Dog Friendly Villas In Dumfries And Galloway

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Nicolene - Verified booking

  This is a dog friendly property a few minutes drive from the local shops, Morrisons, Lidl and a terrible Tesco.

  There is even a dog friendly cafe The Royal Cafe…..which we found on the last day. Waters Edge is a redecorated four bedroom (two of which are downstairs……) 70’s house with splendid views over Loch Ryan as far as the Irish Sea. I didn’t venture upstairs but my husband had a tour so I’m aware there are two bedrooms and a bathroom. On arrival, we were delighted by the appearance of the house and it’s proximity to the Loch. There’s a great lobby for coats and outdoor paraphernalia which is certainly a plus for keeping the interior clean and tidy. However, on opening the connecting door the overwhelming smell of cooking/dogs was most unwelcoming; perhaps an open window or two might have made this more bearable? The front bedroom has a very small double bed but, as we wanted the view, this was the room we settled on; our stay would have benefited vastly if the Master bed had been in this room. The kitchen diner is large and extremely well equipped, but there was food in the freezer and an (open) bag of some sort of savoury biscuits in the cupboard and many of the plates/pizza tray were filthy. A broom would have been good, I am disabled to the point where I can’t use a vacuum cleaner, There was an abundance of loo rolls, towels, bedding, which was brilliant but no bleach for the showers or the loos. Also, the electric shower power is desultory at best and you have to wait a long time for the water to heat up, but the absolute negative was the size if the showers - they are tiny. Agreed, there are baths, but I haven’t been able to access one of those in 17 years so it’s a shower or nothing. My tummy is black and blue from the shower door knobs. For that reason alone we could not recommend this property despite it’s excellent nature and dog friendliness. Also, there is no garden which people with dogs need to be advised about; it’s a dark, dangerous step to the park late at night for last walkies. And, please note, there is no milk at the property (other companies ensure a “welcome” pack of one degree or another). There was some fudge, but we left that behind as we wanted to leave everything exactly as we had found it, as instructed time and time again by Sykes Cottages who really do know how to write the rudest email messages I’ve ever read, implying all paying guests are somehow filthy, entitled and disrespectful. Overall we had a great time and the area is very relaxing especially with the five days of lovely weather when we could enjoy the patio table, but as much as we’d love to, I guess we won’t be back because the facilities do not meet my personal needs.

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• Daniel - Verified booking

  We booked Waters Edge for Christmas and had a most enjoyable stay.

  We would like to thank the owners for decorating the house and putting up a Christmas tree for our arrival. The house was very spacious and clean. The views from the lounge and the bedrooms looking over Loch Ryan were wonderful. It was like being on a cruise ship looking out onto the sea. There were a few issues with leaking windows which didn’t impact on our stay as we contacted the owner who responded promptly. The kitchen was large and had plenty of cupboard space and was well equipped. We enjoyed eating our Christmas dinner at the large dining table. Location is good as it is a short walk into town although you have to drive to the nearest beach. Despite it being dog friendly lack of a garden was an issue. If you are going in the winter months bring a torch with you to navigate the uneven concrete steps down to the road. There is a light on the porch but it doesn’t help going down the stairs. A security light on the garage door would help solve this situation. The owners were good enough to let us use their garage as we had two cars with us but it was tricky to navigate into as you have to reverse in at an angle. The parking for the other car was also difficult as it wasn’t easy negotiating the uneven concrete parking space. Some of the furnishings didn’t reflect on the price that we paid for six nights (£1200). Beside cabinets in the main bedroom were more suited for a bathroom and small plastic lamps were not a good look. There were two side tables in the lounge but both had lamps on them. A couple of extra tables or a nest of tables is necessary as there was nowhere to place our drinks or snacks. None of the bathroom windows had blinds but windows were covered with a plastic film which made them look unfinished. The upstairs bathroom in particular needed a blind as the top part of the window had no plastic film on it and you felt as if the neighbours could see in. Some of the issues may seem as minor but again reflecting on the price would need to be addressed. Unfortunately we would not return due to the lack of garden and the parking issue. If we had had a third car, as the house accommodates eight people, I would not like to park my car 100 yards from the house. We would still recommend this holiday house for families if you don’t mind the issues we have highlighted.

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• Easta - Verified booking

  Finding a holiday property that could accommodate our expanding family had proven difficult until I spotted Marl House.

  The price was refreshing sensible and the amount of space inside and out was wonderful. The garden was as huge as it appears in the photos, then we found 3 further large lawns off to one side. We could have had football, cricket, croquet and badminton taking place in each lawned area at the same time! The house itself had large bedrooms, plenty of bathrooms, dining rooms, games and table tennis rooms as well as a sitting room. Lots of areas to quietly read a book or chat. The kitchen was huge with a massive utility room attached. In total there were 3 large fridge freezers, two washing machines and two tumble dryers, all of which were well used. We cooked and shared meals together each day and baked biscuits and a cheesecake. All the equipment you needed was in the kitchen and generously supplied. There was no local food delivery to the house from supermarkets and the nearest shops were small. We had brought first meals and staples with us and shopped at Newton Stewart on the journey to the house for fresh produce. We also had 2 successful Amazon deliveries to the house during the week. On Wednesday tea time the mobile fish and chip van visits Garlieston, 10 minutes up the coast. The bay there is sheltered and shallow, you can walk out quite far and the water is still knee deep, the children spent hours in the sea and played on the beach. Other highlights were feeding the red deer in Galloway National Park and visiting the Otter Pools on the Ranger road, also travelling to the most southern point in Scotland, the Mull of Galloway and going up the lighthouse. The adults also enjoyed the whisky distillery tour and the gin tasting.

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• Kathryn Berzins - Verified booking

  This is a large comfortable family house in a fabulous location. Compared to a lot of holiday houses it will seem dated and even a bit shabby in parts but we liked the relaxed, homely feel. It has antique furniture and original artwork throughout which is very interesting and characterful. It has everything you could need in the kitchen and the large utility is very useful too. The beds were comfortable. and the two huge sitting rooms allowed plenty of space to spread out. The Wi-Fi was surprisingly good as it is often not great in holiday lets. The house was warm and the log burners were nice on a chilly evening. The garden was wonderful, the bird life was so varied and it’s so quiet you can sit out front or back and watch them all come and go. The shell beach right outside is beautiful and we had some amazing sunsets. The woodlands to the rear offered an alternative walk. It is a great place for dogs with such lovely walks from the doorstep, including across to the tidal island at certain times of the year. The pub up the road does great food and was easily within walking distance. Overall, a relaxing week in a lovely house, I’m not surprised there seem to be a lot of repeat visitors, we have rebooked it already.

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• Confirmed Guest - Verified booking

  Property big enough for party of 7 plus dog ( but understand only taking bookings for 6 now - not clear why) Plenty of communal space including outside Wi-Fi good especially for son who had to work part of week. Plenty of privacy Showers good but no blind in second en suite. Kitchen well stocked ( apart from no pizza cutter and accessible wine decanter ) Experience could be improved by having a welcome pack with basic essential as no shop in village. Guide book full of donts rather than welcome Outside furniture needs to be replaced as getting rusty delapidated hut at top of garden needs to removed or at least closed down as promised in reply about nine months ago. Lounge furniture exhibits Edwardian shabby chic but some investment now necessary in replacements If you expect guests to clean the house because apparently the cleaner does not clean, then you should supply hoovers that work properly Finally someone should check that previous tenants have not left clothes behind as we discovered in a chest of drawers Finally the dog loved it

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