Eastry Cottage, Castleton

I would not recommend staying in Eastry Cottage. We were met with an overwhelming smell of fake diffusers which was to mask the smell of damp. The fridge/freezer was in the middle of the kitchen which didn't create a good first impression and had to be moved back to it's correct place. In the evening slugs appeared on the kitchen floor, cupboards and from under the washing machine. The bathroom, bedroom and twin room had mould and damp. This is completely unacceptable and very unhealthy. I called Sykes the following morning and had to keep calling for updates and was eventually told the owner had been given until 5pm to respond. Later that evening I was told the owner would be coming to the cottage by 10am the next day to rectify the problems. At 10.30 I called Sykes who rang the owner who told them they wouldn't be coming! There was one cloth to clean the dishes and as the cottage was so unclean, I had to clean the bathroom with kitchen roll! I also cleaned the cutlery, mugs, glasses and plates so it was cleaner when we left than when we arrived! We were given a full refund in the end after spending money to travel to and from home, staying in to wait for the owner who was never coming and not enjoying our stay in the worst holiday cottage I've ever been in. I've stayed in a lot of cottages with Sykes and they've all been lovely. Eastry Cottage is most definitely not!

We stayed in Eastry Cottage 25 May - 1 June, there were three of us, me, my husband and 9 year old daughter. We arrived very late on the Friday night after driving up after work. We were greeted by a warm, well lit cottage which was much appreciated after the the long drive. The owner had left some milk and eggs in the fridge for us also. The cottage was very clean with fresh flowers in the living room which was a nice little touch. The living room was cosy with comfortable sofa, smart tv with freeview so was nice to relax in the evening after our all day country walks. The beds were also extremely comfortable, something I usually have problems with due to a bad back, but the mattresses were firm. We were very lucky with the weather so took advantage of the small patio area with a glass of wine a couple of evenings with the stunning view of Mam Tor in the distance. We met the owner on our departure and she was very lovely. As a family we have been to Castleton many times before and all in all this is one of the best places we have stayed. We will certainly stay here again for a week's holiday.

We stayed at Eastry Cottage, Castleton from December 15th 2017 to December 18th 2017. We were due to stay until the 22nd December but had to move part way through. The cottage was damp, mouldy and very very cold. This was apparent as soon as we entered and we quickly became aware the heating control was locked away out of reach. I am not surprised their have been previous complaints and the owner response to one saying that they had decided to allow clients access to heating at anytime I believe was only made (December 19th) after we contacted both the owner AND Sykes cottages to get help. Bearing in mind it was minus 2 inside and out on the first night. The owner was unhelpful and downright rude and that alongside the fact that our Christmas break had already been ruined by the owners attitude, the cold, the damp and subsequently becoming ill we took the decision to move to salvage some of the holiday at great expense. To be fair. On returning home, the owner gave us a partial refund (we had photos of the damp etc to send to Sykes cottages) of £93. Given that it cost another £250 for accommodation to salvage the holiday we still are unhappy. Sykes Cottages however, refunded our booking fee’s AND provided a voucher for us. The end result in our opinion being that Sykes were more helpful and accommodating than the rude owner of Eastry Cottage. We love Castleton, stayed there four times alone last year. It was the worst experience we have ever had.

We stayed at Eastry Cottage on a recent visit to Castleton. The property is a character cottage in a great location. When we stayed the weather was awful however the cottage was very warm and cosy at all times. The lounge has clearly had some new furnishings which made it seem very homely and the whole property was very comfortable. Great value for money, and would definitely stay again. The fresh milk, eggs and lovely bunch of flowers on arrival was also a very nice touch.

We arrived on August 18th which was a cold, wet day. On entering the cottage there was an overwhelming damp smell. It was cold in every room, particularly the kitchen and bathroom floors. We put on the gas fire but it did not make any difference. The next day I called the number for the owners, there was no reply so I left a message asking them to turn on the central heating as we could not access it. We then went out and when we returned a note had been left saying that the heating had been put on 7 to 9 am and then 5 to 10 pm to take the chill off. I phoned again and left another message explaining that we had 2 young children with us (3 and 5) and they were in bed long before 10 so could she change the evening time to something earlier. I never got a reply and the heating was not changed. The carpet on the stairs was very old and dusty, there was rust on the towel rail and mirror in the bathroom. Washing up was difficult because the hot water in the kitchen would run cold after a couple of mins so I had to boil kettles and the kettle was so old it took ages to boil. The last PAT test on it was dated 2010! The children developed coughs and we left a day early.