Forest of Dean Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Jayne - Verified booking

  The property is becoming rundown and tired.

  There is chipped kitchen floor tiles and the kitchen units are very worn. The oven was filthy and looked like parts of it were being held together with some sort of blue tack. The inside of the microwave was dirty too. We didn't use the dishwasher, so we don't know what state that was in. The kitchen and bathroom floor tiles were really dirty. The laminate flooring throughout the property was dirty too. We spent part of our first morning sweeping and hoovering all the floors, including under beds etc. We swept up so much debris. The sofas had debris and dog fur on them. We hoovered them as well as we could. We then got on our hands and knees and tried to clean the kitchen and bathroom floor tiles with hot soapy water. Not the best start to our holiday. The water was dark brown. The grouting needs a scrubbing brush to sort it out, but we certainly weren't going to do that. There was too much laminate flooring to clean. The mop provided was dirty, so all we would have done was push the dirt around. The bathroom wall tiles and the shower screen need black mould and limescale removed from them. The back door is ancient. The front door sounds like you are entering a haunted house. The double glazed window in the lounge has blown. The driveway is full of weeds etc. The decking is very springy. The back garden is the local cat toilet. We had to regularly hose the cat poo away so our 2 dogs didn't try to eat it. The walls are grubby and marked. The visitor information book says the property is in the progress of being sorted out. It certainly does not say that on your online details. If it had, we would never have booked it. The property has such great potential to be lovely given it's layout, garden and position. it is such a shame it has been allowed to get so bad. We have rented out lots of holiday cottages over the years and never had such problems with cleanliness etc. We were very disappointed.

  Read more less >

• Kelly - Verified booking

  When we arrived at the accommodation, it had not been cleaned from the previous guests.

  Dirty bedding and towels, rubbish left, dirty dishes etc. Sykes arranged for a cleaner to attend but we had to find somewhere to go for four hours! The cleaning company paid for us to have dinner which was welcomed but we still had hours to wait to get into the accommodation. The accommodation needs a thorough deep clean. Behind the TV was lots of insects; underneath the sofas were really dirty; there was mould in the bathroom; the bottom of the bed was dirty; the outdoor wood burner was full of cigarette butts; some of the crockery in the cupboards was greasy and dirty; there was dirty underwear in one of one the drawers. Outside, the decking area (shown on the website pictures on the and booking details) had been removed and piled up in the garden; sharp metal fixings were left sticking out of the ground where it had been screwed down. This was dangerous for dogs and children. There were building materials in the garden and the garden gates are not secure for small dogs who can fit through the gaps - our dog escaped twice and we had to block the gate with bins and old bricks from the piles left in the garden.The front driveway is full of weeds and the plants are overgrown - one covers a front bedroom window. Many of these issues were mentioned in the purple breakage record, previous reviews and the guest book, but the problems remain. It seems to me that the owners don't really worry too much about the condition of the accommodation. I really did not want to stay and reported these problems, with photos, to Sykes on several occasions during the week; I received responses telling me that the problems had been passed to the property team or that the customer relations team would be in touch. No one contacted me. We vacuumed underneath the sofa and throughout the accommodation and cleaned all the crockery before we used them. This is not what we expected from Sykes.

  Read more less >

• Louise - Verified booking

  I booked The Stable for a family weekend break, 2 adults, 2 children under 12 and our dog.

  I didn't have much in the way of expectation as we hadn't been to this part of the UK before but we had the most wonderful break. The photos of The Stable don't quite do it justice. It is beautifully decorated, thoughtfully equipped and comfortable. The views from the sitting room and main bedroom were breath taking. To add to this was the truly quaint surprise of the Steam Train coming along the bottom of the garden, some way away but visible and audible. It was the icing on the cake for us. The Stable and other apartments are on the main road, closer than we thought but the birds in the trees were more audible than traffic and so the road was of no real concern and caused no issues. Plenty of parking spaces for the 4 apartments too. Before we arrived we recieved a call from the owner to check estimated arrival times and to let us know we could be in the apartement an hour earlier than check in time of 3, which was lovely. A welcome basket with Easter goodies was warmly recieved and so thoughtful. The Stable is located 10 mins from Puzzlewood which we thoroughly recommend. 20 mins ish from Tintern where there is an Abbey we recommend seeing and 20 mins ish from Chepstow where we looked around the castle. The Stable is within walking distance of the High Street with a Tesco and petrol station and some lovely restaurants/take aways close by. The park and cafe set behind Lydney High Street were a lovely surprise, as was the public footpath opposite the house to which access is gained in the last road on the left as she come to The Stable, behind the houses to the right as you enter the road. We had breakfast in the garden overlooking the forest. The garden is beautiful and well kept and thoughtfully placed outdoor furniture is dotted around for sunbathing, eating and just watching the birds. Our children have told me they want to come back. We might just do that!

  Read more less >

• Jacqueline - Verified booking

  Our week at The Stables was most enjoyable, in spite of a couple of minor niggles.

  I was initially disappointed to find that the property was on a busy main road, having been given the impression from the photographs on the website that the property was in a more rural location. However, the road traffic noise was not as intrusive as feared, and the location made it well placed for getting into Lydney for shopping and for accessing the Forest of Dean. We can recommend a look at Lydney harbour, Tintern Abbey, a walk around Cannop Ponds and a ride on the Dean Forest steam railway (audible and just visible through the trees at the rear). After a long car journey to get there, the steps up to the property to carry luggage up to the apartment were a challenge, so the generous welcome gift of snacks and treats as well as provisions for a hot drink on arrival was much appreciated. Due to the single glazing, there was condensation inside the windows on colder mornings, but this will hopefully be resolved with the addition of secondary glazing, which is intended by the owners (subject to planning permission). The apartment was nevertheless very cosy and comfortable, clean, well equipped and attractively decorated, with a quirky, eclectic collection of artwork and ornaments. We can certainly recommend a stay at The Stables.

  Read more less >

• Guest's Review On TripAdvisor - Verified booking

  The Old Mill is just perfect.

  We have just returned from a week's stay and we are so pleased we found this place. You really won't be disappointed if you stay here! The owners Ben & Kelly were great, so helpful and accommodating. We had contacted with them a couple of times before our holiday and nothing was too much trouble. We were met by Ben on arrival and his introduction to the property was great. The welcome pack was just so kind & thoughtful, we really appreciated it. The property is well equipped and perfectly caters for children. This is a beautiful, peaceful, safe location. It's a perfect location for visiting so many places. We went to Gloucester, Cotswolds- Bibury (beautiful!!), Burford, Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-World, all worth a visit - can't beat the Cotswolds. We also went to to Cotswold Park Farm, great day out for the kiddies, highly recommended! We also went on the GWR steam train trip too, again definitely recommended. To eat out locally, we can certainly say both The Red Hart in Blaisdon and The White Hart in Newnham were super! Good food, very friendly and accommodating. Make sure you are hungry though! Ben and Kelly, thank you again and hopefully we'll be back one day!

  Read more less >