Old Droomer

A gorgeous cottage that has brilliant potential but falls down on some fundamentals.

The kitchen needs a really good clean, the oven in particularly was very dirty and we didn’t want to use it. The hob section was also operating poorly so probably in need of replacement. The welcome pack is very out of date, there’s information about recycling items that is out of date (2014 maybe?) and it feels very unhelpful based on a stay in 2026. Suggest a complete redo. We had a toddler in the group and the uneven surfaces could really be included in the photography of the website so people are aware, this could be overcome with child gates provided in one or two areas of the downstairs to ensure young children could be safe. Allowing the adults to relax whilst in the house. The twin room had an unusual smell during our stay, lakelovers suggested a repaint but to us it smelt like a bigger problem. Bathrooms and gardens all excellent, they were of a five star standard. Not much work to bring the rest of the house up to this standard.

This is an excellent place furnished to a high standard.

Good location with walks from the door and easy access to the town via a 10 minute walk. It was let down by a number of small things that would have made it a 5star review. We were surprised that there was no welcome pack of any kind. No milk ,sugar tea or coffee in the house. We have never stayed anywhere before where at least enough for a tea or coffee on arrival was provided. Kitchen floor had several sticky patches and had not been cleaned well enough. We were also surprised that there was no wood for the wood stove, again at least enough for the first night or two. In every other place we have stayed with a wood burner at least an initial supply of wood has been provided. Having said that, these are small things and overall we enjoyed our stay.

The accomodation was excellent.

Warm and clean and really comfortable. The kitchen was well stocked with appliances and everything was really easy to use. The beds were comfortable and the showers were great. Would definitely stay again.

Lovely property and ideal for exploring the Lake District and the Dales - clean tidy and spacious, even better if there were non stick pans and a functioning dishwasher.

The road to the property is single track and not for the faint hearted - but a great location nonetheless with a 15 minute walk to Windermere

We had a wonderful stay at Old Drummer, the cottage and the grounds are beautifully set and maintained and an easy walk into Windermere.

It’s a great base to explore the south lakes area. The drive to Aira Force waterfall near Ullswater is spectacular and worth doing. As the last bit of the drive is down narrow lanes I would recommend arriving in daylight the first time to make it easier. We will definitely be returning to this property for another holiday.

Fantastic place in a Wonderfull location.

Our only complaint was that there was no complimentary welcome items such as tea and coffee and even hand soap soap or similar.

There is just one word to describe Old Droomer and that is 'perfect'.

The house and garden were stunning and, with walks straight from the door both into the hills and into Bowness and Windermere, we hardly used the car at all. The nightly visits from deer were an added bonus. We loved it so much, we've already booked again for next year.

Old Droomer is a gorgeous, spacious cottage with a beautifully maintained garden in a wonderful, peaceful setting.

The rooms were furnished to a high standard and the beds extremely comfortable. The kitchen was well equipped. The garden was immaculate with lovely flowering plants. Look out for the robot lawnmower which bumbled about sporadically. We nicknamed him Horace. Lovely walks from the cottage through breathtaking countryside and an easy 15-20 minutes walk into Windermere. The approach lane is very narrow but luckily it’s a quiet road. We would love to go back.

This was the perfect base for exploring the Lake District.

The location is near enough to the main bowness on Windermere town for convenience of shops but is tucked away and feels so quiet and secluded. The kitchen was well stocked and everywhere was perfectly clean. The garden is beautiful and well maintained. We travelled with 2 toddlers and there are a lot of steps in the accommodation, which just means they need extra supervision which wasn’t a problem for us. A suggestion would be hand soap in the toilets and a few more toilet rolls but overall we loved the Old Droomer!

We had such a wonderful week in the old Droomer cottage, great location really beautiful garden and very spacious cottage, with a beautiful sitting area added on to the older part of the cottage.

Some additions would make this cottage even better! For example handsoap in the bathrooms, and a more generous supply of toilet paper and dishwasher tablets

We had a fantastic stay at Old Droomer.

