Dog Friendly Portland Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Lisa - Verified booking

  This property had pretty views from the sitting room, an open plan living area and bedrooms and bathroom situated downstairs, clean and pretty comfortable throughout .

  There were various issues, some of which were down to us making assumptions on booking, some not. There is a lot of damp in the main sitting area, and the kitchen is very basic, not great if you want to cook. The cupboards are very high, we are not that tall and could barely reach. Oven looked new, no instructions on how to use it were provided though, so there was a lot of trial and error but we got there in the end! There is no washing machine (we of course should have checked and not assumed) three dogs and by a beach, plus good old English weather, meant we ran out of stuff very quickly. Strangely there is an airer and ironing board. The sitting area was comfy and we made up horror stories about the door in the ceiling :). The bedrooms were nice, particularly the larger room, the beds were comfortable. The bathroom was fine, tiled throughout, nice strong shower. The bathroom door kept jamming shut though and after getting stuck in there the first night, we had to leave it open. There is no outside space at all so you have to walk your dogs even if they want to go out at 2 am, in hindsight we should have checked on Google maps to see exact space ..a lesson learned! The property is set halfway up a hill, and the whole area is very steep, would not recommend to anyone with mobility issues. And although there is free onstreet parking, finding a space was very hit and miss, so be prepared to make many trips with your luggage! Good way to get your steps in though. Overall would recommend to anyone with a reasonable degree of fitness who wants a clean base from which to explore (assuming the damp and the sticky door get sorted) . Would not recommend to dog owners due to no outdoor space and no washing facilities, or to anyone with mobility issues. Hope people find this useful!

  Read more less >

• David - Verified booking

  Tastefully furnished and almost everything you'd need for a home away from home.

  Location was amazing being so close to the beach and loved the sea view from our bedroom. Great to have reserved, secure parking too. Was clean and different floors and the outside patio gave us space from each other which we needed for a longer stay! There was a nice welcome basket which included Dorset apple cake which was delicious! We holidayed for 2 weeks and things that you don't think of too much for a week started to niggle on our 2nd week. Beds were comfy but the duvets were 10 tog which were far too hot for summer and just using the cover was sometimes too cold, so summer duvets needed. The lounge TV was painful to use as as the remote slow and unresponsive, and it had limited functionality. When you've got younger kids, you will spend a fair amount of time in your holiday home and not having a decent TV with the ability to download streaming apps that we use like Disney was a faff. The upstairs Fire TV could do that but only if you have a prime account, which we do but it often just wouldn't work properly as Fire devices are prone to do. Also whilst we brought our own consumables like dishwasher tabs etc we hadn't expected to need bin liners for week 2. If you're staying for a week then none of this should bother much! A couple of extra notes to include that aren't written but good to know: The pebble beach has a steep bank to the shore line and a very short promenade so if you want to take a long walk, would advise wearing hiking boots. Nice cafe on the beach which sometimes hosts lovely evening pop up evening restaurants - check their Facebook page for more details.

  Read more less >

• Rob - Verified booking

  We stayed at Kimberlin for a week over the Easter period, as a base for attending an event at the nearby Sailing Academy.

  The location is perfect for that purpose - walking in about 20 minutes or a very quick drive. It's proximity to Chesil Beach is a great feature, and there are direct sea views from the top front bedroom. The house was spotlessly clean on arrival, and is well furnished with comfortable beds and sofas etc. We really enjoyed our stay, but there are a couple of points worth noting - these are factual rather than critical - there's nothing that the owners could do to address them! The development is a couple of years at most (probably less) and, as is the way the developers, they have crammed as many properties in a small space as they possibly could, so despite being a three bedroom property, the living areas (kitchen/living room) feel very cramped. We were two adults plus two late teenage children - and moving around the kitchen/dining table is "cosy" to say the least. There is only room for four chairs around the dining table (not sure what happens if 6 people book?), and you can't open the fridge/freezer doors fully without first closing the kitchen door. Over a week this did start to irritate. Likewise the on-site parking. The spaces are very tight for larger cars, and despite being clearly marked, guests/owners of other properties seemed to regard them as a free for all. We had to leave a note on a car to ask them to move so that we could use the allocated space for Kimberlin. There is parking right opposite development and at quiet times there are spaces - but in busy season that's not the case and we had to park some distance away.

  Read more less >

• Wendy - Verified booking

  From the minute we arrived at the cottage, we knew we were going to fall in love with it.

  I had a quick glance over the reviews but unless they are consistent, I don't pay too much attention. Yes, it took me a few minutes to get the car parked, but I did it! I have a Nissan Juke and it fitted in the space perfectly. So we enter the cottage and the dogs go off for a sniff....straight to the care box provided by the hosts!! We loved this sentiment. Unpacked the car and settled straight in. The sun was shining, considering we'd just had weeks of rain! Husband read the welcome folder and started planning our walks. I felt immediately at home, as did my dogs. We always take blankets to dog friendly stays but there were some provided if required. Another sweet touch. Everything available to us were perfect. All furniture was comfortable and the wood burner was my favourite touch. I would definitely recommend this stay to anyone and everyone. Great value for money. The surrounding facilities are great. The Cove pub on the front of Chesil beach is fab and also dog friendly. The walks are brilliant. And most of all, people were incredibly friendly. Super tasty big portions of fish and chips up the road at Salty Towers. We couldn't fault a thing. Only 1 thing I'd agree with, with someone else's review would be a little side lamp in the living room. But it didn't affect a thing. We will return with our dogs and we cannot wait to.ezplore more of Portland. The hosts have put a lot of thought into all aspects of their cottage and we thank them for it.

  Read more less >

• Sarah - Verified booking

  All the facilities and equipment was good and functioning.

  The house and furniture was very neutral and pleasant. The outside patio area might need a bit of TLC before the summer really gets going as it was a bit untidy and needed a good pressure wash and weed. It’s a seaside house so windows are bound to get salt water marks on them but they didn’t look like they’d been cleaned for a while. The bathrooms were clean and nice. We couldn’t get really hot water in the first floor bathroom so showers and baths there were a bit lukewarm. But the top floor shower was boiling hot and couldn’t seem to turn it down! On the ground floor there is a problem with ants which I discovered after leaving a packet of mint humbugs on the shelf in the hallway. They were crawling over and inside the packet so I had to throw them away. I think this is a known problem because there was ant powder under the sink to use. The bedding and pillows were soft and clean but we found the beds a bit uneven and ended up sleeping in separate beds to avoid rolling together! Lots of cupboard space for clothes! Overall we had a lovely week exploring the local area and the house was a nice place to have a base to do that.

  Read more less >