The Old Vicarage

On arrival to the property we approached to electric gates which a code is required.

Not having this I had contact the number on the booking for this. The property is lovely but is starting to show tiredness- I hall entrance had a lovely Hermon bone wooden floor which some of the slates were loose, the small lounger smelt of a young child had weed in the room, The dishwasher was still filled up, which we had to empty. Te waste bin outside were overflowing which needed to be empty. I couldn’t fault the two rooms on the first floor we used they were lovely. But on the second floor the rooms with the sofa beds in - they had no storage in. The white Sofa bed only had 3 very small draws under the beds but no were to hang clothes and the Grey sofa bed had none at all. Please note whilst we stay here the previous occupants left some clothes in the main bedroom along with a ladies Apple Watch. I contacted the laundry company who advised to leave on the kitchen table on our departure.

We were a family party of 11.

6, adults, 3, 4-5 year olds and 2, 15 month olds, gathered for a 70th birthday. The house and setting couldn’t have been more perfect. Spotlessly clean, luxurious bedding and towels, comfortable beds and the best equipped kitchen in a property we have ever stayed. We enjoyed cooking on the Aga - very different, but fun and it made the kitchen so homely and cosy. The garden was lovely for children to run around in and so much space in the house ! Even with so many young children we didn’t feel we were on top of one another. Plenty of National Trusts and places to visit in the area, and if you need a cake baked the Kimbolton Cake Lady (you can find on Facebook) does incredible cakes! Have created very happy memories there. Would definitely recommend.

From a distance the Old Vicarage looked ideal for our family holiday to celebrate my 70th birthday.

Sadly, once we got to the property the lustre started to peal. The property's electric gate's security code, we could only find by downloading a PDF. The house key was in a key safe with it's code provided. May I suggest adding the gate code to the info too? On entry, a smoke alarm, even after removing it's batteries, sounded every few seconds. The noise was so piercing I put it in my car. I rang the help number and was told someone would come and sort immediately. I also told them there was no back door key and no coffee or tea pots. Next morning none of us could shower as there was no hot water. No one had come to sort alarm so I rang again. They said they'd pass my concerns on. Someone called and firstly said could I look to see if I could I try and find batteries for the alarm as it also controlled the water. I couldn't find enough. He added he'd sort the other things, whilst we were out. After a lovely day out we returned to find the alarm, still without batteries, wasn't chirping any longer but somehow we now had hot water, and a teapot and two cafetieres, but still no back door key. Next morning the shower in our ensuite was luxuriously hot. On drying, we started to get wet again as a stream of water was pouring through a light fitting from the shower in the above bathroom. I rang again and later the property owner, who lives abroad rang. He firstly said we must have let the water run out of the shower - we hadn't. Then he added, it's an old property so we should expect leaks so don't use that shower. I should have said to him the property might be old but the shower was modern and ought to have worked. Enough moaning - the property is stunning with large bedrooms, dining room and lounge suitable for the 8 of us. It's set in it's own grounds with plenty of room for our two grandchildren to run around and lots of outside furniture. The kitchen was well stocked, be it a little disorganised. There is an over zealous use of printed signs explaining what to do or not do and the front door is out of use, covered by a rather drab curtain. There our several nearby pubs and places to eat with easy access to several NT properties and other attractions. Generally, the phrase "All that glitters is not Gold" would seem apt. On the face lovely - in reality a bit tatty, and a need for someone to come a ensure all is in order rather than relying on customer feedback.