Kist Accommodates - Duck Hill Cottage

The beds were very comfy and luxurious. Everything was modern and practical Great for a family

Great location, large property

There was a couple of issues but sorted straight away.

The house is situated in the centre of Ripon and was very comfortable. Parking a bonus for a city centre location and easy walking distance to restaurants. An excellent location for visiting other places of interest and seeing the beautiful scenery of North Yorkshire.

The location was right in the heart of Ripon, only a very short walk away from the town square and all shops and amenities were close by. The property was very spacious; we were a group of 5 and at no point did we feel like there wasn't enough space for all of us; the property accommodates up to 6 people if 3 share a bedroom with a double and single bed. There's a space to park a car as well, which is fantastic as we didn't have to worry about finding somewhere in the town to park our car (and potentially pay extra fees). When driving, the property is easily accessible from major roads and motorways. The instructions for check-in received ahead of our stay were very clear and informative, which was also appreciated.

Cleanliness is what let the property down the most, which I found very surprising as the booking cost included a hefty cleaning fee. Upon arrival, we found hair all over the floors of the downstairs toilet, the upstairs bathroom and in the bath / shower. For our first night's meal, we decided to cook some food in the oven. I switched the oven on so it could preheat; when I opened it to start cooking, I was met by plumes of smoke so thick I instantly started coughing and the smoke alarm (several feet away from the kitchen) was set off. This would only really be possible if the oven hadn't been cleaned for quite some time. Something else we struggled with, were the mattresses on the beds. They were very soft and bouncy, and the mattress in the single bedroom downstairs was so old and worn, the metal springs inside of the mattress could be felt against your body when lying down, which didn't exactly result in a good night's sleep. With regards to entertainment, there was one book, one jigsaw puzzle, and four games (if you needed to postpone your outing due to rain etc. there wasn't a lot of choice). There was a bare corner in the downstairs living room, which could easily have been fitted with some shelves to add extra books, games, and jigsaw puzzles. The property had advertised TV with Netflix to be available, but we discovered we could only use Netflix if we had our own account to sign in with. This was somewhat misleading, "Smart TV" would've been more accurate. The amenities provided could have been better. We ended up having to use our own kitchen towels as none were available and only one toilet roll (instead of two as advertised) had been provided for the downstairs toilet. The welcome basket contained some tea, coffee, and biscuits (which was great), but it also contained cloths and dishwashing liquid, which says to us "Have a great stay - enjoy cleaning up!"