The Railway Retreat

Cottage was in an ideal position to walk into Whitby and to see the steam trains, but it is in need of a lot of tlc decor was tired kitchen was lacking in utensils ect kettle was dangerous as lid popped open all the time.

It was a shame as it’s such a nice spot

Cottage was comfortable and mostly clean, some areas of the kitchen looked a little worse for wear and had been attempted to cover up with chopping boards.

Kitchen lacked a few essentials, not many pans and couldn’t find a tin opener. Kettle needs looking at asap as the lid wouldn’t stay on without holding when pouring, could be dangerous. Bathrooms clean and nice powerful shower in en suite. Other than the kitchen needing a bit of tlc, stay was lovely and would happily book again. Location fantastic

Overall, me and my friends have been using railway retreat for the last four years location good nice to see the train going bye waving to the passengers we found that the kettle did not look very safe when filled and lifted the handle at the top came away a bit and you thought you was going to to fall off with boiling water possibly could do with a new one apart from that everything seemed to go okay?

Quiet at night good night sleep many thanks.

The location of the property was fantastic, the family enjoyed watching the steam trains go by and short walk to Whitby town.

The property itself is lovely however I don't think it really caters for 8, we were a family of six and we struggled with seating in lounge and eating in comfort at the dining table. There were only 4 breakfast cereal dishes (6 of us) The kettle lid kept popping up splashing boiling water. The cheese and egg draw cover in fridge fell off every time we opened the fridge door, in the end we put it on top. The cupboards need a good clean out. No locks on shared toilet and bathroom doors. Very very noisy floor boards. And it needs a lot of TLC from top to bottom. We noticed a small water leak on radiator in lounge the night before we left so we put a pot under it and left a note for the cleaners. When I tried to ring Sykes to tell them they said fill a form on line. I think we should be able to have better contact with Sykes without it being an emergency.

This has the potential to be a wonderful holiday home - it's close enough to walk to the town centre / beach but far enough out to lose the crowds.

On the road parking can usually be found close by for any additional cars. The beds are super comfy, having a family bathroom and an ensuite is great and the children especially loved the trains passing by. The cleaning team do a great job too. The big letdown is the kitchen - the awful state of the worktops and the haphazard assortment of chopping boards, the crockery being piled into one cupboard and the breakfast bar making access to the freezer and cutlery drawers difficult all combine to make you reluctant to do any cooking. These problems have been referred to in other reviews over a considerable length of time and could easily be put right with a little effort.

Great property and fantastic location.

Super easy check in and address is accurate. Don’t let the train line put you off. It’s a great addition to the Airbnb, no noise in the night and it’s a great attraction to view the trains from the property, very comfy & soft bedding, great layout of the property and the onsite parking space is very handy, however my only criticism would be is that it did feel quite tired inside especially in the kitchen. A new kitchen bin, utensils, crockery and tea, coffee sugar pots etc would be greatly benefitted in this cottage. Thank you for your hospitality!

Overflowing outside bin on arrival, Emptied 2 days after arrival, No room for our rubbish, Overgrown rose bush blocking front path, Sharp & dangerous, Had to cut down, Front door handle loose, Had to tighten, Kitchen clock off wall on worktop Nail missing to put back up, Not as clean as first visit in May 26, Sticky work surfaces, Dog hairs under dining table, Outside space smelt of dog pee, Had to swill, Bed top floor, Middle support was loose/ not supporting bed & x2 screws under bed, Had to push into place to support, Location excellent & we enjoyed Whitby as always, Was let down by lack of cleaning this time/ maintenance & tlc of outside space, eg drive & front of property overgrown, We left property cleaning when we departed than arrival, A lot of money for lack of cleanliness, maintenance & tlc, Mentioned these issues when feedback asked how our first nights stay was from Sykes, Nothing back from Sykes so far, Partial refund would be good or credit for next holiday being an excellent return customer ?

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This is our second visit as we love the location close to all the activity but still relatively peaceful.

The property could do with some tlc. The settees are well worn and sag badly which compounds the problem of the TV being high on the wall. The taps, particularly the over bath shower and upstairs taps, are very stiff and could do with a service. The windows are properly overdue being upgraded to PVC with the patio doors particularly insecure. Also the Roman Blinds are tired. That said we would stay again.

