Dog Friendly South West England Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Natalie - Verified booking

  Alfred Wallis is a great location to explore St Ives and soak up the wonderful views.

  The apartment is located on the second floor and parking is about a 7 minute walk away. I would advise unloading at the long stay car park as the road leading down to the apartment is very narrow. The allocated space itself was easy enough find by the directions given, however the space was hard to locate due to overgrown weeds and a large 4x4 encroaching on the allocated space for Alfred Wallis. The markings had also faded. The space is more suited for a smaller car rather than a large family car. Once parked, we rarely needed the car unless we were heading out of St Ives. There are plenty of walks, shops, beaches, bus transportation to get around. Access to the property involves steps and steep inclines. Some would find this difficult. It certainly helped me reach 10k steps a day! We arrived late Friday evening due to traffic. The key collection instructions were clear and easy to find. We were greeted with an overwhelming smell from the drains in both bathrooms. After flushing the shower drains through with hot water this did seem to help. The apartment was clean, beds were comfy. Both bathrooms had been updated since the photos on the advertisement. A new sofa in the living area. I would point out there were no hand soaps in both bathrooms. Something which we usually expect when we stay with Sykes, and especially when paying nearly £1500 for a week. I would recommend advising customers this is a necessary item to bring with them when staying at Alfred Wallis. There was a hair dryer provided in both bedrooms. The kitchen was well equipped apart from there being no toaster. A simple kitchen gadget which is handy for an easy breakfast. The patio doors were not in use in the kitchen area, only the living room side. The WiFi was ok. A couple of days we had very poor service. The TV lost signal for a day or so. We couldn’t find any sky Chanel’s, only free view and Netflix through the PS3. Disposing of household waste was not as described in the folder. The wheelie bins are located in the outhouse at the back of the property. I ended up having to ask a neighbour on the first floor who also struggled to locate the bins. We stayed during May Halfterm. I wouldn’t be happy to pay anymore than we did, especially in the summer holidays. The only welcome item we received was a pint of milk and No hand soap. Some board games, a few books would be a nice touch. Especially on the rainy days when there is poor signal and the tv doesn’t want to work. Overall Alfred Wallis is a lovely apartment which could do with a few finishing touches to make the stay a 10/10.

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• Natalie - Verified booking

  Alfred Wallis is a great location to explore St Ives and soak up the wonderful views.

  The apartment is located on the second floor and parking is about a 7 minute walk away. I would advise unloading at the long stay car park as the road leading down to the apartment is very narrow. The allocated space itself was easy enough find by the directions given, however the space was hard to locate due to overgrown weeds and a large 4x4 encroaching on the allocated space for Alfred Wallis. The markings had also faded. The space is more suited for a smaller car rather than a large family car. Once parked, we rarely needed the car unless we were heading out of St Ives. There are plenty of walks, shops, beaches, bus transportation to get around. Access to the property involves steps and steep inclines. Some would find this difficult. It certainly helped me reach 10k steps a day! We arrived late Friday evening due to traffic. The key collection instructions were clear and easy to find. We were greeted with an overwhelming smell from the drains in both bathrooms. After flushing the shower drains through with hot water this did seem to help. The apartment was clean, beds were comfy. Both bathrooms had been updated since the photos on the advertisement. A new sofa in the living area. I would point out there were no hand soaps in both bathrooms. Something which we usually expect when we stay with Sykes, and especially when paying nearly £1500 for a week. I would recommend advising customers this is a necessary item to bring with them when staying at Alfred Wallis. There was a hair dryer provided in both bedrooms. The kitchen was well equipped apart from there being no toaster. A simple kitchen gadget which is handy for an easy breakfast. The patio doors were not in use in the kitchen area, only the living room side. The WiFi was ok. A couple of days we had very poor service. The TV lost signal for a day or so. We couldn’t find any sky Chanel’s, only free view and Netflix through the PS3. Disposing of household waste was not as described in the folder. The wheelie bins are located in the outhouse at the back of the property. I ended up having to ask a neighbour on the first floor who also struggled to locate the bins. We stayed during May Halfterm. I wouldn’t be happy to pay anymore than we did, especially in the summer holidays. The only welcome item we received was a pint of milk and No hand soap. Some board games, a few books would be a nice touch. Especially on the rainy days when there is poor signal and the tv doesn’t want to work. Overall Alfred Wallis is a lovely apartment which could do with a few finishing touches to make the stay a 10/10.

