Blencathra Barn, Penrith

Despite only 2 of us wishing to stay, we booked here because of what it would be like with emphasis on the safety of our 2 dogs. after one nights stay we asked for a refund to leave and find elsewhere.the photos are misleading, the back garden fence has a gap of at least a foot at the side of the spa and the side fence is no higher than 3 feet, easily jumpable for any decent sized dog.. from arriving at the place we struggled to open the security box for the key. Eventually when finally gaining entry we took our dogs straight to the back garden thinking they would be safe there whilst we unloded our stuff. What a disapointment. we managed to get our gear into the kitchen and then went to see which bedroom we would like. The star attracion is the bedroom ar the top of the house.We began climbing the stairs only to find above the first landing the stairway/room was covered with dead flys. We decided against using this room and decided to chose a room on the first floor with the intention of sorting the fly issue out in the morning. At this point we then had a look at the other rooms, what a nightmare. In the main lounge, at the side of the exit onto the patio is a bare wire sticking out of the plaster. Behind the settee is a plug socket completely open with the cover laid below the hole in a pile of bits of cement. The curtain pole above the patio was half missing with the missing curtain thrown over a sofa in the second lounge.. Because of the time we decided to settle in for the night with the intention of resolving things in the morning. I then started to prepare something to eat, the cleanliness of the place/pots and pans/ cutlery was nothing short of mind blowing. My husband at this point was now finding other issues, snail trails across several carpets, down stairs toilet was disgusting, BBQ needs binning, patio areas scruffy and back garden looking more like a building site, the steps upto the higher level are laughable. We retired for the night hoping that the morning might look a little better. After literally sleeping on our thoughts, yesterday morning we contacted Sykes to discuss what refund we could obtain if we left the place immediately after staying just the one night. WE WERE DECLINED ANYTHING. SHOCKING on both owner and Sykes.

Stayed with 4 girlfriends for a 50th birthday. Not far from Penrith, Lovely picturesque village. Great views. There's a well stocked kitchen, Large dining area, the bedrooms were clean & beds comfortable. Lovely big garden, great place for kids to run around in. Hot tub is fabulous, clean & well maintained. However there were some issues that spoilt our holiday. No external aerial for TV. an inadequate indoor one that we couldn't get a signal on all weekend!! Despite a phone call to owners a difficult conversation due to very bad phone signal! Asked if someone could come out & sort this. No one arrived at all. So a basic TV was not available. The WIFI was non existent! The Hub stated could not be found! & I tried every room! There's a blue ray player but the remote left would not work in the TV to get to correct channel. changed batteries (our own) still didn't work. Unable to use that also. Bulbs were missing from 2 lamps looked for spares as stated in welcome folder none were found! We swapped one from lounge area. The small toilet on ground floor had a sink on top of cistern this was full of water on arrival so unable to wash your hands in this bathroom. Old bar of soap, a soggy tissue & 2 disposable razers found on shelf in large shower on the first floor. Upon arrival we checked out the Hot Tub thankfully this worked great. Sadly we had to clean up the patio area. The previous occupants had left a few items of wet clothes, cans, & rubbish littered around! (Unbelievable how people leave property) however this should have been picked up by the cleaners. They must not have gone outside at all! Chairs all array table not cleaned. Extremely disappointed with this & find that totally unacceptable. Such a shame as the location is perfect, barn a great size. reported to sykes when I returned . Owners need to visit this property for themselves as I do blame the quality of the cleaners! for most of it. My advice to owners ... invest in a good broadband & get an outdoor aerial fitted.... Our saving grace... The local pub The Sun inn a few minutes walk away! Fabulous. Worth a visit & a great restaurant. Lowther Castle 15 minute drive away also worth a visit. There's a Morrisons & shopping area 10 min drive away too.