Broadwood House in Newton By The Sea, Northumberland

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.

The Cottage was really lovely with spacious rooms and stunning lounge to spend our evenings.. Kitchen well laid out and fully equipped. Bathroom/shower room, en-suite in largest bedroom and toilet near kitchen and lounge all excellent. We were impressed with the quality of the property and the extent of the arrangements for our holiday.

Broadwood House is absolutely stunning, not only in a fabulous location but met all our family needs.. The games room in the garage was a big plus for us as it kept the teenagers amused when the weather wasn’t that great to be outdoors. The kitchen is well equipped for a large family. We were very impressed and will be looking forward to returning in the future. The home owner was always available when required and was extremely helpful and a pleasure to deal with. Thank you

Great customer care from owner.. Photos don’t do it justice, it’s sooo much nicer. Had a great time comfortably slept 8, a hot tub would be nice addition

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

We stayed as 3 couples for a weekend in December and this house was perfect.. It was as listed and was beautifully furnished and decorated. The kitchen was well stocked which has sometimes been an issue for us in other self catered properties. The only slight issue was the games room is in a garage area attached to the house so was pretty chilly in December but this didn’t bother us too much. Great communication before our stay and Christina was very helpful and quick to reply to any queries. Overall a really great experience and stay! We would definitely return.

Good location, not much outdoor space but didn't matter as we were out most of the time.. Good communication with owner.

Very Good location.. sorry that there wasn't any space outside for our four young boys to kick a football around, but I didn't think about that when I was looking for the cottage, so my fault. Because the weather was so good, the window covering didn't keep out the very early morning sunshine in the bedrooms.The owner was very obliging and very responsive with any quandary I had. My family had arrived from Australia and wanted to visit some castles. If the occasion came up again, I would definitely book this cottage again.

This was a lovely spacious cottage with plenty or living room spaces for socialising.. On top of the game room in the garage, it was equipped with kids surfing boards, bikes and beach shade to take to the near by beach, which was a really lovely touch. The only minor negative point was that it was a really lovely summer days whilst we were there and it would been nice to be able to open the patio door from the living room but the keys were missing. Other than that nice comfortable lovely stay.

This was our second visit to Broadwood House as it is the perfect property for our 3 generation family holiday.. The house is spacious, clean and very well equipped. We love the large living/dining room which allows us to be together even if we are doing different activities. My only suggestion would be that the mattresses are due for an upgrade. The games room is an added bonus, especially if the weather is bad. The house is a great base to explore Northumberland from and I'm sure we will come back to Broadwood House in the future.

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!

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!

Great house which has everything you needed to have a great time.

Great house which has everything you needed to have a great time..

Lovely house! Very spacious and comfortable. Would highly recommend.

It was our second stay here, it was fantastic accommodation in a great location. It was lovely big roomy accommodation which was beautifully decorated.

It was our second stay here, it was fantastic accommodation in a great location.. It was lovely big roomy accommodation which was beautifully decorated.

The cottage was amazing, it was great for kids and adults. I would love to go back.

The overall feel of the place was very homely and welcoming, and the scene was nice and quiet. The House had everything to offer and we enjoyed the games room also. It was very clean and beautifully decorated. We had an amazing time and it definitely exceeded expectations.

The cottage was amazing, it was great for kids and adults.. I would love to go back.

The overall feel of the place was very homely and welcoming, and the scene was nice and quiet.. The House had everything to offer and we enjoyed the games room also. It was very clean and beautifully decorated. We had an amazing time and it definitely exceeded expectations.

The spaciousness of the house and the location. The accommodation was of a very high standard and the owners had thought of everything you might need. The beach and all amenities were very nearby.

Beautiful, comfortable accommodation. Lovely setting and perfect for getting out and about. Really well equipped, the games room cleaning materials were great added extras. It felt really spacious and the house had a lovely feel to it.

Good location amidst the several coastal villages. Good standard of property. Had an enjoyable family holiday.

The spaciousness of the house and the location.. The accommodation was of a very high standard and the owners had thought of everything you might need. The beach and all amenities were very nearby.

Beautiful, comfortable accommodation.. Lovely setting and perfect for getting out and about. Really well equipped, the games room & cleaning materials were great added extras. It felt really spacious and the house had a lovely feel to it.

Good location amidst the several coastal villages.. Good standard of property. Had an enjoyable family holiday.

The house was a good size and we all had plenty of space to sit in the lounge and eat at the table. The location is near to some great beaches!

The house was a good size and we all had plenty of space to sit in the lounge and eat at the table.. The location is near to some great beaches!

Property was excellent for 4 children 4 adults, enough space for us all not to feel on top of each other. Great area, lots to do and see.

Property was excellent for 4 children & 4 adults, enough space for us all not to feel on top of each other.. Great area, lots to do and see.

Probably the best accommodation we have ever stayed in.

Probably the best accommodation we have ever stayed in..

The size of the property allowed us space to spread out. The area was lovely with lots to do and see.

The size of the property allowed us space to spread out.. The area was lovely with lots to do and see.