Heythrop | House in Farley, England

Positive: Fantastic location for Alton Towers

Negative: Beds were very low . Not good for anyone with bad knees etc

Negative: The beds weren't that comfy. The house was chilly when we arrived, but soon warmed up once we'd put the heaters on. Needs a lot of TLC, painting, kitchen equipment need cleaning etc

Positive: The location. Right next to Alton towers easy to walk in. Enough bathrooms to go round and quiet location

Negative: No hooks by the front door to hang up outdoor coats. Needs a shoe rack near the front door. Also needs coasters for drinks

Positive: Great size! Lots of bedrooms! We liked that there were lamps on each side of the double beds! Very well equipped in terms of kitchen necessities (bowls, plates, cutlery, etc) and the dishwasher was a lifesaver. There was a bath towel per person, plus hand towels. Plenty of bathrooms meant no one had to wait! The blankets in the twin room (particularly the soft one) was appreciated by my niece. The crisps and shortbread were a nice touch! Alton Towers is within walking distance, saving us £48 in parking (2 cars for 2 days), which was marvellous! It was fantastic to have the whole family together in one place. Excellent parking (although the hill drive in is very tight at the top). Asda is also very nearby, and a Londis too.

Negative: The double beds were all very low, which made getting in and out difficult for some of our party. The house was very hot (no heating on!) and the only way to cool the bedrooms was to leave the windows open - this was an issue in the skylight rooms as flies and spiders frequently came in, which terrified the kids. Fans would have been ideal. The blackout blinds didn't black out much from the skylights (one has a broken clip). The house was quite dusty on sills, and there were a lot of cobwebs. There was no barbeque outside (the description said there was and we brought food for this), the benches were very wobbly and the communal garden was overgrown, so we couldn't let the kids play in it. The upstairs bathroom (non-ensuite) shower was unusable - the screen was too small so would have soaked the place, and the roof angle meant no adult could use it, so it was just used for the toilet and sink. The pillows could do with renewing, they are quite lumpy and uncomfortable. The rooms could have done with some storage - we were there for three nights which was fine, but I imagine being there longer it would have been nice to have wardrobes/hanging space. The TV downstairs is very small - as it is a family space, it would be good to have a bigger TV to relax and watch a movie at the end of the day. The WiFi was not particularly great, which with three kids all wanting to use their devices at the same time was a little frustrating. Some of the cupboards in the kitchen don't close properly, and some of the flushers in the toilets are a little broken. This review accounts for everyone in our party's thoughts, including the kids. It may read as very negative, but it's all fairly small issues. On the whole, we would definitely stay again! It just needs a bit of a refresh :)

Positive: Brilliant location, the house had everything we needed

Negative: There was nothing we didn’t like

Positive: We were moved to the old barn next door but it was great. Very spacious for nine of us and very comfortable.😊

Positive: Generally everything was spacious and nice. There were only four of us, rather than the full 10 that can fit in the property, so two of the five bedrooms went unused. It was right next to Alton Towers which made our trip super easy. The beds were comfy enough, though removing the sheets as requested when we left did reveal that some of the mattresses and pillows could probably do with replacing as they were stained and yellowing.

Negative: The property itself is on a dead-end road, with the only access being to a farm. We had issues with construction work going on on the road, where a lorry would block the road for long periods at a time and made it difficult to drive anywhere. The car park is flat, but the driveway to get onto the car park is steep and on one occasion, the car almost didn't make it. We also had an issue with setting two jackets down on the dining table (one black, one dark blue) only to find they had both been bleached of colour in spots. While this does probably mean that everything had been bleached and cleaned before our arrival, it's frustrating that our property was damaged because it wasn't cleared properly afterwards. Also worth noting, though not a problem with the property itself - there are no walkways into Alton Towers. We had to walk in the road and try and cross in front of moving traffic both going in and coming out of the park, so worth keeping in mind if any of the party are lower mobility.

Positive: It was beautiful inside

Negative: There were no recycling bins

Positive: Love the big table that could easily fit the family. It’s literally a 2 minute walk to the Alton towers theme park The house itself is very nice, clean, and has a modern cottage feel.

Negative: No WiFi, no Netflix. Not all the rooms had tv’s but it was still a great stay

Positive: Superb property close to Alton Towers. Clean, comfortable and a definite place I would return to stay. The host was very helpful.

Negative: Nothing.