Dog Friendly Cottages in Dorset

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Jackie - Verified booking

  The cottage and location were lovely, however the direction sent by Sykes were misleading as they apparently started from the middle of Bridport but no indication of this!

  It would be more helpful at least to know where the directions start from - especially as we arrived after dark. There is a right turn at the north end of North Road and another right turn into Hell Lane. The property is on the left - not the right! The cottage had no guest information folder other than some laminated sheets referencing Covid instructions. For example, there was no information about connecting to the WiFi, no information about rubbish collection (and no outside dustbin), no information about using the heating and no invitation to contact Abi with any issues. It would have been nice to have information on local food shopping options (opening times of the Spar in Chideock for example and location of larger food shops). For the price, I would have expected the provision of a dishcloth. I appreciate that we are at the end of a busy season, but after initial joy at finally being able to get away, I was disappointed with the tired nature of the fittings. Towels were provided but were very small and thin, pillows very flimsy, cushions in the lounge also very tired, crockery, mugs, cutlery and glassware mismatched and little in the way of saucepans. The oven worked ok, but the rings were hit and miss - sometimes deciding to turn on and sometimes not and sometimes deciding not to turn off! There were no ice trays in the freezer. There were two power cuts during our stay - the first was apparently planned as tree surgeons were working further up the Lane - as we had a baby with us it would have been nice to know this in advance. The second was apparently because the automatic top up on the smart metre did not work correctly - we did wait a couple of hours before messaging Abi and once it was evident that other properties around did have power - but again not ideal with the baby. There were several lightbulbs not working - towards the end of the week we did find a few spares, but a bit late to address the poor lighting in the bathroom! There did not appear to be a shaver socket anywhere. The shower cord in the downstairs bathroom was so hard to operate, we did not for fear of ripping it from the ceiling - it was only when Abi called after our second power cut SOS that she tugged quite hard on it to activate! I had already messaged Abi several times, but her slow response to messages did not really encourage further messaging. Our frustration is that all the above could easily have been addressed with a little more attention to detail. To put my criticism in perspective, if I were Sykes Cottages’s, all the above niggles should surely be addressed (checking lightbulbs, safety of the stove etc) between each hire, but I notice that previous feedback mentions the lack of an information folder and there still is no sign of same! All in all, we enjoyed our time in a very beautiful part of Dorset, but if using Sykes again, I would want to be assured that the next cottage was more carefully presented.

  Read more less >

• Paul - Verified booking

  The location in Rousden is everything you could wish for, except we weren't told there was no longer access to the beach which we particularly wanted to visit, so a little disappointed.

  The estate is very dog friendly with nice walks and we met some lovely people. Parking. There is no off road parking! You park on the road outside the property, but there is only room if there is no one parked opposite or you will block the road. Beware the wrath of the neighbour on the conner next door if you park too close to "his parking space!" We love Devon & Dorset but this time it was unseasonably cold, down to 10 degrees for two days, and sometimes very wet. Not a problem for us, but the underfloor heating did not lend itself to these conditions at all, It was set somewhat cool and by it's design it does not respond quickly to heat demand. It's not pleasant coming back to a cold cottage on a horrible wet day, and not be able to feel any benefit from boosting the heating for at least two hours. There is no additional heating included, so there was nowhere to dry wet coats, so they stayed wet. There is a wood burner, but no fuel is provided and it would have cost me a small fortune to buy the fuel needed to fuel it, so ultimately our stay was not as comfortable as it could have been. The roof window leaks reported by previous visitors continue to leak. The property is listed for six people, but the third bed is a bed settee in the lounge/TV room, which already has a bed on the mezzanine above. The bathroom for it would be one of the en-suites through another bedroom. Hardly very practical, I'm glad we didn't take the family here. When we arrived, the bin was full, and despite us putting it out to be emptied on the allocated day, it was not emptied. A phone call to Lyme Bay Holidays resulted in no action, so the next visitor would be met with the overflowing bin at the gate. It's a lovely cottage in a stunning location but would I go again? I'm sorry. No.

