Villas In Barnstaple

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Helena - Verified booking

  The house is on a slope, in the middle of the forest and in the middle of nowhere.

  Next to it is an empty old hotel. There is no mobile phone, only WiFi and a landline phone that was blocked for outgoing calls, only emergency calls were possible. Making calls via WiFi is only possible if the provider allows it. This was possible for me, but not for my wife. This means that if your provider doesn't allow this, you will be completely isolated in the apartment. It is important to note that emergency calls CANNOT be made via WiFi! A high outside staircase leads to the apartment, which, thanks to the waterfalls, is always damp to wet and therefore very slippery. Now in the fall, when the leaves are on the stairs, they are as slippery as soap. Our repeated requests to clean the stairs and ensure sure-footedness were ignored by the owner. The request for a broom so we could sweep the stairs ourselves was also ignored. At first glance the apartment seems good, the view is beautiful, the furniture is solid and not worn out, it looks comfortable, but at second glance the deficiencies become apparent. In both bathrooms there is a strong smell of mold. There are no mixer taps, just two taps for cold and warm water. Either you wash with cold or hot water. The shower head is permanently installed, there is no flexible shower hose. The bathtub also has two separate taps. This is all very old-fashioned and impractical. In the room with the washer-dryer and therefore in the hallway there is a strong smell of oil that is used to operate the heating. There are no fly screens on the windows, which is downright irresponsible given the huge number of mosquitoes, black flies, all other kinds of flies, wasps and hornets, especially since there is a wasp's nest under the roof right by the window in the master bedroom. We had a fly invasion one afternoon and around 40 flies in the apartment. The mattress protector was missing on the mattress in the master bedroom, you could see all the ugly, brown and yellow stains on the mattress through the thin sheet, which suggests that the mattress is very old and has never been cleaned or had a mattress protector. In addition, the mattresses were very uncomfortable. We washed the bed linen in between and then saw that the pillows and blankets also had stains. Large pots, pans and pan/pot covers were missing in the kitchen. We had to buy a large pot with a lid and a wok/large pan ourselves and left them in the apartment. The wardrobe in the master bedroom is tiny, but at least it has doors, in the second bedroom it is just a small open wardrobe, this means that all of your clothing will definitely collect dust. There are not enough clothes hangers overall. There is no wardrobe in the hallway or at least a few hooks for street clothes. Also there's no shoe rack. The owner has put a box for street shoes outside the door and obviously believes that you should keep your shoes there. Since the entrance to the apartment is at the back of the house and therefore on a constantly damp to dripping wet slope (waterfalls!), the street shoes in this box remain damp, or will definitely be so if they weren't already damp. In the morning you can put on your damp, clammy, completely cool shoes. There are no hooks for towels and/or bathrobes in either bathroom. Not even in the two bedrooms. There are also no towel hooks in the kitchen. The apartment is dog-friendly, which is very nice, but has very light (!) carpeted floors throughout. The dog owners should clean the dogs outside with the hose and cold water provided before the dogs go into the apartment, because the carpet in the hallway is also white and there is only a dark doormat. You can't really go for a walk with your dog anywhere, there's no garden or a meadow nearby but only narrow, busy road right next to the house that you can walk along, but since it leads directly to the slope on one side and to the steep precipice on the other, the walks are no pleasure. For a nice walk you have to drive a bit before you can safely walk with the dog. In the evening/night the street is completely unlit, it is then extremely dark and it is downright life-threatening to walk along the street. Since the house is really lonely, in the middle of nowhere, you don't feel very safe, especially since the other two apartments in the house were not visible most of the time. We stayed in the apartment for almost three weeks and would never book it again.

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• Mr Pattison - Verified booking

  The property is located in an idyllic part of north Devon just outside Barnstaple with a Tesco Superstore and other amenities a short 10 minute drive away. It is also ideally situated to take advantage of a number of north Devon’s attractions. We really loved our holiday, made extra special by our hosts (Simon & Adrianne) who were very friendly and helpful. Nothing was too much trouble and being close to hand in the neighbouring property made life so much easier. We are so grateful to both Simon and Adrianne for making our stay so pleasurable. There is ample car parking across from the property (we had two cars but there is clearly space for several vehicles). The property was clean and well maintained, making for a pleasant seven day stay. It is a sizeable property capable of providing ample accommodation for eight people. The weather was fabulous enabling us to take full advantage of the very large and spacious secluded garden which was well fenced enabling our 2 dogs to have free roam of the property without fear of escape or injury. The hosts made us feel most welcome and provided tea, coffee, milk etc., The kitchen was well appointed with a good selection of utensils. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and have no hesitation in recommending the hosts, property and location to anyone looking for a relaxing, comfortable holiday in an idyllic location. If the property was closer to our home (we live a 5 hour drive away) we would love to frequent the property several times a year but I guess we will have to console ourselves with an annual holiday (perhaps a longer stay next time). We very much look forward to revisiting the property, Simon and Adrianne next year and hope the weather is as glorious!

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• David - Verified booking

  We have just had a fabulous week at Honeysuckle Cottage, one of the best cottages we have been to and how lucky we were to be the first couple to stay here.

  Everything was obviously pristine and new but the attention to detail with colour coordination and all the necessary equipment that was provided was excellent. A nice touch was the Devonshire cream tea provided for us on arrival, it lasted us three days and was very much appreciated. We were very comfortable in the cottage and felt very relaxed. The weather was good to us so we were able to sit out on the patio and take advantage of the pretty walled garden and distant views. The reviews for Rose Cottage which is next door all mentioned the narrow approach lane to the property. At first it was a bit daunting but there are a few passing places on the first stretch of the road and on the rest of the road there are potholes and it is quite bumpy but our car is just a small SUV and as long as you drive slowly and limit the number of journeys you make in the day you make to the cottage it was manageable Overall a very good stay and we would definitely recommend and come again

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• Wayne - Verified booking

  The view from this apartment is a daily delight no matter the weather.

  The apartment is in excellent condition with every modern convenience. The owners have excellent communication skills and even had a bottle of champagne for us in the fridge on arrival; completely unexpected. The surroundings are hilly and require a certain level of fitness to get to the beach and back but well worth the effort. The beach has a natural tide pool and I was amazed to see a few folks swimming even in April! The nearest hotel is Hunters Inn, which is very good and an hours walk from the apartment via a beautiful coastal path. There is building work taking place near the apartment but no noticeable noise that affected our stay. To find the property is challenging and the roads are mainly single lane and very steep but that is the price to getaway from the crowds. Lastly, bring everything you need with you, there are no shops nearby. The perfect place to getaway from it all.

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• Peter - Verified booking

  I needed somewhere to stay for 10 nights due to business commitments.

  I tried to book in to a hotel but alas they were all full. Fortunately I stumbled upon Sykes Cottages and Little Acorn and booked up. What a delight I was met by the owner given the keys etc. The apartment was superb; fridge freezer, oven, washing machine and tumble drier, kettle, coffee machine, toaster etc. I went shopping beforehand, for basic provisions like washing up liquid, salt and pepper, washing tablets etc but there really is no need, basics were supplied. Even a cream tea (scones, jam and clotted cream) was waiting for me! Little Acorn is a 15-20 min walk in to town, very private and quiet. If I get the opportunity to travel to North Devon again I will certainly stay at Little Acorn.

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