This is beautiful and vast property. When we booked I thought the building may have been two properties, but it is the whole building as you see. I was a little unsure if the condition would be great before we arrived as a couple of recent reviews stated the decor was looking a little tired. This wasn't the case though, we found the condition of the house throughout to be very good and immaculately clean. The oak frame extension is a fantastic addition to the property and the underfloor heating throughout the ground floor was lovely (especially with it being freezing outside). The kitchen had everything you could possibly need and the bathrooms are stylish and modern. We were two families (4 adults and 4 children) and the house and gardens were perfect for us. The only slight issue we found were how steep the stairs (ladder style staircase) in the loft bedroom at the end of the house were. Definitely not suitable for children of a young age or anyone with mobility issues (or too drunk). We had a 3 year old sneak up and fall all the way down (fortunately not serious injuries). The other 3 bedrooms are all off a separate set of gentle stairs with low level lighting when dark. All in all we loved the house and location and certainly intend on staying again in the future. Thank you to the owners for making it such a great and memorable stay.

A great spot that is tucked away from the town but with easy access.

Unfortunately, as mentioned in previous reviews the property was not clean, with bathrooms dirty and bins not emptied. One of the toilets was blocked from previous guests but rectified by Sykes maintenance team. The kitchen and extension are lovely with plenty of space to relax! The loaf sofa is huge and very comfortable. Plenty of hot water and heating throughout our stay which is a bonus when visiting in winter.

We had a lovely stay, the cottage was super cosy, well decorated and very convenient to town.

Small things we’d love to see is a few more basics like toilet roll, soap dispensers refilled and some logs for the fire.

4th or5th time we have stayed at Old Droomer,great house in a great location but this time we have a few problems to highlight Both blinds in the kitchen do not work,roller blind won’t stay up and Roman blind won’t go down.

Lock on downstairs missing peg.House needing a good clean,lots of cobwebs and carpet in Bedroom carpet needs a good clean Great house but needs some attention.

Beautiful property, fabulous location, lovely cottage - wonderful garden.

Great amenities, just such a fantastic place! Thank you so much for our stay, we loved it - homely, games, great kitchen, lots of space, a mix between woods, glass and high and low ceilings - and we loved the automatic robot lawn mower!!

Old Droomer is beautiful, and has the wow factor in this well equipped house with plenty of room for big families.

Garden is amazing although the pond is empty. Watching the robot lawnmower is novel especially in the dark when it has its headlights on! Now for the negatives... It could do with a series deep clean!! We had the stable bedroom at the far end of the house and in the corners on the floor and the ceiling there were big cobwebs with spiders. The dust in the small living room was unreal. There is a vase of plastic flowers in the window, and when the sun shines in it was covered with cobwebs and the vase had never been polished. There were cobwebs everywhere through the house. Along the front edge of the sofa in the large living room you could see a line of crumbs and also balls of fluff that had accumulated. Also cobwebs on every wooden window sill in there. The drawers in the kitchen need cleaning out, there is crumbs and general dirt in them all. I know the cleaning team probably don't get alot of time to do what they need to do but this is just basic stuff. Also the lights in the onsuite bathroom in the main side of the house has 4 spotlights and only 1 was working so it made it very dark. With regards to the access lane, it's not too bad, a little tight in places, but the more you drive it, you do get used to it. Great location and easy access to Bowness and Windermere, which are both walking distance. All in all we had a fantastic week as a family of 7. Would recommend for a peaceful stay

The location of the property is really quiet but the drive up to the property is very difficult the road needs major attention There's every thing you need when you get there all the home comforts the beds are really comfortable The property needs some attention decorating wise The garden is brilliant loads of space for the kids to run free the pond either needs filling in or filling back up and cleaning Overall our stay was comfortable we enjoyed our holiday

Beautiful property and the garden is lovely .

The house is very quaint with a lovely family room. 20 min walk into town and idillyic location. The road to get to the property is single track but less treacherous than it appears . Wonderful property for a multi generation family get together x

Our second stay and wasn’t disappointed, love this area and our walks up and around school knott ❤️ Garden is perfect for a game and kept immaculate by little gardener as we named it !

