-
"This is a comfortable lodge made fun by the way the owl theme is carried through the whole house."
It is well supplied with kitchen equipment - and DVDs for cold wet days.
Only thing I would ask for is a set of instructions for the equipment -especially the micro-wave.
Overall it is a place we love to visit.
Hi John,
Thank you for your feed back & glad you enjoyed your stay. Instructions for all equipment are in the information booklet now left out on display. Thank you for the reminder on this.
Best Regards, Barbara & Stephen, owners. Property Owner
Reviewed by JohnMar 2022
-
"Lovely lodge in a great place."
Really enjoyed our stay. Would definitely come again. Thank you
Hi Stephen,
Glad you enjoyed your stay & Thank you for the positive feedback. We hope you will come & stay with us again. Property Owner
Reviewed by StephenDec 2021
-
"Here are some notes for the owners of Owl Cottage:
*A fish slice/egg slice (to lift fish/fried eggs out of a pan) would be useful."
*The en-suite basin drains very, very slowly - there may be a blockage
*Washing machine - no instructions for use, so this made it difficult to use.
*Some small waste bins in bedrooms and lounge would be handy.
Apart from these observations, we thought Owl Cottage was EXCELLENT and we would definitely stay there again, if we are up in the Lake District!
Dear Richard, thank you for your feedback and we will take your comments onboard to improve things.
For information, the washing machine instruction booklet is in the bottom drawer of the sideboard, together with other booklets (cooker, microwave, boiler and fridge); we used to leave these out in a folder for quick access, but due to COVID compliance, these are stored away. So this is a good point to mention, and we will reintroduce the information folder.
We are delighted you enjoyed Owl Lodge and rated it EXCELLENT, and hope you return again in the future. Property Owner
Reviewed by RichardSep 2021
-
"The lodge was superficially clean and there was visible mould in the main bathroom as well as the en-suite and along the skirting in both washrooms."
The toilets although looked cleaned on entering became discoloured quickly and the toilet brushes were disgusting.The listing said this was a luxury lodge and this was definitely not what I was expecting for the £1490 paid for the lodge. It was also damp and clothes coming out of the wardrobe felt wet at times. The floor was also uneven in places and disorientating to walk on.
The Lakes were gorgeous and the weather was kind and we were lucky to be able to get to all the local places of interest and long walks.
Area 10/10 but accommodation 3/10.
Thank you for your feedback. We were very concerned by your comments and have discussed this with the professional cleaning company we use. As long-distance owners, we visited Owl Lodge last Friday 20-Aug in person to check the situation for ourselves.
Whilst there was some discolouration of the tiling in the family bathroom and 2 small spots of mould in the bath edge sealant, there was no mould anywhere on the skirting boards in both family and en-suite bathrooms.
The toilets are cleaned as standard at the end of the week of each letting, and their condition was fine. One toilet brush holder was marked, and both holders have been replaced.
The Lake District is an area with high humidity, and as such there will be moisture in the air. However, we can confirm there was no evidence of damp in the lodge anywhere; clothes coming out of the wardrobe feeling wet must presumably have been put away wet.
The floor is indeed slightly uneven in part of the kitchen; this has been checked and verified as sound.
The listing on Sykes website describes the lodge as, "This cosy lodge has two bedrooms; one with an en-suite shower and a separate bathroom with a bath...," and rates it as "4 ticks / stars", but NOT "5 ticks / stars ...with a degree of luxury".
We therefore feel your claim that "this was listed as a luxury lodge" is incorrect and your expectation was too high.
The rental charge takes into consideration not only the lodge itself, but also its location on White Cross Bay park on the shores of Lake Windermere, with all the facilities that the park offers including swimming pool, jacuzzi, gym, restaurant and bar. Its location also means it is within easy reach of beautiful scenery and many attractions within the Lakes.
We therefore feel that your "accommodation rating of 3/10" is excessively low and inappropriate. Property Owner
Reviewed by NevilleJul 2021
-
"The lodge was lovely & clean."
The only negatives were that it was sloping slightly towards the front door, so it took a while to get used to it, as you felt like you were falling slightly.
The kitchen was well-equipped & there was also an iron & board, in the cupboard & a microwave, which weren't listed in the itinerary. The only downside was having only 2 shelves in the oven. For a family of 4, it could do with 3 or 4 shelves, but this is only a minor niggle.
Being in a corner plot, you didn't get the sun on the decking in the mornings or evenings. It was probably there during the day, but we were out then.
This lodge is in a great location, with so many lovely places nearby. We didn't get to see half of what we'd have liked to, so would definitely come back to this holiday park.
Thank you for your feedback. We have had contractors inspect the floor in June this year, and they considered it to be sound. We are glad that you enjoyed your holiday in the Lake District, and hope you would consider staying at Owl Lodge again when you return. Property Owner
Reviewed by MaryJul 2021
-
"We enjoyed our holiday after we had cleaned the kitchen floor and the cupboards above the worktops."
