The West Wing, Crow Hill Estate - Marsden, Yorkshire

When did we visit?
21-28 December 2015

How many does it sleep?
8

How much was it?
£1425

Who did we book with?
Crow Hill Cottages

What were our initial impressions?
The house, I can't really call this a cottage, was in a lovely spot.  Just outside Marsden village, in its own grounds, surrounded by lovely countryside.

There was plenty of parking, but not right next to the front door, so unloading was a bit of a pain, involving a short flight of steps, which could make things a bit tricky in bad weather.

There was a lovely traditional Christmas wreath on the front door which looked very grand, but welcoming.
The house felt lovely and warm and was well furnished, though things seemed a bit tired in places, with some kitchen doors a bit rickety and the stair carpet a bit grubby.

There was a nice grand staircase in the entrance hall and plenty of space for coats and shoes.

The lounge was lovely with plenty of comfortable seating, there were six of us staying, a nice big TV, with Sky, and a Christmas tree in the corner.
The dining room and kitchen were nice and spacious, though we did have to negotiate on freezer availability, as what was available on arrival wasn't really sufficient for what we needed ... this issue was, however, soon resolved.
There was a welcome bottle of wine and box of biscuits, with some milk in the fridge.

There was also a utility room, which was lovely and cold, where we thought we would store all our Christmas drink and other provisions.

Also downstairs was one double bedroom and a shower room.

Upstairs there was a huge master bedroom, next to a nice master bathroom, and two lovely and cosy adjoining rooms, one twin and one double, with a small en suite.
There was additional access from the adjoining double room to the kitchen, via the old servants' staircase.

Overall it had a nice feel, it was a bit quirky, the views from all of the windows were of open countryside, there was plenty of room for all of us and we thought we'd settle in well.

Our likes over the course of our stay ...

Overall this cottage worked really well for the six of us staying there over the Christmas period ...

• The weather was really bad during the course of our stay but we were lovely, warm and cosy.  It was also very easy to regulate the temperature, if it got just a little bit too warm
• The adjoining twin and double bedrooms were lovely and cosy and very comfortable
• There was a lovely range cooker in the kitchen, with double ovens, which made cooking, even Christmas dinner, easy for the six of us
• The layout of the kitchen was great, making it easy for 'observers' to hang around without getting in the way of the 'chef'
• The dining room worked really well too, with plenty of space for us to all eat together
• We loved the lounge, there was plenty of room for all to spread out and be comfy when chilling out in the evening
• It was a nice walk into the village, where there were plenty of shops, pubs and cafes and a nice walk to Standedge Tunnel
• Compared to the cost of other places we had looked at to stay over the Christmas period, we felt that the cost of this one was really good value

Anything that could have made it better ...

There are just a few bits that could have made our stay even more comfortable ...

• The master bedroom could have felt cosier.  It was huge, so space wasn't a problem, though it only had a normal double bed, and it had a wooden floor, so felt a bit empty. It would have been more cosy with carpeting and a big comfy sofa.
• We did have a few issues with hot water from time to time, especially with the master bathroom shower.  I think we just needed to leave to run for quite a while for the hot water to come through
• For those staying in the downstairs bedroom, the downstairs shower room involved a walk through the lounge, involving two separate steps, which was not ideal
• For us, the kitchen was not that well equipped.  There were plenty of roasting pans, but not much in the way of serving dishes, no measuring jug, minimal utensils and not that many glasses, considering how many the house could sleep

Would we recommend this cottage to our friends and family?

Absolutely!

Would we stay in this cottage again?

Definitely - it was really comfortable, good value and in a great location.