Fron Dderw

Sorry but I thought I’d left feedback last year.

Anyway everything was great, better than we were expecting. We are a group of 12 (in our 60s) cousins and partners and a dog, every year we arrange to stay for a long weekend in a suitable house. We all had such a fantastic time last year at Fron Dderw that rather than look for a different place we have booked it again and not just the 3 days, we’re staying the full week, mid March.

Fine place for our family break.

We had a great stay. Whole place is tired though, exterior and interior need work and decoration. Shower missing hose and head. One towel not fit for purpose. Fault with heating system - sitting room was cold. All this reported on first day to Sykes in chat.

The property was in a poor state of repair.

There was wallpaper hanging off the wall in the lounge, holes in the walls in the kitchen, no scissors or corkscrew in the kitchen, a shower head missing in one of the ensuite bathrooms, a plug missing out of the bathroom, some of towels had bleach stains on them, the floor boards in the lounge near the fire were so soft, they felt they would go through, there was an extremely large, heavy, mirror on the mantle piece, which is very dangerous and we had young children with us, the oven wasn't great. The house was generally "dirty" and there was also a blocked sink in one on the smaller shower rooms. I'm afraid, apart from the amazing location and the size, the house was more than disappointing. Also logs weren't provided, but we only found out, once we had arrived.

It was everything we expected, comfortable and spacious.

The only thing I would say is that more mugs are needed.

We all had a lovely stay, the accommodation was beautiful and very well kept.

We would definitely recommend it to everyone!

We’ve just returned from the most wonderful stay at Fron Dderw.

Beautiful rambling house, full of character and charm. We all loved it . Comfortable beds, lots of space for all the generations. Worked well for all age ranges , from 2year old to 87 years old . Beautiful gardens and scenery Kitchen was really well equipped Any problems we had a very quick and helpful response from staff . Thanks for everything

We had a great time at Fron Ddrew!

The property has a slightly older feel, but it's clean, spacious, and well-suited for a large group. With a party of 21, we found the stove a bit slow, but there was plenty of tableware to go around, which was a big plus. Some of the amenities could use a bit of maintenance, but overall the place was very comfortable. The views are absolutely fantastic — a real highlight of our stay. The hosts were also very responsive and friendly throughout. Definitely recommended!

The property is very spacious and in a great location in Bala where you can easily head down the hill to the town and lake.

View from the house are beautiful and the house has everything you need for a holiday for a large group. The only thing that really brought this down for us was the comfort of the double beds in all of the rooms. All our party had poor sleep the entire holiday which really impacted everyone. A change of mattresses is what is needed here to make it really comfortable. Also, the double bed in the room that joins to the kids room with the single bunk bed in was extremely old and creaky and the frame absolutely needs replacing. The bunk beds for the kids were great and perfect if you have kids aged around 5-10. Overall the property has what you need for a large party and has great character, especially the snug room with the old fireplace where one of our party got engaged on NYE! Just an update on the mattresses will really make this property stand out.

This was a wonderful stay, spacious and peaceful, and a great place for a large group with lots of children.

The kids loved running everywhere, and adults enjoyed the views, conversations and watching all the children having fun. The views are incredible. We even had snow which added to the beauty. Every window overlooked the beautiful countryside, and that was very relaxing. Owners were very accommodating allowing us a second dog last minute due to unforeseen circumstances, and we arrived to a high chair and cot ready for our littlest. We reported some miner issues at the start and they were grateful that we noted these things for them so they could make sure they sort them ready for the next guests

Fabulous, comfortable spacious house.

Ideal for a large family break. Kitchen was a great space to all cook and chat together. Maybe scissors,sharp knives and butter dish could be purchased? Beds really comfy with lovely on suites. Ideal location with fantastic views

Brilliant property, superb space for such a large group.

We did just miss having hand soap in the toilets!

Lovely and clean however leaky sink that floods kitchen floor, shower doors hanging off, doors don't close, many fixtures hanging off walls, plug missing from a sink and a shower that doesn't turn off.

This is a superb country house with maximum slleeping flexibility.

It retains old world charm and is ideal for large family/ or groups of friends. The kitchen facilities are excellent and the overall abience of the house is just wonderfull. We were a a group of 15 very close friends and did many walks, both from the house and afar. We took our own logs and enjoyed sitting and playing live music in the snug room and games in the main sitting room in the evenings. We all came home feeling that Fron Ddrerw is a country house well worth a second visit!.

We loved Fron Derw.

Lots of space for our huge family re-union. The ground floor bedroom was perfect for my niece with her 5 month old baby. It was beautifully clean on arrival. It took us a while to master the hot water and we ended up with some scalding showers! The shower in Bala can’t be fully turned off and has no temperature control, has no cover for the drain outlet. One of the white “Ant” chairs collapsed, landing another niece on the floor (un-hurt thankfully). We added that chair to the other chair corpses at the back of the house. But we didn’t mind these quirks, it was just part of a lovely week.

Property is in a good location with stunning views.

Ideal location for big family get away. Plenty of pots pans etc for cooking. Enough space to spread out. litter left outside, dirty under beds couches etc. Barbecues full of ash needed good clean. Purchased disposal barbecues to use. Mattresses need replacing. Freezers full of Ice. Taps lose on sinks. Showers continually running thermostat control poor as they just got hotter and hotter. Mice in kitchen. Septic tank overflowing should have been checked and emptied prior to arrival not during stay.

19 of us ( adults and children) spent a week at Fron Derw House and had a fabulous holiday at the house which was a 10 minute walk to the village and the lake activities.

