“I recently had a long weekend at Low Dog Kennel and found the property and location to be wonderful.”
It was easy to find and located in a very tranquil setting. Despite this, it was really conveniently located to get around the southern lake district and well placed for sight-seeing. I had the most relaxing, restorative time there and it really did feel like a home from home. The peace and quiet was wonderful.
The property is lovely, and decorated to a good standard. I felt the pictures didn't really do justice to how nice it was. The kitchen is fitted with very high quality appliances and there was a lovely welcome pack upon arrival. The bed was extremely comfortable and the shower great - good pressure and plenty of hot water. Despite being in a very rural location the wi-fi and TV signal were all fine. It was all very clean when I arrived. There is a lovely small secure yard which is a real sun trap and I spent many happy hours out there with my dog reading and meeting the cows in the next field when they visited. I really enjoyed my time at the property.
I would never again rent a property with a 9am check out time - ouch!
There were two big drawbacks for me which stopped this being a perfect property. Firstly, dogs aren't allowed upstairs. I completely respect owners putting whatever restrictions they want to on their property's use, but those restrictions should be clearly advertised so you can decide whether or not you're comfortable with them before you let a property. Describing your property as dog-friendly and then not disclosing to holiday makers until they get there and it's too late to do anything about it that dogs aren't allowed in 50% of the house is unfair.
The main drawback though was the heating situation. The heating is controlled remotely and is set to come on a times and to a temperature of the owner's choosing. You have no ability to turn it on if you're too cold and off if you're too hot and the only way of communicating with the owner is through Sykes so is only in office hours and Sykes were not quick at picking messages up. Whilst the owner did turn the heating up on a day I was cold when I was there, the next day was blazing sunshine and I had no way of turning it down. The owner's suggestion is that you light the fire if you're cold at times that they have decreed you should be out of the property and therefore the heating doesn't need to be on, but of course this only heats the one room. Want to enjoy a long leisurely bath in that beautiful deep tub in the afternoon? You can - but you'll catch a chill when you get out!!!
I'm including that information in this review which I hope Sykes will publish, as again, I feel that this should be honestly disclosed in the listing. Had it been, knowing that I am someone who feels the cold, I would not have rented this property as I would have known that that arrangement would not have worked for me.
