Dog Friendly Oxfordshire Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• William - Verified booking

  What a beautiful cottage, ‘olde-worlde’, quaint and stunning!

  Beautiful local area, lots of things to see, and a lovely home from home. However, unfortunately some aspects did let it down: -The cleanliness was poor, so much so that I’d be surprised if it had been cleaned before arrival. I had to hoover on arrival, in one bedroom there was a section of black dog hair (must have been where the previous occupiers dog slept) being dog owners ourselves it wasn’t so much of an issue but was noticeable and needed clearing up. Downstairs in the lounge there was bits all over the floor and we have a one year old who is crawling so this was unacceptable. My daughter dropped her dummy through a gap in the bed in the second bedroom and upon retrieving it there was so much dust that I can’t imagine it had been cleaned in over a year. -The heating didn’t seem to do what we asked it to do and it was unbearably hot at times, we googled and kept trying different things but to no avail - the nest said the heating was off but the house was still 24 degrees and all radiators were still on. Also there was still a large pile of ash underneath the fire which has not been cleared away either. However we did not get to use this facility due to heating issues. -The sofa does need replacing - having read previous reviews I knew this had been an issue but in response to one review this had apparently been sorted - it had not. It has a large rip in one of the cushions, when batting the cushions back into shape dust flies out and you had to reshape cushions and put them back together every 30 minutes when sitting on it. Another minor point to note - it does say that the yard is enclosed for dogs. However the neighbouring property does have right of way for access onto the road - which shouldn’t be an issue once a week (for bins). However at one point we did notice the gate to the neighbouring property was open - meaning the yard is not fully secured at all times. It’s such a shame the above points were an issue, because it was such a lovely place. I think with some attention to detail it would be worth the price we paid. However staying over new year and paying premium price - we would not rush back unless points above were rectified, but overall we did really enjoy our stay.

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• Lusy - Verified booking

  The cottage was very sweet and pretty, in a lovely village, but there were some issues that tainted our stay somewhat.

  Firstly, the listing was advertised as having a garden and a barbecue - it didn't mention that the garden was overgrown with weeds, covered in empty bottles and rubbish bags, or that the barbecue was full of grease, fat and ash from previous use. We came from London (where we live in flats) and specifically chose somewhere with a garden so that we could sit out and enjoy the outdoors with the dogs. It wasn't a pleasant garden to sit in unfortunately. There were a few things that weren't there when we arrived which we thought should have been provided. There was no toilet roll and no sponge / dish cloth. I wouldn't have minded bringing them but it wasn't stated that we'd need to and it's something we all expected would be there. There was also no soap by either of the sinks so make sure you bring that too. There were also some issues with the back door as it had a pane missing and also was very difficult to open and close. The listing states that there is a local pub but it has actually closed down. I know this isn't the owner's fault but I just thought I'd mention it so that the advert can reflect that there isn't a local pub. There are a few in the surrounding villages but we couldn't just walk to the pub for dinner as we had planned to based on the listing. I was informed before arrival that there would be a Covid-safe level of cleaning completed. This was definitely not the case. I'd say that for something to be cleaned to make it Covid-safe that should include things like door handles, taps, cupboards, worktops, light switches etc. but there was dirt and dust on all of these areas, as well as all over the house. We paid over £800 for a weekend stay and the standard of the cottage really didn't reflect that price which was upsetting.

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• Angela - Verified booking

  It is a lovely quaint cottage however couple of points to be considered.

  1. The sofa is ripped on one of the seat cushions. 2. The sofa has lost all spring & firmness & is filthy with dust flying everywhere when you try to plump the cushions, which no longer plump. 3. The staircase is precarious for humans & definitely not dog friendly. You can see daylight through the steps & a couple of them feel like they are going to give way. 4. There are holes in the wall where it looks like an old hand rail was on the staircase. 5. The clothes airer is broken. 6. The garden is not dog friendly with low level gates & fencing, trip hazard paving & a shear drop with no railings. 7. The advert states there is a shop & food trucks, none of these are here & the locals didn't know what we were talking about when we asked. 8. The kitchen work surfaces still had crumbs on. If elderly people were to stay or children I think there would be accidents in the property & garden. If we were not seeing my father in law we would have returned home to Kent by now as the 4 days stay has been very stressful constantly following my dogs to make sure they are safe & the sofa not being sturdy at all & causing my physical medical issues to be exacerbated. In the end we came home a day early. I appreciate it is an old cottage however it should be advertised better with more emphasis on safety issues or lack of, the furniture should be clean & up to physical standard & truth displayed about local amenities or, again, lack of. Really disappointed as I was looking forward to a much needed & relaxing break due to high demanding job, this has been anything but.

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• Richard - Verified booking

  Generally we had a fabulous stay in Fountain View Cottage.

  Great location. Very quiet. Parking was good outside the house. Inside, characterful cottage. Comfortable. The kitchen floor could do with a sand & varnish. Really good supply of hot water. Good sized sink. Enjoyed sitting in the kitchen with the french doors open. Pretty basic in terms of pans, utensils, oven dishes etc but that's fine for a holiday cottage (all one needs) and we were mega impressed by the sharpness of the kitchen knives. Very noisy & creaky with the floors but that's what you might expect. Stairs a bit iffy, they really need properly rebuilding. Lovely bedrooms. Could possibly do with a wardrobe but again not essential. A common issue we have when staying for a week and self-catering is the size of the fridge & freezer, but I guess space is limited. I would imagine that the fire with inglenook would be amazing in the winter. Owner very generous with piled up supplies of toilet paper, kitchen towel, soap dispensers, dish washer. washing tablets etc. Gave a welcome feel. Lots of lamps for background lighting. Maybe bin collections need to be made a bit more clear - we were able to put the rubbish bin out but it seemed that the previous occupants had not put out the recycling bin. Hope all the above is helpful & not picky. We give the cottage a definite thumbs up. Thank you for our lovely holiday, we hit bullseye with the weather. Beautiful part of the world! Friendly inhabitants. Beautiful stretch of the Oxford Canal.

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• Mary - Verified booking

  The cottage was a big disappointment.

  Despite my having emailed and spoken to your personnel the bbq was dirty and unusable. The stairs were a nightmare and certainly not suitable for older persons or anyone who was not fully mobile. There was one dishwasher tablet, no washing up liquid, food in the cupboards from other people. There were only 2 toilet rolls for 4 people for a week. The garden furniture was rusty. There was a right of way over the garden for adjoining neighbours to put out their rubbish bins and bring their bicycles through which we were not aware of. The cistern lid was removed by us and left on a shelf in the bathroom as the cistern did not work properly with it on. On a bit more positive note the beds were comfortable and the cottage was clean but for the rest it was a big disappointment and we will not ever take a staycation again in the UK as we had such a poor experience on this occasion. For the same cost we could have gone abroad all in and had a much nicer experience. It certainly was not value for money. We left the cottage as we found it. All rubbish was put in the bin, dogs mess cleaned up and beds stripped and folded. The key was replaced in the key safe prior to our leaving. Overall a very disappointing experience. Do you check out the properties before you advertise them? If not we would suggest you do start doing so. We would never use Sykes to book anywhere again either in the UK or abroad.

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