Dog Friendly Girvan Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Carolyn - Verified booking

  We arrived at Cairnhill Cottage on the Friday in May.

  We were without central heating AND hot water from the Tuesday. Only enough logs to make a fire one night. Hand to boil the kettle to wash. Reported but they could not fix it. So by the time we left the following Friday, it still wasn’t repaired. The cottage was still without heating and hot water. The cleaners turned up, we explained the situation and they would either not clean or do so without hot water!! The greedy owner STILL. proceeded with the booking the week after us, knowing that the property wasn’t fully compliant. And guess what, it wasn’t working all week because the owner accidentally messaged us the following week apologising that they were without heating and hot water. And even worse LIED stating “don’t know what has happened as it’s never happened before!” Really, as it did the week before. After the holiday, we messaged Sykes for help. Explained the situation. Explained that one of the elderly members of the party who suffers from COPD had taken very poorly after the stay and both kids had a serious cold. They refused any help and hid behind GDPR. Tried to engage with the lady who was the point of contact (but allegedly not the owner) upon our return. Abrupt; un-cooperative and then blocked my number. Claimed the owners pay Sykes to deal with such issues. Sykes claim it’s the owner’s responsibility. Don’t normally leave such scathing reviews and had Sykes and/or the owner engaged then I may not have. However this is customer service at its very worst. Book at your peril.

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• Claire - Verified booking

  It's a lovely cottage.

  The sunroom is brilliant, and the views are outstanding. The location is beautiful, and the garden was perfect for our dog. Having the beach just over the road and the ability to walk in the woods and go to Culzean Castle was just perfect. The pub, Ropes, is good. The food and beer are lovely, and it is dog-friendly outside. We did not go to the restaurant as it is not dog-friendly. The shop/cafe/post office is a gem! You honestly need never leave the village; everything is right there—even an ice cream van comes to visit, making your stay even more convenient. The cottage is exceptionally well equipped, leaving us feeling secure and comfortable. We cannot think of anything that was missing. The bed was a little too firm for my husband and like concrete for me. Despite the overall positive experience, we were surprised and a bit disappointed to find that there was no welcome pack, not even a pint of milk. Basic amenities like tea, coffee, and sugar were also missing from the canisters provided. Additionally, we felt some information or tourist leaflets about the area would have been helpful. We picked up some information leaflets from the Girvan tourist information office and left them in the cottage. Also, the tile grout and caulk in the shower need a good cleaning, and there is some mould around some of the window frames. We had a truly fantastic time and will definitely return again, assuring you of the overall positive experience we had.

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• Alexander - Verified booking

  Loved the place on arrival, great small touches such as milk, tea , coffee, fresh flowers in living room, clean towels and bedding.

  The place was very clean and had an airy feel to it. Lovely neighbour who even gave us fresh home grown tomatoes. Nice view to the rear of harbour and next door neighbours carvings and fish pond. However the kitchen was not the best. The indoor oil boiler ruined our stay, the fumes coming from this was unhealthy to say the least, we had to keep the windows and back door open if it was running. We forgot to leave the windows open after a day out to return and walk into a fine infested house, I checked the detector just to see if it was working, twice at night I was wearing if windows closed and boiler running. Plastic tiles beside a cooker not clever, I cooked one meal on it and never used again as I prefer a constant temperature. The washing machine I had to hold down when on soon so not to upset the neighbour. Kitchen inside door handle about to come off. If the kitchen had not been so bad would have been 4 or 5 star.

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• Debbie - Verified booking

  On the whole we had a good week, however the house wasn’t up to the usual Sykes standards.

  The kitchen smelt of oil (boiler) so unfortunately we had to leave the kitchen window open during our stay. The handles on the internal doors were hard work when the doors were closed and something rattled on the side of the house (I think it was the aerial) in the wind which you could hear in the upstairs bedroom. There is not a pub as described but a Bistro who were only open until 6pm in the week, 11pm Friday and Saturday, and not dog friendly inside (as most places we visited during our stay). There was a hotel which had a lovely restaurant but again not dog friendly. Although the weather was kind, it is a bit cold to eat and drink outside at this time of year. Despite the issues with the house, it was cozy and the shower and beds were nice, however we would not return.

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• Tracey - Verified booking

  Cairnhill is a beautiful cottage, spotlessly clean and with everything you need for a peaceful, relaxing break.

  It was great to have everything included - from hand soaps to logs for the fire. We loved seeing all the wildlife (including hares, bats, sheep and lambs and a very friendly robin) and the full moon and myriad of stars were a delight on our last night. It is a great place from which to enjoy the beautiful coast and local attractions; we had a wonderful walk from Barr village, amazing views at Bruce’s stone, relaxing time on the beach at Maidens, trips to Ayr and Maybole and a visit to Snib’s cave, to name but a few of the delights of our week here. We cannot recommend Cairnhill enough and already want to return! Debbie was a wonderful host and nothing was too much trouble despite her being so busy with looking after all her new born lambs.

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