Buckingham House

Lovely large property with 2 large double bedrooms with en suite bath/shower rooms, and 1 with extra pull out bed.

Large lounge with massive smart TV with Sky, another seating area near large kitchen. 2 seating areas, didn't use the hot tub so can't comment. Overall very spacious. The down side to this property was lack of maintenance, several things didn't work or needed adjusting (eg downstairs loo unable to lock) and kitchen equipment a bit haphazard (eg had a pod coffee maker but no normal sized saucepans) Suggest the owners live in it for a week to see what needs doing.

A lovely spacious house, great coffee machine.

Some house info might have been handy, like what bins/recycling etc and the fridge was missing a bottle shelf so had to keep things like milk horizontal, but the drinks fridge was handy for the wine :)

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!

We had an amazing stay just before Christmas. The team could not have done more to make our young family feel comfortable and at home. The house itself is gorgeous with excellent facilities and all super clean. There were extra special touches (including a welcome hamper and gifts for our young children) that made our stay even more fantastic. Location is also idyllic and we found the local pub to be especially lovely. Highly recommend staying here for a relaxing break!

This is an excellent property, very suitable for two couples.

The owner was very approachable and was there if we needed him.

As with other guests finding the property is very difficult.

Fortunately I read a previous review and was prepared! the instructions sent by the owner are totally inadequate. Post code sends SatNav to the street but the small complex is parallel to the road and hidden. I use google earth to walk around and recognised the farm track. Also recognised the gate and the property was listed. The front door key became stuck in the lock and I had to call the owner. He did arrive some hours later and lubricated the key. The key continued to be a challenge to use but did not get stuck. Lots of gadgets but no instructions on how to use. Had to hunt for WiFi hub-in utility room. Dishwasher required help from the internet! Did not use washing machine or hot tub. Note conduction hob. Oven, microwave and audiovisual equipment were easy to use without any instructions. No owner instructions on how to leave the property, so just used the general instructions. The property is amazing. But had I not read the previous review, finding it would have been a real problem, The door key was one of the most difficult to use that I have come across in the many Sykes Cottages. The total lack of property paperwork was a shock and could have been a major problem. Such a shame a brilliant self catering property was let down by lack of thought by the owner.

Directions: The directions provided by Sykes are misleading, as commented by other reviewers, and need improvement.

We followed them to the letter, driving up and down Station Road several times but could not find the property. By sheer fluke, we managed to get through to someone at Sykes by phone (no small feat given how difficult Sykes make it to contact them) but they simply repeated the same unhelpful directions. There are no signs for Buckingham House, and locals we asked didn’t know it either. In desperation, we flagged down a ParcelForce driver who pointed us in the right direction. Buckingham House is not on Station Road. It sits at the end of a driveway off an unmade road on the right-hand side of Station Road (travelling from Whissendine, just past the allotments). If you can see the signs at Stapleford Estate and Stapleford Farm you are in the right place. At the end of the driveway are black iron gates marked “Manor Farm,” with call bells to the right, one of which is for Buckingham House. The writing on the call bells is not visible from a car and the only sign for Buckingham House is on the property itself. Location: Buckingham House is part of a redevelopment of farm barns, now five properties set around an attractive courtyard with lovely open views across farmland. It’s well placed for exploring the area — Rutland Water, Stamford, Burghley, Barnsdale, and Oakham are all close by. Great for walking, including with dogs. Whissendine itself is a very attractive village with a warm feel; the locals are welcoming, and the White Lion pub is highly recommended - it has a great ambience, lovely menu and is very accommodating (including dietary requirements). There's a great shortcut to the pub and village across a public footway from the Manor Farm driveway. The Property: The house has many positives. It's well equipped and the layout works well, with two lounge areas, a dining table, and two seats at the island in the kitchen area. Each of the two bedrooms is accessed by its own staircase, which offers privacy, though it’s worth noting there’s only one hairdryer which seems odd. The outdoor space is a real asset, with two nicely set out courtyards at either end of the property. A few small touches would make it even better — for example, adding a mirror in the downstairs cloakroom, sorting out the overflow tube issue in the master ensuite toilet and giving the shower vent in the master ensuite a good clean. The only real drawbacks were 1) an excessive number of scented reeds and plug-ins, which felt overpowering and which are potentially toxic to dogs - not ideal in a dog-friendly property and 2) no instructions at all in the property (or in the communications sent by Sykes) e.g. we only found the remote for the entry gates on our last full day and there's nothing about bins, recycling or what to do when vacating the property. Overall: A comfortable and well-situated base for exploring Rutland, with plenty of positives and just a few details that would make it even better.

Lovely welcome basket.

Loved our stay but would have been great if there was an outdoor umbrella to provide shade. Also fans for inside. We were there in the heatwave and it was extremely hot but I think this will be a continuing theme in other years.

The property was very nice and spacious, with a secure garden for the dogs.

Took us a while to find the house, as the instructions given were a bit confusing. Maybe a little sign to Manor Farm under the Stapleford Estate sign would be useful? Beautiful, quiet setting, with lots of lovely places to visit. The village pub, The White Lion, is really good. Craig was very helpful when contacted. Would highly recommend.

A beautiful property, so comfortable and homely!

Would definitely return, it was in a great location to relax and like a home away from home!

Great place to stay as two couples as plenty of shared space but separate bedrooms & bathrooms so your own space as well.

My only improvement suggestions are: We missed the turning off the main road as it looked like a gravel farm track so might be useful to say in the directions turn right after the allotments on to a gravel road & then first right. Also there were no instructions for anything from appliances to hot tub & departure info such as please turn the heating down & strip the beds. We did what we thought was 'right' when we left so hoped it was enough. A couple of ideas for local walks might also be nice. But these are minor things overall we had a great time.

We thought Buckingham House was a lovely, well appointed and well located holiday home.

It was very comfortable for the three of us. We were glad that we arrived in daylight as the property might have been hard to find in the dark and, a real nit picking point this, more obvious instructions about WiFi password appliances etc. would be helpful. Overall an excellent holiday home.

Lovely modern property super clean and set in a fantastic location if you want to just switch off from the world which we did.

The property had everything we needed, was huge! It had a well appointed kitchen, hidden utility room was a great find and so well done! Huge bonus was a fantastic Nespresso machine with pods included! Super comfortable beds and linen, loved that each room had its own en-suite so if you came with family no waiting for the bathroom! The log fire was so cosy and warm, we only used it once and the same with the hot tub, but that was mainly due to the poor weather and rain. TV was huge and we were able to log into our Netflix which was nice. The owner called us on the day after check in to make sure we were ok which was a lovely personal touch and really appreciated. We did struggle to get through the electric gates the night we arrived - I’m not sure how we got in but pressed a load of buttons and they opened! Perhaps these instructions in the Sykes App with the lock box code would be good. The only things that would be helpful would be perhaps a 1 page guide with this information, the fact there was a remote gate fob and also the WiFi password as I had to go hunting in the cupboard for it but did find it eventually. Perhaps a list of local supermarkets, shops etc is useful but honestly these are just thoughts we had and didn’t deter from our stay! 100% we will be back again very soon as loved it and will bring the parents for a long weekend too!