We also removed the 1/2 inch of dust which had accumulated on the top of the cupboards in the twin bedroom. Otherwise everything was ok.
We have just booked another week but this time in Grasmere at Poppy's cottage for May next year. I trust our initial impression of Poppy's will be better than Owl Lodge. We have used Sykes for many years and are usually very pleased.
Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry that you found the kitchen floor and the over workbench cupboards were not cleaned properly. As a returning guest who first stayed with us in Jul-2019 and rated our "Cleanliness = 100%", we will feed this back to the professional cleaning company we use, to ensure they maintain their high standards as we expect. We are, however, really surprised that you found the time and inclination to stand on the furniture to reach the tops of the cupboards in the twin bedroom. This is a service/storage area where we place the moisture traps, and may well have accumulated some dust; this area is not intended to be accessed by our guests.We hope you enjoy future holidays in the Lake District. Property Owner
Reviewed by RogerJul 2021
-
"POSITIVES - This a lodge in a great location to explore the Windermere area."
The lodge was comfortable and very well equipped. The facilities are there if you want them (we did not use them).
NEGATIVES - Check in and out times are a struggle. 5pm is already turning dark and the lodge was really difficult to locate. 9am is very early to get children up and out - nothing in the area is open at that time. The lodge was surface clean but not clean. The en-suite bathroom was particularly bad to the point that we did not use. Plates, bowls and cups a needed to be washed before use.
Thank you for your feedback acknowledging the comfort and level of equipment in our lodge.
We were very sorry to hear that you had issues with the Check-In and Check-Out times; these have been stipulated by the professional cleaning company we use, and are in line with the new regulations operated by White Cross Bay for COVID-19 prevention. However, we do appreciate that a 9am departure is a challenge, especially for a family group, but unavoidable and not under our control in these unprecedented times. A 5pm arrival is in the dark at this time of year, and considering the forest setting of our lodge, we would recommend to bring a torch to provide portable lighting. In addition, we will check with White Cross Bay to ensure that the park lighting is operating in the vicinity of our lodge.
Whilst access into the lodge is after 5pm, you are allowed onto the park earlier in order to find its location and to check out the facilities for meals and drinks in the restaurant area.
Regarding your comments on the level of cleanliness, we will feed this back to the cleaning company. However, we must state that after many holidaymakers have stayed in Owl Lodge since the park reopened in July with COVID prevention, not one has complained about the level of cleanliness in the lodge. Property Owner
Reviewed by CherylOct 2020
-
"The property was comfortable, clean and well equipped."
The only downside was your claim that the property benefited from WiFi, which it clearly did not. The Park reception also said that it was either very slow or non-existent.
Reviewed by PeterSep 2020
-
"We were very happy with the accommodation."
It was comfortable and well located and had everything we wanted. Only criticism is that the site's wifi is very weak, so if that's important to you, you need to come with data alternatives.
Reviewed by SteveSep 2020
-
"Signage on the site was not very good and we initially had difficulty locating the cabin as it is tucked away in a nice private corner."
Also would help if the parking space was indicated as it was not clear which side to park on arrival. Once inside the property however it was included in the information file.
Reviewed by DeniseNov 2019
-
"The cabin was very clean and had no problems with that and access to the lakes was good it was a well positioned site, down side from my perspective was cabins were very close together this added to the noise issue from other uses of the site, there was a lot of late night screaming and music going on."
Fine if you like that, not so good if you want a quiet holiday. The bin area near our cabin had rubbish and dirty nappies strewn on the floor and an old mattress. The side of the cabin was a mud bath and the wifi didn't exist. We were up early so went for a walk down to the lake still not so quiet we had to listen to hot tub shouting this time. It will be a great place to stop for many but if you don't want to listen to parties and dog barking on holiday it wouldn't be for you, it wasn't for us so wouldn't return.
Reviewed by JeremyNov 2019
-
"As a family with a child who has additional needs it is always very difficult to find suitable accommodation for their needs when we arrived at Owl Lodge we were truly left speechless it has everything you could possibly need and more, the decking area has a beautiful outdoor dining set, easily accessible patio doors leading out onto this area too which again was perfect for our needs as a family the parking space was also more than adequate although I do feel that information on this should be given before arrival as it can be confusing."
As you enter the lodge it felt warm cosy and welcoming two beautiful bathrooms one with a bath which again was incredibly helpful for our families needs, the bedrooms were beautiful and cosy too plenty of storage facilities also the kitchen was fully equipped with everything you could possibly need including a washing machine and dryer combined! You were also fully equipped for all weather conditions including a tv dvd player X Box games board games a selection of dvd's, I would also make a suggestion for maybe a welcome gesture of tea coffee and sugar and perhaps some biscuits so on arrival guests can have a nice brew and also the £15 leisure and entertainment passes should be included in the price too. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay though and would definitely stay again it was so peaceful tranquil and relaxing the perfect place to just completely relax...…
Reviewed by MarkJul 2019
-
"Cosy lodge in a lovely, quiet location."
