Beech Nook, Thornthwaite

Arrived at property to find it hadn't been cleaned. Once we got through to Lakelovers the issue was dealt with promptly, sending 3 cleaners & a goodwill gesture to cover cost of meal for 7 of us, which was very welcome, as we couldn't cook or unpack etc. Luckily the Royal Oak in Braithwaite managed to take our last minute booking but didn't have a table free until 7.30 our youngest grandchild's bedtime but at least we did have lovely meals. Despite sending various complaint forms when we returned home as couldn't get through to a person at Lakelovers we felt the issue of recompense wasn't addressed further regarding to the disruption caused by the property not being cleaned which after a 6 hour journey from Bristol affected us that evening & the following morning. Other issues were with the bins & recycling an issue mentioned in reviews in 2021 & 2023. Note on kitchen notice board stated all bins to be put out on Tuesday. Only one black bin was emptied. We tried to find out online when recycling should be collected as bin full, it stated Thursday but wasn't collected. We took home 2 big bags of recycling that couldn't fit in bin. Previous occupants obviously had problems too as the recycling & black bin were both 34 full on our arrival. I did get a response from Lakelovers to one of my complaint forms stating that it was our responsibility to find out dates for recycling & bins, which I dispute, as in 40 odd years of renting holiday cottages, details were always provided in the properties. I also reported that the vacuum cleaner wasn't working very well & the washing machine needed to be looked at as not cleaning clothes properly. Also as mentioned in previous reviews, some bedrooms would benefit blackout blinds or curtains. Lakelovers said they would take these issues up with the owner. Finally, the actual property itself was fine and it's location was a great base for walk, visits to Keswick, local pub in Braithwaite the Royal Oak is great and only a walk of about a mile from Beech Nook. Very difficult to get a person to actually speak to at Lakelovers

Lovely house in a great location. Plenty of space for our family of 5 with a bedroom each and big living room. Well equipped kitchen and having 3 bathrooms was great. Village cafegallery only 5 minute walk was an unexpected bonus and was a treat. Keswick only 510 minutes away by car. We would definitely stay again.

It had plenty of space in living room for 3 young children. Had to move tv and coffee table back. Found beds comfortable but curtains in the 2 single bed room needs to be darker, as child found it to light to sleep. Ironing board needs changing as it is old and dangerous. Couldn't let 3 under 5 ,s out in garden without an adult as no security without gates. It was well equipped in the kitchen. Off road parking which is needed. Provision of a safety gate for stairs, for small children. Thanks for our stay.

Very comfortable. Kitchen very spacious helping with food preparation. Excellent quality of kitchen utilities and crockery. Beds comfortable with more than sufficient bedding linen. Would recommend to friends and consider staying again. Also good value Thank you Peter

In general we were very happy with the cottage accommodation, which was spacious, clean, and generally well equipped and well maintained. We had a couple of issues with comfort, however. The sofas in the living room were rather saggy for us with poor lower back support. Also, although the larger beds were comfortable, the left bed in the twin room sagged quite badly on one side, so we think the mattress probably needs replacing.

This place is a real beauty, its a lovely family home and is very big, the kitchen has everything you can think off, no need to take anything with you, There are just a few points which need considering, the windows on the outside were full of cobwebs and need a good clean, the upstairs ensuite leaks into the kitchen ceiling, and the lights upstairs have a few cobwebs just need dusting. We spent a week and was sad leaving its like going from a home to another comfort house.

The property was comfortable and homey! The gardens were beautiful and relaxing! The view of the mountains was just beautiful!

Lovely stay

The only problem was the shower up stairs, if u used it, water would come though ... The only problem was the shower up stairs, if u used it, water would come though the kitchen ceiling, so that bathroom was out of bounds all holiday, apart from that it was perfect

Beech Nook was a mixed holiday. The property is beautiful, and well equipped. We noticed that some previous holiday guests had reported that water was leaking into the kitchen from the upstairs shower. The same happened to us. I did report it on the phone number supplied but nobody came to repair it. When we arrived at Beech Nook we noticed that outside there were five full rubbish bins, and some rubbish bags. On the board in the kitchen it said rubbish would be collected on Tuesday, it never was. I reported this to the phone number supplied, but nothing happened. There were no rubbish bags supplied so we went out and bought some and as they were filled we put them in the garage. There was a washing machine and dishwasher but no washing powder or dishwasher tablets supplied. This is unusual in rented cottages. We also noted that there were no instruction books for any of the appliances. Washing machines and dishwashers are fairly easy to work out, bud the microwave was a bit of a challenge. Half way through the week one of the carbon monoxide alarms burst into life. After following the emergency procedures it appeared that it was signalling the battery was nearly flat. I reported this on the supplied phone number and was told maintenance would come to the cottage and sort the matter out. They never showed up. As I said at the beginning of this review, Beech Nook is a lovely holiday cottage but the customer service is diabolical. Most of the problems were simple and cheap to sort out, but there appeared to be a complete disinterest. Quick to take the rental money, but indifferent to responding to problems.

The location was excellent, in close proximity to footpaths into Whinlatter Forest and to Braithwaite and only 10mins on a bus to Keswick. The house was nice, but could do with some TLC,cushions on sofas and dining chairs had seen better days. We had a few issues with the dishwasher not working for the first weekend until someone could come round to fix it and there was a leak from the upstairs shower through the kitchen ceiling which meant that the upstairs shower was out of action for the 2nd half of the week. The customer service was excellent, with almost immediate responses and solutions, although the shower reseal didn't solve the leak into the kitchen. We'd definitely stay in Thornthwaite again.

Lovely place in a great location

Great place for a family get together. Small side tables would be useful for sitting with drinks. Also soft lighting in lounge. Night light on landind did not work. This did not spoil our holiday, just some points that would have made the stay better.

Probably due to the time of year, we feel that it would beneficial to have the driveway pressure washed as it was very slippy when it had rained. There were no instructions on how to use the jet bath in the on suite bathroom. Staying 7 days, we would have expected, to have a least 7 dishwasher tablets. Only 3 were supplied. Apart that a very enjoyable stay.

We enjoyed a really lovely holiday. Beech Nook is a real home from home and a great place in which to spend some quality time if the weather is rubbish. Sykes were really helpful in getting our booking secured for us at a point where we thought we weren't going to get a break this year. So glad we booked and chose this lovely property for a much needed break away from the stresses of life these days.

I phoned the two numbers before the holiday for the owner or caretaker which by the way were both the same, it went through to lakelovers or sykes cottages, my enquiry was to check if there was a high chair and cot at the property, the lady who answered eventually very poor wait time to be answered was quite short in her attitude, saying if it's not listed in the details of what's available it definitely won't be there, she just wanted to get me off the phone, when we got to the house, there was a high chair and travel cot! !! I'm quite annoyed!

We placed the rubbish bins after checking with what neighbours had put out. The first of three bins was emptied by the collectors we watched as the following collectors disregarded our other two while taking the neighbours. Don't know why they just left them. So we put them back in place still full. Not our fault.