Dolphin Stone Lodge

7 Customer Reviews

• "Good location, clean, WiFi awful (we used Seafield touring site wifi)."

  If you expect people to leave it as they found it you need to provide the basics...dustpan and brush, mop n bucket, hoover.We expected there to be hairdryers as a basic ! Additional items such as salt n pepper, butter dish, toast rack, tongs, serving spoons, rack for grill pan, pan scrub, some dishwasher tablets & bin bags. Some instructions on how to use heating in bathrooms & recycling arrangements would be useful. Parking listed as 4 spaces is not the case...clarity on this would be useful. Heating in entrance hall didn't work.

  Reviewed by Stephen3.4★Sep 2023

• "The name was rather misleading as on arrival it was clear that the property was neither stone or a lodge."

  It was the upstairs of a very tired looking building , the ground floor being a holiday accommodation letting office. The entrance to the property was via a very narrow drive that ran along the side of the property . At the rear of the property was the very unkept car parking area which looked more like a rather scruffy back yard. The car parking yard was shared with a busy laundry and offered room for one car. Extra space was available on request at a nearby office car park. Work cars and staff used the laundry and yard during each of the 5 days we were staying at the property. Papers, sweet wrappers and general untidiness as well as laundry crates and a scruffy back yard and door area were our first impressions of the property. Behind the laundry was a locked gate which overlooked a large public car park and a bottle recycling area , beyond that the view of caravans and the sea which could be viewed from inside the property. While the property was in a good central location it was by no means a quiet retreat . Sadly not a very welcoming arrival. The interior by contrast was clean, modern and bright. The bedrooms and bathrooms were very comfortable and the showers in particular were really nice, the bedding and towels were fresh and of a high standard. Ample hot water was provided at all times. The conservatory offered a large dining table for 8 persons and a slim conservatory style seating area for 5 people although the area , we would suggest, was very cosy for 8 people. It was a nice area to eat although there were no blinds and so the room got really hot and unpleasant in the heat of the day. Windows and a fan were not always adequate to ventilate the room, an exterior door was locked for health and safety reasons. There was no T.V. in the area and as the only shared community space this did not offer groups or families a room to watch T.V. or really relax together other than a bedroom. There was no information folder about the property or the area. While there were many nice features and positives about the property we were overall disappointed .

  Reviewed by Gillian3.4★Sep 2023

• "The bedrooms were lovely with comfortable beds and well appointed bathroom facilities given the relatively small space for the ensuite."

  There was a full family bathroom separate for the one room without en suite facilities. The communal area however left something to be desired if, like us, you want to sit around in the evening and chat. The lounge/dining area is off the kitchen in a conservatory which overlooks a car park and caravan site as all the accommodation is on the first floor above a high street shop with access up a steep stair case accessed from the rear parking area. The dining table takes up one side of the conservatory and there is a row of chairs with cushions along the other wall. None of the seating is particularly comfortable - plastic chairs around the table and plastic rattan patio type seating along the wall with cushions. The main issue for us however was the complete lack of internet access. The listing on Sykes Cottages, and also Northumbria Cottages says that there is internet access and smart TVs. Internet access was an essential for us due to personal circumstances. On arrival there was no access and no router to be found and therefore the listing regarding each room having a 'smart tv' was incorrect as they do not work without internet access. The Northumbria Cottages office is just down the road and we were able to ask them to look into it. They did and the following day an EE mini hub was supplied - this however did not connect to the internet no matter where it was placed in the property (and all of us are computer savvy enough to know what we are doing so it was not due to user error but rather that the mini hub could not pick up a signal). There is parking for one car at the rear of the property - any other cars can be parked at the back of the Northumbria Cottages office about 100 metres away. We could not fault the cleanliness of the property or the comfort of the bedrooms. It is ideally located for exploring the immediate area and we would recommend the boat trip around the islands with Serenity Boats.

  Reviewed by Keith2.8★Aug 2023

• "The flat was lovely."

