Bakers Rest Cottage, Bakers Rest, Grasmere, Cumbria, LA22 9SU

The pictures don't show the reality of this property. We arrived on the Saturday morning to discover that the place was freezing cold and that the boiler didn't work. That was maintenance call-out number 1. The place had been unoccupied for nearly two weeks, so no idea how long the boiler hadn't been working for. The property was cleaned two weeks prior to us going in and there was dust everywhere. The property hadn't been cleaned properly at all. There was significant dirt everywhere, towel radiators were claggy, door handles sticky, fronts of doors dirty the list is endless. What really lets this property down though is the lack of maintenance. All the walls are scuffed, paintwork is damaged everywhere, doors don't shut, smell of sewage in one of the bathrooms, kitchen window doesn't lock, the list is endless. Our second maintenance call-out was due to the radiator in the hallway leaking. Someone had tried to fix this badly with some tape, but the radiator had been leaking substantially for some time. The carpet in the hallway is navy and ridged, so it wasn't obvious to us. However, once we stepped on it in our socks, it became apparent that this was absolutely sodden. Even the front door doesn't make the property look inviting, the paintwork is all chipped and it hasn't been cleaned in forever. Disappointing to say the least. On our final day we had three phone calls demanding to know where the parking permits were. We told them three times where they were. On the final phone call we were threatened with a £500 fine if they weren't found. Rather than Sykes having the common curtesy of ringing us to say they had found them, they chose to send an email. Absolutely appalling! The owners need to look at who is cleaning and maintaining their property, as change is needed.

After attempting to book a one night stay in Grasmere at a hotel for a birthday celebration, I opted for booking the Bakers Rest which was cheaper! Hotels in the area were requiring a 2 night stay. This is a 3 storey, spacious apartment with en suites in all 4 bedrooms. A lovely lounge which is pictured with double sofa's, wide screen TV, Wifi and dining table. Lovely modern kitchen with all the usual mod cons. Towels are provided and there are 2 car parking passes for the nearby garden centre car park. You can unload the car(s) at the door and then pa

We had a really nice week: the cottage is lovely and surprisingly spacious so, whilst we were lucky with the weather, shouldn't feel too cramped if you end up stuck indoors. The location is idyllic, in a lovely little village with a few sights and amenities and some great walks on your doorstep, as well as easy driving distance from bigger towns and other parts of the Lakes. The parking situation has been discussed elsewhere: one car does need to be fairly small to manoeuvre into the garage but we were able to pick up an extra permit for the third car we h

We enjoyed our long weekend at Bakers Rest, the cottage was a generous size with comfotable sitting and dining area.

One complaint is the lack of towels and soap in the bathrooms. While we were aware of this beforehand, it seems unnecessary and stingy. Especially the lack of any hand towels or soap left us washing hands with washing up liquid and drying with a tea towel. Some of the group travelled by public transport and towels take up a lot of room in luggage.

The shower fixings were really loose in both the main floor bathrooms, we were worried th