“Overall we enjoyed our stay at Bracken Cottage.”
Everything was spotlessly clean, high spec and we found the cottage to be well equipped which made our stay very comfortable. We arrived to find a hamper of treats, milk and orange juice in the fridge and fluffy robes and slippers for each of us - off to a great start! The cottage is situated in a very quiet spot of countryside and we were undisturbed. There are three TVs, one in the living room, and one in each bedroom which made life easier as the kids could watch what they wanted. Unfortunately, I hadn’t realised until arriving at the cottage and reading the manual, that dogs are not allowed to be left unattended in the cottage. When I had booked Bracken Cottage it was listed as dog friendly and there was no mention of this rule. Thinking it wouldn’t be a problem (because our dog is well behaved, house trained and rarely barks unless someone’s at the door) we left the dog in the cottage so we could take the kids to York’s Chocolate Story (highly recommend, do pre-book) and York Minster (incredible) and go to The Shambles for some Harry Potter shopping! Whilst out, the owner reported me to Sykes and I received an emailing stating I needed to return to the dog and that I could be asked to leave if I did this again! Shocked by the threatening email, I contacted Sykes who advised me they always recommend owners implement this rule and they couldn’t help me any further, so I contacted the owner directly who advised me the dog had been barking and she was sitting on the sofa where she is not allowed to sit. Eventually the owner agreed to let it go and wished us a nice day, so we didn’t have to miss out on what we’d already booked, but this restricted the majority of our holiday from then on as we couldn’t leave the dog for any length of time if we didn’t want to risk being evicted! By the way, Sykes confirmed later, in another strongly worded email, that this rule is in the small print within the terms and conditions that you accept as you complete the booking. I didn’t read those and I’m pretty sure no one ever does, so beware. The hot tub is eco friendly and runs from a wood burner. This takes quite a long time to get going - 4 hours or so when it’s cold. We got better at using it as the week went on but it was a faff and very time consuming and you need to keep going outside every 10-15 minutes to check it and throw some wood/kindling on it. Once it’s his 38 degrees it’s lovely, but there are no bubbles. We would definitely have preferred an electric hot tub and to have paid more for it, so now we know. We went to the RAF museum (dog friendly) about 18 min drive from the cottage and enjoyed that, we also spent a day at Whitby which was fantastic and the kids and dog loved it. The Abbey is dog friendly as are the beaches, off peak.
- Katharine, October 2023
Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback. We were pleased to hear you had liked the cottage despite the stay not being as you’d hoped. Regarding the dog, unfortunately it is standard practice in holiday lets not to allow pets to be left unattended in unfamiliar surroundings for both the benefit of, us the owners & the welfare of the pet. It is clear in the Terms & Conditions, Our Guest Information Folder & Pet Welcome/Info Card, however we have made sure that Sykes have now made it clear on our Cottage web page also.
With regards the treatment you received by Sykes, I would suggest contacting them directly as I certainly wouldn’t want any of my guests to feel threatened by them. I have also spoken with them on this matter.
Many thanks
Joanne
Property Owner
