Apple Tree Cottage, Northallerton

The cottage was very clean neail the owner was very kind and friendly wr will be back next year hopefully nice location close to every where sally and roger aldworth

After reading the glowing reviews this seemed like a good spot for us, especially as my husband has mobility issues. Pros first. The cottage is large, spacious and very light. Very quiet and peaceful, with a very sunny garden. Beds are comfortable. Upstairs bedroom is beautiful. Cons We were greeted by a vacuum which was full of rubbish and various grubby cleaning mops. We had to empty the vacuum before we could clean up after our stay. The plush sofas were perhaps that once, but have had their day and are now ripped, marked and the seats are very uncomfortable and almost on the floor. We found a a teaspoon, pencil and and dirt down the side of one of the cushions. We didn’t investigate any further. Obviously it had been a while since anyone had cleaned them out. I had to clean the pictures on the wall myself as I couldn’t bear to look at the dust and debris. Not seen a duster for quite a while. The windows inside and out were very, very dirty and had not been cleaned for quite a while. The whole place was very cobwebby … not the sort that appear overnight. The top of the ground floor bedroom wardrobe was dirty, as was the floor of the wardrobe. The wet room which did look reasonably clean, flooded the whole room which made the floor dangerously slippery, especially as the floor is not a proper wet room floor, but ordinary tiles. Very unsafe. I reported the flooding shower to the owner and was told that the drain was probably bunged up with dog hair as the previous occupants washed their big hairy dog in there!! I was amazed that she even admitted to that to me. She said to put some drain stuff down it and it would eat through the hair. We did that but were very reluctant to use that room again. How many other dogs had used it as a personal washroom I wonder? I used the upstairs shower from then, but as my husband is disabled he was unable to climb stairs so he had to make do. The upstairs bedroom is fabulous but all that space and no wardrobe or hanging arrangement space. No coat hangers either upstairs. The curtains are all of the puddle type which is all very fashionable, but they pick up dirt, dust and everything else that’s on the floor. Not good for keeping clean. Check the curtain pole on the door at the bottom of the stairs. It is hanging off! On the last day we decided to eat outside, but the table and chairs weren’t out so we looked in the very dirty shed and the table and chairs was there covered in cobwebs, bird droppings and sticky drinks stains. I had to manhandle it out of the shed and take it down to the garden and give it a good clean down. It was disgusting. Why wasn’t it checked and why wasn’t it already out for us? It is the middle of summer after all. The lawn and surroundings were untidy and overgrown and the shale and stones all around the house were impossible to walk on without coming to grief. We cleaned up after ourselves on leaving and it was a fact that the place was MUCH cleaner than when we found it. Especially the garden furniture, vacuum cleaner, the pictures in the living space and the tv. Please owners, get it cleaned up. You have a lovely cottage which could be outstanding if you looked after it. There is no excuse for holiday lets to be grubby and unkempt and get those sofas changed please! Oh and I almost forgot that some of the crockery really needs replacing as It is old and crazed. Oh and just one more little detail. No egg cups!!