Dog Friendly South West England Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Paul - Verified booking

  With regard to our recent stay at Chapel Cottage, we have some issues which we feel ought to be raised through yourselves.

  On arrival, as required, a phone call was made to the mobile number provided for the code to access the key. This was very brief, whereby we were asked if we had arrived & the code number was provided, nothing more. We later realised the owners of the property resided directly opposite the cottage. The first thing on entry was to make a cup of tea but we found the mugs tea stained & the kettle in need of a descale. Although on some of the sites managed by yourselves advertising cottages, this property was advertised with the kitchen having a fridge/freezer. In fact it was a fridge with an ice box. We had travelled with a cool bag & ice packs to provide us with frozen food for the freezer, a chicken, salmon, lamb fillets & some homemade fruit pies. These could not be accommodated in the heavily iced up & small ice box. Inevitably some had to be discarded. Our plan had been to eat out for some lunches & for some evening meals to be taken in the cottage. This was thwarted somewhat & was compounded on seeing the condition of the interior of the oven, dirty. The baking tray & roasting dish provided were in also need of a good clean or replacement. We had to resort to purchasing ready meals for use in the microwave. Not something we normally do. The fridge must not have been inspected from occupation by previous guests. A shelf was stuck in place with solidified green gunge holding it in position. We were unable to remove it to clean it which should not have been the case during our occupancy. When settled, we looked to access the WIFI via the password provided. Several attempts proved fruitless. I used the mobile number provided & spoke to Margaret explaining our difficulties. She informed us there had been a problem with the password for the WIFI the previous week but that there was a QR code in the information provided & to try that. This did give successful access to WIFI for the mobiles but we could not access it on the tablet, where we had stored details of daily excursions & other local information for our holiday. The following morning we found the WIFI had dropped on both of our mobiles & extensive re use of the QR code or the password failed to connect us. I again contacted Margaret. She explained that after our first call about this problem she had turned the WIFI off & on again. This seemed to be why we could not reconnect. She visited the cottage a short time later that morning informing us that she had again turned the system off & then on, asking if we had access. Another attempt proved successful on both mobiles but the tablet would still not connect to the system trying to use the QR code. From then on the connection on the mobiles remained active. Although this may appear to be a minor inconvenience, we had made extensive searches & plans for our holiday in the Cotswolds prior to travelling & this was stored on the tablet which we couldn't access. Having taken holidays in several self accommodation properties over the years we realise that trying to assess requirements for the property especially a kitchen can be difficult. However, we feel there are basics that should be in place & Chapel Cottage fell short in this area. Although there was a wooden bread board there was no other chopping board for preparing food. A bread board isn't suitable for chopping 'flavoured' foods on. Also the following kitchen items would be useful:- a tray, measuring jug, a sharp paring style knife (the one in situ was rather blunt), a clean wooden spoon (the one in situ was badly stained yellow from previous use), weighing scales, a rolling pin. There could be other basic items that may be useful. We point this out on the basis of the property description in advertising it, saying that the 'open plan kitchen/diner which remains in a farmhouse-style layout with all the necessary appliances needed for rustling up some delicious meals to enjoy at the dining table'. The lack of basic 'tools' does not assist in realising what has been portrayed in the advertising description. There were some kitchen tools in a container on the window sill but as with the oven, they were in need of a clean before use as were the place mats & coasters. We understand there is a reliance on previous occupants to ensure the property is left clean & tidy on departure but this cannot be counted on. The preparation of the property for a forthcoming visit should include a check ensuring kitchen accessories, tools & appliances are in good order & clean. The 4 slice toaster in situ only had 2 compartments working. There were many assorted types of drinking glasses in the cupboard, although only one specific wine glass. a corkscrew was provided so the expectancy was visitors would be consuming wine during their stay but only one of us could use the appropriate glass. With the description of the bathroom including 'an elegant bath' the portrait was one of bathroom luxury. It was more than adequate for our needs but the bath was nothing more than a plastic roll top with visible claw feet which was somewhat discoloured at the tap end. The wooden staircase was of good construction & looked good for the cottage atmosphere but here there was also cause for concern for people such as us who are not in their prime of youth. It included 2 twists whether you were ascending or descending. The downstairs light only illuminated the bottom half of the staircase so you walked towards darkness on ascending. During bedtime hours it was also a task should you have to visit the bathroom, when you had to proceed with caution. There was a note in the guests book indicating a couple had taken a tumble on the staircase. For safety on our part we felt we had to leave lights on through the night. Thankfully no incidents occurred. This property is listed for advertising on at least 7 web sites some of which are be administered by yourselves. Anomalies appear in descriptions of the property, the main one being that the bedroom is downstairs. The fact that a fridge/freezer is said to be in the cottage when it is not, does cause a problem. Also the bedroom is described as having a walk in wardrobe. It is a cupboard converted to accommodate hanging clothes with a shelf that wobbles. We found that walking into it was impossible as you cracked your head on the sloping roof. This applied to myself & my wife who is only 5'2'' tall. We feel these & other points raised require attention. Finally, we did find comments within the guests book of 'a warm welcome' on arrival. We felt we did not experience this as explained in the initial phone contact to obtain the key code for access to the cottage. Had it not been for encountering problems with Wi-Fi connection prompting a visit from Margaret, we feel there would have been no contact other than that initial phone call. There were positives from our stay in that the cottage is ideally situated within a pleasant village location & has a good supermarket & news agency within a short driveable distance. The bed & lounge seating was comfortable with good off road parking for a vehicle. Photographs are available to support our points.