Large living room area is delightful for viewing all manner of wildlife Would definitely recommend and hope to visit again soon

Perfect family get away with our dog.

Fantastic and cosy home from home. Provided a great base for exploring the Lakes and relaxing in the evenings.

Beautiful property, we had a fantastic stay!

Lovely property and location, very comfortable and well equipped and maintained.

We have stayed at the property on two previous occasions and can definately see the decline in the property standard.

The premises is in definite need of some tlc in general, window cushions were mouldy in some bedrooms and the walls in most rooms were scuffed and needed repainting. The bathroom in the end annex was disgusting and had to be cleaned by us prior to use as was filthy. Also in this bathroom there is no shelf to put your shower items meaning they had to go on the shower floor. The kitchen cold tap lever was completely off when we arrived and my husband had to make attempts to fix it for it to be used during our stay. The crockery provided was also extremely dirty (as if used and put back in the unit!) and all had to be washed prior to use. The tv system in the conservatory living room wasn’t working properly (unable to be turned on/off at times) and the Bose surround sound not working at all. The snug living room tv sound was low even when turned up full. The waste bins were overflowing upon our arrival which i know will be outside of your control. As stated above we have stayed here on two other times and the premises is such a lovely place for our family to gather however as we’ve stayed before it made these gripes all the more noticeable; however must add it wouldn’t stop us staying again.

Fabulous week in ‘the old Droomer’ Great walks from the front door which is great not having to use car every day.

It was such a joy watching the deer in the field at the back and side of the cottage at dawn and dusk, Great enclosed garden for the dog and a great house which is well equipped for your every need. Really recommended

Fabulous warm cosy and spacious , lovely location would definitely book again

Lovely property for our stay between Christmas and new year.

Great location and superb facilities throughout. The extension at the back is a real plus to this property especially for families and bigger groups. Fabulous!!

There are a few comments regarding the road access!

! This is a country lane and easily accessible in any vehicle, except low sports car, and the car park will take 4 cars. We had two OAPs in our party and they struggled but managed without hand rails, but strongly advise owners to install something. The real steep staircase leading to a bedroom, my 19 year niece, slipped on her decent and after a visit to the walk in centre, confirmed she had damaged her shoulder. Besides this the Old Droomer is beautiful and very spacious with modern and old mixed together bridging it a truly comfortable home. The owners have done a tremendous job on the extensions, with beautiful gardens and views to admire. We have visited three other properties over the years the week before Christmas and all had a Christmas tree, but the Old Droomer did not, which was disappointing and took away the festive feeling. The location is superb and you will truly enjoy your stay here as we did, and we will hopefully return. Thank you to the owners.

could do with a deep clean.

lots of cobwebs in lounge ,window seats upstairs suffering from condensation,some of glasses in kitchen needing a good clean. Overall a great house in a great location with a lovely garden. Third time we have stayed in house and would stay again.

Really enjoyed this property and surrounding area… everything you need for a quiet peaceful stay.

. amazing walks and re booked for next year already

Lovely cottage and gardens with great views.

It was great to be above Windermere, with views over to Ambleside. Likewise running up to School Knott behind the property was easy and quick. Overall really really enjoyed our stay bar.... The toilets started to smell at the end of the stay, like the sewage was maybe coming up. The robot lawn mower got in the way. Need to have a code to disable and restart. The 0.2 single lane was not made clear in the description well enough. We had big, expensive cars, so it was very stressful to not kerb an alloy, tear a tire or not scratch the paint. If you have something like an X5 you couldn't not make the journey.

This is the second time I’ve stayed at old Droomer had a fabulous stay.

close to nature yet near to the town Had a fantastic relaxing break just perfect in every way

A lovely cottage with plenty of space and character for a family break in Windemere.

The accommodation was great albeit better for the shorter amongst us to avoid the beams! The walks form the cottage were easy and in good reach of Bowness and Windemere towns. The lane access was a little narrow but once navigated a couple of times was less daunting. Would happily stay here again

We had a wonderful time at Old Droomer, there was a lot to love about the place and we had a very relaxing stay!