This was just a lovely place to stay.

The location is perfect, an easy walk to shops, cafés, pubs, and a parking place also helps. It was good too that there was free on street parking by the cottage as we were 5 friends meeting up with 3 cars. No complicated scratch cards! The cottage itself could not have been better, comfortable, well equipped and with top quality linen and towels. The kitchen was great, and the lounge area very comfortable. Four bedrooms gave us all our privacy, and good nights sleep. We enjoyed sitting outside in the sunshine and watching the trains go by. We had a great time. I would highly recommend.

Perfectly placed to walk into harbour from.

Lovely soft fluffy towels and clean bed linen Beds comfy. Unfortunately settees could do with up dating. Very saggy. Had an issue with a broken shower but a very helpful lady called Fiona had it looked at and replaced within 24 hours. All in all had a very nice time there and would definitely use it again.

Everything about our stay was excellent, Location, Accommodation & Area, Well done & thankyou Railway Retreat Whitby.

Excellent accommodation offering comfy beds, great kitchen and powerful shower.

Definite home from home feel and in a brilliant location to explore Whitby. Many thanks for the comprehensive quality welcome pack. The dog was happy to have an early morning or last thing at night short walk along the river close by. Look forward to a return visit in the near future.

Lovely house.

Plenty of room for all the family. Very clean. Comfortable beds and couch. Would definitely return

The Railway Retreat is very conveniently located been less than a 10 minute level walk from Whitby.

Off road parking for one car is a real bonus. We enjoyed the views from the property and the numerous trains passing by. The house could benefit from a thorough deep clean and a touch up of the decorating in places.

The location is superb, especially for railway enthusists, with just a short walk to town and parking a real bonus.

Note that the North Yorks Moors trains stop outside the property for up to 5 minutes on their way into and out of Whitby and passengers look straight into the cottage. The cottage is spacious and resonably well equipped but a few areas need attention. The TV does not work that well and is too high to view from rather uncomfortable sofas. The patio door lock is proving difficult and there is a draft between the doors, really the doors need replacing. We had to repair a couple of the roman blinds and the tie hooks are in a bad place. The blinds catch when being raised and someone heavy handed can break the tle strings. The shower mixer tap on the first floor is very stiff to switch off, unusual for a MIRA.

Second stay at the Railway Retreat, spotless again with plenty of space for the 8 of us for a few days especially as the sun was out so could sit in the small patio area for breakfast.

Too hot for stream trains unfortunately but nice to see the old diesels running feet from the garden. Easy walk into town or Ruswarp.

Ideally located with superb views Railway Retreat is a 10 minute level walk from Whitby town centre.

It is a spacious and clean house in a quiet location. As previous reviews have noted it needs a little tlc and decorative improvements especially in the bathrooms. The couches are low to the floor and very soft making them problematic for the older members of our party.

We had a lovely week at Railway Retreat.

We had to move here at short notice as our first cottage had an issue. The location is great and it's nice and spacious. Super that it has parking. It needs some TLC especially in the bathrooms and there was a constant pool of water under the washing machine. We'd stay again if it was tidied up.

Second time at property.

We felt it needs a little TLC from the owners now. Plumbing in particular is tired. We had good prompt attention in getting kitchen tap changed which was very hard to turn. Fur style cushions I don’t feel are appropriate in a holiday let. Far too many chairs cluttered in long/diner area! However, location fabulous with parking. Well equipped kitchen.

There was a door catch missing, no lock on bathroom door.

Main bathroom could have been provided with a non slip mat. Surprised there was not a dishwasher. Freezer in a really awkward position to get to. Property is far too small for 8 people.

Whilst we had a lovely stay there are lots of things that need looking at to make this property more comfortable for 6 adults and 2 dogs.