  Read more less >

• Sophia - Verified booking

  Brilliant cottage in a convenient location close enough to major towns yet in a peaceful, rural setting.

  The cottage was lovely and we all enjoyed the week away (even the dog who settled in very quickly despite being woken by the cockerell nearby on the first morning). The cottage was very well equipped with just about everything needed for a perfect break away whilst being a home from home. Plenty of space for our family with large dining and living areas along with a generous size kitchen. The pool table and darts board also added to the fun for the time we were "at home". Wifi and Internet TV although not essential for my husband and I made the break more enjoyable for our teenager. We had many local walks around the countryside and into the village (approx 20-25 mins walk) with the dog over the week. The locals were really friendly and welcoming. The nearby Catholic church was also a wonderful find and we were lucky enough to pass by when it was open so got to see the beautiful decorations and artwork inside. From the cottage we had a great base for travelling to the local beaches and seaside towns. We visited Seatown, Eype, Charmouth, Lyme Regis, Cogdon beach, Weymouth and Yeovil during our holiday. Quite often even though we planned to eat out we decided to return to the cottage for our evening meal. We all found it to be very restful and comfortable. There were shops nearby for provisions. A short drive in the car we found Morrissons and Lidl. Ideal to stock up on the necessities. I'd have no hesitation to recommend West Perry Hay to any friends or family. I also had no issues with Sykes Holidays either. We would have re-booked to go back for next year but sadly the prices had gone up and put it out of our bracket.

  Read more less >

• Richard - Verified booking

  Bell cottage is a lovely small quirky cottage that unfortunately sits in a not too brilliant position.

  Location isn’t great as it’s hemmed in by other big buildings and a big conversion is being carried out currently on the property opposite into an 11 flat house of multiple occupancy. Work began at 7 am and continued all day with the accompanying noise and comings and going’s. Obviously this is only temporary but it impacted my stay. The cottage smelt faintly doggy when I arrived and every time I returned..I’m not a dog person ,and this may not bother those who are. Despite that the cleanliness was absolutely fine. Good kitchen facilities..everything was perfect....slight issue with fire starter pack not being available that was quickly sorted with discussion with the owner..I hadn’t read the small print that this isn’t provided after the end of March...but the weather still being very cold at night I managed to buy some fuel from the nearby coal merchant Roger, who was most helpful. TV.....a major issue.....some expensive kit but no normal TV channels without going through a long winded laborious process using various app’s BBC’s I player, you tube etc....all a bit too complicated to even bother with. All in all..a nice cottage but spoiled for me mainly by the location...a tiny yard at the rear and nowhere outside at the front to sit..but I can’t blame anyone for that..it’s just the nature of this particular property. Thanks anyway...enjoyed the few days overall.

  Read more less >

• Gary - Verified booking

  First the bad stuff: We contacted in August 2023 and again in October 2023 to ask if the cottage would have a Christmas tree and decorations.

  We were emailed to say yes so we went ahead and booked. When we arrived at 4pm on the 23/12/2023 there was no tree or decorations. We had grandchildren visiting us on Christmas day so this was a big letdown. There was nothing! We contacted Sykes and a man turned up with a 4ft optical tree he taken from another property. There was nothing else. The washing machine was broke and not fixed until the 6th day of our stay. We had purposely not packed so much thinking we could do some washing. Our dog had been travel sick and we had 2 dirty towels! The washing machine was fixed 6 days later and we left on the 7th day.We logged a complaint with Sykes Cottages on the first day and still have not had a response despite chasing this up. There was a plug socket coming away from the wall upstairs. We have taken photos. Towels provided but too small. Two bath towels would have been nice. For a place that can sleep 6 people it's lacking a dishwasher. Especially all the cooking over Christmas. Good stuff: The cottage is beautiful and the layout with the bedrooms (not next-door to each other) was great for privacy. Location is beautiful. Rousdon Estate is beautiful and lovely to walk with the dog. This was our 2nd stay on the Estate. Private beach is steep to get to with lots of steps but definitely worth going.

  Read more less >