Dog Friendly Cottages in Chideock

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Jackie - Verified booking

  The cottage and location were lovely, however the direction sent by Sykes were misleading as they apparently started from the middle of Bridport but no indication of this!

  It would be more helpful at least to know where the directions start from - especially as we arrived after dark. There is a right turn at the north end of North Road and another right turn into Hell Lane. The property is on the left - not the right! The cottage had no guest information folder other than some laminated sheets referencing Covid instructions. For example, there was no information about connecting to the WiFi, no information about rubbish collection (and no outside dustbin), no information about using the heating and no invitation to contact Abi with any issues. It would have been nice to have information on local food shopping options (opening times of the Spar in Chideock for example and location of larger food shops). For the price, I would have expected the provision of a dishcloth. I appreciate that we are at the end of a busy season, but after initial joy at finally being able to get away, I was disappointed with the tired nature of the fittings. Towels were provided but were very small and thin, pillows very flimsy, cushions in the lounge also very tired, crockery, mugs, cutlery and glassware mismatched and little in the way of saucepans. The oven worked ok, but the rings were hit and miss - sometimes deciding to turn on and sometimes not and sometimes deciding not to turn off! There were no ice trays in the freezer. There were two power cuts during our stay - the first was apparently planned as tree surgeons were working further up the Lane - as we had a baby with us it would have been nice to know this in advance. The second was apparently because the automatic top up on the smart metre did not work correctly - we did wait a couple of hours before messaging Abi and once it was evident that other properties around did have power - but again not ideal with the baby. There were several lightbulbs not working - towards the end of the week we did find a few spares, but a bit late to address the poor lighting in the bathroom! There did not appear to be a shaver socket anywhere. The shower cord in the downstairs bathroom was so hard to operate, we did not for fear of ripping it from the ceiling - it was only when Abi called after our second power cut SOS that she tugged quite hard on it to activate! I had already messaged Abi several times, but her slow response to messages did not really encourage further messaging. Our frustration is that all the above could easily have been addressed with a little more attention to detail. To put my criticism in perspective, if I were Sykes Cottages’s, all the above niggles should surely be addressed (checking lightbulbs, safety of the stove etc) between each hire, but I notice that previous feedback mentions the lack of an information folder and there still is no sign of same! All in all, we enjoyed our time in a very beautiful part of Dorset, but if using Sykes again, I would want to be assured that the next cottage was more carefully presented.

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• Alastair - Verified booking

  A gorgeous setting in a superb location.

  Not having Wi-Fi/signal was a godsend and three young boys (2/4/6) had great fun playing tag/rugby/football passing in the garden. Unfortunately the holiday was let down by a few major points: a ridiculously small downstairs bed; a kettle that didn't work 95% of the time, the remaining 5% requiring you to hold the button down; a shower head blocked with limescale and pinched hose held together with electrical tape; electrical tape used to hold the bulb holder of a bedside lamp together; and an very strong smell of damp. We own an 18th century cottage and appreciate that whilst a certain level of dampness is to be expected within a property of this age the level within St Gabriel’s was excessive. The bedding felt constantly 'damp' and clammy, clothes felt damp when left out overnight and a leather handbag strap went mouldy inside of a week. Not to mention the effect on bread and other perishable food. I’m not sure whether there was an extended duration between the previous guests and ourselves but the smell was very strong and the walls visibly damp. Crumbs in the breadbin, a half-finished bottle of open ketchup, hair in the shower and general grit/grass on the floor on arrival suggested a lacklustre approach to cleaning. There should be mention of the smaller-than-standard-double sized bed which even without a pregnant wife was completely unsuitable in this day and age; it felt like the desire to cram two bedside tables in had led to that decision yet in reality all that happened when you decided to try not sleeping on your side was that you ended up headbutting one of the very sharp corners. That said, it was a nice week and the cottage is in a wonderful setting.

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• Sophia - Verified booking

  Brilliant cottage in a convenient location close enough to major towns yet in a peaceful, rural setting.

  The cottage was lovely and we all enjoyed the week away (even the dog who settled in very quickly despite being woken by the cockerell nearby on the first morning). The cottage was very well equipped with just about everything needed for a perfect break away whilst being a home from home. Plenty of space for our family with large dining and living areas along with a generous size kitchen. The pool table and darts board also added to the fun for the time we were "at home". Wifi and Internet TV although not essential for my husband and I made the break more enjoyable for our teenager. We had many local walks around the countryside and into the village (approx 20-25 mins walk) with the dog over the week. The locals were really friendly and welcoming. The nearby Catholic church was also a wonderful find and we were lucky enough to pass by when it was open so got to see the beautiful decorations and artwork inside. From the cottage we had a great base for travelling to the local beaches and seaside towns. We visited Seatown, Eype, Charmouth, Lyme Regis, Cogdon beach, Weymouth and Yeovil during our holiday. Quite often even though we planned to eat out we decided to return to the cottage for our evening meal. We all found it to be very restful and comfortable. There were shops nearby for provisions. A short drive in the car we found Morrissons and Lidl. Ideal to stock up on the necessities. I'd have no hesitation to recommend West Perry Hay to any friends or family. I also had no issues with Sykes Holidays either. We would have re-booked to go back for next year but sadly the prices had gone up and put it out of our bracket.

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• Andrew - Verified booking

  On the whole the cottage is brilliant.

  The rooms downstairs are well proportioned but there is a need of general maintenance throughout. The previous tenants had broken the washing line which wasn’t replaced for us. We spent an hour cleaning the kitchen upon arrival along with the crockery we were going to use. Toilet seats were missing or broken, the plug hole in the en-suite bathroom was full of hair and the bedding smelt fusty. After coming through the pandemic I thought there would be a better standard of cleanliness but there is still a broken dog ball under the settee in the dining room and muck from along time ago. The pool table is multi functional which has broken the cushions but still playable and very enjoyable. We loved the space and setting expected being nearer a working farm as in the description but wasn’t to be found. Lovely area with great walks though. The owner was quick to drop off a new kettle for us when the old one wasn’t working well.

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• Jennifer - Verified booking

  We were 3 adults and 5 children ranging from 3 - 11 and the cottage was a great place to stay with every thing we needed it felt like home from home.

  The property was extremely clean and had all mod cons and as we cooked and every day I don't think there is any piece of cooking equipment that wasn't there. Abi and Tim were great hosts and popped down to check we had all we needed, and to contact them if we had a problem (we had no problems with anything). The cottage is in a fantastic spot close to the sea but in the country surrounded by beautiful scenery and all we could hear was birdsong, (no traffic) the garden was great for the children and was fully fenced so was safe for a family with young children we didn't have to keep checking them. An ideal spot for visiting all of the Jurassic Coast we will definitely be back again as the children and adults had a fantastic holiday in a beautiful cottage without any hassle.

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