Host & Stay | River View Cottage — Guest Reviews

Positive: Gorgeous property. Fantastic views of the river and surrounding wildlife. Everything you could possibly need and more to make your stay a memorable one. Lots of appliances in kitchen. Location was very good on a super quiet estate and short 10 minutes walk to the town for great choice of shops, cafes and restaurants.

very enjoyable Positive: well located with great views and great walks Negative: expensive

Beautiful stay at the river side cottage Positive: The style and comfort of the cottage was excellent with a perfect location for a good walk along the river. South facing allowed us to use the balcony in the morning right through to the evening. Kitchen had everything we needed and heating worked well. Nice we also had the private parking space. Negative: Ensuite shower doors need some TLC as very hard to close for my elderly mum, so she used the family bathroom.

We did enjoy the holiday Negative: Not enough towels the shower in master bedroom was to small should have had hand rails for safety and in the bath room the bath should also have had hand rails because it was slippery the lower ground stair rail needs to be look at because you cannot grip it to hold on when going down and going up the stairs toilets smelt a little

Lovely to base ourselves for Yorkshire dales walking.

Beautiful cottage in quiet town location Positive: Beautifully appointed cottage, great quiet location with river view and easy short uphill walk to town centre. Ate at Capri restaurant and Three Horse Shoes ( serves food Sunday and Monday nights). Would book again without hesitation. Easy off street parking. Visited Eggleston Hall Gardens and High Force waterfall which are under 20 mile drive away Negative: Nothing .....a real gem!

We had a lovely stay at a great location, which was convenient for access to the local town, with walks along the river and easy access for trail running. The lounge and both bedrooms offered fantastic views of the river, where we could observe the wildlife. The beds were very comfortable, accommodation was spacious, parking was easy.

Lovely house, lovely location! Lovely 'upside down' house in a quiet, residential area, with gorgeous views over the river Tees. The rooms were spacious and well furnished, and the kitchen was very well equipped, with good quality appliances. The beds were very comfortable, and the balcony gave us a very relaxing space where we could watch the river, and ducks, go by. There were lovely riverside walks within yards of the house; much appreciated by my Greyhound!

Lovely place to stay, great location and comfy beds!

Positive: Close to town centre,off-road parking, friendly neighbours . Comfortable beds ,sofas,. Good amount of loos,bathrooms . Negative: Would have liked good reading lights ,both in the lounge and the master bedroom please .

Positive: Quiet location and cottage layout Negative: N/A

Great place to stay. Water was very hot and difficult to regulate in the shower and bathroom but with a bit of wiggling the taps it was fine. Great for entertaining and the view is fantastic. I would recommend especially for weddings at the local church and Lartington hall

Cleanliness needs reviewing Positive: The house was fab. Nice to have 3 bathrooms like our home. The layout was wonderful. Plenty of electrical equipment, fridge freezer, dishwasher, washing machine, coffee machine, toaster. Plenty of glasses and cups, cutlery pots and pans. Negative: Unfortunately as a family who are petrified of spiders. We spent 30 minutes hovering cobwebs, spiders all over the house. Kitchen, living Room, bedrooms, dinning room, stairs hallway, windows. I have never seen such a house this bad. Particularly up on the wooden beams by the internal coloured windows. 😥

Would stay here again for sure Positive: Location and lay out Negative: Not much - it was great

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Perfect location with River views Positive: Large very well appointed cottage. Comfortable bed and delightful river views with balcony seating accessed from the lower floor bedrooms. Easy access to town centre but in a quiet location. Off road parking directly in front of the cottage. Barnard Castle is a vibrant market town and has the excellent Bowes Museum. We very much enjoyed the Italian meal at the Capri restaurant a short stroll uphill from the property. Negative: We didn't have a problem but be aware bedrooms are down a steepish staircase which might be an issue for those with less mobility.

Positive: Ideale ligging met kabbelend beekje, smaakvol ingericht en van alle comfort voorzien.

