Dunster Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Josephine - Verified booking

  Good points - We all slept very well, the beds were very comfortable and all the rooms and bathrooms were all a very good size, it made room allocations very easy.

  All rooms clean and well presented. - Well stocked kitchen - everything was brand new and it was well equipped including kids meal things, we were impressed with the range of cups, glasses and plates. However, the plates were not great quality and we found left marks after using with cutlery. Also we tried to find out from Sykes what we could expect to find in the kitchen but they were not much help at all. Therefore, we unnecessarily packed pots, cooking utensils, even a blender as well as plastic plates, cups and cutlery because of the lack of information we did not want to risk not having what we needed for the duration of the stay. - good location to shops - very helpful that the property is well located with access to 3 major super markets, very handy and a definite plus. - The games room was a real hit. The multiple functional table provided hours of entertainment and was a great addition to the property. Also good that there was TV in there although upon arrival was not set up. - Great size and very spacious living room especially for the kids to play, we were able to set up the babies play pen and it was very thoughtful that a baby gate was provided although we didn't have need to use it. However, for the open fire I would suggest an enclosure/guard around the fire place, we had curious babies who often wondered up to it so we had to use one of the tables to separate them from it. - Very happy with the parking - we were able to get all 5 cars in - Thank you for the beautifully decorated Christmas tree - We also appreciated the very helpful and useful 2nd cooking area outside the games from, essential with a big family and lots of things to cook for Christmas. Bad points/things to improve - We appreciated the history of the house (I read in the welcome pack that it was built in 1780) and can also appreciate the cost of maintaining such a building but there are still some things that I believe can be improved. Some were quite frustrating and I would suggest they are looked into sooner rather than later. - Firstly there was no ground floor WC - I noted the cloakroom on the first floor but it was packed full of stuff and not useable, this meant that if you had go to the loo the only option was in your room, very difficult especially if you are on the upper floors. The fact that there is a cloakroom available it should be made accessible. - Upon arrival it was not obvious (at least not to me and my husband) about how to gain entry into the house. There was no clear instruction in the email which contained the code and it frustrated me that I had to call the helpline in order to get information. We travelled from East London and it was a 4.5 hour drive with a 6 month baby, the last thing I wanted to do was to spend an extra half and hour trying to figure out how to get into the house. Clearer instructions should have been provided, even as simple as, "key pad for entry is located on the right hand side of the door". As we received a code and the email made mention of keys, we assumed we were looking for a lock box that contained the front door key. I did not appreciate the extra effort after such a long journey. - Extreme problems with the internet, it was very helpful that the information was clearly provided about the Wi-Fi but it only worked well on our phones and tablets. It very much needs a boost as it was not able to carry the TV in living room and basement. although the TV was fine in room 4. I can appreciate that there were a number of devices connected at the same time which may have contributed to the problem, but this should have been expected and anticipated. The fact that the house can take up to 16 people and has three TVs, the necessary adjustments should be made to ensure better internet connection. As guests we should not need to compromise on this. - The biggest issue we had however, was with the hot water, some rooms were worse than others, for example my cousin and his wife in room 6 complained of no water and had to use the facilitates in the neighbouring room which had no problems. We should have been told about the tank and how it work, you cannot assume that we would know and again as guests this is not something we should have compromise on or worry about. - Thank you for providing the brand new travel cots as we requested, they were very easy to set up and very helpful that a protector and sheets were provided, however, mattresses were the wrong size and were too big for the actual cot. We were able to use them regardless but it meant that my child slept on a slight angel which was of course was not ideal. You'll need to change this asap for the correct size. - We loved room 1, especially the extra big bathroom, however, it had two major issues, firstly the bathroom is big but has insufficient heating for the size, so despite having a heated towel rail it was not enough to heat the room to a comfortable level. I would suggest adding an extra heater, the one I had in room 4 was very good. The second issue with this room was the heating in the bedroom. It cut off, the heater did look old so it may be it died, thankfully we used the portable heater in the living room, which was fine. However, guests should not to deal with problems with such basic needs such as heat and water. - As mentioned above the kitchen was well stocked and had a lovely new fridge, however, for a house that size with that many people 1 is simply not enough, you need additional one, even if it is not as big I would suggest an extra one. - I had to report that we had issues doors not closing properly and some jamming. In room 8 my cousin was trapped in the walk in closet for over an hour, we were all down stairs and didn't hear his cries for help and he didn't have his phone with him, so he had to break the glass to get out. The other door that jammed was the bathroom in room 3, luckily no one was in it at the time. - Initial instructions should have been provided to explain how to use the fireplace and portable heater you cannot assume everyone knows how to do this.

