Nixi B
November 2017
Having visited Whitby as a family holiday destination many times previously, we decided to visit again as six of us (three couples) for a winter holiday. When we arrived at the cottage it was absolutely beautifully decorated throughout, and there was more than enough space for us all. A very good sized kitchen with everything we needed, as well as a little welcome pack which was lovely - wine, cheese, milk - everything we needed to make us feel welcome at Mariner's Rest.
The master bedroom is gorgeous, with an amazing balcony overlooking the harbour and with gorgeous views over the town. The other bedrooms are great sizes - one double, one with two singles and another single bedroom. The living room is also a great size, enough seating for six people around the electric fire for cosy nights in front of the television. There's a good sized dining table - so good we managed to eat a whole Christmas dinner with all the trimmings around it as we won't all be spending Christmas together this year.
Outside is a great area too, again overlooking the boats in the harbour. Admittedly we didn't spend too much time there as it was very cold - but in the summer it would be a perfect area for alfresco dining. To the front of the house there is two car parking spaces - something we have struggled with in the majority of other holiday cottages we have stayed in. Most of Whitby is on road parking and it can be hit and miss if you don't get there at the right time - so having these two spaces at the front of the house was very convenient for us.
The house itself provided everything, possibly more than we could have asked for in a holiday home. It is a shame that the experience was somewhat scuppered on the last night of our holiday. Obviously the last night of anyones holiday is a busy one - especially when the check out time is quite early in comparison to other cottages we have stayed in (10am). With six adults packing a weeks worth of things, as well as trying to cook dinner for six - there was a knock at the door and it was the owner of the property. She turned up at about 7pm to ask if she could come in to the house with the cleaner at 9.30 instead of 10am, which is something a phone call would have been sufficient for, but actually it almost felt like she was looking to see if we had done anything wrong.
I can totally understand that an owner of a property might want to meet the people staying in their house, but I would probably recommend doing that at the start of someones holiday rather than the night before they leave at tea time. It made us all feel quite awkward and it definitely put a negative spin on the holiday at the last minute. There was a comment made about my dog too, who was sat on a blanket that we had bought to put on one area of the sofa. In the holiday listing the property was listed as dog friendly, but when you arrive at the cottage there are 'rules' about where your dog can and can't go. I respect that people may not allow their dogs on the furniture, but as a dog who is used to being allowed everywhere in a house we bought a blanket so there was no contact with the furniture. I didn't appreciate the owner telling my dog off, especially when the rules aren't mentioned in the advertisement for the house.
There were a few negative comments made about other guests who had stayed previously, which almost made us feel like she would be saying negative things about us to the next guests. Overall, it's a shame but we wouldn't stay in the house again as we were made to feel so uncomfortable on the last night of our holiday.