Positive: Lovely comfortable house in a great location.. great for dog walking. Great to walk into town with plenty options to eat and drink. This was our 2nd visit. Negative: A garden for the dog would hv been useful but a large field was only 3 min walk away

Positive: Stunning riverside location. Beautifully set up. Negative: Could do with a deep clean.

Positive: The location was perfect, the bedroom balconies are right on the river with beautiful views and the cottage is comfortable and stylish with everything you need. It is only a couple of minutes walk to the lovely pubs, shops and facilities of Barnard Castle. Negative: Nothing.

We had a wonderful weekend stay at River View Cottage. It was clean, specious and well equipped. The balcony overlooking the river was idyllic, perfect for relaxing on in one of the comfy chairs after a day out. Great place for walks from the doorstep and plenty of cafes, bars and restaurants a short walk away. Only downside was that the shower in the en-suite was permanently on very hot so we were unable to use it but other than that we would highly recommend a stay here.

A really wonderful place to stay and the location was great. The place was really spacious, quiet and comfortable Positive: Very spacious and well equipped. Location was wonderful with balcony views over the Tees river and a few minutes walk into the town centre Negative: Very little to criticise. Providing an extra front door key would be helpful and a floor mounted fan in this hot weather would also be helpful. The shower cubicle in the en-suite was cramped and a big step down exiting the cubicle could be potentially tricky.

Lovely cottage over looking the river very assessable for town and walks great communication

A lovely place to stay in a beautiful location. Positive: Beautiful location overlooking the river. We enjoyed sitting on the balcony with a G and T! Very clean and well appointed. Light and spacious living area. Very convenient for the town. Negative: No heated towel rail in the main ensuite which meant that towels remained damp. Mirror in the main ensuite was too high to use as I am 5ft 3 ins. Shower was small and difficult to get out of as it was raised and there were no convenient handles. One of the blinds in the main bedroom was broken when we arrived.

We had the most amazing stay in this beautiful cottage that is located perfectly for easy access to the town and surroun Positive: Beautiful cottage in the most perfection location looking out into the river. Negative: The cottage met our needs perfectly.

It met my requirements Negative: Plumbing

Fabulous- would highly recommend Positive: This is a beautiful cottage in a brilliant location. Barnard Castle has much to offer, both for the walkers in our party and for other leisure activities. Great facilities, good communication prior to the stay, and we loved the balconies from the bedrooms over looking the river. Negative: Bin arrangements were a bit unclear, as we couldn't find a food caddy - we ended up taking our food waste home... Also, the oven trippped the power out - a small issue as we got the power back on, but it probably indicates that something needs looking at.

beautifully presented,well furnished and dressed Great location.

After issues with temperature were taken care of the cottage was excellent. Shout out to Andy for checking on us the next day. Definitely would stay again!

Fantastic hated leaving will go back loved it Positive: Location Style Good vibe Views Facilities Character Layout Balcony Privacy Negative: That I had to leave 😀 Heating didn’t really understand what the control panel was doing but there were electric heaters which worked fine and we had scalding hot water for showers/ bath which have great pressure so maybe a few more towels and shower gel

Positive: Location and facilities

Beautiful home in a great location Positive: Property is a home from home. It has amazing views of the river. Negative: Nothing

Positive: Lovely place and location Negative: Too many emails/texts about property damage/extra insurance and cleaning cost. I would expect this to be included in the overall price and not to be reminded of it during our stay. Not conducive to a relaxing holiday.

Barnard Castle is a lovely location but would not use the agent Host & Stay again for any property. Positive: Box was quite low on the wall so not the easiest to access. Negative: Water damage to the wall down to bedrooms. Downstairs saniflow toilet was malfunctioning which we assume led to electrical problems. This resulted in both the house alarm and fire alarm going off and the smell of burning from the toilet macerator. Maintenance were called out and claimed to have fixed problem, but it occurred again leaving us with no option but to leave the property early for our own safety. Host & Stay who are the agents for this property were supposed to be resolving our complaint, but their timeline has passed and we have had no further contact from them, even though we have followed correspondence up with them. Very disappointing.

