St Hilda's Cottage, St Hilda's Cottage, Hinderwell, Hinderwell, North Yorkshire, TS13 5JX

Had an amazing weeks stay in St Hilda?s Cottage during mid November. The cottage is situated on a complex with a boutique hotel and a couple of other self catering properties and whilst we saw other residents, there was no disturbance from any noise.

The complex manager Debbie went above and beyond to make sure our stay was as comfortable as possible, delivering fresh eggs during our stay and even gave us a quick tour of the hotel to view some of the amazing rooms they have on site.

The cottage had everything we could ask for, 2 ample sized double bedrooms, an open plan kitchen/living room/dining area, large bathroom with a powerful shower and a very welcome hot tub in the garden outside to relax in after a day walking. There was outside table and chairs and even a pizza oven but, due to the time of year we stayed, these were unused by ourselves.

The kitchen was both clean and well equipped and the living room came complete with reclining sofa & armchair and a large smart TV.

The cottage is located just a few minute walk to the Cleveland Way coastal path midway between Runswick Bay and Staithes with a stunning walk in both directions. Whitby and Saltburn are both just a short car journey away.

We enjoyed amazing meals out at No 20 Restaurant and The Badger Hounds, both just 2-3 minute walk but I would advise booking well in advance for both.

For sea food lovers, Whitby Crab Company is just down the road in Staithes with amazing dressed crab, lobster and smoked fish and for kippers there?s no better than Fortune?s in Whitby.

I?m certain we?ll be back, we couldn?t fault the cottage, location or the amazing local food choices.

Finally, be aware that this property changed hands during the early part of 2021 so be mindful to disregard any negative reviews prior to this time.

Excellent location, just a 10 minute walk to the coast. Cosy clean cottage. Benefit of a hot tub after many glorious walks. Well equipped and clean accommodation. Hinderwell has just what you need. 2 pubs, a chippy, butchers and tea room. Added benefit of being on the bus route. Lovely welcome basket including farm fresh eggs and locally made butter. Debbie welcoming and happy to offer advice.

Definitely recommend this place.

After booking the cottage I read a really bad review so was expecting the worst ...on arrival I was overwhelmed and relieved..the cottage was beautiful ..although not detached it was spacious very clean and well equipped ..it was short of nothing ..the beds were really comfortable..the location was great ...Will definitely return but will make sure we book meals at the Badger Hounds well in advance..because of covid we were unable to eat there as it was booked up ..

Reading these reviews I cannot believe the things people have said. Yes the furniture has changed slightly and yes there is some sort of bees nest in the back garden but who gets offended by bees? Not me and I'm allergic to them. Never bothered us once. The cottage was spacious and clean including the beds & utensils. We stayed 4 nights and had no problem, no noise, no one bothered us. Hot tub is lovely. Yes the garden could of done with a jet wash but other than that it was lovely. There were spare batteries in the kitchen drawer. Beds were comfy, bathroom is large. Was very handy having the washing machine with 2 kids but wasn't much places to hang washing. We went up to see the birds on the little farm and my daughter loved seeing the cats everyday that came to the window and door. Definitely a quirky cottage and so spacious! We really enjoyed our stay and would recommend.

Where to start.

St Hildas Cottage issues List

Suite of furniture different than pictured - Not a big deal , but not as advertised.

Dining Table - not as pictured, not comfortable to be sat at - Clearly was from a bar, type that are commonly seen in Weatherspoons etc, as it had the number 33 on the table.

Fireplace did not work - Batteries missing from remote.

Decking out back - Not swept - Leaves everywhere and generally dirty in appearance. Nettles growing and overgrown in general. The hanging seat in the garden photo?s also attached, this had bird droppings on it, and was a mess, The overgrown shrubs are growing into it. The Pizza Oven in the garden is a nice addition, however, if you actually used it, would cause fire and burn the overgrown branches and vegetation around it.

On sweeping the decking ourselves, we noticed that there were a number of Bee?s crawling around on the decking. In the space of 10 minutes we seen 40+ bees go into the corner were the hot tub is, and underneath the decking - Clear to see there is a Bee?s nest underneath the decking

Glass out onto decking on doors - Grubby and Dirty - We cleaned this on arrival ourselves.

While starting to cook on our night of arrival - I noticed when taking a plate out that it was marked with a few specks of dirt - So I cleaned it thinking that it may have been overlooked. I got a few pots and pans out, and noticed that the bun tin was really beyond any fit state to be used, let alone offered for visiting guests to use.