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• Mic - Verified booking

  There was a problem with the heating downstairs and the hot water supply on the last day or so.

  My daughter-in-law left a message for the owner as it was quite difficult getting everyone up and ready on the last morning when there was no hot water. This did not happen the last time we came so it must have been a "one off". We hope so and that it can be fixed before the next people come. . As regards the heating, we found that it was not very efficient downstairs and had to put on the gas fires even though the weather was relatively mild. We did appreciate the Christmas decorations which were much more plentiful than last time and added to our enjoyment.. We all enjoyed the house itself and its facilities; it is a good place for a larger party and my grandson wants to come again in 2 years time when it's our turn to spend Christmas with the family. Thank you, too, for the welcome tray of goodies! Minehead is great for Christmas with its seafront and also the grounds at Dunster Castle to walk off Christmas food! One thing that would help us would be to have a wash basin in each bedroom; the upstairs bathroom is relatively small for 4 bedrooms and its occupants. Otherwise a lovely place to stay.

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• Cheryl - Verified booking

  A lovely little cottage full of character.

  A cosy lounge with wood burner and two big double bedrooms, we enjoyed a very comfortable stay. Parking wasn’t a problem and the helpful pointers from the owners meant we could always park close to the cottage. The church bells do ring regularly and throughout the night but they didn’t bother us and we were sleeping in the back bedroom with the window open, this didn’t stop us from enjoying many a good nights sleep. We very much appreciated all of the guidance provided by the owners on local walks, things to do and places to eat. Dunster Castle is approx 5 mins walks from the cottage and Dunster beach about 25 mins. The little utility room was great to hang wetsuits after a trip to Wimbleball Lake for a spot of Paddle boarding, as was the washing machine after getting wet on a walk back from Dunster beach. The cottage was furnished to a high standard throughout, the bathroom is downstairs but that didn’t bother us, shower over bath nice and powerful and always lots of hot water. Both bedrooms were a great size, bedding and extra soft blankets were plentiful. Thanks for a great week.

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• Mic - Verified booking

  Where improvements could be made:- 1.

  The instructions to find the house were not easy. We needed to turn RIGHT into King George Road and the house was on the RIGHT HAND corner as we turned in. (We saw the left hand part of King George Road and turned left which was wrong but as there were no instructions....!) 2.Although there were 3 Christmas trees only ONE was of a good size and apart from a lovely wreath on the front door there were no room decorations at all which was disappointing. We have often rented houses at Christmas which have been decorated but these decorations were a bit minimal. 3.As regards equipment, the kitchen knives were not at all sharp. Fortunately we brought some of our own otherwise there would have been a problem. Praise:- Generally we loved the house and there was so much room. The bedrooms were particularly well furnished and appointed. We also loved the spacious kitchen especially the coffee machine. Please will you give our thanks to the owners who left a very generous tray of gifts for us. We much appreciated this! As regards feedback, only publish the complimentary ones!

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• Judith - Verified booking

  Exactly as advertised and even better equipped.

  We had a lovely weekend. The cottage was spotlessly clean, had everything we needed (and more) with lovely touches. We decided the beds were "magic" as we slept so well, once accustomed to the regular church chimes (suggest ear plugs if that might bother you), superbly comfortable, as was the living room furniture. The weather was changeable but we managed to get out for a couple of walks around the picturesque village and up to the folly for wonderful views in every direction, the hills one side and the coast, from the Bristol channel over to Wales in the other. Close to many beaches and easy distance from Minehead if you require more than the quaint shops in Dunster village can provide. (Lovely deli but could we find toothpaste anywhere? Maybe when lockdown fully eases there is a more general store but was a good excuse to pop into Minehead). Would recommend this charming accommodation.

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