Will return Positive: Location was fab, house was just "wow" as soon as we stepped through the door. The most comfortable bed I have slept in, lovely walks and views to.die for. Negative: Absolutely nothing!!

Hervorragende Lage, ruhige Umgebung. Das Haus ist Top ausgestattet und wir hatten eine sehr gute Zeit.

Thoroughly enjoyed our break in Barnard Castle at River View Cottage. Beautifully presented in a wonderful location , ideal for walking into town.

beautiful cottage in lovely surroundings. I loved sitting on the balcony overlooking the river with a glass of wine. plenty of space and short walk into the village. perfect.

Good property, well equipped and in good location

An amazing stay Positive: The view and setting are superb, and the house was beautifully furnished and comfortable. The kitchen well fitted out. Situated in a beautiful area, walking distance to the town and castle with beautiful riverside walks. Would certainly recommend this beautiful house and will be coming back. Negative: A few little niggles that would make it better:- a bigger mirror would benefit the on suite and the towel rail needs fixing. The key safe is too low and we struggled to get the key in because of the large keyring ehich caused it to jam. Naming which bin is which and instructions for alarm, as it went off because of a power cut and we struggled to turn it off, warning light still flashing. The little outside garden is badly in need of tidying and unusable while staying. A small handbook would ge a good idea, with instructions etc, along with a bit of history about the building itself.

Positive: House was beautiful, stunning views, extremly clean, excellent communication Negative: Nothing

Comfortable and relaxing Positive: It was a home away from home. Nice to return to after a day of touring to chill out. Very relaxing with the sound of river close by Negative: Nothing

Very stylish and comfortable property in a wonderful location.

Gorgeous place Its an amazing cottge in a perfect location.

Ok Negative: Lights were broken In downstairs toilet and on the stair reported it . Someone did come to fit but we were out and had the key with us . As we did not like the idea of leaving the key as we did not know who had the code and our personal belongings were in the house . Apparently to enter property they had to use the key code !!! Surely there must of been another key . Also had to pay insurance which was not refundable.Never heard of this before felt it was a con to get more money out of you .

Nice and spacious with excellent views over the river, comfy beds, lovely bed linen. Excellent for meeting up with relatives in the town so didn't need to use the car. The cleaning was the only thing that let it down, it was very dusty, not recent dust either and paintwork could do with a wipe down especially in the ensuite. The kitchen sink was dirty and greasy. As I say the place is great just those little niggles that let it down.

River View Cottage is in a peaceful setting, perfectly located for walking into the town, with beautiful riverside walks on your doorstep and the added bonus of parking outside the property. The cottage itself is tastefully furnished, very comfortable and well equipped with gorgeous river views from both the living areas and the bedrooms, the balcony is a real treat. This is a gem of a cottage and we would highly recommend it.

We will be back!! Positive: It was such a lovely house in a beautiful location. So convenient for the town centre yet very quiet and peaceful Negative: Everything was fine

A nice well equipped cottage. Positive: Just about everything. Negative: Some of the booking conditions were not clear (damage deposit confused me - not required in the end). It is a steep walk into the town centre.

we had a lovely stay, the house was very clean and comfortable. the bedrooms were super cute with the little balcony over looking the river. On arrival it took a while for the house to warm up as the living area is such a big space, once it did warm up it was perfect for the rest of our stay. would recommend this property to family and friends

An absolutely stunning home with beautiful views in the heart of the town and the countryside,,,, would highly recommend this accommodation to family and friends.

Fabulous holiday cottage Positive: Beautiful comfortable property with great views. Easy walkable access into the market town with many shops, pubs, cafes Negative: Access to a hoover/dustpan and brush would be good.

