North Lodge, Appleby-In-Westmorland

Dirty unclean, human grease, flotsam HotTub on arrival problem resolved by owner very quickly, but not a nice experience and it put us off using the hottub for the majority of the holiday External room where the hottub is located had a disgusting shower with a very rusty metal pole that the shower head was attached to and stains in the shower tray with signs telling you to shower before using the hottub. Also the room is like sitting in a cold, sterile, faceless box, with nice brown splatters on the ceiling! Both toilet seats do not stay where they are meant to, they are not the right size or type for the toilets and their fixings are not adequate and where not securely tightened The property requires some general internal maintenance, there are some areas of damage to walls in a couple of rooms which need filling and painting, also the internal walls have vertical cracks in many of the corners All of the doors where showing signs of having dried out since they were made resulting in cracking, and the dining area door to the hall has a notable loose upper joint which needs securing it looked like someone had used sellotape to fix it in place Two of the plate glass windows have large cracks The metal framed window in the dining area could be opened from the outside due to the very old fixings not fitting properly due to their age and likely listed status therefore a secondary lock is required. There was no welcome pack I don't agree with the feedback I received via Sykes that this is due to avoiding any potential risk of allergic reaction, it was just plain stingy, also the house had been stripped clean of any basics e.g. no foil, no cooking oil, not even a single dishwasher tab. Maybe we have been spoilt by other Sykes cottage owners but a few sachets of coffee and a couple of tea bags plus a small carton of milk would have been useful. The Cottage information booklet is useless, it seemed to focus on their dislike of the Castle management team, it includes emails from the police about the Estate Managers behaviour and portrays the Castle in a very negative light even including negative webbased reviews of the castle and advising to visit an alternative one. We didn't want a pile of takeaway leaflets many out of date, we actually wanted local information, places to visit, country walks yes, we all can use Google but a bit of local knowledge goes a long way. On a positive note, the property has great WiFi

Though the property is old the overall maintenance is poor with doors failing to close, the outside patio areas are a death trap when wet and desperately need cleaning to prevent an accident. The floor was left wet with standing water and wet mop by the back door, though it smelt clean the floor was filthy soon blackened the kids socks. The doors on the hot tub outbuilding do not close and the whole building requires a thorough cleaning and tidy up with maintenance tasks taken care of. The downstairs toilet is loose and could topple over and the upstairs bathroom requires the grout cleaning. The building is full of cobwebs and flies with a very little amount of attention to detail. The microwave is disgusting and needs to be replaced. Overall I would not stay there again, not the standard I expect from a Skyes cottage.

Well, what can I say, North Lodge is amazing! ! Apart from being slightly apprehensive regarding the comments about a man banging on doors and windows, which I am happy to report we didnt encounter during our stay we had a fabulous time! The lodge is very close to the centre of town, walkable but it is uphill on the way back. We visited the Crown and Cushion for a meal, the staff there were lovely and the meal amazingWe can highly recommend the Blade of beef. Fish and chips from the riverside chippy were also delicious, we took them back to the lodge and ate them on the picnic bench outside! North Lodge is ideally placed for days out. We Stumbled upon Penrith Castle where we had a lovely walk around the ruins and park, in hindsight we should have packed a picnic and had our lunch there as the weather was lovely. Windermere and The Beatrix Potter museum is about a 60minute drive away, my little girl loved the museum and my Mum and Pooch enjoyed watching the world go by with a cup of coffee across the road in the Flying Pig where we had a very tasty lunch too. Hadrians wall is approximately 1 hour away, we didnt research it very well so didnt get the best experience but the tea room at Birdoswald was lovely and my daughter managed to get a Roman ruler from the souvenir shop. North lodge has everything you could need for a fabulous stay including the hot tub which my little girl loved! The kitchen is extremely well equipped, all the usuals toaster, microwave etc but not mentioned in the lodges description is the fact that tea towels, dish cloths, washing up liquid and dishwasher tablets are provided too as well as plenty of loo rolls, we brought our own and were pleasantly surprised when we found them already provided. There is also a hairdryer in one of the bedrooms which is a bonus. The information folder and leaflets are all very helpful and include wifi password and emergency contacts. We have a couple of teeny tiny suggestions a couple more mats in the hot tubshower would be helpful as I felt like I was going to slip with my wet feet on the tiled floor and finally, the security light at the back of the lodgewonderful to have but we looked like we were doing a rain dance every night when we were out with the dog as it only stays on for a few seconds!!! We had an amazing stay and will definitely be coming back, my little girl wants to stay for the full week next time!!! Thank you for making our break amazing & comfortable and we will see you soon.