The colander - See attached photo. The marks on this, really put us both off, it looks like human excrement. As we were still intending on staying when we noticed this, we put it through a boil wash in the dish washer.

The bedrooms had clean linen on the beds, but there were grubby marks on the carpet and on the Main Bedroom Duvet - Photos Attached also.

Overall the cottage needs to have a deep clean. Having both worked through the COVID Pandemic as key workers, we just wanted to get away and have a hot tub cottage were we could relax. Having a property that has been closed the last three months, we would have expected that in the current situation where hygiene and cleanliness is necessary and expected, we were very shocked and disappointed to see the state of this ?Luxury? Cottage.

Not being able to contact the owner has been frustrating, as we feel both the onsite help, while friendly and apologetic were very keen to make it clear that they didn?t own the property. The only contact number, which misleadingly states is for Mr David Barker, actually routes through to the staff looking after the guest house, who say they have nothing to do with the cottage.

We had booked for 7 nights in total, but 2 nights was more than enough. We reported the issues to the onsite staff, and allowed 24 hours for remedial work to be acknowledged - But as per the pattern with this property - No one can ever contact the owner.

Having taken this up with Sykes, and been advised them that we will be seeking a refund for the full amount through our credit card, they have told us, that if we do, they will place a debt against us, and sell it on, therefore creating a CCJ against us. Sykes ? Please educate your staff, obviously if they knew that to get a CCJ (County Court Judgement) Yes the clue is actually in the name, this will have to go through court, which, due to the evidence and the photographs we have taken, will happily stand up in court and argue the case in point.

So 3 of us (3 young lads) booked a 3 night stay here in February half term.

-On arrival we were greeted with dirty floors, dirty pots and pans, dirty hobs and even wee stains on the toilet. We spent an hour cleaning up.

-A stool was cracked right in the middle.

-13 bulbs out and none of the landing lights where working.

-Had to wait a full day for the hot tub to reach temperature

-1/2 a toilet roll was available for 3 grown men for 3 nights!!

-No salt in the salt pot

-The welcome pack consisted of 6 of the little milks that you would get in McDonald?s, no tea or coffee to go with it!!

-A light was hanging down

-Visitors book was full and had been since October.

-WiFi signal inadequate.

-There?s a DVD player but not the appropriate lead to go with it so couldn?t watch available dvds

-Soap holder and plinth has come off the wall in the bathroom.

So all in all I?d not advise you to stay there!!

I contacted Sykes cottages who we booked it through when we got back and awaited their phone call and have rang on numerous occasions since as I?m STILL waiting a response hence why I?ve put this on later to give Sykes cottages and the cottage itself time to rectify my complaint.

After reading a review from August 2018 I was concerned about our stay, but I can honestly say I'm not sure the review is for the same place. The Cottage looks just like the pictures, the hottub is fantastic and it has everything you need ( apart from WiFi)

The owners greeted us on arrival and we had fresh farm complimentary eggs every morning for breakfast. The locations is brilliant. We had fab days in Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay as well as Sandsend beach being so close!!

Towels and bedding included and no issues.

The only thing I'd add is WiFi but some people prefer to get away from the world on a seaside break.

Thanks for having us

Visited with my husband and our dog for 3 nights, only negative was it just wasn't long enough! Absolutely loved this cottage. Owner was incredibly friendly; there if you need anything but gave us plenty of space to do your own thing. Hot tub was amazing & being able to see the farm animals every day & collect fresh eggs ourselves was a lovely novelty.

2 local, dog friendly pubs within a few minutes walk. We particularly enjoyed the Brown Cow as the staff & locals were very friendly and the food was great. Great place to relax after a long walk.

I absolutely love Hinderwell and this is my third visit to this cottage which I booked directly with the owner who kindly allowed me to also take along my two dogs. Hinderwell and (previously) the cottage are an ideal location for me to work in peace and quiet. I had visited in November 2014, February 2015, and April/May 2015.

Owners are friendly and generally helpful; I had not reviewed previous visits in the hope that by the third visit any constructive criticisms from earlier visits would have been overcome. I also recognise what the owners are tryin

My boyfriend and I came to stay at St Hilda's cottage for a relaxing long weekend to get away from it all. On our arrival Dave was very welcoming and had even left us a little welcome pack of cakes, tea, coffee and milk which was very well received after our 6 hour journey. The location was perfect, tucked away enough to feel private but also close to the local shop and pub, where the portions are enormous and absolutely delicious! Make sure you pay a visit the local sites of Whitby and Robin Hoods Bay for lovely beach walks. It's also worth a trip to the Ma