Dog Friendly Cottages in Cowes

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Jason - Verified booking

  On arrival the house is impressive.

  It’s obviously spacious and well designed. However, the initial impression didn’t last long. Our excitement at arriving was massively tempered when we saw there were dead plants in plant pots in several of the bathrooms and the garden the planters were all dead. Plus the garden area was really dirty - there were cobwebs and plant waste around the garden and the patio had stains across it as well as there being food waste left on the grass. Obviously we are aware there was a drought in place but leaving entire planters with dead and dusty planters added to the unloved and shabby look of the garden area. And then there was no welcome pack at all. Not even a packet of biscuits or pint of milk. The kitchen is impressive looking, however there weren’t enough plates, cups and crockery settings for all of us, given that with a dishwasher you should have a minimum of 2 per person. Because whole drawers were given over to the owners spices and sauces and etc it felt very much as if we were in an Airbnb rather than a dedicated holiday home. All the things above made the place feel much less special and to be honest we were all pretty disappointed. However the biggest issue was the ‘fourth bedroom’. This was not actually a bedroom. It was an office with a pull out double bed which was like sleeping on a rock. The room was not furnished to be a bedroom - there was no bedroom chair, no dressing table or mirror and nowhere to put a suitcase. You couldn’t even pull the blinds down without standing on the rock hard bed. My daughter had to sleep there and even sleeping with three duvets under her we had to go and buy a mattress topper to make it a comfortable room. This is not a proper bedroom and she slept badly all week. My mother in law, who had paid for this trip as an 80th birthday treat to her family, was bitterly disappointed and felt like we’d been let down. To add insult to injury on the last three days the neighbour was having work done and the fence/gate was taken down so that our dog had to be guarded when in the garden and the noise and dust from power tools meant it was impossible to sit in the garden during the day. We loved the location and the size of the house but we did come away feeling very ripped off. When we communicated with your company initially about this booking, we were told that the owner sets the price, but I do feel that your job as agents is to mediate and to check that the house is good value. For around £600 a night for a three bed with ‘add on’ bedroom, I can tell you that this is not good value. For that rate we expected it to be slick and luxurious rather than a basic level. The fundamental principle of a good’s night sleep should be met as a minimum. When you are stretching yourself to afford something this special it is so disappointing to walk into a home that felt like it had been uninhabited and unloved for months. To then be unable to guarantee a proper bedroom for one of the party was really unacceptable.

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• Stephanie - Verified booking

  Levante is a lovely cottage that is well decorated and ideally located.

  It was very clean and the kitchen is well equipped. We loved the lounge, and the sofas are very comfy, but if there were 7 people staying, it’d be a bit of a squeeze. Other reviews have commented on noise problems from the taxi rank just outside, buses and M&S delivery vans. We didn’t experience any of this, and also didn’t hear any noise from the high street. However we do agree with all the other comments re lack of storage. There is 1 chest of drawers in the smaller of the 2 bedrooms on the first floor, and a couple of wall hooks in the en-suite room but that is all! There was only 2 of us staying and we used the other bedrooms to keep our clothes in and provide a bit more space for changing. If you had more than 2 staying you’d probably have to keep your clothes in your case under the beds. Of the 2 bedrooms on the first floor the double bed In the smaller of the two rooms is pushed up against the wall and has a raised bedstead, so if 2 of you were sleeping in it and you needed to get up in the night, the person nearest the wall would have a real job getting out. We had 2 dogs with us and whilst there isn’t a garden or private outdoor space, there is a lovely park just a few minutes walk from the cottage so we didn’t find it a problem. We loved the cottage and it’s location but personally feel it would be better if they removed a couple of beds and increased the storage. We would recommend this place but only for 2 adults and a couple of kids.

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• Paul - Verified booking

  Cottage is very convenient for stay in Cowes, close to all shops/pubs/restaurant's.

  The cottage itself is starting to look a little tiered in our opinion and could do with a few things looking at, such as - 1. Sofa's could do with good clean or replacing/throws over maybe? 2. flooring in places could do with looking at. 3. Oven was filthy, which we would not use as a result (cleaning contractors should be noting this and previous occupants possibly billed for cleaning accordingly) 4. Dishwasher does not clean too well and many dirty plates found as a result 5. Still only one teaspoon lol? 6. Dirty washing left in washing machine and smelt awful (put these in black plastic bag and left in utility cupboard) 7. Shelf in kitchen loose and looks like could fall at any time 8. Damp smell on arrival, could be due to what looks like damp on wall between lounge and dining area 9. Shower temps not great 10. Bath would benefit from non slip mat 11. Bedding and linen nice and cottage on the whole very cosy. 12. Broken mirror in down stair bathroom 13. Only 1 bulb working in dining room light fitting. I hope this is taken as constructive and not meant as a moan and groan. We did enjoy our stay and feel the little details would make everyone's experience much better as as result... We found Cowes to be very friendly with many great pubs and restaurants to choose from. Maybe the owner of this property would benefit from looking at who they use for getting the property ready between lets?

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• Phil - Verified booking

  This was our first time in the IoW, so we were really looking forward to our visit.

  This being our only holiday this year. On arrival at the cottage I was surprised at the location being tucked behind two big walls. The closeness to the local vicinity granted is good, but I'm really not sure who you can market this property to?! There literally is no way of getting a decent night's sleep. Being located RIGHT next to a bus stop, taxi rank; and food store allows noise from buses right through the night, delivery vans from 5 am, people drunk waiting for taxis until at least 2/3 am. We were unable to open the windows due to this, and with the weather being stifling and no fans whatsoever, this simply was untenable. We chose the property mainly because it allowed pets, but with the hard flooring, this meant our elderly dog was slipping all over the place. There was a dirty towel, which had been left on the flat roof looking from the bedroom window, and the downstairs toilet seat STILL broken from, which looked like still hadnt been fixed noted from a review back in July!! Things simply aren't acceptable for paying guests in my opinion. Overall absolutely disastrous and have come back exhausted. What was even worse was having spoken to Sykes helpline whilst at the property, who assured me that the maintenance team would be out the next morning, failed to do anything without any communication whatsoever.

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• David - Verified booking

  We made the most of Levante cottage but unfortunately we would NOT be returning, anyone looking to rent this place as a family make sure you read the reviews and seriously consider what’s being said.

  The cleanliness was very poor, the place felt and in many places was visibly dirty. The en-suit shower was disgusting, main bathroom the bath had mould round it and felt unclean. The paint was flaking off the walls in multiple places, unfortunately the cottage it’s self didn’t come anywhere near expectations and nowhere near value for money! Nowhere to hang or store clothes, this we expected as we had seen this in other reviews - but really wouldn’t take much to put up some hooks or hanging solutions for hanging clothes. The cottage isn’t very big so suitcase storage is a problem. The location was as described and great to be in the middle of Cowes with lovely bars and restaurants. But this also comes at some major disadvantages, EVERY morning at 5am delivery lorry arrives at local shop right outside the cottage banging and crashing around with engine running. You also get people standing at taxi rank and walking back from bars normally at the end of the night shouting and swearing - not the cottages fault but families should be aware. So I’m summary.. location was lovely but cottage didn’t come anywhere near expectations and VERY over priced for what is being offered.

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