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"Fantastic location and characterful house providing great comfort ."
Small criticisms are: towels snd some bedding on last legs. No cheese grater or potato masher . Only 1 house key...not enough.
Otherwise we loved it and will probably book it again for next year
thank you.
Reviewed by Simon4.1★Nov 2024
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"We had a great time in Dene House as it was so comfortable and warm."
I had read some recent reviews which left me with some concern, however, we were more than happy with our stay.
The only difficulty I experienced was when I was preparing a 3.2 kg roast and trimmings on the Saturday evening as there was no roasting tray or large enough platter to serve it on but I managed.
Finally, I would like to rebook for next but cannot find it on Sykes list!
Reviewed by Malcolm4.7★Nov 2024
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"Excellent. Only reported problem - right hand double bedroom on 1st Floor, plug in wash basin does not retain water."
Reviewed by John Neville4.7★Oct 2024
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"I planned a family vacation and there are not many large houses available in the Windermere area that are close enough to the center for easy access."
There were 10 of us and Dene House with 7 bedrooms fit our requirements.
In general the house was good. The beds were comfortable and most bedrooms had an en-suite. There was lots of parking and bins for waste and recycle. Having a washer/dryer was critical due to the wet hiking days. It was a short walk to Bowness center though the walk back is uphill. The dining room was huge with plenty of room for all. The lounge in comparison was small and not large enough for all everyone. We enjoyed several local restaurants and supermarkets were reasonably close.
Shortcomings though are many:
- No place to hang coats or store shoes in foyer
- Not enough plates/bowls/beer glasses for 10 much less the 14 the house claimed to fit
- No dishwasher tablets supplied. I’ve never stayed anywhere before where they weren’t supplied.
- Several of the showers were so small that you couldn’t bend over
- No spare towels and towels supplied were threadbare
- When we asked for an additional duvet we were told that we needed to ask for that in advance. They did sent someone over to tell us not to move any furniture and repeatedly confirmed that this wasn’t his job. We only wanted an additional duvet because 2 siblings had to share a bed but didn’t want to share a duvet. A simple, sorry but we can’t accommodate this would have been a better response.
Overall we had a great trip to the Lake District but Dene House could have been better equipped.
Reviewed by Susan4.4★Oct 2024
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"1. Arrived 11th August 2024 at Dene House Bowness for 11 nights."
On entering the property we realised there wasn't a cloakroom for coats and shoes which meant coats and shoes when wet were left, hanging about in the hallway.
2. No downstairs toilet which meant a trip upstairs, not very friendly for elderly guests.
3. Lounge . Not enough seating for 13 people to sit in comfort.
4. Cinema room. Down steep set of stairs from the kitchen to the cellar which had a strong smell of damp and the toilet was out of order.
5. THE KITCHEN. totally ill equipped to cater for 13 people. 1 domestic oven, mismatch of cooking utensils and cooking equipment. Work surfaces and prep areas were practically non existent. all cutlery was in the dining room which meant a trip to get even a teaspoon had to be made to make a cup of tea. 13 dinner plates, side plates and bowls, don't know what you would do if you accidently broke one. One kettle and a four slice toaster.
6. The Dining room off the kitchen accommodated all guests which is were
we gathered of an evening. In here was the cutlery and a very limited amount of drinking glasses a fight for a beer glass if you wanted one.
7. Bedrooms. 1 on ground floor with en suite which was tired and had a door which didn't close properly.
8. Tired furniture in the rest of the bedrooms though beds were large and
comfortable in some rooms. en suite in our room was very tired with a plastic shower door and taps on the basin which needed replacing.
Door on wardrobe didn't close easily and handle on the bedside table kept coming off.
9. Fortunately the only outside area to accommodate us all was at the front of the house, had it been outside of the dining room conservatory which was more of a yard than a garden, instead of bunny rabbits running around we had RATS. Poison boxes were in place but on inspection by my husband there was no sign of poison in any of them and hadn't been
for some time.
10.On arrival we had 1 bath towel ( one of which was ripped) in our en suite and 1 hand towel and the other rooms had the same. We had to use the same towels for the rest of our stay as no one came to change them.
11. The only contact we had with the owners was on the first day and that was to make sure we followed the rules regarding recycling of waste etc.
which in itself was hard to keep tract of when there are so many people of different age groups in your party. We did our best but with 5 bins. a bag and 2 boxes it became a chore seeing as there was only one waste bin provided in the kitchen.
12.If your reading this I bet your thinking how can this person be bothered writing this report, ill tell you why, I would hate for anybody spending well earned money to rent this property until some of the issues mentioned have been addressed.
If money is no object and your expectations aren't like ours then this property is for you.
I also recommend that if you haven't been to Bowness on Windemere in the school holidays Id think twice as it was heaving down by the boat terminal especially at the weekend. Parking was a nightmare and the roads choker block.
