Salt Bay, 1 Hoggarth Yard, Spital Bridge, Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO22 4EG

Firstly, the house is very well located for access to Whitby (garage parking and a parking space was excellent) and was very clean with all the utensils, towels etc that we needed and is very new and well decorated.

I will now explain the reason for my low rating of our stay:

During June and July (at least) it is the breeding season for seagulls. We are very aware that this is a seaside location and as such there will be seagulls. What we were very unaware of was the lack of seagull nesting prevention - the gulls are on every rooftop and chimney in the small courtyard - chicks were everywhere, having fallen out of nests, including where the hot tub was - in my opinion any small dog or child could be in danger due to the gulls swooping around as the gulls were very protective of their young, plus 24 hour screeching, plus one gull resident on our bedroom window ledge, tapping on the glass all night (the pane of glass had scratch marks on the outside where the gull had continually tapped it). The gull excrement on all the outdoor furniture and patio during the week, we felt, was also another health issue. Consequently, we stayed 5 nights out of the 7 as we desperately needed sleep and our small dog was terrified, she is a jack russell and not prone to being scared of anything usually! The owner needs to at least try and gull proof the outside areas. Dogs also have to been taken out of the courtyard for their toilet needs as there is absolutely no grass at all.

The owners strive to be the best holiday let in Whitby, they did not disappoint. The property is beautifully decorated with clever use of space and luxurious accessories. They really have thought of everything within the property and the little touches they have considered to make your stay that bit better are fantastic. We had a wonderful stay, the hot tub is very private in a tastefully decorated outdoor area. The owners were fantastic to deal with and went above and beyond our expectations. We would definitely book again.

We travel a lot and enjoy staying in high end accommodation. We managed to find this property for a short stay in Whitby as soon as the lockdown was released, and we were not disappointed. The property is finished to a very high standard throughout and is in a modern and bright seaside theme. It is within easy walking distance of the harbour with no steps or large hills. There is adequate parking at the property. The outside area is a lovely sun trap in the afternoon to late evening, and is a lovely place to relax in the evening with a glass of wine or some Whitby gin. The hosts left some lovely locally sourced welcome gifts which was a nice touch. Overall we had an amazing time in Whitby and I would highly recommend Salt bay as the place to base yourselves.