A lovely place for a quiet getaway. Positive: A beautiful house in a lovely, quiet location. Well equipped with pretty much everything you could need. Comfortable beds. Nice bathrooms. Good kitchen. Parking space right outside the front door. Just a few minutes walk from town centre. Negative: A welcome pack would have been nice - maybe some fresh milk, a packet of nice biscuits or some bread from the amazing artisan bakery in town. Some clearer instructions on how to turn up the heating would have been helpful. We found the house a bit cold first thing in the morning.

Thanks for a great stay!!

Comfortable, beautiful location and peaceful - a great stay. Positive: Superb location, beautiful house with everything you could ask for. Negative: A second set of keys is needed. The unexpected charge for insurance a few days before we stayed should be made clear at the time of booking.

Nice cottage overlooking river but sadly dirty in places . Bathroom, black mould, ill fitting doors leaving soaked floors. Lots of dust/ dead flies - not hoovered/ coffee tables sticky with ring marks not washed off. Really tired - needs a deep clean and sort out - cottage itself pretty but wouldn’t go back - the ‘host’ is just a company - they asked for photos as proof and sent cleaners in later in the day to sort but they only did what we showed in the pictures- not all the other issues - so not worth the money - Very disappointed it was recommended by Airbnb

Positive: Beautiful cottage overlooking the river everything you need in the property

We had a wonderful stay, the property was even more better than we had expected. It is decorated beautifully, beds were so comfortable and the bedrooms were lovely and cool even on the hottest days. It had been cleaned to a high standard, with lovey additions on toiletries, tea and coffee supplies and washing up essentials. The absolute highlight of this property is the balcony overlooking the river, so incredibly peaceful and just what we were looking for to relax on holiday. We were just a short walk from the main high street with plenty of shops, restaurants and cafes to explore, everything we needed was right on our doorstep. We would definitely return here in the future. Absolutely 10/10

We had a great stay in Barnard Castle. The house is wonderful - beautifully furnished and very clean. The views of the river at the back were stunning -lovely to sit out on the little balcony. Loved Barnard Castle - visited the castle itself and the bowes museum. Great curry from Babel.

Property location was great. Property was clean. Furnishings were comfortable. They do not provide a drying rack which means you have to hang clothes on anything around the property you can find.

Wonderful weekend in a beautiful cottage with a river view. Stunning Positive: Beautiful cottage and location

Great break Excellent location by the river. The property very spacious and well equipped.Very comfortable bed.You can leave French doors open lie in bed and listen to the river and the ducks,sit outside on the balcony with a G&T. Easy walk into town. Would recommend and would return.

Great place for a short break and easy drive to Bishop Auckland and to Durham. Positive: Lovely setting by river. Really beautiful house, very comfortable, lovely views from all the rooms and great location. Amazing gym but we didn’t use it! Some little points: 1. well- equipped kitchen for selfcatering reasonable needs(but would be nice to have a little bit more eating cutlery) 2. the hot water supply to the standalone bathroom (the one with the bath) could be improved Negative: Some little points: 1. well- equipped kitchen for selfcatering reasonable needs(but would be nice to have a little bit more eating cutlery) 2. the hot water supply to the standalone bathroom (the one with the bath) could be improved

The house was beautiful and in a lovely location. Close to amenities in the town and for walks along the river. We had a very enjoyable stay, would recommend and would also return if we are ever in that part of the world again. Our only gripe was struggling to access the keys to get into the property. It was tricky getting into the key box. Other than that, cannot fault the property.

We absolutely loved this place it was very spacious and had everything we needed lovely comfortable beds and was tastefully decorated , my favourite part of this place was the balcony with the river view it was so peaceful and relaxing .The location was brilliant too very close to bars shops etc and we also went on some lovely walks we would definitely stay here again.