The doors slam shut, making it very dangerous for young children and dogs, the catches on the doors also don’t work properly and we couldn’t shut our bedroom doors properly. As well as this the bathroom door doesn’t lock. The living space is not big enough for 8 people and dogs, the dining table is too big for the space it’s been given and not set up properly. There was extra chairs stacked up messily when we arrived and a baby chair left on the floor these should have been tidied away as you would have been aware of how many of us were arriving. The breakfast bar in the kitchen is a waste of space and makes it difficult to get to the freezer. In terms of being a “dog friendly” property I wouldn’t say it was well set up for this. Open bins with plastic bags hanging loose from them, as explained the doors slamming shut and the outside area. The outside area has fake grass laid down over the patio area and also plastic foliage and a bamboo panel attached to the fence. (Sticks and leaves a dogs idea of fun!) When it rained ( only a tiny shower) the grass ended up soaking wet and squelchy which took ages for it to dry as well as it smelling. All in all this wasn’t the most comfortable cottage/ house we have stayed in and it needs a lot of rethinking and maintenance.

Great location, handy for the town.

On the whole a very positive experience but there are few minor things you need to sort out: 1. The freezer is almost impossible to get to as the gap between the breakfast bar and the wall is very tiny. 2. The freezer needs defrosting, it wasn't possible to open the bottom drawer due to excess ice. 3. When we arrived there were crumbs all over the breakfast bar and flaking paint by the kitchen window. 4. The TV needs changing as there are two bright spots on the screen which are permanent and visible regardless as to which channel is on. 5. There were only four of us yet there were eight chairs crammed into the dining area. We couldn't sit around the table without first carrying four of the chairs upstairs into a spare bedroom. 6. We had to buy a can opener as there wasn't one. This may sound very negative but they are easily remedied and would create a more positive experience. The house was comfy, the beds exceptionally so. One thing out of your control which you may wish to mention is that if you have to park opposite the house be prepared to have your car covered in leaves and tree sap!

Fantastic property with everything you could need for a relaxing stay, amazing location would highly recommend and will hopefully book again in the future

If you love trains, the The Railway Retreat will be your happy place.

Not only do the Northern Rail trains trundle past, but so do the North York Moors Railway locomotives, diesels and vintage carriages. The youngest members of our party (aged 5 and 6) very much enjoyed waving to the train passengers from the terrace of the property. An added bonus was that often the trains stopped for several minutes right outside, as the signals were there. As my childhood home adjoined a railway line, I was reminded of that time through the sights, sounds and distinctive smells of the steam trains particularly. The Railway Retreat is only a 5 minute walk from Whitby Station. As one of our party was disabled, this was particularly pertinent, as he was able to walk to the station then join us on a NYMR steam locomotive driven train to Grosmont. The house itself we found very accessible, though the steep stairs had to be negotiated carefully. The Railway Retreat is within easy walking distance of a play park, and also of the town itself, with its famous abbey, and interesting shops. There is a chip shop round the corner, so no need to go into Whitby for a fish supper. Several of our party enjoy hiking and both the Cinder Track walk to Scarborough and the Cleveland way clifftop path are literally on the doorstep. So, overall this was a house that ticked all the boxes for us, and made my birthday weekend very memorable and special.

The Railway Retreat was lovely.

An excellent location only a 5-10 minute walk to the Co-op across the car park. Views of the abbey from the lounge. The only thing I would comment on was that there were no instructions for the TV. I tried to tune it numerous times but could not even get free view. Instructions would be a huge bonus as we couldn’t watch the TV at all. Otherwise everything was perfect. We will rerun for sure

My family and I went to Whitby for a special weekend the time we spent there was lovely made by how we all loved the house we stayed in would recommend it and hopefully one day stay there again.

Great property, great location with all important parking.

Will definitely book again. Loved seeing the train so close by. Thank you so much for the welcome gift, we are now hooked on the cake and biscuits and had to buy more to take home.

thoroughly enjoyed our stay excellent location

Beautiful property and great location, only marked down on the comfort due to the master bedroom bed squeaked everytime you moved apart from that everything else was great.

Well equipped with everything you need, and the gift pack left on arrival is a lovely gesture.

All good interesting to be so close to the tracks but talking to passengers as the train waited was interesting and fun.

The plants outside were over grown need cutting back but the up keep inside was 100% good. odd no terrestrial tv only via sky box. This was interesting when trying to get a local weather forecast. overall enjoyed our short stay.

Lovely property.

Lovely furnishings. Exactly as expected from description and photos. Thank you for a lovely base for exploring this wonderful area.