Dog friendly cottages in Lyme Regis

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Roger - Verified booking

  On our first visit to The Old Garage a year ago, we arrived to find a stylish property, clearly well maintained and with a generous welcome pack awaiting us.

  Based largely on that pleasant experience, we booked to stay there again, but oh, what a difference a year can make! This time, there was no welcome pack at all. For the first time in 30 years of cottage holidays, there was not even a pint of milk in the fridge. Evidence of lack of proper maintenance soon followed. All the saucepans were covered in a brown grease and several items of cutlery were the found to have dried bits of food still on them. We therefore spent the first hour of our holiday cleaning all the cooking utensils. A precautionary wipe of table surfaces revealed they had also not been cleaned properly, and it later became evident that the floors were the same. After a long and tiring journey, all you want to do is sit down with a nice cup of tea and biscuit, not to have to roll your sleeves up to do the owner’s work for them. What do we pay for, after all? There were numerous further observations which included mould on several window frames, stains on cushions when they were turned over, decking rotting in places and the garden clearly overdue for some TLC. We later brought this to the attention of Lyme Bay Holidays who informed us that the property had changed hands since our first visit and the new owner had brought a different approach to its management. Lyme Bay Holidays offered to send a cleaning team in immediately, but by that time, we had settled in and did not want the upheaval this would create. We advised that in our opinion, the property was in need of a deep clean all round. We can only hope the new owner realises that you cannot trade on stylish looking images alone. There are plenty of other properties about whose owners understand the importance of cleanliness and of providing a welcome pack. Need we say more?

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• Sharon - Verified booking

  Lovely property.

  The pictures in the listing don’t do it justice. It’s a lot larger than expected. Quite quirky. Fabulous sea views. Nice seating area with a shelter which was ideal for shade and would also be good in light showers. Well stocked with everything needed. Especially in the kitchen. Nice welcome bag with some essentials. The property does have Wi-Fi. The listing suggested both it did and didn’t so probably needs updating. Good location. Short walk to the centre. A couple of small supermarkets nearby. Close to the Town Mill which is worth exploring. We didn’t appreciate how hilly Lyme is. My husband struggled to walk back as he’s injured his leg, but buses were regular and stopped nearby. Only slight negatives. We’d have liked more towels as one medium and one towel per person wasn’t ideal. Especially as we also needed hand towels for the en-suite and bathroom. As per other reviews many of the items in the kitchen could do with a wash. We put all the items we’d use in the dishwasher on arrival. The kitchen trays etc were also filthy as was the hidden drawer and oven gloves under the cooker. We washed the trays etc but left the gloves as we’d taken our own. The wall cupboards with plates and cups smelt, as mentioned in a previous review. We left the doors open to air but it didn’t help. We plumped up the cushions on the sofa and it was quite dirty under the cushions. Otherwise the property was clean. There were issues from the neighbouring property the first weekend. We wondered if the property was a rental, but fortunately the occupants were only there over the weekend. Key collection and drop off was easy and the office wasn’t far from the property. We’d be happy to stay again.

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• Tracy - Verified booking

  Property filthy, mould on the bath mat, shower curtain and bath plug.

  Round the window in the bathroom is mouldy. Bath temperature goes to freezing every few minutes. Dirty in kitchen including where the wall is breaking away. Radiator in the bathroom is full of rust and the towel rail fell apart on the first day. Thick dust on all the light fittings. Towels are thin and well worn, no hand towels. Lack of home comforts for a very cold house (blankets) Lighting in master bedroom is pointless with the dimmer switch broken. Knob to turn the cooker on is broken. Damp in the lounge and poorly decorated. Extremely poorly equipped kitchen. Kitchen cupboards smell of mould so crockery smells. Knives are blunt and unusable. Sieve is covered in rust and limescale. 3 matching wine glasses and mismatched drinking glasses. Side plates are scratched and not nice to use, very basic mismatched equipment. The kick boards in the kitchen are broken and there is dirt along the open cabinets in the kitchen. Dust across most of the beams in the kitchen. Dyson hoover plug attached to the wall with no hoover. Under-stairs landlord storage is messy as well as storage bags and Christmas tree box not put away. Soap in the downstairs toilet was left empty as well as cleaning products under the sink. Kitchen sponge is old and unusable. Welcome pack is limited. Bin collection is wrong so we weren’t able to put the bins out. Empty bottle from previous guest left outside the side door and the side access is filthy. No explanation or reviews of local restaurants, all information that could be googled. Walks would be more useful to be from Lyme Regis. We book with Sykes twice a year but after the state of this property we will be looking to book with a different company.

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• J - Verified booking

  Hm...

  . Lovely cottage, in brilliant location. But. Despite being rated as 4-star (and with a 4-star price) in our view it was only really at most a 3-star. The inside was dowdy, same dreary colour in the whole cottage, needed a good decorate, hardly any power sockets, several windows that wouldn't open and all single glazed with broken latches. Looks like it hadn't been touched for many many years except it had a nice new kitchen. One settee was broken and very uncomfortable, the other and the chair just uncomfortable. Was a bit grubby throughout, cobwebs in corners of every room, carpets cheap, same thoughout and several stains. Heating electric and uncontrolable. Outside hadn't been swept for weeks if not months, plants overgrown, pots untouched and unweeded. Very grubby by kitchen door with some plastic toys full of stagnant water and just been left for quite sometime... Whilst we have enjoyed our break very much this is the first time we have had a poor experience with a Lyme Bay Holidays cottage. It seems to us that it is being used as a cash cow, getting away with spending anything on it to maximise profit. The TV did breakdown and Lyme Bay Holidays were exceptional in replacing it the same day....

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• Jayne - Verified booking

  On the whole, we loved Bethal Cottage.

  It's location was great. It was well stocked and as ever the welcome pack is lovely. However, it does need some tlc to make it come up to the grade it was marketed at. In the garden the chairs/table need rubbing down and revarnshing. Not nice to sit on with bare legs! There are only two cushion sets (for a house that sleeps 6) The garden is a great size but there is no shade. There is a metal structure which we believe should have a sail on it? Even an umbrella in a weighted stand (stored in the shed) would be appreciated. The hose does have a spray attachment but it shoots off as soon the water's turned on. Essential equipment with dogs in the property. In the house. We were confused as to why the mattress to the double bed, in the second bedroom, was 6 inches short in the frame? Not comfortable for a 6' adult! In the lounge, only 1 bulb worked in the 3 wall lights? We believe the dates for rubbish and recycling are incorrect in the folder? All these points are minor but fixable in a day and given rental prices for properties have risen significantly they should be addressed.

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