Positive: The cottage was lovely, spacious and very clean. It was also in a great position overlooking the river and also a short stroll from the main street in Barnard Castle. Overall, it was a beautiful, welcoming property and we highly recommend it. Negative: The heating instructions could be clearer, and the ensuite shower in the main bedroom would be better if the doors were reversed or sliding

Location excellent, all amenities on your doorstep and in the property Positive: Location to Barnard Castle excellent, as you can walk to pubs, shops, coffee bars etc. plenty of room in the accommodation. Well supplied with utensils crockery etc. Warm, parking and also free parking for 2nd cars close to the property. Nearby pub Blue Bell lovely atmosphere, and how a pub should be. Negative: Requires some maintenance in the property. Toilet seat top loose in main bedroom. Also curtain tie back needs fixing properly. Hot tap in toilet upstairs needs fixing. Small things , but feel you don’t want to get the blame for them

Positive: Very spacious 2bed property, great views over the river Tees. Location quite central but quiet. Property was larger than expected which was nice. Negative: No tea towel, minor issue. No soap in bathrooms, although was in the w/c.

This is a lovely house in a quiet location overlooking the river Tees yet close to the town center.. The open plan living, kitchen and dining area is beautiful, comfortable, spacious and cosy. Downstairs, the 2 bedrooms are comfortable and nicely decorated. The only areas of disappointment are the bathrooms, which are quite basic, and hot water system which simply isn't up to the job. The showers were lukewarm and on a cold winter day it was difficult to get the main living area up to a comfortable temperature .

The place needs a very deep clean. We reported this right away to the host and all they offered was for a cleaner to call round. Which wasn't very practical considering we only spent 2 nights there, we were out walking most of the main day so nobody around to meet a cleaner. Be aware there are excessive fees to say here. Also be aware that they initially state they hold your £250 damage deposit for 3-5 days, then I was informed it would be 7, now it's 14 days. I find this very troubling since I had to contact the host 3 days after check out to make sure everything was OK with the cottage and I will be receiving my deposit back. (minus an admin fee) They do give an option to pay £25 for a damage waiver however I feel this is nothing more than a cash grab scheme. The stay does have potential to be very nice and it's very disappointing that I've had to write my first bad review of a place, but until the host company is to address and take responsibility of the issues it remains.

lovely location, kitchen and rugs not very clean had to clean myself when we turned up Positive: lovely location Negative: all the places weve stayed and thats alot each year but this is a first for us having to mend the light pull in the bathroom as theyre wasnt one also had to fix the toilet seat which was broken off and left under the sink!!

The house is in a great location next the river with good views and plenty of bird life. It is close to the town. Could be better lighting in some areas, they have dark shades, the light pull cord was missing in one bathroom and there was a fair amount of dust around. Not very keen on the Host and Stay damage system. You can put down a deposit which is then returned with a £10 handling charge deduction, never heard of this anywhere else, or you pay a £25 insurance. Not really that great. The property handbook send in advance is comprehensive. The underfloor heating is very slow to respond and takes some getting used to.

River View Cottage was fairly easy to find and park right outside the front door. Its standout feature is the view of the River Tees from the rear of the property and the balcony that's accessible from both the bedrooms, this also faces the river. The main living area of the lounge, dining room and kitchen are all one big open plan room. It was all very well furnished and equipped. The main bedroom is a good size and is well furnished. It could do with a brighter bulb in the main light fitting, though. The second bedroom is quite a bit smaller but very well lit. Personally, I would swap the chest of drawers with a combined wardrobe and drawers unit. The beds and bedding were all comfortable. We didn't make use of the garden due to weather conditions. This property really could do with a condensing type tumble dryer being installed. Its location was excellent with regard to walking into the town centre and accessing local walking paths. Overall, we were warm and comfortable here.

Perfect character property with parking in an ideal location Positive: Beautiful character property in an idyllic location on the river. Tastefully decorated with interesting items and very well equipped. Super comfortable bed. Excellent location within easy walking distance to shops, pubs, restaurants and attractions of Barnard Castle Negative: Nothing

Excellent Positive: The size, standard of equipment, car parking, views and location of the cottage. Negative: Nothing