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• Warren - Verified booking

  Parking not acceptable.

  The location of this property is great and the views are lovely but there’s a few points that need highlighting for future people looking to book. PROS: Flat itself is clean and well kitted out. Some lovely extras like biscuits and tea and coffee. Sky TV and good Wi-Fi signal. Location is brilliant and very short walk to Porthmeor beach, harbour and main shops. Views are outstanding. CONS: Firstly access for unloading the car is only possible via a very steep narrow lane which is also a dead end. It’s very hard to get down there due to the nature of the lane and other people trying the same thing. Secondly and importantly is the parking isn’t acceptable. It’s not close and a good steep walk to it but more importantly as it’s just a gravel bit of land there is not enough room for all the cars. I was blocked in by other cars and couldn’t open my doors to access my car or move it for a planned day trip thus affecting our holiday experience. This really needs to change. Due to the poor access to unload I also spent time ferrying bags back and fore which took a long time. The bathrooms are wet rooms and so if you shower in the morning the whole floor is wet all day when using the toilets or sinks. Balcony has a cracking view but is very tiny with hardly any room to move. The location itself is brilliant but steep as are the stairs in the property so wouldn’t be great for some older people. I appreciate a lot of these issues are expected with a location like St Ives but it should be made known on the website. It’s worth saying that while the parking issue couldn’t be resolved the service we received when we contacted Sykes was very good. I wouldn’t book again unless the parking issue was changed and clearly pictured what the new space was on the listing. I also think pictures of the access to the property should be added as trying to reverse down that steep narrow lane would not be pleasant for some people hence why I didn’t try it.

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• Maggie - Verified booking

  Delightful apartment with absolutely fantastic views from the balconies, looking out over two beaches either side of the peninsula.

  Property had all the mod cons, you need or want for nothing, including a hairdryer which wasn't listed on the property details. Note, the apartment is at the top of the building, up a few flights of stairs. The property is in the middle of St Ives, just a short, albeit a steep, walk down into the throng of wonderful shops, eateries and beaches, and the Tate is almost on the doorstep. We sampled delights at the harbour fish & chip restaurant, as well as a delicious meal at The Sea Food Cafe, and would highly recommend the fine dining experience at 27 The Terrace. If you don't get chance to have a cream tea in one of the many cafes, get a takeaway one and enjoy it overlooking the scenery from the balcony. Oh, don't forget to get your order of Cornish pasties and saffron cake to go home with from Warrens Bakery on Market Square..., ooh the aroma in the car home was heaven! We were notified of a minor detail a few days before we arrived that may have affected our stay, and which, whilst not able to remedied before we left, we were updated during our stay and recompensed as a result. Highly recommend your stay at Alfred Wallis.

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• Andrew - Verified booking

  The only issue regarding the facilities is that there is only one off-road car parking, although there is street parking close-by.

  We were aware of this before booking. I cannot recall if the information provided prior to arrival indicates that the front third of a building is in fact a private dwelling. We had a plumbing crisis during our stay involving water over-flowing from the main bathroom shower, passing through the bunkroom light fitting en-route to the floor below. A combination of luck and quick-thinking on our party gave us time to remove the soft furnishings and place buckets, so no long term damage. The person occupying the bunkroom for four nights had to sleep the last two on a mattress in the lounge. The owner responded well to the issue and appeared to have resolved it the following morning. Unfortunately there was a minor overflow the next day from the same shower. We reported this and we assume it was dealt with, but received no feedback. We did not use the shower again. Apart from this, we were impressed with the cleanliness, comfort and facilities of this cottage.

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