The kitchen was well equipped with underfloor heating, modern bathrooms (with great water pressure!) and the beds were very comfortable. Walks from the front door, School Knott behind the house was climbed a few times and had the most stunning views for a short walk! We will definitely return if we were staying in the area again!

We had an amazing stay at Old Droomer.

We couldn’t have wished for better. Tried to book again for next summer but all booked out unfortunately. We forgot to write in the visitors book before we left! We had a fabulous time in your beautiful cottage. Hope the lawnmower doesn’t get lonely on its own!

This is a difficult one because there are so many conflicting aspects.

Good points: the garden and the parking area; comprehensive kitchen facilities and equipment (at most other places I've had to take cup and saucer and egg cup); heating arrangements; cleanliness (apart from cobweb on wall between kitchen and garden room); good views and surroundings. Bad points: Garden room seating and dining chairs far too soft (apart from two not at the table) Numerous steps and staircase with no handrail or other support apart from walls - a definite health and safety risk for the elderly or anyone lacking confidence Information pack needs updating - I spent many hours trying to get TV and blue-ray player working together, rang Heart of the lakes who said an engineer would call but didn't, but it was sorted out by the gardener The footpath in front of the cottage means walkers can see you having breakfast Worst of all - the access roads. I thought a previous reviewer might have been exaggerating but I had many nerve-wracking trips to and from Lickbarrow Road. Fear of meeting another car with nowhere to pass, potholes and a blind junction where a passenger needs to get out to check that it's clear.

Old Droomer is without doubt, the best cottage we've ever stayed in in the Lakes.

We spent most of our week in the cottage, the surrounding views are so beautiful we didn't really feel the need to hike about as much, we just sat in that fabulous sun lounge and admired the surroundings. We'd like to thank the owners for letting us stay there because if this property was ours, we want anyone else to use it.

Thank you so much.

I brought 3 generations of my family to celebrate my wife's 60th. Such a beautiful setting. Can't fault the facilities, views, location, amenities or the weather for a change. Would highly recommend

A wonderful cottage which was warm and welcoming.

Wonderful showers and baths, comfortable beds. No complaints whatsoever. Will be back for sure!

Just back from a week in Old Droomer.

A stunning house set in a beautiful setting. 15 min walk into windermere town centre. The beds and pillows where amazing, so comfortable the beds. The kitchen was very well equipped. I only have 2 negative and that was the heating in the house was not as warm as we would of like, would b good if there was also a log burner in the new part of the house. Overall it was fab holiday, thank you.

Lovely cottage in an excellent location, an easy walk into Windemere but far enough away to feel secluded.

In fact we enjoyed the cottage so much we rebooked.

Just returend from a weeks aty at Old Droomer.

This is a beautiful well equipped cottage. Love the space inside and out. We would revisit the Old Droomer but, the prices have gone up so much I dount it would be for a while.

Property was lovely.

Not as clean as we expected, dog hairs on floors and crumbs inside kitchen pull our cupboards. Unhappy about access to the property and that initially there was no mention of single track roads, just parking for 3 large cars. Only when the directions were sent was there any mention of single track roads. The final road to the property was particularly narrow and is crumbling away at the edge in several places. We were even warned about this road and its deterioration by a friendly local. While we liked the property we would not consider staying again because of the access and would not have chosen this property if this had been made clear at the point of booking. I feel the mention of parking for three large cars without mentioning the single track roads they have to get along is misleading.

Fabulous place!

Spotlessly clean, extremely well equipped ( even had a Nespresso machine) and in a perfect location for exploring the lakes. Would highly recommend.

A really lovely home clean comfortable and welcoming.

Beautiful surroundings. Lovely weather and a great holiday.

Beautiful property in a beautiful area, plenty of walks from the doorstep.

One of the cleanest houses we have stayed in and we have stayed in a lot of places in the Lake District. We loved it!!