Spent several hours choosing a suitable cottage form their web site. Booked the one we found and full payment was taken. Recieved e mail from them confirming booking and advising us to 'look forward' to our holiday. Two days later recieved email to say cottage was booked to someone else. Because of Covid most places are now booked. Very very unimpressed Jonathan and Sandy read more

Unprofessional and disappointing! After a busy few months of exams and all the usual family chaos I finally got dates free from my family, including our two teenage sons and two of their friends, to visit Grandparents in Beadnell. Our eldest son is then off to University so close proximity to my parents was imperative for a quality visit with them. I spent, as we all know, a great deal of valuable time searching, short notice and a bank holiday in the mix meant for a difficult search as many places were understandably all booked up. Then I came across the perfect property offering a short break with GRACE DARLING HOLIDAYS(based in Seahouses). I first tried to phone them but despite having a shop in town their reservation lines are closed out of office hours. I therefore made the booking online, I completed a booking form with all personal details and paid in full £600 plus a ridiculous £25 booking fee. I received an email back with booking reference number and text reading "This booking secures the accommodation that you have chosen for the dates you have specified". I told my sons and their friends, breathed a sigh of relief that that was all done and booked and got excited! Then on the Monday morning I received an email from GRACE DARLING HOLIDAYS cancelling our holiday. No apology just that the owner had taken a booking of his own on Friday evening. They could find an alternative or refund us. I emailed back my disappointment and pointed out that their email confirming my booking and terms and conditions stated that we had entered into a binding contract upon the company issuing the holiday confirmation form as agent for the property owner. I think I can be forgiven with the wording of the email I received and no mention of the need to confirm the booking with the owner, that my booking was just that ...booked! Apparently not, on speaking to 'Helen' at GRACE DARLING HOLIDAYS, I was clearly going no where. She made no apology at all, she would not convey our disappointment to the owner or make a request that the other booking be cancelled. She refused to assist us at all other than to re-book us somewhere else. As we needed to be in Beadnell she said there was no other availability. She then went on to repeatedly say she couldn't book something out of thin air and asked for our bank details for a refund. At this point another more personable member of staff 'Margaret' mysteriously took over after I sent them back my booking email and their terms and conditions, asking for an explanation as to how this could not be confirmation? I also politely suggested that this email should contain wording such as 'this booking is reserved pending confirmation by the owner'. By this time some research showed that this was not a one off incident and that other people had also had the same problem as us as long as twelve months back but they were still operating the same system. One poor family say they had turned up for their holiday and unpacked their car before finding that their accommodation was double booked. Why would a holiday company close over a weekend? Margaret did accept the point and claimed she would speak to their IT department with a view to changing the wording. Most importantly she apologised for our disappointment. Only time will tell for all future custom if this actually made a difference and if it does then fair enough. In the meantime we are left without any accommodation and although the terms and conditions state that in the unlikely event the holiday maker has any complaint, the agent will endeavour to resolve the matter to the cottage owner. Helen point blank refused to do this. I can only guess that the owner is unaware of how the agent is acting on his behalf, souring customer relations for his property/new business venture. -- read more

Seriously, don't go near this company. We booked a week's holiday near Bamburgh in October 2016. As we found out later, despite being told twice by the owner that the cottage had been booked already, they took our money and made as if everything was fine. We drove all the way there, with excited children and a dog in the back, and even unloaded, only to discover that somebody else had a prior booking. It was then impossible to contact GDH - at 4.30pm on a typical Saturday changeover day - because their messaging system wasn't working. We had to pack up and go home again. I'll say that again: we had to pack up and go home again. So did we get a grovelling apology and serious compensation for our wasted time, fuel and disappointment? No. We got a graceless attempt to avoid blame and third off a few days in another house later in the week, which we accepted because they had our money and because otherwise the opportunity would have entirely disappeared. This company is appalling. The accommodation they offer can be booked through other agents or direct with the owners. DO NOT USE GRACE DARLING HOLIDAYS. read more

Booked a 2 week stay in Bamburgh August 2019, upon arrival we left our luggage and went straight out to dinner on our return we realised that the cleaners had left the Skylight windows open and whilst out it has rained heavily and completely flooded the bedroom all the bedding and the bathroom. I rang their emergency number but no one called me back, I had to make another call the next day to get all the bedding changed and a new set of towels as we had to clean up the water that had flooded the rooms. I also had to call them out as the entry door was sticking, clearly they had had problems with this before as the door looked a complete mess with cut out unpainted bits of wood, I made a complaint so they fixed it but then we had to avoid wet paint. People have to be out of the property by 10 no entry for new holiday makers until 4pm so they had plenty of time to rectify the door before our arrival. When I got home I sent them an email about their lack of help with the flooding and be the door should have been fixed and presentable before our arrival. They told me their cut off point to deal with emergencies was 10pm, which I find beyond ridiculous what if it had been more of a serious emergency so there would be no one around to deal with emergencies after 10pm. When I complained that the cleaners had left the sky light windows open they actually then accused me of leaving them open, which I was flabbergasted about what a way to treat a customer. The apartment was also not cleaned thoroughly prior to our arrival, I really did not want to spend my holiday complaining a 3rd so time so decided to make my compliant once home. To be told they don't deal with complaints after we vacate the property. An appalling service would not recommend them to anyone. read more