Henside Cottage

The Good - The property’s location is sensational.

If you want to be in-the-middle-of-nowhere, this is it. Situated in the grounds of a secluded farm, and surrounded by fields, you really do feel like you’re away from it all. A lovely drive from Settle over a single track road, over cattlegrids, surrounded by nothing but hills, fields, and livestock. The cottage is small but spacious. We stayed as a family of four with a dog and there was enough room for us all. It appears to have been recently decorated/refurbished. Less than a 10 minute drive to the shops in Settle, and a 20 minute drive to Malham. A really beautiful setting. The Bad - The cottage is lacking a few of what I would say are ‘standard’ things you’d expect if you stay in holiday cottages like we do. The kitchen is equipped with the absolute bare-minimum in the way of cutlery, utensils, cookware etc. We couldn’t sweep the hard floor downstairs as there was no sweeping brush, or even a dustpan and hand brush. There was a small battery powered vacuum cleaner which was already full of dirt and dust; presumably from the previous occupier who had not emptied it and the cleaner had obviously missed it. There is no welcome pack anywhere, so we had to figure out the oven and hob without instructions, and we had to guess where to put our rubbish. I’m still not convinced we weren’t putting it in the neighbours wheelie bins, maybe they’re shared. I’m unsure. No other information was left anywhere that you’d usually expect to find in a standard welcome pack, including wi-fi information. There was a wi-fi guest network with the name of the cottage next door, so we connected to that. Again, I’m not sure if that was right or not. The Ugly - The heating doesn’t work downstairs. We stayed the last week in October, and it was very cold at night. Apparently there is underfloor heating downstairs. There are no instructions for the digital touchscreen thermostats, and the one downstairs was installed upside down. We couldn’t get it to work, despite trying multiple times and asking the owner for help. There is a small heated towel radiator in the downstairs loo, and we couldn’t get that to work either. I messaged the owner, and didn’t get a reply. Later that day I called him and said there were no instructions for the heating and we couldn’t get it to work. He said instructions aren’t needed because you just press the up and down arrow to change the temperature. He said he wasn’t aware of any problems with the heating and that he was in London and would try and get his Father to come round. Nobody came and there was no further communication. I messaged him again the following day asking what was happening and he just replied “doesn’t the heating work upstairs?”, which it did but downstairs was freezing cold. I replied with this and he didn’t reply. I didn’t hear from him again, and nobody came. There was a small oil filled radiator which we plugged in downstairs, but it is certainly not adequate to heat an open-plan living space. We resorted to wearing extra layers and used the blankets. There are an unusual amount of air fresheners around the cottage. Plug-in’s, reed defusers, scented candles etc. it was overpowering and we had to remove them. I didn’t think it was good for our two children and dog. The sink leaks into the cupboard next to the freezer. This didn’t really cause us any problems, more feedback for the owner. Overall, a great little cottage in a superb setting and location, lacking some real essentials and care. It was very cold, and it could’ve been magnificent.

The property is in a wonderful location nestled in the hills.

You approach it across open dale and the approach is stunning. First impressions last and that's where it comes apart a little. The first thing we found was the broken toilet seat in the downstairs loo, a particular hate of mine. Then we tried to lower the blind in the loo and it came off. It was chilly, being late September, so we went in search of the instructions for the heating. There is no information pack, no instructions for anything. There was a card from the owner, with a phone number, saying the heating operates on room thermostats. Sadly it took us ages to work out the one downstairs because it is upside down. Having worked it out, it was clear the heating was not working so we contacted the owner. He came back promptly to say he would see what he could do but he was in Dubai. I chased him the following day, having heard nothing more, and he simply said there is a fault with the heating and that there is an oil filled radiator, which of course is inadequate to heat the whole space. We contacted Sykes on their WhatsApp number, it took them 48 hours to respond and then I had to chase them again. They did nothing to help resolve the issue. The description talks about cooking a nice meal, but there was no roasting dish. We bought one and left it at the property for the next visitor. As you might expect, the TV signal is poor. The TV is a smart one but you can only realistically stream Netflix and Amazon Prime. BBC iPlayer buffers a bit. The terrestrial channels buffer so badly they are unwatchable so bear that in mind if you visit with children. We didn't let any of this spoil our holiday. The area is fabulous with loads of walking for most abilities. There are great dog friendly pubs in Settle and the general locality. Skipton is worth a visit and of course there is Grassington and many other small towns to drop into. Needless to say of course, we will not be booking with Sykes again but we do hope you enjoy your holiday.

The cottage was clean, comfortable and largely well appointed for us as a couple.

A sieve/strainer/colander would have been a great addition to the kitchenware, plus a few more mugs and cutlery. As a previous reviewer has mentioned, there are no instructions about anything - rubbish disposal, heating, appliances - nothing.