Dog Friendly Cottages in Cheshire

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Jenny - Verified booking

  Modestly priced and well located for outdoor pursuits.

  Outside seating was comfortable and it had a nice aspect for morning sun. Dog-wise, it seemed very secure, being fenced all the way around. Plenty of secure, off-road parking. Bathroom, shower and bath were good when the hot water was working. And the towels were of a heavy weight and good quality. The beds were comfortable. However, some things need addressing: ACCURACY OF LISTING: I couldn’t see a lake from the garden, the garage was locked so there was no bike storage as described, the view from the patio doors was of a red brick outhouse and the line about alfresco dining with pretty lake views as your backdrop is just plain mis-selling. CLEANLINESS: It looked and felt clean on arrival. However, the bathroom bin, with no bin liner in it, hadn’t been emptied and contained previous occupant’s rubbish, including waste from feminine sanitary products. A smell from the kitchen cupboard under the stairs when investigated revealed a filthy and wet cleaning mop. The freezer drawers contained split bags of ice and split bags of frozen veg and ice lollies from a previous occupant. The tiny vacuum was over-full and filthy. There was no simple dust-pan and brush. Nor hot ash box/bucket for waste from the wood burner. COMFORT: Beds had not been set up as requested (twin rather than double). The house felt very cool at all times. Drying anything wet or damp was a challenge. FACILITIES & MAINTENANCE: Towels had been laundered, rolled nicely and placed on the beds, but we discovered one was still wet and the other three were still damp. Hot water run out several times. Reporting it, we did get a speedy response and the next day it was better. Sadly, the day after, on our leaving day, the showers once again were cooler. The only information in the welcome folder relating to the property was the wi-fi, which did work well. There were no instruction manuals for any of the equipment or white goods. For someone not familiar with the Hive system, attempting to operate the heating/hot water would have been impossible. The contact numbers (including emergency) were for the cleaner/housekeeping company with a request to call during business hours. The air-source heat pump heating system was completely ineffectual, and we had to resort to the electric-oil filled radiators provided. Personally, a little more information about the heating, hot-water and change over expectations would have been useful.

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• Elizabeth - Verified booking

  The listing was very open that the cottage sits between two busy roads.

  Fortunately armed with ear plugs and having nights that were not overly hot so not needing the windows open it didn’t really affect us very much however in very hot weather when you would want the windows open it could be a big downer if your not used to traffic noise. We phoned the equestrian center across the road as instructed to arrange collection of keys, as we arrived while the office was open we went there as arranged to collect the keys only to find they had been placed in the key safe on the outside wall. Nothing major just a little frustrating at the wasted journey as at then end of a long drive all we wanted to do was get in to use the loo and put the kettle on. The bathroom was very clean as were the bedrooms. Had to fold down the travel cot and store it out of the way before we could get into the smallest room but again nothing major. The lounge was clean and tidy. The covers on one of the sofas could have done with a freshen up, it looked as though it had a couple of dirty paw marks on the covers but they weren’t where we sat they were on the arms so not a problem we worked around it. For me the major disappointment was the kitchen. It look nice and clean on the surface. However the freezer needed a major defrost. The inside of the fridge needed cleaning before I could put food in there and the bottom of the oven had fatty water over it that had to be cleaned up before the oven could be used. I know holiday let’s are not a home from home, you won’t get all of the finishing touches that you get at home but to me general cleanliness should be a top priority and I felt this had sadly failed. The only other downside we found was there only being the one bathroom. I know this is what was advertised but didn’t realise with a houseful just how valuable a downstairs toilet would have been when there are 6 people all wanting to use the bathroom. We went from 4 for the first few days up to 6 over a long weekend down to 3 for the second half of the second week and we managed fine either side of the long weekend. Over that period where there was the 6 of us it was defiantly a little squashed. You would probably get away with it quite easily if most are children but we were 5 adults and one child. All in all not a bad place to stay though.

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• Nicholas - Verified booking

  Booking was easy.

