Dog Friendly Bed And Breakfasts In New Forest

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Catherine - Verified booking

  The barn is well equipped, tranquil, remote and the bluebell woods are lovely and the owner explained how to get to them.

  I did have a mixture of emails from Sykes Cottage that said towels and linen were included and then that they weren't included so I called the owner and she confirmed that towels were not included but bath mats were included - this did make me laugh as I don't think I have ever had to take bath mats to a cottage stay?! T Towels and linen were included too. If you are concerned with security I would advise you to check first that the warped back door has been replaced. Firstly, I understand that there is an energy/food crisis. We paid £1193 which £1126 was the cost of the rental which was for a 3 night stay. When we stayed at a converted barn back in 2021 (via Sykes Cottages) when we arrived there was a bottle of prosecco in an ice bucket and a welcome note, along with 6 fresh farm eggs (as they had chickens just as Breaches Barn did too), a freshly baked loaf and cooked brownies & we still tell everyone about this! This welcome was such a joyful one and really appreciated by us all! When we arrived at Breaches Barn there was nothing. We had to take our own towels. I understand they are running a business and we would have used electric/gas whilst we were there (we were out every day and out on Saturday evening to see a show in Southampton) and linen would have to washed after we left but a 'welcome 6 fresh farm eggs/note' would have been a nice gesture out of their £1126 earnings. The dishwasher has an intermittent problem. We saw the owner about this on Saturday morning. The owner did explain he knew nothing about dishwashers and kindly sent his son over to look at the dishwasher but by this time we had googled the make/model and it advised to run the cold water tap for 20 seconds in the kitchen sink once the dishwasher had been put on and the first time we did this it worked - happy days! However on the Sunday evening we had to mess around doing this for around an hour before we could get it to work. So the dishwasher needs to be looked at. My main gripe was the security of the property. We are 3 mature women who were having a break from our busy lives. Yes we all live in towns and we are aware that country folk have different ideas about locking up their properties. But this barn is a let property that has to be insured. The door from the lounge area that leads out to the rear garden/patio area has no lock and key slot and it had a bolt at the base of the door that was broken and the door has warped. We saw the owner about the back door at the same time we told him about the dishwasher. He explained that he never locks his own house and knows about the back door. He has paid a carpenter to get the wood back in January to make a new door but this still hasn't been done. One of my friends has an anxiety problem about being burgled. So she slept upstairs. We had to barricade the back door with furniture and also upstairs where she was sleeping each evening to reassure her that we were safe but her reply was 'things do happen in the countryside with intruders/burglary'. So my friend had 3 bad nights sleep. I think the advertising of the property should advise there is no lock on the back door as we would NOT have booked this cottage if we had known due to our friends issue. I did wonder that if the property had been burgled in the time when we were out that how our valuables would have been covered by the insurance? Basically the door needs to be replaced and secured. One of my friends said that if the back door was replaced and secured they would in the future rebook this property.

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• Simon - Verified booking

  Beautiful location, we enjoyed different walks every day and loved the area, and how dog-friendly it all is.

  Previous occupants (mostly) had written glowing reports. But there needs to be some care and attention to the accommodation in our view. It’s small, but that’s fine, that’s what we wanted, but it’s not mega-cheap - £633 at Easter - so expectations are quite high. We ended up leaving early. The rats: we saw the devices to keep rodents out but they weren’t entirely successful. Scrabblings in the walls which drove us and the dog mad at night, and rat poo in the bathroom. The shower: doesn’t work, the shower head moves about, soaking the bathroom and not the person in the shower. Needs two people to get one person clean, which can be fun, but not necessary! The kitchen tap: we couldn’t stop it dripping and it’s so close to the bedroom it was very annoying at night. We ended up putting a washing up sponge under it but it wasn’t great. The kitchen: we cook rather than eating out. The kitchen was tiny as expected, no problem. If only the fridge door and the cooker door opened the other way out it would have been perfect for us, but the way it is it needed contortionism beyond my skills. The freezer compartment door kept falling off also. We didn’t write anything negative in the Visitors’ Book, as it was so gorgeous a place, but it needs a bit of sorting.

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• Mrs Wymer - Verified booking

  My friend and I stayed at LC for a few days. We came by train and both the cottage and Brockenhurst were ideal for us. Small Tesco and Coop round the corner. Plenty of bars, cafes, hotels and restaurants on the doorstep too, although we didn’t eat out as we enjoyed the beautifully equipped house so much we ate in the garden for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As everyone has said nothing was too much trouble for the host, Avery, who made the stay super easy with all her advice and information at the property. We walked around each day we stayed and found a different route each time to enjoy just from the front door. Trains are very regular and the bus service was punctual when we used these for a little adventure a bit further afield. Both my friend and I are very nit picky about the cleanliness of places we stay and neither of us could find fault!!! I’m also very envious of the new doors in the house… ‘Mr Avery’ is quite the handyman and has done a lovely job in the house prior to it coming onto the self catering market! And yes I did photograph your doors as I’m in the process of updating my house and will be using those as a standard to be expected!!! Well done both a fabulous property you have made into an ideal home from home stay for your guests to enjoy.

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• Alan - Verified booking

  We have already given feedback in an email after we returned, to our dismay we haven't received any acknowledgement from yourselves only this survey, however here we go again.

  ..…... We can't begin to say how awful this holiday was, the accommodation as stated certainly didn't come up to the standard we would have expected for the amount of money we paid. We accept this was a basic chalet, however it was worse than a B&Q shed. I suspect a shed would have been much cleaner. This place hasn't had any work/money spent on it since 2011 by the looks of it. We know it was dog friendly, but we would expect it to be clean rather than smelling of wet dog. The sofa was stained but covered by a throw which was a dog blanket, the rug needed to be moved so you could open the sofa bed which again was falling apart. Once the rug was moved we had to hoover up as the floor was all dirty where the rug had been. The kitchen was a hazard. The microwave was situated under the sink, the freezer door came off in your hand, We could go on and on. Hence we left after the first night still in the same clothes as we arrived in. We know others had commented about issues and there are also good reviews, although the good reviews are somewhat dated so I guess the property wasn't as derelict then!! From our experience we would never recommend Sykes to anybody.

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• Dr Raza - Verified booking

  This lovely cottage in the heart of the New Forrest is conveniently situated to access all the attractions and was our home away from home. It is clean and well-furnished and has everything one would need for an enjoyable stay. The beds, in particular, were very comfortable, and we all slept well after a day out exploring. There is a well-kept garden with outside seating should you wish to unwind after the numerous local walks/cycle routes you can take. There was excellent communication from the cottage owner before and during our stay. They live locally and were available should you require assistance or advice about things to do and places to go. It's round the corner from the local co-op store, bakery, and pharmacy. Some restaurants nearby also - Esme's Tea Rooms serves huge lunch portions and lovely cakes and scones. The railway station is also a short walk away, and there is a cycle rental store next to the station where you can rent cycles for the day (or longer). We had a fantastic time staying here and were delighted to have found this cottage. I highly recommend it, and we will be booking here again during our next visit.

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