Self Catering in Northumberland - Newton-by-the-Sea

House in need of significant improvement
Booked through Sykes, that gave the cottage a top quality rating, but there are significant issues. The following represents some of the issues we noticed during our stay: 1. On arrival we were greeted by a rusty and unsightly outdoor coal fire for cooking, but filled with dirty rainwater. 2. The decking poses a trip hazard with some uneven and movable parts. 3. The door handles in the property are stiff and creaky. Getting into the property: the key is difficult in the lock and needs carefully pulling back until it will unlock. 4. The carpet in the lounge is heavily worn, rutted, and pulled back from a door bar representing a trip hazard. 5. The garage doors struggle to open part way only. 6. Mice (not birds) scurrying around in the loft space above the downstairs bedroom. 7. The downstairs toilet flush needs attention, sometimes taking a long time to fill after flushing. 8. The downstairs toilet ceiling has evidence of moisture from above, black marks from damp, and peeling paint. 9. Cobwebs in the lounge vaulted roof space, and blamed by the owner on the cleaners she employed. 10. One chair in dining set had a very loose leg - until the owner tightened it with an Allen key. 11. Another chair with the chair back broken at the seat level, so that when sat upon it almost pitched the occupant off - taken away for repair by the owner 12. The occasional table in the lounge is falling to pieces with dowels on view. 13. Full remote control for the television was missing. 14. The downstairs bathroom had a cracked tile covered by plastic. The floor underneath the tiles nearby is noticeably spongy and needs serious attention. This may well be due to water leaking from the shower, clearly over a long period of time, rotting the floor under the tiles. 15. The extractor fan in the downstairs bathroom does not work. 16. The bath panel was cracked and badly repaired with bathroom sealant. 17. The coffee machine in the kitchen is not functioning properly. 18. The kitchen refrigerator was not working properly: there is no interior light and the door does not close properly. The owner commented that she was putting in a new one - but this was too late for ourselves. 19. There was another refrigerator and freezer in the garage. This also does not function properly with a large ice slab in the freezer, and the thermostat not working in the fridge resulting in some of our recently purchased food on arrival going off before we could eat it. 20. The oven door in the kitchen didn't shut. This has persisted over several months now - we know from other reviews. 21. Upstairs, the bathroom door is impossible to push shut. The door no longer fits the frame. 22. The shower door did not always shut properly. The floor became wet and slippery, causing a fall long after the shower had been used. 23. The paint in the shower is peeling and black from damp persistence, whilst the ceiling is cracked above the shower. 24. The lock on the door to the en-suite seems insecure - you never feel quite sure that it is stopping someone else coming in. 25. The lock on the door to the downstairs toilet feels equally insecure. 26. The utility room has a broken tile on the floor. 27. There was no evidence that the external windows had been cleaned. We telephoned the owner whom we met two days into our week. She came to attend to some of the above. She was friendly, apologetic, and brought two bottles of wine which we will use as raffle prizes for charitable purposes. She fixed what she could (the chair) took away the other dangerous chair, and left us to tolerate and find other faults. She thanked us for informing her because otherwise she would not have known, whilst telling us that her daughter had just been to the cottage - but not said anything, so it would seem, about the deficiencies. This cottage could be wonderful, but it is tired after many years of rentals. We've emailed more detailed feedback to Sykes prior to submitting this review.
O3407SKjohnb
2022-07-19

Could be Fabulous
The house was in need of a good clean holes in the carpet and mouldy showers, broken wardrobe The games room included a broken pool table Beautiful location grotty house
clotheskids
2019-09-29

Broadwood House is spacious, clean and comfortable and the perfect base to explore Northumberland or to just spend time with family. We enjoyed both. Our sons enjoyed the games room in the garage. We spotted wonderful wildlife, including a hare, and visited the Farne Islands, Holy Island, Alnwick, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh castles. A great half term holiday was enjoyed by our extended family, aged 11 to 79 years!
Mrs Brookes
2016-06-04

Great house which has everything you needed to have a great time.
Mrs Warren
2016-02-20

Lovely house! Very spacious and comfortable. Would highly recommend.
Mrs Mccoy
2015-11-03