Stayed in some wonderful properties over the years with our family mainly up in Scotland and non of them have disappointed us, in fact we have been amazed at the care and quality we have experienced.
I was not impressed and certainly didn't get value for money. I am also disappointed in Sykes Cottages.
Alan Shand
Reviewed by Alan1.9★Aug 2024
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"Not really as shown, very tired property."
Reviewed by Avril2.5★Aug 2024
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"Great place for a family holiday and excellent location"
Reviewed by Chris3.8★Jul 2024
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"Sykes are awful - communication appalling - no phone or email!"
!!!
With regard to this property - very little information provided in the usual file . Kitchen rather small to cater for 13, and once the dishwasher was filled there was no more glassware crockery etc until the cycle completed. So to increase these would be good
Reviewed by Ed3.4★Jul 2024
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"Dene House is superb - ten of us had a thoroughly memorable week in a very well appointed property in a convenient location for walking in the area."
We also enjoyed eating out in Bowness and the village pubs nearby. Outstanding value for money, thank you.
Reviewed by Iwan5.0★Jun 2024
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"An extended family with members aged 2 to 91 we had a wonderful week at Dene House."
Lots of bathrooms was a real asset! We also enjoyed being a short walk from Bowness and the Lake. David was quick to respond to a minor issue and on hand throughout the week. Hopefully we’ll return in the future.
Reviewed by Catherine4.1★May 2024
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"We were a party of 8 (4 couples) (originally 10 but 2 couldn’t make it for health reasons)
Lovely house which suited our needs perfectly."
Very comfortable beds & seating in the lounge. Plenty of private parking & outdoor seating.
Great location. Could just do with somewhere to hang coats in the entrance hall - plenty is space but no hooks, however, that wouldn’t stop us returning.
Reviewed by Carol5.0★Apr 2024
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"The house was ideal for our family break."
Eight adults and five children under six. Lots of space and well equipped. It’s ideally placed for Bowness.
However on arrival the kitchen and entrance hall floors did not appear to have been cleaned. We did find a vacuum cleaner and we were able to rectify this before the rest of the party arrived. This didn’t detract from a very enjoyable weekend.
Reviewed by Julie4.4★Feb 2024
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"Dene house ticked all the boxes for us."
It’s often hard to find a house suitable for a group of 12 with all double rooms. The house is lovely, perfect location with plenty of parking too. Can’t wait to come back. Thank you.
Reviewed by Nicky5.0★Feb 2024
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"We had such a lovely family get together in this beautiful house."
It had everything we needed, plenty of seating to accommodate us all. When you enter, there is a large bedroom to your left with the lounge to your right, kitchen and dinning room on this floor. From the kitchen there are steps down to the cinema room (which the kids loved). From the hall you go up the stairs to another 3 bedrooms, 2 large with ensuite and 1 single with sink and a separate bathroom on this floor. You climb up another set of stairs to 3 double bedrooms, 2 ensuite and a separate bathroom. The house is situated a few minutes walk away from pubs, shops, restaurants and the lake. Fantastic area, fantastic house, would def recommend it. A very small suggestion perhaps to the housekeepers.....it was a very cold spell when we arrived, the house was freezing, heating was set to come on at 4pm but that was the time we were allowed to check in, it took a little while to heat and might be useful during cold spells to set it to come an hour before the new arrivals. The three little steps up to the house was covered with ice, we had to try and break that up so nobody would slide on them, would be useful for (maybe the housekeepers) to spread some salt down. A shoe rack in the corridor and some pegs to hang coats (2 minor things to keep the house looking clean and tidy) would be very useful. It is a wonderful house. Thank you so much.
Reviewed by Shauna5.0★Jan 2024
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"Visited as a family for my mums 60th, the house was the perfect size for us all."
Everything we needed we could find, kitchen was fully equipped, there was plenty of space in the fridge.
Beds all very comfy.
Tea and coffee was a lovely touch and toiletries in each bathroom. The Christmas tree and Christmas lights were also a nice touch.
We would definitely look at returning.
Thank you to Hai, very kind of you to call and check on us during our stay.
Reviewed by Stephen5.0★Dec 2023
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"The house was beautifully presented, the location excellent."
The facilities were superb - I'm not sure if anybody will ever use all the utensils and equipment in the kitchen.....not when they're on holiday!
There were no large glasses but that is literally the only thing that wasn't perfect.
Reviewed by Peter4.7★Sep 2023
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"The property suited our needs extremely well."
It was comfortable and clean. It was convenient for the shops, restaurants & lake. It lacked some larger glasses for drinking squash or beer, but otherwise we managed well with what was provided. The outside space though small was perfectly adequate for all 9 of us to sit outside and we were lucky enough with the weather to make good use of the area. We all enjoyed our stay there. Thank you.
Reviewed by Gillian4.7★Jul 2023
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"The pricing was a bit of a dampener."
I realised later we could have spent almost 30% less on similar quality places in the same week.
Reviewed by Subbu5.0★May 2023
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