Cummins & Goings Cottage

Good
Traveller Type: Traveling as Couple
  : First of all I would like to make it very clear that this property was absolutely excellent. I shall explain why I have knocked points of during my review. The pros of Cummings and Goings were many including the excellent welcome pack, spotlessly clean property, easy to use TV (Which cannot often be said these days), extremely comfortable beds, plenty of towels and toilet roll, well equipped kitchen, great dcor, comfortable temperature, powerful shower, very quiet location and a wonderful view of the castle at the end of the drive. The only downside of the property we found was the lack of instructions for the hob which we eventually worked out how to operate.
  : Unfortunately I dont have anything good to say about the management company of this property, Host and Stay. They have a very haphazard approach to responding to email enquiries. I booked the property and paid the non-refundable fee. Only at that point was I made aware of a previously undisclosed admin fee of 10. I searched the site and there was absolutely no mention of it anywhere. The fee was apparently charged in order to process the refund of the 250 damage deposit which was taken from my credit card on 1st April 2023 and later refunded on 25th April 2023. My visit to the property was from 14th to 17th April 2023. It took 3 emails dated 24th January 2023, 28th January 2023 and 2nd February 2023 before anyone at Host and Stay deigned to respond when I challenged this admin fee. In an era where I can transfer money to any bank account in the world from my mobile phone in a matter of moments I felt that the 10 fee was scandalous. The fact that it was hidden until the non refundable fee had been paid made it very sinister. I understand the need to protect property owners from rogue visitors so the damage bond was very reasonable. Why it had to be taken 14 days before our visit and held for a further 8 days after we had vacated is beyond me particularly in view of the barrage of messages from Host and Stay prior to our departure making it clear that their housekeeping team would arrive shortly after the check out time so it would be apparent that same day had we caused any damage. I did successfully challenge the hidden 10 admin fee which has also been refunded but the whole episode has left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Suffice to say I will not book any property that is managed by Host and Stay at any point in the future which is unfortunate as Cummings and Goings is a lovely property.

Fair
Traveller Type: Traveling as Couple
  : Barnard Castle is a lovely place to stay, we were near the castle, so had some lovely views and the walks are lovely.
  : The cottage doesn't have great parking, when we stayed there was work being done next door, which we were not told about before our stay and a grumpy builder in a red van who just gave us looks! There were always vans on the drive parking area which made it a nightmare! Nosey neighbour kept a close eye on things! Always had her head out her window ! Sofas uncomfortable and stank of dogs.

Good
Traveller Type: Traveling as Couple
  : Lovely cottage, nicely decorated, good quality furniture and equipment and lovely garden
  : Did not like fact we could not operate/control heating, no information on how to operate heating even though there was information on everything else. Wifi was very poor and as tv was all streaming this was very frustrating. Whilst in general there was plenty of equipment there was no bread knife