Last Minute Cottages in Bideford

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Chris - Verified booking

  Devonair is a beautiful townhouse situated in a lovely cul-de-sac with space for a car right outside which is a bonus.

  The location is really nice as far enough away from Westward Ho to avoid crowds but close enough to walk in to the seafront in around 20 mins all on the flat. We were pleasantly surprised by the cream tea, tea and coffee supplied. Its upside down living with a spacious open lounge and kitchen upstairs. The balcony is really lovely to sit out on and we enjoyed lots of time sitting out there. However there isn't much of a view and you are directly opposite other townhouses. The downside being that if a loud party are enjoying time on their balcony at the same time it maybe difficult to relax. The place was really clean, comfortable and modern in its furnishings. Included is a few games and books to keep you entertained if weather isn't the best. There is a lovely private garden to the rear which we were also able to enjoy until one day when a large group arrived and blasted music whilst enjoying the hot tub next door! Its good though if you have a dog and includes a few little bits in a box for them. The kitchen was well equipped with good quality crockery, cutlery, pots and pans etc for cooking your own meals but personally just could have done with some basic supplies. Empty Salt and pepper mills were in the cupboard and there was no oil for cooking. Also the guest book was completed by previous guests stating they had broken the can opener which wasn't replaced so we had to buy one. The only heating was underfloor and this was fairly easy to control however when we wanted to change the temperature it did take quite a while to cool down or heat up. The towel rail in the bathroom never heated up so when we came out of the shower it was cold and we couldn't dry the towels so could have done with the heated towel rail or a little fan heater for instant heat when needed. Also for the price would have been nice if shower gels etc were supplied. We only used the double bedroom which had good storage. The bed was comfy with nice quality linen and it was great having a TV in there too. It has a nice size twin room too although we did notice a damp smell in that en suite. We did try to attempt the short cut to the beach through the estate via the golf course and burrows but it was very boggy so we gave up. I imagine it would be nice to walk across when its dry in the summer. Westward Ho is a lovely small seaside town with the most amazing large beach and a handful of restaurants and pubs. We also find it an excellent base for visiting lots of beaches within 30 to 40 minutes drive in Devon and Cornwall. Both Barnstaple and Bideford are close by for shopping and other dining out options. This place is such a great home to stay in and feels more upmarket than some of the other places so we would happily return and despite minor issues which really are just personal preferences we would recommended it to others. Book and you won't be disappointed with your stay. Just one final point take a look in the information booklet which day the window cleaner is due as they took us by surprise early one morning!

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• Amanda - Verified booking

  We had a great girls week at Chapel Cottage.

  The cottage is a longer walk from the beach than we had imagined, and the road down is very narrow, but a great location, next to the Old Smithy Inn, a few hundred yards away. We went for a meal there on our first night there, but unfortunately, we think they forgot our order, and we waited 1hr 15min for the food to come, but it was delicious when it came. We went back on the Thursday evening for their Folk Night, which was wonderful, and great end to our weeks holiday. Unfortunately, the rusty pub sign was right outside my bedroom window, and made the most incredible squeaking noise when the wind blew, so some nights I really struggled to get off to sleep. The cottage is very well equipped, with plenty of saucepans, cutlery & crockery etc. Dish washer tablets, dish clothes, oven gloves & 1 tea towel were provided, and there was nothing we needed that wasn't there. Beds were very comfortable, and lovely bedding, though apparently the front double bed was very creaky when you turned over! LOL Plenty of books, games, DVD's etc to borrow, with the front room being very cosy on a VERY cold June night!!! The only disappointment, was with the small garden, the grass was overgrow, and badly needed mowing, and the flower borders were very overgrown, all be it with lovely shrubs etc. The cast iron chairs & cushions have seen better days too. We visited Morwenstow, where is the most delightful Tea Rooms at The Old Rectory. Bude was another great find, and had amazing fish & chips at Life's a Beach, on Summerleaze Beach, and browsed the shops in the town. Widemouth Bay, Crackington Haven & Clovelly are also well worth a visit. We had 2 amazing meals at The New Inn in Kilkhampton, which is the closest village to the cottage, the Sunday lunch is to die for, and so reasonably priced. I would definitely recommend this cottage to anyone,& would be happy to make a return visit, but would hope that the garden had been sorted and the pub sign tied up to stop it being so annoying!