  Only issue was it was so hot at night with no fans or air conditioning. Even with the windows cracked there was no breeze most nights & made it hard to sleep, a ceiling fan would have been a game changer. The locks on the bedrooms were weird to us. The property was extremely clean and it was very convenient to the shops & restaurants. We enjoyed our stay.

  Reviewed by Michelle4.7★Aug 2023

• "We had a great stay but feel that the listing for the property is a little misleading with regard to parking - my, and I think others, understanding of a property listed with private off road parking for up to 4 cars would be at or very near the property, the car park at the property is very small and accessed by a very narrow lane - we were not given any instruction on where to park, the only directions being to the property itself so we assumed this was where the parking was only to be told this was not the case and directed to another car park a few hundred metres away."

  This in itself was not a problem but there wasn’t really any space here either and despite how friendly and accommodating the staff at the Northumbrian Country Cottages offices were, we still needed to move cars around to allow the vans in and out a few times during our stay, including staff having to come to the property quite early one morning to ask us to move a car. The property is great, fabulous location and beautifully decorated and equipped.

  Reviewed by Vicky3.8★Jul 2023

• "Read the T&C very carefully: You can't check in until 5pm and have to check out by 9."

  30, after you've stripped your bed and bagged up all laundry! Contrary to advert there is only parking 100m away for only 2 cars (not 4) and spaces were often used by NCCC van and another van. No Wi-Fi, spent half an hour trying to sort this. An EE mini WiFi device was provided but this wasn't able to connect to the internet, which was a real nuisance as one of our party had document and emails they needed to send relating to their work. No file/folder of property instructions provided. Chest of drawers Partan Stiel still had Ikea pieces etc in the drawers relating to their construction. Bizarrely the door to the stairs didn't have a door closer on it whilst all the bedroom doors had vicious closers installed and front door type locks, didn't make for a friendly atmosphere. Oddly no tea towel provided in the kitchen which made the 'run and empty your dishwasher before leaving' hard to comply with, what were we meant to dry breakfast things with? On a personal note we found the mattress too soft, but accept that is personal preference. The linen provided was a high standard and the refurbishment of the property was good. The kitchen was well stocked and the welcome pack a nice touch.

  Reviewed by Devala3.8★May 2023

• "We recently stayed at Dolphin Stone Lodge in Seahouses."

  Our original booking was cancelled due to a burst water pipe and we ended up paying significantly more to stay at this property so that we could catch up with friends and celebrate Hogmanay together. Upon arrival the property was freezing as no heating was on, there was plinths in the kitchen hanging off and a broken picture frame in one of the rooms, no WiFi as suggested and in the en-suites their was some grit/sawdust in the sinks which suggested alongside sandpaper in the hallway and pencil marks on the walls that the property was undergoing some sort of renovations. In one of the master bedroom en-suites it had a funny smell and we realised that the shower had what on first glance looked like grit but I suggested that we would clean it in the morning before use. I was a little unhappy that we arrived and it seemed like the cleaning hadn’t been done fully. However the next day when I went to clean the shower tray I was disgusted to find that it was in fact BIRD FAECES which was falling through the extractor fan. Bird faeces can be detrimental to people’s health. Also, our pregnant friend went for a lie down during the afternoon and we heard a loud bang we went to check on her and there was a cupboard door lying on the floor that had missed her by inches, this cupboard door was from in front of the fuse boards which were positioned above head height! We did not stay in the property the full time that we had booked for. I contacted Sykes directly via their online complaints form to complain and they phoned that day, I spoke over all of the issues highlighted above and they said they’d investigate by contacting the local office and the owners. The home is in an unsanitary condition and should be avoided until necessary steps are taken to resolve issues.

  Thank you for your feedback. We are very sorry that the property was not up to standard for your stay. The owner has been away but does employ people to manage her property and so is sorry that it was not fully clean and maintained in parts. The issues you have raised have all been addressed and we have since spoken to you and offered redress by way of an apology for the upset caused. We hope you still enjoyed this beautiful area during your stay and thank you again for bringing these issues to our attention. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Alistair2.2★Dec 2022

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