There was plenty of room for us all to fit inside and outside the property with a very safe outside space for children and dog to play. The views were fantastic and we had a lovely place to sit and drink coffee or have a glass of wine in the evening. With the amazing weather we had the house and the area it really was a most memorable trip. However as always there were a few issues that could be improved on. It is an old house and of course there will be a problem or two. We would also very much like to thank the key contact person Gemma who was great and responded quickly and efficiently to any problems. We would also like to hope these are constructive comments and like l said it did not detract from our time there. 1. Having ongoing hot water for showers and washing up was an issue and perhaps the system needs upgrading. 2. Installing 2 dishwashers would be useful for managing large amounts of washing up. 2. The one bedroom downstairs was damp and we had to put sheets in the drier most days, that needs looking at. 3. It would make a difference to have a bigger two door fridge to fit in food you need for 19 people. 4. The freezers tended to get blocked with ice making it difficult to open at times. 5.Some of the beds could be upgraded as not all mattresses were comfortable. 6. Dining chairs were not that comfortable...maybe need an upgrade? Not that easy for us to fit 19 around on one big table but we managed it by putting 2 tables end to end diagonally across the room. Again would like to say we had a wonderful time at the house and delighted we got to stay there.

Amazing place!

The cottage looked exactly as in the pictures. We had a wonderful time there and we were a group of 22 people. It is very easy to find, you can easily walk to the lake and town and a bus stop nearby. The only small issue we had was that the hot water ran out after a couple of people took a shower, but you just need to wait a bit for it to refill. Absolutely recommended for large groups.

What a brilliant holiday home!

24 of us (12 adults and 12 children) stayed in this house for a week at the end of May. The pictures illustrate exactly what the house looks like. It was clean and well presented when we arrived. The kitchen was really well equipped to cook for 24 people. There was plenty of space for people to have their own quiet time, for children to enjoy themselves in the games room and tv room and an amazing outdoor space. The firepit was great for toasting marshmallows one night. There are lots of midgies so bring a citronella candle. The bins are at the bottom of the drive. They were full when we arrived so we just put our bin bags next to the big bins. They were emptied on Thursday. Bala centre and Bala lake are a 10 minute stroll down the hill. Thankyou for a brilliant holiday - we'd love to come again next year!

Fabulous house for my brothers 60th.

Loads of room and bedrooms for 20 of us. Perfect location looking down on the lake. Just be carefull taking a dog. There is a fiels attached with sheep. There is a fence but where the grass cuttings had been put it made a part of the fence very easy for the dog to jump. The farmer was very understanding but we were unable to let the out. But other than that i would highly recommend it.

The photos on the listing are not representative of the property itself.

The overall cleanliness and finish of the property in reality is a much lower standard than you are led to believe from the photos. The beds listed as king size are not king size and the bunk beds listed as appropriate for adults are not big enough for adults. Many of the beds were squeaky and uncomfortable. The house is clearly not cleaned and tidied properly between stays, for example the bins were dirty when we arrived. There was damage such as a spindle of the bannister was hanging out of place, and curtain poles hanging out of the wall. You are met with a musty damp smell as soon as you enter the property. On top of all of this, there is a major problem with leaks and damp throughout the property. I was made aware prior to my stay that there had been and issue with damage to the ceiling in the main living room, it was difficult getting further information from Sykes about this ahead of the stay, eventually I received an image of the work half done and that was just a few hours prior to check in, this was stressful as I was co-ordinating a large group trip. When we arrived at the property, the problem with the ceiling repaired, but it hadn’t been painted and there was exposed plaster which was still drying, this made the main lounge feel very dark and depressing. I was not offered any apology for this inconvenience or any compensation. On top of this, there were several leaks and widespread damp in the property. In most bedrooms there is visible evidence of this with wallpaper hanging of walls, water stain marks all over paint work, and in some place water dripping onto carpets. Further, when we went to leave the property the bin at the end of the drive was full, there were no instructions on alternative on where to leave the rubbish so we made the decision to leave our bin bags tied up and neatly in the pantry of the property rather than the roadside where it could have posed an environmental risk. I informed the property manager of this when we left, and was asked to return to the property and leave them on the roadside. When I challenged this and said I was not happy to return, especially given the other issues we had faced with the property, I was told by the property manager that we were ‘lucky we had been able to use the main lounge’ !!! I do not feel ‘lucky’ about any part of this stay. The listing for this property should be considered false advertising because the quality of the property does not even come close to the reality, and the major maintenance issues leave much to be desired. I will be pursuing a refund for this stay.

What a stay we had at this lovely house!

Booked for a group of us to celebrate my partners 40th. Great location short walk into Bala. House itself is lovely and there are towels on all the beds, the beds are very comfy. Kitchen fully stocked with all the plates and pots you can imagine! The only thing I’d say is make sure you bring some extra toilet roll, shower gel and cleaning products.

Gorgeous property in a great location.

The rooms are beautifully proportioned and furnished. The layout works so well for a large group with the games room and the snug allowing space for all. The number and standard of bedrooms and bathrooms was excellent. Would love to return in the summer to make the most of the outside space.

2.

visit great house lots of room and amenities, this time we missed the Xmas decorations but never mind we will be back, thank you

The ground floor bedroom is not exactly ground floor.

I was lead to believe there was only two steps to get into the bedroom. This was not true as there was four high steps. This was an issue is my husband is wheelchair bound so I was unable to get my husband in the bedroom or to any toilet shower facilities. Beside this issue we did have an amazing time.

Wow!

What an amazing house. We have just returned from celebrating my sisters 60th with 16 adults and 9 children. There was plenty of space for everyone to celebrate together but also to have their own space. The outside space is amazing and the children loved the tree swings and had an amazing evening around the fire pit. We will definitely be back

There was water blockage in every single bathroom except two, couldn’t use bathroom.

we were 20 people so we were in big trouble due to only two bathrooms in use. There was a mouse in the house. Seems like it was nightmare for us.