  Read more less >

• Elizabeth - Verified booking

  A comfortable cottage in a nice location on the village edge.

  Perfect for my time spent working in the area as a solo traveller it was cosy, very clean and generally comfortable. If I had been on holiday with a significant other I may have found the adjoining nature of the properties a little invasive (the description does not make it clear that only a door separates you from the larger chapel house holiday rental next door, and there is no sound proofing to minimise noise). The described 'communal' garden is actually the garden of the larger house which felt uncomfortable and awkward to use and it isn't clear from the signage whether the garden is all communal or just a small area of it. Kitchen reasonably well stocked with nice extras like a cafetière and gin glasses, although missing the usual tea/coffee/sugar/vegetable oil that most holiday cottages provide as standard and strangely no cupboard space for own food which was a little challenging! The hobs were difficult to use, in the end I resorted to the microwave instead. The wifi was also a bit hit and miss and repeatedly dropped out, each time needing the owner to reset from the adjoining house as you don't have your own router to reset it yourself which was a bit of a pain. Contact with the owner was efficient at all times which was great, although not overly friendly despite the fact that they live opposite and share a driveway. Instructions for when to take the bins out would have been helpful, as would a hoover to allow for better cleaning up after myself (only a broom provided). Overall a good stay though and I would definitely stay again if I was working in the area!

  Read more less >

• Richard - Verified booking

  We had a lovely stay at Trebarwith Strand.

  Well suited to a couple who like walking/swimming. Good access to beach/coastal path. At low-mid tide the beach is good for bodyboarding if the swell is up, or swimming if not (lifeguards are present during the summer season 10am-6pm). Worth noting that the beach is covered from mid-high tide and although we saw some people swimming, you would have to be quite confident to swim off the rocks. Nice to sit on the rocks and watch the waves though. Nice food at the local pub and the surf shop sells lots of beach/swimming/surfing equiptment. The cottage is a good size for 2 people, comfortable and equipped with most of what you would need in terms of cooking equipment. The only downsides are that 1) (as noted in other reviews) the shower isn't very powerful and the height cannot be adjusted (but if you keep it on ECO, you don't get the temperature surges that others have noted), 2) there isn't any outside space for drying towels/swimming stuff or an airer for doing so inside (we hung them over the wall of the carpark opposite) and 3) the cheaper carpark is 3 minutes walk up the hill. Important note about the council car park: it is free overnight, but they no longer sell weekly tickets at the carpark, just monthly or day rates (the information on the council website is out of date). None of those issues spoilt our holiday, but we would recommend taking steps to mimimise the impact of the first two points (perhaps by fixing the shower head fitting and providing an airer) and updating the booking infomation on the third would have meant we enjoyed the stay even more.

  Read more less >

• Nicholas - Verified booking

  Lovely cottage.

  The owner has a good attitude and was very accommodating - very much appreciated! The area the cottage is set in is simply outstanding and makes an ideal base to explore the beautiful and interesting local area. As stated in the online cottage description this property is definitely NOT for those with mobility issues or the elderly infirm due to the staircases, also aging dogs may have problems with the staircases. But then what can be expected with a 300 year old (?) cottage. Some may say certain aspects of the cottage are a little worn and tired but what can be expected from a dog friendly property. Overall we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves even in the height of the heatwave. Bearing in mind the issues I have highlighted if you can cope with the stairs highly recommended as a base for walking, sightseeing and exploring ect. A quirky property in a peaceful setting.

  Read more less >

• Andy - Verified booking

  The room has the most spectacular views of Lynmouth.

  Gillian is a very nice welcoming lady who makes you feel as though the place is your own without any petty rules and regulations. I would highly recommend this place for anyone who likes walking as it is situated half way up the hill between Lynton and Lynmouth so whichever way you go you will be going uphill either on the way out or on the way back. It is a good base for driving to places like Ilfracombe and Woolacombe and Minehead. Best meal of the week was at the Blue Ball on the road out of Lynmoth really first class. Access to the property is up a narrow driveway not suitable for very large vehicles, my Jaguar S type was probably close to the limit for size. Over all this is a lovely place and I would highly recommend.

  Read more less >