this. We found the blinds in the cottage frustrating as they werenât working properly which meant we had a few days where one of the main lookout blinds was completely down ruining the view during the day. We did find the towels didnât dry very well in the cottage as the radiator in the bathroom wasnât big enough for all the towels and as there is no bathroom window, we did find things were smelling damp in there which wasnât the best but we couldnât dry things outside as it was a particularly wet week. Vacuum cleaner also seemed impossible to use with no suction when we tried to clean up at the end of our stay. Other than that the property was clean , comfortable and had everything we needed. We missed not having a washing machine and dishwasher but in such a small property you canât expect this and I feel that the price reflected the fact that the cottage didnât include those things which made for a cheap week away. Overall a lovely stay and would stay here again if we were to revisit the area but would bare the above factors in mind :)
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