Links Barn

I should have read the previous feedback before booking.

This is a romantic cosy barn, but as stated in the listing has two bedrooms, but both with single beds. We found the beds to be very uncomfortable, the mattresses were very hard and caused unpleasant nights with little sleep, to the point we left a night early. Great location and will return to Seahouses for sure!

Links Barn is a fabulous and comfortable base for exploring the coast and elsewhere and we very much enjoyed our stay!

Some crockery and glasses were not clean on arrival which was disappointing and so I dishwashed some of it for using and left a note for the cleaner to have a look. It might help to leave 7 dishwasher tablets as some guests will not purchase more and their standard of washing up may not be to standard. The Black Swan was excellent as was the Craster Arms steak night. We loved our boat trip to the Farne Is and driving over to Holy Island and Low Newton and of course Craster (to Dunstanborough).

Some how we had gained a different impression of the location of the property possibly due to its name Links Barn suggesting close to a golf course.

In fact we found the property to be between a fish & chip shop and a car park although conveniently central. The bedrooms were just too small for an otherwise well proportioned property. The wardrobe was inadequate. There was very little space around the beds and the wardrobe. Lack of doors to the en suites was not a great feature either.

This was our first stay at The Links Barn and loved it.

Lovely accommodation, great open plan ground floor and great bedrooms with their own bathrooms. The out side space was a great sun trap with the sun there most of the day. One little niggle, the window cleaner came on Wednesday at 7.15am to wash the windows when we were in bed asleep, not the type of alarm clock we need to wake us up! Having said that, we will be back next year.

We loved our stay at Links Barn.

Was really home from home. A unique property, bright, spacious, well equipped and very comfortable. The garden area was a little sun trap to early afternoon.Excellently positioned just behind the Main Street (but not noisy) giving easy access to other towns and villages in Northumberland. The single beds were slightly narrow and couldn’t be pushed together to make a double.

A real gem this place highly recommended very centrally located, clean and lovely atmosphere.

Overall lovely stay, one cracked wine glass that should have been noted.

bin collection was confusing, there is a blue bin and black bin but no instruction which to put out, guessed black one as these were out on the street but no instruction re blue bin, we took our waste home with us, many thanks, lovely stay, Dave and Kath

Links Barn is very well equipped, in an excellent location.

The property was very clean and tidy and has everything you need for a good break. The only issue we had was the bedrooms were a bit small. However the property is highly recommended. Five stars overall.

The cleanliness of the cutlery and general kitchen area left much to be desired, especially the knife block, draw handles and surfaces.

There were also an unacceptable number of chipped plates and dishes. We washed what we needed (for 2) and kept those separate. Also, the doormat outside the entrance needs replacing - curled up at the corners and presents a trip hazard. On the plus side, lovely light and airy space, warm enough and always plenty of hot water for the showers. All the appliances we used (oven, hob, fridge, freezer, kettle) worked well, and the radiators were easy to adjust (although the one on the far wall adjacent to the window was always hot regardless of the setting). Although the bedrooms are a bit cramped (an obvious restriction of the original building), the beds were comfortable enough.

A lovely, well equipped property.

All the facilities were good quality and the organisation was great. With one stark exception - the beds were out of keeping with the high standards of everything else - quite the creakiest, squeakiest beds I've known. If I were being picky I suppose the situation of the building, infill between the back of the shops and the car park is a bit unglamorous, which comes as a surprise, it's not the impression given in the listing. On the other hand, that doesn't take away from the quality of the conversion - it really is lovely on the inside.

We found the beds a little uncomfortable, perhaps the mattresses need replacing?

The bed frames also need tightening as very squeaky. Apart from that we were very impressed, lovely central place to stay, very clean and had everything we needed.

A fantastic property in a lovely location.

Very well equipped and homely.

We loved the barn, particularly my 8 year old who wanted to stay somewhere with a mezzanine!

All facilities were good, although we weren’t expecting only single beds! We’d definitely stay for longer next time.

Great location & accommodation.

