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"It’s such a shame that this property was so dirty."
It’s the kind of place that you have to wash everything before you use it. We pulled several dirty glasses out of the cupboard, one had remnants of dried sticky coke in it. Some of the crockery and cuttlery was dirty. There was dirt on the window sills.
The privacy blinds in the sitting room have mould at the bottom of them.
The rug in the sitting room was filthy and underneath it was disgusting.
I reluctantly fished one of the children’s toys out from under the sofa.
The kitchen bin hadn’t been washed out and the was a cigarette butt and some rubbish at the bottom of it.
There was a dead pigeon on the patio, which has been there for a while, cigarette butts in a glass ‘ashtray’ on the outside table and a mop bucket with very smelly stagnant water, just discarded in the raised bed.
There were cut dead tree branches that had been discarded in the raised beds and dirt and leaves all over the patio. It’s such a shame as a small bit of sweeping and care could make it a lovely outside space.
I have two young children so I’m used to dirt and mess but I would class this property as disgusting.
On our penultimate day, we read in the welcome pack that ‘cleaners undertake a thorough clean between each changeover…They also carry out deep cleans on a regular basis throughout the year. Should you find anything amiss please contact Yorkshire Costal Cottages who will follow this up directly with our cleaners.’
I do not feel it’s up to guests to report back whether the cleaners are doing a good job or not. That’s down to the owners or Sykes to do checks.
The welcome pack also stated that ‘Antibacterial soap is provided in all bathrooms.’, which it isn’t and there was only hand wash in the main bathroom. The bath mat was also mouldy.
The welcome pack also stated ‘On arrival you should receive a welcome hamper’ and as other reviews allude to there is absolutely nothing. Again, it really doesn’t take much to updated information and remove the photo on the listing.
The blind in the twin room is broken, which was obviously known about as was rolled up and rested on the window latch to hold it up.
The house was in a great location; easy walk to the beach or into town, on a bus route and very spacious and nice decor. Easy free parking out the front and quiet. It could be so lovely if it was just cleaned and cared for.
Reviewed by Sarah1.0★Jul 2026
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"We had a lovely week at this property but several things were not satisfactory."
The inside doors are warped and do not shut. Only one of the doors closed properly ! Ok, we can live with this, but if the bathrooms doors cannot close, there is a privacy problem !
The upper windows do not open and close properly due to the hinges and locks are clogged up with old oil and months of dirt. They don't appear that they have been maintained at all !
The dishwasher shed its door seal and the inside was greasy due to the filter being clogged up. An easy task.
Sykes / Yorkshire Cottages were excellent in repairing the dishwasher immediately as well as the central heating boiler that was not working when we arrived.
Apart from these complaints, we had a great week , ok, it's a holiday let but some of these problems would not have happened if regular maintenance was done.
We are glad that you had a lovely week and that the maintenance issues didn't spoil your stay. We have attended to all the concerns you have raised.
Property Owner
Reviewed by Malc3.0★Jun 2026
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"Excellent, spacious property close enough to walk into town."
Very nicely presented and well equipped kitchen although some instructions for the hob would have been useful as they were not in the welcome folder. We very much enjoyed our stay here and were impressed by the overall presentation and facilities. We would not hestitate to stay here again.
Our only criticisms are that the welcome hamper illustrated in the listing, and mentioned in the welcome folder, was not there. All that was supplied was a tea towel, two tiny bars of soap, a J cloth and three dishwasher tablets. We think that if something is illustrated in the listing it should be supplied.
There was only one bath mat for two showers and this was quite dirty.
The front garden would benefit from a little TLC.
These are only minor issues and in no way spoilt our stay.
Reviewed by Gillian4.0★May 2026
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"This was a lovely property."
Plenty of room for a family and well furnished throughout. We had a great stay here and would definitely book again on a return to Whitby. Being able to park on the road outside the house was great as much of Whitby is resident permits only or pay and display parking. It was only a 10-15min walk to explore the centre of Whitby (dependant on where you're heading for). There was no welcome pack on arrival which the house information file said they would be, but that was our only complaint :)
Reviewed by Andy5.0★Oct 2025
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"We really enjoyed our stay at Fern house."
It had everything we needed for our weeks stay, was clean and very comfortable. It is also much bigger than we expected. There were just a couple of things that needed fixing. The rainfall shower over the bath leaked quite a bit out of the top and the gutter directly over the back door overflowed when it rained. Both easy fixes and neither really affected our stay. It is a lovely house, quiet, easy to find parking directly outside and is a fairly short, pleasant walk into town. Whenever we stay in Whitby again, we’ll look to book Fern House again.
Reviewed by Adam4.0★Jun 2025
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"Lovely spacious house with everything you could need."
Very good location and having on road parking was a bonus. It would be helpful if there were toilet roll holders in the bathrooms and hooks on the main bathroom door. There were a few cobwebs and the rug in the living room could do with a clean, but would definitely stay again.
Reviewed by Sandra4.0★May 2025
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"We had a fantastic week at Fern House."
Lovely spacious relaxing house and close distance to plannet park and Whitby centre. Also very close to the promenade. Would love to stay again
Reviewed by Jennifer5.0★Apr 2025
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"We were very happy and comfortable with our short break at Fern House."
