Host & Stay - Hecklers Cottage, Barnard Castle

A very lovely stay, in walking distance of everything for us

This is a very nice property which has been renovated and decorated very beautifully. However, I was on holiday with my 83 year-old mother and there were numerous trip hazards in the property. The upstairs bathroom in particular had two very steep steps down which was quite nerve racking for both of us. Other than that, it was a very convenient location in a nice town. The only other complaint was that I had to get in touch with the agency twice to receive codes for check-in. After the first time I had been told that I would receive information six hours before check-in however this was not received until around three hours before checking which made me feel a little uncomfortable, but once we received the information everything .told okay.

We enjoyed the property very much. Minutes on foot to a large supermarket and many restaurants. Friendly and responsive hosts once they were finally contacted (see below) through Host and Stay. The only downside was the management firm Host and Stay. They were very inflexible on the 4 pm entry, and they would not even allow us to place our luggage in the foyer prior to this time. When we asked for help with heating and using the clothes washer, all we got were text messages. It took an entire day for them to relay our needs to the hosts, who then drove over and sorted things out. This is unacceptable. We also did not appreciate the coercive manner in which we were 'asked' to buy damage insurance for our stay. Note that each bathroom only had 1 toilet paper roll and we were expected to purchase more. How cheap! The hosts kindly provided more. We will be avoiding Host and Stay in the future.