Handy for everything. We had a great stay however... We are used to self catering places in Northumberland with Cottages.com. For the price I expected better quality crockery & glassware & welcome pack. Some plates & bowls needed replacing as the glaze had gone - grey lines & marks & very little matched. Washing up liquid & more toilet roll would have been welcome too. Very warm when we arrived. Heating was efficient. Plenty of hot water in the morning but when we got back from a chily boat trip & wanted hot showers about 6pm there was no hot water & no instructions about the boiler. This was the same through our stay, hot water in the mornings only.

The location was perfect; central but quiet.

The property was spacious and well equipped, apart from the bedrooms which were too small for 4 people (luckily there were only two of us so we managed). The beds were hard and uncomfortable, but the showers were good. There is still an issue with the gates! We were told on our second day that someone would come and fix them, but nobody did. We had to leave them unlocked for the duration of our stay. Nevertheless, we had a great holiday and if the bed and gate problems were resolved we would definitely return.

Great cottage, warm, clean and a really nice Interior.

Location is fantastic for everything ally way to get to the cottage is a little tight if you have a large car. If coming in to the cottage from the left go around roundabout and come in from the right, much easier. Only issue we had was not with the cottage that was absolutely lovely but the gate quite a struggle to get in on the first day we arrived, 6ft gate and fence. We unpacked and went to go out for the evening for a wonder but unfortunately the gate would not open, completely jammed handle on inside seemed disconnected to the locking mechanism and we were locked in from the inside, Contacted office and said someone would be out that night so stuck in that night. No one turned up all weekend lucky husband was with us and was able to climb over fence and open from the outside. If I was on own no way I could have even got the gate open on arriving. Although issues with the gates we would stay here again, hopefully that will be fixed next time

We enjoyed our stay at Seahouses, links barn was close to all amenities, well catered for in the property, my only two concerns were the beds were extremely uncomfortable and creaky (I had to sleep on the settee) and we also struggled locking the gate on leaving, we reported the gate problem to the office.

Other than those two issues we enjoyed our time at links barn.

Wonderful 3 weeks in this lovely property.

Useful having a local office to deal with any problems, reported storm damage to the gate, maintenance visit within 24hrs, Difficult to understand some of the negative comments we read, before booking, certainly not experienced by us, clean comfortable, spacious, well equipped, cottage in an excellent location. Although it’s unlikely we will be back in this area should that change we wouldn’t hesitate to book this cottage.

We have just had a very enjoyable week at Links Barn.

The property was a good size, well equipped and perfectly clean. Each bedroom had an en suite and there was a further shower room downstairs. The location was excellent with shops and restaurants just outside the door, and the harbour area a very short walk away. We enjoyed a walk along the beach to Bamburgh, took a boat trip out to the Farne Islands, went to Walkworth Castle, Amble and Alnwick. We found the beds comfortable, although a little creaky. The showers were powerful and the cottage was warm. We had some difficulty locking and unlocking the front door as the wet weather appeared to have swollen the door, we reported this on our first day so hopefully the next visitors won't have the same problem. It was definitely better to reverse into the 2 private off road park spaces right outside the property, which we managed fine. The property is nestled behind Lewis fish and chip shop, the fish and chips here were excellent and there is an indoor cafe. We visited as 2 couples and my only negatives would be how thin the wall was between the bedrooms as every noise could be heard, and that only one toilet roll per bathroom was provided which was not enough for a one week stay.

This is a lovely property and looks like the pictures on the listing.

It is very well equipped and does not deserve some of the previous comments made. It is very well situated ….you are right in the town centre and easy walk to the harbour, restaurants etc The parking is a little tight for a larger vehicle but you just have to unload before parking up. We were 2 couples stayed for 3 nights and had a very enjoyable time.

A beautiful barn which was comfortable and well equipped in a perfect location close to local amenities and ideal for exploring the local area.

We had a lovely stay

As there have been a couple of reviews of this property this year that haven't been so great, which understandably worried me before I had my holiday here (to the extent I contacted Sykes to check the issues had been resolved), I just wanted to leave a review that would hopefully reassure anyone else booked here on the current state of the property.