Will hopefully be back next year for another stay. Little concern regarding part of ceiling in dining area and maybe a little spruce up of front of house. Owners should be proud of the way their holiday home is presented.
Reviewed by Teresa5.0★Sep 2024
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"This holiday 'cottage' is spacious, well maintained and spotlessly clean."
Excellent utilities and comfortable beds. The recommendations in the House Book are absolutely true !The one tiny point would be that the lovely stripped-pine doors have warped slightly and a few don't close properly. That is easily remedied. We would recommend this house,wholeheartedly, and will be back as soon as we can !
Reviewed by Malc5.0★Sep 2024
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"Overall this is a nice property."
Good location in close proximity to amenities. Attractive interior with a well equipped kitchen. The rooms are sparsely decorated but nice fixtures and furniture. The green sofa in the living room is not comfortable and probably fairly old. Upstairs beds are comfortable but the bathrooms are a bit of s let down. Both shower heads were blocked and had to be cleaned. Shower plumbing also leaks which leads to low water pressure. The fan in the en suite bathroom was thick with dust and we had to clean it. Mattress toppers and pillow protectors were filthy. So overall cleanliness was not great. The rear garden is nice and enjoyed an evening there.
Reviewed by Wayne4.0★Sep 2024
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"Loved our short stay."
Nice property in a good location.
Reviewed by Anne5.0★Aug 2024
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"We found Fern House an excellent base from which to discover Whitby."
The house was spacious and very comfortable. The decor was modern and the house was well equipped with everything we needed for a relaxing stay. Would highly recommend.
Reviewed by Michael5.0★Aug 2024
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"The house was lovely and spacious, ideal location."
The disappointment is with yourselves and not being able to contact you. Your emails are always 'no reply' and we searched your website and couldn't find a phone number. When we left the house we couldn't get the key safe to lock. We needed to speak to you for instructions as to what we should do. As you make it very difficult to contact you we had no alternative but to post the keys through the front door.
Reviewed by Gilly5.0★Jul 2024
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"Great place only comment better tv channels but other than that beautiful place very well equipped"
Reviewed by Theresa5.0★Jun 2024
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"Property was lovely, beds were very comfortable only issues was there was a lot of dust, hairs on floor in bathroom and cobwebs everywhere, parking was hit and miss during the day due to workmen working on another property nearby but it was fine in the evening, we would stop again but the cleaners need to do a better clean before changeover and the kitchen window needs cleaning inside."
Linda, I am very sorry to hear that the property hadn’t been cleaned to the level we would expect. Many thanks for bringing this to our attention. We will notify the cleaner and also ask the Yorkshire Costal Cottages to do some additional spot inspections to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
Property Owner
Reviewed by Linda4.0★May 2024
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"Lovely property and great location, immaculate toilets, bedding , towels and very well equipped kitchen however small attention to detail lets Fern house down dust webs and under sofas needed cleaning and curtains in front room window had mould on them ."
This would not stop me from staying again but the owners need to be aware if they are paying a fee for cleaners .Outside space was fantastic for outside dining.Overall a lovely stay .
Reviewed by Gail5.0★Apr 2024
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"Lovely property, lots of space and very well equipped."
Clean and tidy, comfy beds and everything needed for our stay. Brilliant location
Reviewed by Colin5.0★Mar 2024
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"What a beautiful property, everything about it was fabulous quality, the kitchen had everything you would need."
10 mins walk into the centre of Whitby.
Plenty of living space for 6 adults.
Could do with an outside light at the front door, so you are able to see where you are putting the key.
We have booked for next year
Reviewed by Nichola5.0★Oct 2023
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"Beautiful house and the location is fab."
5 mins to west cliffe sea front and about 15 minutes walk to town one way and 15 minutes to a lovely pub called the White House. Lovely pub and food and the setting is beautiful. Amazing sunsets. Will definitely book again if available. Only negative is the late check in and early check out. 16:30 & 09:30. And would benefit from new garden furniture to take advantage of the south facing garden.
Reviewed by Angela4.0★Jun 2023
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"Great house for a holiday and just a short walk to the beaches and town."
. Facilities are very good and added bonus of easy parking and good outside space to sit . We liked the fact that it is situated on the A174 enabling us to catch the 4x buses either south into the town , Robin Hood's Bay and Scarborough or North to Staithes. A real bonus for golden oldies!
Reviewed by Iain5.0★May 2023
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"Fern Cottage was beautifully furnished, the decor was minimal and tasteful and the house was warm."
We had good weather so we were also able to use the outside seating/garden area, which was a bonus. We had everything we would want. The house is in a good location for every location in Whitby.
The only not criticism I would say which is not a criticism really is, please make the arrival time earlier and the exit time later on the property. Although, I phoned the owner who was extremely helpful and let us go in earlier than expected and also on leaving day we could leave our bags and had another half day in Whitby. Which was extremely good and helpful, we were so grateful. We will be booking this cottage again. If there was a lockup area where bags could be left as our transport from West Yorkshire was by minibus, this would also be very helpful.
Reviewed by Joan5.0★Apr 2023
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