Brandy Bank Guesthouse

We spent four days here over New Year with 15 adults and one baby, and would absolutely stay again. The house is huge, with eight bedrooms, all en-suite, and very comfortable beds and bedding. There’s loads of communal space, including a big living area that fitted everyone, a games room and a large dining area. One of our guests has mobility issues, and the ground-floor bedroom’s disabled access and adjustable beds were a great surprise. This wasn’t listed on the website, so I’d suggest adding it to the amenities. The hot tub cost an extra £25 a day, which was well worth it split between 15 adults. The kitchen had plenty of essentials, plus a large fridge-freezer and another one in the utility room. We only needed one shopping trip for the whole stay. It’s a quiet area, good for a getaway. The Bay Horse is within walking distance, and we had tea and drinks there one night. The food was good and the staff friendly, though book ahead with a big group. Andrea and Simon answered every email the same day before our stay and were on hand if we needed them. They left a welcome package too. Our damage deposit was returned straight after inspection. There’s plenty of parking at both the front and back.

Four summers in a row now, and we’ll be back again. Brandy Bank suits us perfectly, with enough room for everyone to spread out. The kids love the new hot tub, and we’ve spent plenty of late nights in the games room. There are lots of walks from the house, and our favourite village, Corbridge, isn’t far away. The owners are lovely and helpful.

The whole house was clean and welcoming, and worked well for a large gathering of 16 plus babies, with flexible bed arrangements. The bedrooms had lovely bedding, towels and toiletries. We cooked for 16 every night but one. Would return if we’re in the area.

I’m posting this because other people have had similar issues with this owner. We paid £1435, including an extra charge for the hot tub, for a weekend with family to celebrate my son’s 18th birthday. We arrived late Friday afternoon and had only been there a couple of hours when the power went out. We had no electricity, hot water or heating. I contacted the owner, who suggested asking the next-door neighbour for candles. They weren’t home, so we tried to manage with our phone torches. After a couple of hours our phones were flat, and we went out into the pitch black to knock at another house. Those neighbours were in and kindly gave us candles. We spent the night huddled in the dining room in extra layers, with candles for light. It wasn’t the celebration we’d planned, but we hoped Saturday would be better. There was no power on Saturday either, so we went into the village for food and hot drinks because we couldn’t use the cooking facilities. Locals told us they’d received a text saying power would be off until 11pm Sunday. At 11:30am we left, bitterly cold and hungry, and worried that the food in our fridge and freezer would spoil. I told the owner what was happening. She apologised and offered an extra night on Sunday if the power came back, but I couldn’t accept because of work and school commitments. She then offered £500 off another stay. I understand the power cut wasn’t her fault, but it wasn’t mine or my family’s either. We didn’t spend 24 hours there, or even get three hours before the power went out. The owner still thought it was acceptable to charge the full amount, including for the unused hot tub. After a lot of back-and-forth, she gave us £200 as a “Good Will Gesture” for the food we had to throw away. There was very little concern for the upset and distress this caused my family, or for our health and safety in a property without power. I think the owner should show some empathy and consider how she’d feel if her own family were in that situation. Greed won out over common sense, and she thought £1435 for less than 24 hours in her property was fine. The owner recommends taking out travel insurance for this kind of situation. I’m assuming this must happen quite often, so be warned.