Dog Friendly West Sussex Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Emma - Verified booking

  He property is very difficult to find, as the Sat nav will not take to to the house which is a fair way down a very rough pot hole track.

  The owner gave us directions but did not give any prominent landmarks like a nearby school and Abbey to know you were heading the right way. We were informed the farm track was marked by a no though road sign but the sign is set back 10 meters from the road and not visible from the road you are travelling on. We were told by the owner that the name plate of the farm had fallen off and not been replaced. On arrival there was a nice welcome from the owner with a bottle of wine and lovely home made brownies, all very nice after spending an about an hour driving in rough back lanes trying to find the address. The second bedroom of the property is very small although it is advertised as a double. Also regarding this room there is no hanging space for clothes only a small drawer unit. Walking around the bed is very tight, really this room is only suitable for two small children. (The twin beds zip together to form a double.) In the main bathroom the shower over the bath does not have a wall fixing or shower curtain or screen, not sure why this is. However the main bedroom is lovely and roomy with a lovely en-suite but this again lacks shelving to store anything, toiletries etc. The whole sight around the cottage is very untidy, weeds and brambles every where. As a holiday home business, on first appearance the whole plot looks uncared for and the garden area run down. We made allowances as it was termed as a farm but it is not a working farm, just three horses, which are stabled right opposite the front door of the cottage. We felt the whole area could be made to look better and more appealing especially to sit on the outside areas. These two areas were not clean on arrival and very basic, so we did not use them. The floors on arrival, throughout the kitchen and lounge area were very sticky so we cleaned them again, as we did not want to make a fuss on our first night. The kitchen and lounge area is nice and adequate for four people, but it would be nice to have four chairs at the dining table and not two and a bench, but that’s just a preference thing really. This was not a cheap property to hire but we took into account the summer time of year and the surrounding south east area. On reflection we did feel with the things we have listed above, that it was not really worth what we paid as the cottage did not meet the requirements for two couples, as listed in the cottage description. We are sure at Sykes cottages you would like to be informed of our findings so you can discuss any changes with the owner that need to be made to the cottage information for any future clients.

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• Anne - Verified booking

  The flat is in a beautiful location with tremendous views from every window and a wonderful variety of hilly and flat walks right from the door.

  It's a very peaceful spot, but you are over a stable that is in use - you can feel the vibrations of the horses' movements through the floor, similar to a child kicking the seat on a train - it's not nearly as intense as children kicking seats though - if you do plenty of walking it won't keep you awake! Parking is shared with another holiday cottage, up a driveway at the front with a gate that opens directly onto the main road. I found the entrance/exit a little nerve-wracking as visibility isn't great pulling out and you have to either stop your car in the road or pull across to the layby to manage open/close the gate. The flat is well designed with everything that you might need, including good wifi, good lighting and a handy freezer compartment in the fridge. There's a washing machine in the utility room which serves as an entrance hall and which is shared with the owner, but I was strongly discouraged from using it - and there is only a washing line for drying. It may be useful to know that there is no welcome pack here, so you do need to take everything including tea/coffee and salt/pepper, foil, kitchen roll and a clean washing up sponge etc. Central heating is controlled by the owner: if you are cold then you can phone her and she will switch it on for you. I found that it came on at random times anyway and even as a person who feels the cold I didn't find it too bad. Like many holiday cottages, I found at the time of my visit that it would really benefit from a more careful inspection by the regular cleaners of frequently used items such as crockery and cutlery as not every guest will leave things nicely - and it was overdue for a professional deep clean - and replacing or removing a few old and shabby items - simple things that would make a huge difference to guests and do this lovely flat better justice. For the location, I could not recommend it more highly if you like views, peace and quiet and walks: you just need to be prepared - if you want a cup of tea on arrival after your long journey: pack your own.

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• Alison - Verified booking

  This was more of a ‘mobile home’ than a cottage but was pretty comfortable.

  It is well sheltered by trees (gets very little sun) and felt just slightly damp - but opening the big door and windows soon cleared that. It has all the equipment and facilities needed but was a little bijou! The shower was a tight squeeze to get into but fine once in it! There were only two of us but I think 4 adults would feel constricted - especially if the weather was bad. We luckily had a week of glorious autumn sunshine. . It is positioned on a fairly quiet lane just off the busy A272. Turning onto and off this road needs patience and maybe a polite driver to let you turn. There are lots of things to do around there, within a 45 minute drive or closer. We particularly enjoyed Standen House (NT), Hever Castle (we were lucky to visit at the same time as a big craft market), Shoreham-by-Sea (pleasant little town), Lewes (get the history walking trail map), Bignor Roman villa and Eastbourne (lovely seafront). Denise was very welcoming (great banana loaf) and was a friendly and unobtrusive host. Look out for the wildlife in the orchard - deer, squirrels, rabbits and birds.

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• Julie - Verified booking

  Very compact lodge, which was nice and clean, in a lovely area.

  We visited in winter but the decking would be nice to sit out on in better weather and obviously would greatly enlarge the living space available. The bedrooms are very compact with no real space down one side of the bed, one of the bedrooms doesn't really have any space for even a small suitcase although there are a couple of small drawers and some hanging space. The lodge was nice and warm and had a good shower too. We were unable to connect to the wifi and the owner and his son very helpfully came out to reset the router for us but unfortunately the connection was still very patchy and dropped out frequently, we also had limited mobile coverage (O2). The owner did mention that fibre broadband would be available from early January so this should solve that problem. Overall the lodge is very nice and has all the facilities needed to have a nice break but travel light!

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• Helen - Verified booking

  Forest Farm Cottage was perfect!

  We wouldn’t change a thing. The cottage itself had everything we needed, and more. It was beautifully styled, decorated, extremely well equipped and very clean. The deck area was a wonderful spot to dine and relax in this beautiful area. The owners couldn’t have been more welcoming, friendly and helpful. Our son loved having the horses as neighbours. We stayed in August 2022 and there were plenty of places to visit, from National Trust houses and gardens, to the best Crazy Golf and ice cream at Heaven Farm or a trip to Brighton or into London. If we return to Sussex we would certainly stay at Forest Farm Cottage again and would highly recommend it to others.

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