The Rest - Thorpe, Derbyshire

When did we visit?

13-20 November 2015

How much was it?

£474

Who did we book with?

Sykes Cottages

What were our initial impressions?

This cottage is in a lovely spot, on the road that takes you from the A515, just outside of Ashbourne, to Dovedale. Thorpe Cloud can be seen from the cottage and there are great views from the small car park across the road from the cottage.

When we first arrived our first thought was, hey it's a bit tricky getting on the drive, which was best achieved with a nifty bit of reversing, but the road was very quiet this time of year and didn't give us much of a problem.

The cottage is a bungalow and the front door is in the middle. We tentatively entered, wondering what we would find. Our first thoughts were oooh, lovely and warm and cosy. We decided we'd head left to explore first.

We went through the hall and into the lounge and thought straight away, we would be dead comfy and cosy in here. Through the lounge into the kitchen to find a dining area with a pretty round table set for two.

The kitchen was really spacious, with plenty of storage and equipment and there was some milk in the fridge and some lovely local cookies to welcome us.

We went out of the kitchen door and were surprised to find ourselves in a small, but charming conservatory, with an outside door to the front garden and another door leading in to the back of the cottage.

Through there was a well equipped utility area and separate loo. We went through another door which lead us into the third bedroom, which was just lovely and had doors opening into the courtyard area with the hot tub, which we would definitely be making use of whilst we were here.

Back through to where we started to discover two nice double bedrooms and a spotlessly clean bathroom.

First impressions definitely hit the spot

Our likes over the course of our stay ...

• The kitchen was well equipped, we found everything that we needed. 
• The shower was seriously powerful and nice and hot.  
• Separate towels were provided for use with the hot tub, which we loved. We went in almost every day. It was really private and we loved chilling out there in the dusk in the wind and the rain.
• The lounge was dead comfy, though Martin found the sofa just a bit too slouchy for his liking.
• The cottage is in a brilliant location with loads of lovely walks from the the front door. In very easy driving distance of most places that we wanted to visit, Ashbourne, Tissington, Bakewell, Chatsworth and Matlock.
• It was just what we needed as we'd come away for a bit of rest and relaxation before the madness of December descends.
• The heating temperature easy to regulate throughout the cottage.
• It was very quiet, light and bright, but cozy at the same time, it's definitely somewhere to retreat to if you've been out walking or biking for the day.
• There was plenty of space. 
• The Rest is a cottage that's nice to just spend time in, rather than it just provide a bed for the night. It was easy to imagine living here.

Anything that could have made it better ...

As the week went by we really struggled to find anything we didn't like about this cottage. 

There were just a few small things that would make it even nicer ...

• Big fluffy bath sheets would have been lovely.  We were glad that we had taken our own as the towels provided were quite small - you couldn't wrap yourselves up in them and wander about.
• The hot tub area could be made a bit more attractive, but this may look prettier in a different season.
• The sofas are very slouchy and if, like us, you struggle with knee and joint pain, they could be quite difficult to get out of!

Would we recommend this cottage to our friends and family?

Most definitely, with no hesitation.

Would we stay in this cottage again?

Absolutely.  I can see it would be a great spot at any time of year.  In the Spring and Summer, it would be lovely to get out and about more, though I guess the area will be quite busy.  In the Autumn and Winter it is just lovely to hunker down and enjoy the quietness of the Peaks.