  We received an email from Nikki the owner, explaining how to get there, where to park and the situation with the keys (in a combination locked key box next to the front door). There is a lay by opposite the cottage for loading and unloading only, but you can park 10-20meters down the road. This wasn't a problem at all. The cottage itself was clean and cosy. A lovely open planned living room/dinning room/kitchen with a very small walled back yard with a small table and two chairs. The owner left some food essentials (if you can call a bottle of prosecco an essential!!) including a wonderfully fresh loaf of bread. There was also tea bags, ground coffee, tub of humus, milk and butter. We stayed from a Tuesday through to a Saturday, and although we didn't spend much time in the cottage we wanted for nothing. The WiFi was adequate, the beds and bedding high quality and comfortable, the bathroom with full complement of towels, toilet roll and cleaning and some shower gel and shampoo. This is not a modern, hi-tech accommodation with power shower etc, but so well presented and maintained, and with so much character and charm that you felt relaxed as soon as you entered. Malpas itself is small, but The Old Fire Station is definitely worth a visit, as is the Fish and Chip shop and the local grocers. There is also a co-op. The pubs were all still closed for covid and there was another restaurant in town which we didn't try, but looked really nice. Chester was only 30min away, and there looked to be plenty of walks, if not in the direct area then certainly near by. We went for a wonder along the River Dee where apparently you can spot a Kingfisher and Otters early in the morning. Overall a lovely cottage that fulfilled all our needs for our short break.

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• Simon - Verified booking

  We arrived at this cottage on Friday to find that it had not been cleaned since the last visitors had left.

  There was dirty bedding and towels in the bathrooms and bins were still full. The outside garden furniture is not acceptable for paying guests, it was green and dirty and we ended up having to clean it ourselves. The garden area in general was dirty with old mats and bins just left outside filled with old dog waste bags. Eventually some nice ladies from the equestrian centre came to give us fresh bedding. We cleaned the kitchen ourself to find that there was a massive puddle of water just sat in the bottom of the fridge and mould in the freezer. Also the tap in the kitchen just falls off and the extraction fan does not work in the kitchen. We went to cook dinner to find that there is no markings on the oven so no one knows how to use the oven, I ended up accidently using the grill and burning all the food with no extractor fan to get rid of the smoke, it is a hazard! Also, there is no lights at all in the garden which is really uneven and the torches provided all didn't work so when going into the garden at night we couldn't see a thing. We had no toilet roll and had to go out to the shop and get it ourselves, no wood or fire lighters or welcome pack as promised when we booked on the website. Overall, completely disappointed with our stay, we paid a lot of money for this stay just to clean it ourself and find it wasn't up to standard at all. It shouldn't be rented out in its current way. It wasn't just us either, a family turned up to the cottage next door that is owned by the same person to find they had the same problems and theirs had not been cleaned either and they ended up actually leaving and going home!

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• Claire - Verified booking

  This property definitely requires updating!

  Taps in bathroom need to be a mixer along with the toilet seat replacing and a new plug in the bath as it wasn't attached to the chain so I had to use a fork to remove the plug. Having said that, my daughter wanted a bath and the water went cold very quickly so had to have a shower instead. We were cold in the property so followed the instructions to boost the water and turn up the heating but the radiators were still not hot. The kitchen absolutely stunk of curry - even the microwave when I opened it.The fridge had a lot of old crumbs and dog hairs in it. Even the bowls I took out of the cupboard needed cleaning. The oven was a disgrace unfortunately, and the oven trays were disgusting - I had to clean one before I used it. The cooker and microwave were very old/used and the dials had been rubbed off so it was a bit of trial and error. The bannister was hanging off the wall which is quite important when you have to use something to get up the stairs - major health and safety issue. Many areas of the property needed repainting as the walls were dirty and marked and paint peeling away. The equestrian centre had a new driveway laid and therefore I had to carry all of our heavy bags much further as there was no room around the back of the houses suitable for a 3.5t horsebox. I wish I had known this before I booked as I would have stayed in accommodation a bit further away as it did not benefit me at all staying across the road from the centre. It was a lot of money and was disappointing to say the least.

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