Dog Friendly South East Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Joseph - Verified booking

  The property generally was quite good but with a few problems.

  1. The wooden slats under the mattress were damaged causing the mattress to fall though them the first time I used it. I managed to patch them up temporarily. 2. The bedding was awful. All polyester- causing my wife and I to sweat profusely, made worse by the warm weather. We ended up buying a new cotton duvet cover, sheet and pillowcases. 3. The shower was excellent (one of the best I have ever used) but the shallowness of the shower tray meant I had to keep checking to see if it was overflowing. 4. Wi-Fi. Couldn't get it to work on any of our devices. Maybe it was my ineptitude. Maybe it was the complicated password which had been written with amendments added to it. Very frustrating. I gave up with it. 5. The Ninja had not been washed/cleaned prior to our arrival. There was a significant amount of oil and food residue left in it. I cleaned the inside containers myself but they were pretty grubby and needed soaking, suggesting to me they had not been cleaned properly for some time. 6. The house itself was good apart from the above niggles. The location was fantastic with easy walking access to the beach, Whitstable and Tankerton. The bus stopping outside was a real bonus allowing us to travel to Canterbury and Herne Bay. 7. Sykes. I didn't like doing business with the rental company. I thought the tone of their emails to be abrupt bordering on threatening. I was surprised by the booking fee. They charged me for a pet which I did not request. I won't book through them again.

  Read more less >

• Mandy - Verified booking

  The booking experience and communication was great.

  The cottage itself is compact which was expected and the grounds lovely, but the decor internally & externally is tired and in need of a lick of paint all around. If you choose white walls and skirting keep them white, splashes up them do not give a feeling of clean. The furniture/fittings are budget and feel it, which makes the bed and the sofa not particularly comfortable. The PVU sofa is peeling and whilst it may well be perfectly clean makes it feel grubby. If the property had been properly cleaned that day there would not be cobwebs in the door opening from the bedroom to the kitchen, an accumulation of dust under/around the bed and dried spillage as you open the fridge door. You have to strip the sheets before leaving which revealed a grubby underblanket. The hot water flow pressure is very low, it takes ages to run a washing up bowl, so I doubt very much it would be possible to run a bath, would be better removed and replaced with a more useful shower. Kitchen utensils very basic/broken. Fortunately I had prepared meals and brought my slow cooker with me, had I not, it would have been microwave meals, as no room to really prep anything, but no microwave instructions. It is a shame as such a nice little building in a lovely location but spoiled by lack of investment/quality. Most expensive cottage we have ever rented and the worst because of the above, we both agreed we would not want to return unless changes were made. Hope this feedback helps.

  Read more less >

• Luisa - Verified booking

  Really enjoyed our first night here and we were pleasantly surprised with how cosy and lovely the cottage felt.

  A little drive to amenities/beaches etc wasn't that much of a problem so location was perfect especially as where we seemed so peaceful. The second night was a little disappointing as when we first arrived we were warned of a wedding taking place but there was no mention of fireworks, and to say this is a dog friendly cottage I would have thought that would have been a must as our 5 month old dog was petrified. Had we have known, we would have stayed away until they were over. The noise from the wedding was pretty loud, think this was a generator or something that went on untill about 1, we were warned of noise but didn't realise how loud it would be. Apart from this, it was a lovely stay and the surroundings were beautiful and quiet. We wouldn't recommend going when a wedding is taking place but that is our opinion. The owner seemed friendly and welcoming and the cottage had the basics as in tea coffe on arrival, it was clean and tidy and the log fire really made it that much more cosy. We would come again but not when a wedding is on. My only criticism is that we could have maybe been reembursed some money or been offered something in return for the inconvenience that the fireworks caused, but apparently the owner did not know about them.

  Read more less >

• Melanie - Verified booking

  On our arrival the cottage was dirty.

  I picked dog hairs up in handfuls and it obviously had not been cleaned properly for a long time. There was absolutely nothing we could use, not even a dishcloth or washing up liquid. The estate manager kindly went to his own house and brought back a cloth, bleach and washing up liquid. He also called the cleaning company. 2 young girls turned up with a hoover and went over the floor which improved the dog hair situation. My husband had gone out to buy cleaning wipes and cleaner, toilet roll and basics like salt and sugar (which are usually in self catering accommodation). We gave the place a clean, washing crumbs and debris off the workbenches and cleaning the toilet which was dirty! I carried the fireside rug outside to shake it and there was so much dust and debris that came off it. Once we had done this it was fine. We appreciate it is sometimes difficult to keep old properties clean - we know, we live in one, but the general dirt and dust (spiders who had taken root in thier webs a long time ago) was unacceptable and we were very disappointed at the standard. It was a lovely cute little cottage but seemed generally neglected. Shame.

  Read more less >

• Tracey - Verified booking

  Had a thoroughly enjoyable time at The Gate House (not for the first time and that is why we book whenever we can).

  The solitude is delightful and we use the lodge as a base for walks and bus journeys to slightly further distant places around the island. English Heritage need to invest in the upkeep of the hall, without removing the joy of free visits and donations (which in our case, would stop if there were charges enforced on the house and /or grounds). The old Gate House has an air of modernity and such a peaceful ,well maintained old tradition feel to it. There is modern gadgetry to cook and watch televsion or DVD's (we left some for the next visitors to enjoy, in addition to those already supplied at the venue) and there is really decent wifi which takes off the edge of isolation as urgent family matters can be attended to, whilst sending home photos of what a great time we were having (reading books outside in the peaceful sunshine in October was a highlight!). A few minor tightening of screws etc. will be done over the closed season but I did not report them and therefore they cannot expect to be mind readers so no complaints to be had.

  Read more less >