Dog Friendly South East Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Anne - Verified booking

  We did have a lovely family holiday at Abbots Wood, location fantastic, some great walks and wild life, Deer visited and we sat and watched the bats of an evening.

  There are a few things that you need to be aware of. Cleanliness was very below the usual standard we have had when holidaying with Sykes before, (cobwebs dead flies, dust under furniture, sinks needing some bleach, shower cubicle need a good clean ). Furniture needs to be up dated in the lounge, settees, very very used all the seat cushions are flat and looking very tied. Pans in the kitchen, loads of them but only a couple you could use on the hob as its a hob that needs specific pans. Pool is lovely, but we had to contact the owner to ask for the water temp to be turned up, which they told us how to do. Bedrooms, only have double beds which was a bit of an issue, but other reviews had stated this so we took camp beds, not ideal but it worked for us. The two bedrooms that shared the Jack and Jill bathroom were a nightmare, beautifully decorated but too hot to sleep in and the boilers kept coming on and off all night, they where very very noisy. We had to sleep with the balcony doors open all night which then let midges in. There was no cold water pressure in this bathroom which again was an issue, one of our guests is a plumber by trade and he said the whole plumbing water system needs an over haul. Garden furniture was dirty we had to wash it before using, the decking area needs some TLC, all doors on the rear and side of the house need some work doing to them as they where difficult to open and shut. The family room down stairs with two double beds was cold no heating in here, the quiet room at the end of the dinning room would make a lovely games room, snooker table, darts board etc. to us this was a waste of space but that's only our opinion. One of our main concerns was the balcony upstairs which you look down over onto the pool. This is very lose in places, if we had had small children with us it would have been a major issue, also the balustrade on the stairs from upstairs into the pool area this is lose as well, these need attention. It is a fantastic property in a lovely area and like I said we did have a fabulous time here but its crying out for some tender loving care.

  Read more less >

• Beverley - Verified booking

  The house is very large, beautiful and set in stunning surroundings with some lovely walks.

  However we felt that the property does need a little tlc in places. We got to the property and one of the curtains to one of the rooms were down which was soon addressed by the owners. The bedrooms are all great sizes with two having large dressing rooms and all having ensuites. As picked up by other residents the kitchen is very small with very little work surface however more or less everything you would need is in the kitchen including a lovely range cooker. However a new set of knives, a new can opener and some egg cups would be a great addition to what is already there. We marked the house down on cleaniness as we felt all the shower cubicles could do with a good scrub and bleach and was very disappointed that the glass to the windows and internal doors had not been cleaned from a previous visitor who had obviously had little children or dogs. To me this is part of a cleaning process from visitor to visitor. The chairs to the garden also hadn’t been cleaned and there were broken chairs around the lake which didn’t do the house justice. Having the pool was a real bonus and well used by all the visitors. It was lovely having some conservatory furniture and chairs to lay on a great addition to the area. If you do take a dog just a word of warning we were told by a neighbour that some of the residents down the lane are not keen on some of the wildlife visiting them and was told that a trap had been set to catch deer, foxes etc and it had caught their dog thank goodness we didn’t take our dog as this would have been a real worry for us. We had a lovely week and although the weather wasn’t great it just meant we used the pool more!

  Read more less >

• Lena - Verified booking

  Had a lovely stay at The Orchard.

  Space is great and rooms very comfortable. Although the accommodation is spotless it's decor is very tired and could do with some TLC. There is a lot of minor stuff not working and the plumbing definitely needs addressing as there are lots of loose taps and furred up shower heads. A few new washers wouldn't go amiss. The tumble dryer might need looking at as it makes a horrible noise. The outside of the accommodation let's it down as the gutter needs fixing and clearing and the garden needs some tidying and all in need of general maintenance. We had some issues with getting hot water but it's was due to the eccentric plumbing and a couple of calls to the host got it resolved. But it wasn't very convenient to have to do this. A few spares such as bulbs being available would have been helpful. Perhaps a welcome/house guide summarising the house quirks would be helpful? TV in lounge was amazing! Main bathroom shower likewise. Host was very polite and helpful. Kitchen very well equipped but could use some weighing scales perhaps? H&S wise the poolside is lethal if wet, some rubber matting wouldn't go amiss to make it much safer. We had several near misses and one accident on the steps from the house into the pool despite being very careful. Especially worrying when we had elderly and very young children in our party. I would say not doing so is failing in duty of care. A sign warning of the slippery surfaces is not sufficient in my opinion. Thank you Orchard we enjoyed our stay immensely despite a few things hiccups. Wold have give a higher rating if not for poor maintenance of plumbing and safety issues of poolside.

  Read more less >

• Ruth - Verified booking

  The caravan is great in terms of facilities and little extras (including a lovely sign, bottle of bubbly, chocolate, flowers and crackers when we arrived).

  The bedrooms and bathrooms are good and the main area a good size with lots to do (board games, table tennis, big internet TV etc.). Anything we needed we could find. The main downside is that it could be cleaner. The caravan is quite modern but is let down by things like hair in the bath, mirrors splattered and the floor needing a good hoover. There is a hoover there but it doesn't work very well. This is the main reason I wouldn't totally recommend others to stay there. There are also some DIY fixings which are a bit wobbly (e.g. we had to take one bedroom TV off the wall and rest on a firm surface instead). The other issue was that some of the key facilities we were excited about weren't available. The clubhouse and pool were closed for refurbishment which we weren't informed about. The host was very apologetic about this and gave us some cash as a refund. But this meant entertaining 4 teens without this variety that we'd expected. And I'd asked for the pool table to be set up in the main living area which it wasn't. One of the teens and I put this together which took about 2 hours (gave us something to do). We could then convert it into a full size table tennis table after 2 days. The hosts were friendly and accommodating (they live next door). So in terms of practicalities, facilities and comfort I'd say this is a great place to stay and base yourself. Once the main park facilities are open this would be even better of course. Just a bit more time on the cleaning so it didn't feel ever so slightly grimy would make this a really excellent place to stay.

  Read more less >

• Jocelyn - Verified booking

  We were a party of 8 adults, 3 children under 6 and a dog and booked The Orchard for a family birthday celebration.

  It was a really wonderful week and this lovely family home suited all of our needs perfectly. The house was very spacious, with a large table able to seat all of us in the dining room and another, smaller table in the kitchen, which still seated 8 comfortably. The kitchen was large and very well equipped, having everything we needed, so it never felt crowded. The cottage was also clean and there was lovely linen on the beds. The bedrooms were comfortable and although the bedroom furniture in particular, was dated, it rather suited the age of the house. The en suite shower rooms were small but the main en suite bathroom was good and the family bathroom was spacious, with a large shower and roll top bath. Everyone in the group loved the beautiful swimming pool but as the 3 children were non swimmers, we made sure they had buoyancy aids for safety, as I believe the pool depth varies from 3 ft to 6 ft 6”. Although the property is situated on a fairly busy road, it’s surrounded by fields and is perfectly located to explore the Kent and Sussex countryside, National Trust properties, beaches etc. One small point we would like to mention to improve things for the future, would be to illuminate ‘The Orchard’ sign outside the property, as two of our party arrived in the dark and went up and down the road several times, trying to locate the house. It was fine once we all knew the exact position of the property. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed our week here, I would recommend The Orchard and would love to stay here again!

  Read more less >