Reviewed by DianeJun 2019
-
"A most wonderful week helped by super bright weather despite being a bit chilly."
The site is very well run with pleasant and helpful staff.
The lodge is sited in a very pleasant spot and although the site was busy it was quiet and peaceful.
It was exceptionally comfortable and a superb base.
It is warm and cosy and beautifully furnished with many special Owl touches.
It is very well equipped with lots of mugs, glasses, crockery, cutlery and kitchen utensils.
We appreciated that there were cleaning materials there which is very important in being able to leave the place clean and tidy.
Too often nothing is provided and you don't want to go shopping for cleaning materials when you are on holiday!
One problem we had on arrival was finding the lodge despite receiving a map at Reception together with instructions!
Grasmere Lodges 26 onwards are simply not signed; the lower numbers are well signed and in a different location but these are not.
We spent 40 minutes trying to find it and in the end found a maintenance guy who himself had to work out exactly where it was.
All that is required is a sign saying Grasmere 26- at the point where you turn into the alleé instead of a Dead End sign because it is a rather concealed area.
Numerous people had the same difficulty and we helped someone else who had been driving around since their arrival looking for it.
I did report this at reception and they were very attentive to my comment but said that no one had previously reported such a problem!
Second problem on arrival was that it was freezing! Instructions said don't change boiler settings but the boiler had actually been turned off.
On inquiry to Sykes, everyone was very helpful, the owner herself rang us back.
We then turned the boiler back on and the lodge very quickly warmed up.
Altogether a very good experience and highly recommended!
Reviewed by AlisonApr 2019
-
"It was a fun little getaway for me and my boyfriend."
Plenty to go see and do.
Decking at owl lodge needs a bit more maintenance but other then that it was lovely to stay in. Very peaceful.
Reviewed by BroganMar 2019
-
"Had a great 3 day half term break, location is ideal and the lodge was well located in a quiet corner of the park."
The only negative being the pool heating had broken so it was freezing. PS the lodge does have a microwave I called Sykes to ask before we went (they said it didn’t but there is one)!
Reviewed by KateOct 2018
-
"Lovely clean lodge inside and very comfortable just let down a bit outside by the decking area not really being maintained to the standard inside."
However just a small issue and enjoyed our stay overall.
Reviewed by KarenOct 2018
-
"In a single sentence: we felt at home."
We will be happy to come back any time.
Reviewed by IldikoSep 2018
-
"We loved Owl Lodge."
It was immaculate when we arrived and it is very well equipped (including books, games, dvd, Xbox and a hairdryer). The lodge has a lovely homely feel and White Cross Bay itself is on the whole a lovely peaceful site.
Yes, there are other lodges close by. No, it's not on the shores of the Lake. Yes, the WiFi is intermittent. These are minor details - it is a fantastic lodge on a lovely holiday Park in an amazing location. Our 13 and 9 year old boys loved the pool and the multisports pitch, in fact we got to the end of the holiday without a single complaint, something of a miracle! And we didn't even tell them about the Xbox!!
When you venture out of the site we can highly recommend a walk around Tarn Hows, and a morning ghyll scrambling with Lakeland Ascents.
A week just wasn't enough and we can't wait to go back. In fact our 9 year old would like to buy Owl Lodge if you ever decide to sell!
Reviewed by RachelJul 2018
-
"It was awesome"
Reviewed by HattanJun 2018
-
"Only a short break for the Windermere Swim but loved the area"
Reviewed by RobertJun 2018
-
"This is our second visit to this lodge and as before we found it comfortable and welcoming."
We love the themed touches in the accessories and the pictures. Oh yes and hearnig the real owls in the evening! The weather once again was not brilliant but we were always happy to stay in the lodge.
Reviewed by JohnApr 2018
-
"On the web site it appeared that this lodge was on the side of the lake, so we were disappointed in that."
Other than that the cottage was very warm and cosy and very well equipped.
Reviewed by JudyMar 2018
-
"The Weather was not good so the time spent in the lodge was important."
This lodge was very well equipped, very cosy and a pleasure to stay in. We were impressed. White Cross Bay is a great location for walking from, especially with the visitor centre/ferry point only a short walk up the road.
We have already looked at the Sykes website for other area,s, We have also thought about returning to Owl lodge for another walking holiday and are looking at a better time of year, other holidays permitting.
Reviewed by SusanSep 2016
-
"Property too close to other properties."
No lake view and pictures imply there is. No hairdryer. No cash point. No wifi. Swimming was on a booking system so couldn't always swim.
Property was very nice though.
Reviewed by CatherineAug 2016