The cottage was clean and seemed to be well-maintained, with everything working as it should. The spacious kitchen and living room were particularly welcome. It was a great place to relax at the end of a busy day of walking or sightseeing. The central location was really good, and it was in easy walking distance of the beach and harbour, as well as the local shops (and we made good use of the fish and chip shop at the end of the driveway). All in all, we had a lovely stay. I would agree with one of the previous reviews about the beds being on the firm side, but it's rare I don't have that issue, and my friend whom I was holidaying with found them perfectly fine. The only other small downside was that the parking could be a little awkward if there were big vehicles in the other parking in front of the cottage's fence/gate (and on two occasions, others parking in what wasn't actually a parking space). You need to be competent at doing a three-point turn (or more) to be able to reverse into the parking inside the gates (and you definitely wouldn't want to be reversing out of the driveway/alleyway due to visibility and the busyness of the main street). However, if you're confident at manoeuvring and don't have a huge car yourself, it's fine. I would happily stay here again if I return to Seahouses in the future.

The place was filthy.

.. and, I emailed you during our stay to complain and have had absolutely no response. Very poor and we won't use Sykes ever again and I'll be doing a revealing trip advisor review later today too. Good day!!!!

After reading recent adverse reviews of Links Barn prior to our 1-week June booking, we contacted Sykes Holiday Cottages (SHC) to seek assurances that we would not encounter the same problems described in the reviews.

The last thing we want after a 5-hour car journey is to have to start cleaning the property. Consequently, we are expecting the property to be in immaculate condition when we arrive, not sometime into the booking week when the cleaning and other issues have had to be addressed by the property’s team On arrival, we found that the between-booking cleaning (toilets, kitchen crockery, cutlery, utensils etc) and preparation had been done very thoroughly, and that our main concern had been addressed. Others had found that the downstairs TV did not work. For us, the TV worked the first time we used it, but the next time we tried, it would not turn on. However, a technique we gleaned from the internet reset the TV and thereafter it worked fine. A velux window blind in the rear bedroom did not work correctly. Most of the deficiencies raised by the previous adverse reviews we found as well - the property is certainly in need of TLC from the owner. Overall though, we had a really enjoyable week visiting the many exciting places around Seahouses (Berwick, Holy Island, Bamburgh, the Farne Islands, Alnmouth, Alnwick, Craster & Dunstanburgh Castle, Cragside, Amble,…), and the weather was very kind too. Robert

The property was in need of some TLC and a good clean especially outside as the windows, seating and table on the small patio were covered in bird pooh.

There were tall weeds growing in the alley and the patio area. The plant containers were in a poor state and need replacing together with the majority of the plants. The BBQ is rusty and i for one didn't want to use it for food. It need replacing. The gate and front door has paint peeling off and needs sanding and painting. The overall first impression was very poor and disappointing for the money we had paid. The description regarding the location is very misleading: You don't access the property down a lane, but a gap between the fish shop and newsagents which is an alleyway at best. We encountered customers of the fish shop blocking access to the alley numerous occasions. There needs to be better keep clear signage for cars approaching from the right of the alley entrance. The description states there is off road parking for two cars but in reality only car can be parked securely behind the gates of the property, the other must be parked at the rear of the newsagents. The description states that the view from the mezzanine level overlooks quaint cottages. This is a blatant lie as all you can see is the rear of the newsagent and other shops which may contain holiday accommodation, but can not be described as "quaint cottages". You also have a view of two industrial size rubbish bins, presumably belonging to the news agents. Inside, the kitchen worktops were sticky and had to be cleaned before we felt happy using them. The freezer needs defrosting. The oven needs cleaning inside. Food stains needed wiping off on the stools before they were fit to use. Numerous cobwebs were found on the walls/ceiling and hanging lights. There is a step between the kitchen area and lounge area which is not defined well enough. It has a very narrow strip of hazard tape stuck to the floor but we ended up putting mat there as we had stumbled up and down the step a couple of times. The mats in the entrance hall slip under your feet every time you enter it, and are quite dangerous, they require slip matting underneath. The left hand bedroom required the bed to be moved in order for the short wardrobe door to be opened fully. The right hand side bedroom ensuite bathroom blind was broken and as a consequence couldn't be closed without being jammed with some card board to keep the light out. Both beds in both bedrooms creak every time you move and need replacing. The blind at the top of the stairs is broken too. All in all it is the worst holiday accommodation we and our friends have stayed in. It did not meet the high expectation we have come to expect from a 4 star Sykes property. Our concerns were also communicated to the Northumberland Cottages office in Seahouses before we left.

