Last-Minute Bank Holiday Breaks

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Gary - Verified booking

  All in all a very disappointing experience.

  The cottage is well presented in a beautiful garden and Niki could not have been more welcoming. However our stay was extremely unpleasant due to a persistent insect infestation. It was apparent on the first night that there were a lot of spiders around the place. My partner has a phobia and it resulted in poor sleep for both of us, as I was woken up to catch around 20 of them on the first night. We also noticed wood lice appearing at night too. These were around the edge of the floors, but also on the kitchen worktop and hanging from the loft hatch in the bedroom ceiling. I’d pick off about 10 a day, hoping that would be an end to it. Ants were also a problem in the kitchen, with them crawling all over the surfaces and cupboards. There is no lid to the kitchen bin, which may possibly have attracted them. In hindsight we should have complained immediately, but each time we thought that we’d sorted it ourselves and that would be an end to it. We did report it to Niki after the 5th night though and gave her the opportunity to sort it out. She attempted to eradicate them during the day, but we returned to the property late in the evening to find the problem to be as bad as ever. We took the decision to cancel the holiday rather than endure another night and packed up and left the cottage around midnight. We thought the four hour drive home would be preferable to another night there. We left the 8 wood lice that were found in the bedroom in a glass, for Niki to see the extent of the problem from just one evening. We also offered photographic evidence of this. The owners showed no concern that we’d had to leave and a request for any refund was flatly refused. Sykes Cottages state in their terms and conditions that they are simply a go-between and have no responsibility for the accommodation and just referred us back to the owners. We did take out an insurance policy through Sykes, but this did not cover the property being uninhabitable.

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• Victoria - Verified booking

  Garden Cottage is in a great location for many towns and villages around the Cotswolds with an abundance of pubs, tea shops, independent shops and walks.

  There are also some interesting National Trust properties and Blenheim Palace a short drive away. The cottage provides everything you need in a lovely setting. I would however like to provide some additional feedback on a few things that I believe would offer a better experience and therefore rating. - Suitable sensor lighting along the gravel pathway to the cottage which is pitch black in the evening during the winter months would be very helpful. - Appropriate bathroom flooring rather than carpet would be more hygienic and provide a clean appearance. - Upgrade of towels and bath mats would make a big difference. The ones provided were well worn and one of the bath towels was barely bath size. - Bedding and pillows could also benefit from an upgrade. The pillows were incredibly heavy and hard and the addition of a top sheet under the duvet can detract from it’s comfort and purpose. If it’s purpose is to reduce laundry I would suggest this would not be appropriate practice for a holiday let. - a display stand of homemade goods to be purchased occupies valuable space where suitable seating would provide more comfort. - a few welcome commodities are always a lovely touch and make a difference. As long as these are packaged and sealed with the necessary content information, guests are able to take responsibility of specific dietary requirements. The above feedback is intended to be constructive and to enable an improved experience and in no way is a criticism of the property itself.

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• Hollie - Verified booking

  From the moment we arrived at Garden Cottage we were greeted with the warmest welcome from Niki which instantly made us feel like this was a home from home.

  The cottage was perfect and suited both myself and my husband perfectly, it had everything we needed for a comfortable stay. The cottage was decorated beautifully and was thoroughly cleaned prior to our arrival. The cottage was situated in the small town of Black Bourton where we were able to enjoy stunning walks, we were only a short drive from some of the larger towns as well as local attractions. Niki had kindly created a welcome pack which highlighted everything the Cotswolds had to offer and the must see places, this was incredibly helpful and we planned some lovely day trips. We would also recommend the The Plough Inn in the village of Alvescot which was just a short 5 minute drive with free parking at the rear of the pub. The food was superb and reasonably priced, again we would have to thank Niki for the recommendation from the welcome pack which highlighted some wonderful places to eat nearby. We cannot find any fault with our stay at Garden Cottage and our hosts Niki and Lawrence were some welcoming and friendly, we were even given the pleasure of meeting Jasper the family Labrador who greeted us every morning by sitting by the back door in the garden. We highly recommend anyone who is considering a visit to the Cotswolds to stay at Garden Cottage, we are already talking about booking our next trip.

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• Richard - Verified booking

  The property was very clean, a major plus for me with a well equipped kitchen with everything we needed.

  Good selection of pans, pyrex, oven trays and a slow cooker alongside the microwave, electric hob and oven. Minor niggles. A silicon pan trivet would have been useful and a washing machine would have been a bonus during our personal current lifestyle. A clear plastic 1/8" sheet or similar behind the bin may stop the unsightly marks on the wall behind and swapping the fridge/freezer door hinges over from right to left would be logical. No bath mat to step on when out of the shower. Duvet was very hot for summer. The traffic on the adjacent road stopped us walking directly from the house and the noise from the road during late evening early morning bothered me but I'm quite sensitive to road noise. The shower trap is constantly being syphoned from a source below leading to smells in the bathroom, we poured water into the trap short term but this is very fixable. Minor niggles aside I'd recommend and return.

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• Richard - Verified booking

  A stuning location in a beautifully rural and secluded setting.

  What the cottage may lack in floorspace, is more than made up for in it's tranquil setting, and the expertly manacured and tended gardens and grounds, which the visitor has full access to. Because of it's remote location, we found it hard to find the entrance in the darkness, but were ushered in by Niki, waving a torch down the road. What a lovely surprise awaited us the next morning. All basic essentials are to hand which makes Self Catering very easy. In addition to all of this Niki displays some of her artistic "Bird in the hand" craftwork of stitched and embroidered pieces, to purchase as you wish. We bought some beautiful Christmas pieces to take home with us. We would definitely wish to return on a future occasion.

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