I will definitely recommend this holiday let. The lodge was stunning and warm and the location was perfect. Just a stones through to the local pub and close to a shop. Just a warning, however, the stone path out the front door was extremely slippery in the morning. Perhaps they could do with a power wash to lift the grime.

Wonderful stay and property in a great location. The hot tub was a bonus. The property would benefit from a few additional amenities I.e washing machine, some cleaning products. Due to the location and time of year , we found the outside area a little slippy and it would benefit from being cleaned down to prevent accidents. A few little maintainable issues, flashing light in bathroom, hoover blocked and no batteries in the remote but nothing to alter our enjoyment. I would definitely recommend the property for a relaxing break away.

An amazing holiday home it's like staying in your own little castle my children absolutely loved it. Nice and clean and everything you need to make your stay enjoyable Would defo recommend and will be booking again Only downside was the hot tub could of been cleaner

We arrived when it was already dark so we parked directly outside the house as the carpark was pitch black with no lights, the owner of the castle asked us to move the car which I fully understood we was on the grass, Been a lady on my own with a small baby I said I will once I've unpacked the car, whilst the house was well equipped there was hairs on two of the beds. And it was infested with black lady birds which my children was petrified of, they were in every room but a lot more in the living room. And we also had to fill the hot tubs as it was only a quarter way full so couldn't use it the first night as it was then cold. I would also like to say I read the guest book and the page about the manager coming to the house was there must have been ripped out. There was cobwebs every where and hairs in the bath and sink. Skirting boards wasn't spotless either, I put my suitcase on the top of wardrobe and when I took it down the yesterday morning to pack it it was filthy. Also found a vape under the bed and I don't smoke just glad my children didn't find it ! We did spill something and had to wipe it up with a towel then found the mop near the boiler, wanted to wash them before we left but strangely enough for such a big house no washing machine. It was beautiful place in a nice area but if I'm paying a premium to stay somewhere I expect it to be spotless beds should be moved and cleaned under regularly I have taken pictures if I can add them I will

A beautiful building located in a historical area and village, with wonderful walks located right on the doorstop. The accommodation was well maintained, clean, with clear instructions provided for all of the appliances. A wonderful relaxing break.

Overall, the property is beautiful and ideally located. We've only given it 3 stars because of 2 key issues 1 There is a warning message in the welcome book about the potential for a disgruntled neighbour estate manager to pound on the doors and windows late at night, and if he does to report him to the police again. This was extremely unsettling for us and meant that we would not let our daughter sleep downstairs as she had hoped to. While no incidents occurred, if it warrants being in the welcome pack then this should be included in the property description on your site 2 On arrival, the hot tub was at 22 degrees and not in heating mode. We were able to set it to heating as we have one of our own, but it meant that we could not use it until late on Friday night. When we did use it, the filter came loose when the jets were activated. Although we refitted it, it was clearly not secure as the next evening when we went to use the hot tub again, the water was cloudy with an orange 'scum' around the sides. We did contact the caretaker on Sunday morning, and he came around very promptly to add chemicals to the water, but even on Sunday evening, the water was still not very clear, and we felt itchy while using it. We paid a significant premium to rent a property with a hot tub, but we don't feel that we got the use of it as we should have done, because it wasn't working properly.

North lodge was beautiful. Very comfy. We only used hot tub once so felt bad burning all the electricity. Perhaps a note saying how to turn off if not using. Also the WiFi password was incorrect on welcome book. The correct one is on back of router. We will be returning.

Lovely place and lovely lodge. Living room on 2nd floor is a bit of a pain. Lovely hot tub awaiting us lovely gardens and lovely views. There were quite a few cobwebs in the property and spiders it may have just been the time of year it was very warm. Overall an excellent place to stay at and I wouldn't hesitate staying there again.