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• Amanda - Verified booking

  We had a great girls week at Chapel Cottage.

  The cottage is a longer walk from the beach than we had imagined, and the road down is very narrow, but a great location, next to the Old Smithy Inn, a few hundred yards away. We went for a meal there on our first night there, but unfortunately, we think they forgot our order, and we waited 1hr 15min for the food to come, but it was delicious when it came. We went back on the Thursday evening for their Folk Night, which was wonderful, and great end to our weeks holiday. Unfortunately, the rusty pub sign was right outside my bedroom window, and made the most incredible squeaking noise when the wind blew, so some nights I really struggled to get off to sleep. The cottage is very well equipped, with plenty of saucepans, cutlery & crockery etc. Dish washer tablets, dish clothes, oven gloves & 1 tea towel were provided, and there was nothing we needed that wasn't there. Beds were very comfortable, and lovely bedding, though apparently the front double bed was very creaky when you turned over! LOL Plenty of books, games, DVD's etc to borrow, with the front room being very cosy on a VERY cold June night!!! The only disappointment, was with the small garden, the grass was overgrow, and badly needed mowing, and the flower borders were very overgrown, all be it with lovely shrubs etc. The cast iron chairs & cushions have seen better days too. We visited Morwenstow, where is the most delightful Tea Rooms at The Old Rectory. Bude was another great find, and had amazing fish & chips at Life's a Beach, on Summerleaze Beach, and browsed the shops in the town. Widemouth Bay, Crackington Haven & Clovelly are also well worth a visit. We had 2 amazing meals at The New Inn in Kilkhampton, which is the closest village to the cottage, the Sunday lunch is to die for, and so reasonably priced. I would definitely recommend this cottage to anyone,& would be happy to make a return visit, but would hope that the garden had been sorted and the pub sign tied up to stop it being so annoying!

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• Rachel - Verified booking

  We had a great week and the cottage was lovely, we had a courtesy visit on arrival and a cream tea which was yummy.

  The Cottage was really well equipped and had all we needed, lots of useful info about the surrounding areas and things to do. The garden was a little disappointing. The toilet seat in one bathroom was broken and we had hoped a replacement was going to me made as the lady did mention having to source a new one but alas it never arrived, was a bit trickier with only one fully useable toilet between 6. We were surprised at the comings and goings from the pub which did make for some disturbed nights with traffic and footfall right beneath the bedroom window, we ended up having to close the windows which did make the bedroom quite warm and stuffy so perhaps access to some fans might with help with this issue..... just a thought. There was also an issue with maggots in one of the bins which my husband dealt with, we guessed maybe the previous tennants had failed to bag the refuse properly and put the bins out for collection, there was a massive amount of flies around generally. These issue are by no means complaints just constructive feedback, we had a lovely week in a lovely cottage. Unfortunately there was a couple of breakages, 2 glasses and 2 bowls, I sent a text to the contact person informing of this. Best wishes Rachel and Alan Done

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• Ann - Verified booking

  Lovely clean warm and comfortable house.

  Ideally located for Appledore and its many excellent bars pubs and restaurants. Instow is also a short drive and its lovely beach, ideal for dog walking and two great pub/ restaurants. The house had lovely comfortable beds and very pleasantly furnished throughout. Kitchen very small and not enough cutlery or crockery to enable proper use of the dishwasher so we ended up washing dishes at the sink which is something we haven’t done for years in our own home. A slight problem with the toilets not flushing properly but we managed as we didn’t want to have people in during our stay. We tried to contact the owners as we were leaving but couldn’t get hold of them and an email I sent to Sykes was returned as ‘ not deliverable’ No cleaning products or cloths to keep sink and bathroom cleaned after use. We also couldn’t find any recycling containers, neither food caddy nor paper. These were small niggling issues that didn’t really mar our stay. We would still go back to this property. Oh, one more thing, don’t forget to take bath towels as they’re not provided.( we stay in many many cottages over the years and it’s the first time we’ve had to take our own towels) Otherwise a lovely stay.

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