Squirrel Lodge, Keswick

I was disappointed with our stay at Squirrel Lodge in December 2023.  I appreciate that VRBO/Sykes are only going to try and show the good stuff about their property on their books in their web images, and they really have done that in this instance.  So, the good bits; the lounge is OK, with plenty of chairs for the 7 of us that were staying, but I'd worry if all six rooms were fully occupied.  Kitchen is OK, but again, very small if the house is fully occupied.  The dining room would seat everyone around the large table, but that's where the good stuff dries up.  I can't directly review the bedrooms on the first and second floor, but we were on the third floor, some 45 stairs up, which was tedious to say the least.  But if the bedroom had been half decent I guess the exertion of getting up the stairs would have been worth it.  It wasn't, it as terrible.  As was the other bedroom in the attic.  It was like a cross between student accommodation and a hostel.  It was the kind of room you have bad dreams about ending up in if your life had gone wrong.  I like to stay somewhere that is as nice or better than my house.  This was not. The bed was small and terribly uncomfortable.  The cheap foam duvet and pillows were as bad as the mattress.  Very little storage.  Furniture that wouldn't look out of place in a charity shop. Then woodchip walls have been patched up to within an inch of their life over the years. The décor was shockingly old and, the workmanship (if you can call it that) was woeful.  It has obviously been a hotel at some point in is past, which is fine, but I would have expected it to have been fully refurbished when it moved from a hotel to a rental property.  The rooms still had numbers on their 1970's doors and there were Health & Safety fire signs all over the place. I've added just a few photos just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about, but it is just a small flavour. The whole place really needs condemning and starting again. How Sykes can rate this property as 5 Ticks giving it 'Exceptional standard with a degree of luxury' I have absolutely no clue.  I have no axes to grind with anyone either at Sykes or VRBO, or anyone else connected to this property.  I've stayed at some wonderful properties in The Lakes, but I feel that everyone should know exactly what they are getting with this property.  I very much think that there is a place for a cheap six bedroom holiday let in Keswick, and this may be perfect for you, if it is, then fill your boots.  But it's a no from me.