Peak District Self Catering cottage, The Barn at Smalldale Hall, Bradwell, sleeps 8

Very good - if the owners acted upon the client feedback they?d get an Excellent!
We had a lovely week, almost everything was perfect - just a few niggly bits which, if fixed would earn an Excellent from us. Beds clean & comfortable. Kitchen very well equipped in general, though a couple of glaring omissions in our opinion - a set of oven gloves and a washing up bowl being the most important. Living area ( middle of 3 levels) worked well for our mixed group. A little dog in our party was welcomed. We had cause to ask for a special favour which was quickly authorised by the owners - so kudos for that. Plumbing/ water pressure etc. not perfect but we adapted. Some dusty spots - interesting, considering that intense Covid cleans are still being done, apparently. Bottom line, we?d happily return as the area has so much to offer and even staying in the property ( as in not going out) isn?t a hardship, but would be disappointed if the owners don't take note of the oft mentioned ( not only by us) small oversights which would gain an extra star from us.
Lis E
2022-06-04

Great place to stay
We had a wonderful time. The Barn was extremely well equipped, Three abthrooms, Four bedrooms, two kitchen, lovely grounds and very secluded. Lovely walks around and nature in abundance. Will definatelt stay again!
markprice63
2020-08-20

Excellent
What a great place, clean,tidy and great facilities nothing to fault about this property at all. Came with 4 adults and 2 children which gave us masses of space. Highly recommend
Richard B
2019-01-02

Nice, but some things to be aware of
Other than the concern about showers, below, we think this holiday home is lovely. Stylish, modern decor and furnishing; well equipped; comfy beds. Other than bathrooms, spacious. The managers were very friendly and helpful. The bathrooms and kitchen were spotless. When I looked really carefully in hard-to-reach high corners, I did spot one or two cobwebs, but being a barn with lots of beams, there's always going to be some cobwebs. The broadband was better than I expected for a relatively rural location. Good enough to stream TV. I ran a speed test and got 4.8Mbps downstream. The over-the-air TV signal is poor though, so it is good that the very modern TV can handle iPlayer, Netflix, etc. There are a few areas where we would find fault, hence our rating, although overall I would say the plus points outweigh the negatives and we would stay there again if we returned to the area. The biggest downside is that the showers are close to unusable, though baths are fine. This is partly due to weak pressure and unstable temperature (though there was always plenty of hot water). But the main problem is poor headroom. The two upstairs ensuites are in the eves, so they have restricted headroom and the over-the-bath showers are particularly restricted by a roof beam. If you are under 5 ft 5 high, you should be fine, but anyone higher will find there's a roof beam where their head needs to be, unless they stand within 18 inches of the wall the shower head is fixed to, which is too close (imagine trying to use a cubicle 18 inches wide). One is constantly at risk of bashing one's head on the beam. The beam also means the shower curtain can only extend 18 inches, which is just not enough to keep the floor dry. The ground floor shower has even less headroom and the shower head only fixes to the wall about 2 feet up. Otherwise, it is hand held, so only any use if you are showering a young child. It would be nice to have some rails to hang up bath towels. The downstairs toilet seat was broken when we arrived and was not fixed during our week stay. It was very loose and fell off a few times. I don't know how long it has been broken, but even if this happened during the stay of the last guests and they did not report it, the need for a repair must have been apparent when the toilet was cleaned on changeover day, so there was ample time to get it repaired before our week's stay ended. Contrary to the listing, there is no DVD, CD/radio, or iPod dock, though this did not bother us. The garden is fairly wild, but in the rural/farm location, this did not feel inappropriate. We were visited a few times by three sheep, who would no doubt destroy flower beds! But it is a shame not to have better garden furniture. The wooden picnic table is rotten in parts and feels like it might break soon. The plastic chairs are covered in grime. The kitchen rubbish bin is built into the sink unit. To use this you lift a circular cut-out in the wooden top panel, but the handle of the cover for the hole seems to be missing a knob that fingers can hold, so you are left prising it up with your fingers.
IvanOpinion
2018-07-26

Mrs
Exciting property in super location. Layout of house is great and worked for our teenage/adult children. Let down unfortunately by absolutely no info provided to guests about property facilities- WiFi, oven, bins, heating, local area... Although granted not stated in listings- no hairdryer, iron, drying rack and cutlery tray, bathroom cleaner? Bathrooms could have been much cleaner. Needs greater attention to guest interest and their safety and a deep clean.
fiboosebuns
2018-04-12