Upon arriving at Link Barn we found the property tired , unloved , dirty with the courtyard and patio areas inc table and chairs covered in birds pooh ( been there for a while) , dusty and full of weeds.

The property need a deep clean, everything in the kitchen inc work top and island was sticky, dirty oven, dirty sink and floors. Main TV did not work ( had to bring tiny one from bedroom down). Upstairs the bathrooms needed cleaning, the beds were uncomfortable and creaked at the slightest movement which wakes the others up. The velux window blinds were either missing , damaged or inoperable and not a good fit allowing daylight to be visible. We are very disappointed with Link Barn and felt the property is been misrepresented on the various websites and although we loved the area we will certainly NOT be staying at or recommend this property in the future.

Starting upstairs in the right hand bedroom the towel rail doesn't work.

The shower door has dropped so scrapes on the tiles when you open it. The beds across both bedrooms are so creaky that when so.eone turns over in the night it can be heard in the other room At 5pm there was not enough hot water for 4 people to get showered None of the tvs work...I can only assume the remotes need new batteries The standard lamps in the living area need new bulbs The fridge does not get to temperature at the top This was not the cheapest property when looking for our stay and quite frankly I expected a lot more. Quite frankly I was disappointed

We were very unhappy with the cleaning at the property.

The listing showed a clean and newly converted barn with inviting outdoor space. The photographs are very misleading. Before we unpacked out cases we had to go to the shop and purchase bleach and antibacterial wipes. We spent an hour cleaning the toilets and kitchen. All the handles in the kitchen were greasy and encrusted with food. We did enough cleaning inside the property to make us feel comfortable to stay there. I took all of the cutlery out of the drawer and put it through the dishwasher. The spoons were sticky and had been put away dirty.. The outside of the property was unacceptable and couldn't be used. I have a video I would like to send you. The agents did arrange for some cleaning of the outside area on Tuesday but it was not a good job. The BBQ was not usable. It was filthy. The chairs had nails sticking out of them and the promised cushions could not be found. This property needs some tlc. It is tired and now seemingly used for storage by the owners! The kitchen was well laid out and very well equipped but was let down by the lack of cleaning. I would like to discuss this further. The property was misrepresented to us and we were denied the use of the promised facilities.

Overall fantastic location very homely loved it and the design was excellent.

.We found the beds to hard for us and noise when in bed from outside was a.little distracting but defintely recommend for visiting all around Northumberland.

Airy spacious property in an excellent location.

Well equipped kitchen and comfortable living area. Well appointed outside space, we would have made more use of had it been warmer.

Great property which is perfectly located off the main street with easy parking.

Excellent kitchen and living accommodation.

Links Barn is a comfortable and bright place to spend a holiday.

Excellent standard, well presented and well supplied.

Very convenient location. Suited us perfectly.

Very clean property with lots of space.

Easy to access local shops, beach and restaurants.

Links Barn is a surprising and delightful "oasis" tucked away just off the main street .

Inside it is stylish, bright, well furnished and well equipped.

Excellently clean property, well furnished with all the amenities.

Third time here and we will come again.

We enjoyed our week staying at Links Barn, it was comfortable, light and bright with the patio doors opening onto the lovely private outside space.

The en-suite bathrooms are excellent and it's lovely that they provide large bathsheets rather than bath towels. Wifi was good and the private parking definitely a plus. The kitchen has plenty of crockery, cutlery,pots and pans etc. Would happily recommend Links Barn to family and friends and would consider returning in the future.

This was an ideal property for us, well located and easy to park.

The central location in Seahouses made for easy evening strolls to the harbour, pub and restaurants. There was no noise and we enjoyed eating breakfast and sitting out in the small courtyard. The Barn had everything we needed and was very clean and nicely decorated.

Excellent property in good location.

Easy to find and plenty of good shopping, pubs and restaurants within walking distance

Warm, comfortable and very private considering central location.

We'll equipped and homely. Very spacious living accommodation for 4

A well planned and well equipped self catering accommodation with a superb central location and excellent facilities.