Easter Cottages in the New Forest

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Jane - Verified booking

  After reading some of the previous feedback I was prepared for the possibility of some issues when we stayed at Downton Lodge.

  . However, I needn't have worried. We enjoyed our stay so much that we are already planning to rebook. The house is indeed a little tired in places, however being a grade ll listed building there will be many rules and regulations to navigate regarding its upkeep, and this needs to be taken into account.. The house was clean, full of character and well equipped. There are many little touches that show that love has gone into the house, and many efforts to make sure that the guests are comfortable. Pros - A lot more privacy around the pool area than I was expecting, aka not as overlooked as it first appears. The owner was lovely, and very accommodating. Especially when it came to use of the pool! The aga was a big plus point for me, having grown up with one I loved cooking on an aga again, and enjoyed showing it to my children who had never seen one. The sitting room, contrary to the pictures, does not only have conservatory furniture - but also has armchairs and a sofa. The showers are remarkably powerful. The best I've seen in a long time. When staying in holiday homes we normally find "bath towels" that don't look big enough to be away from their mother. The ones in Downton Lodge are huge, fluffy and good quality. The location is superb, within easy reach of the beach, shops, local towns and plenty of places to explore. Cons - just the one... The lack of a washing machine! To be fair I did know there wasn't one available when I booked, but I hadn't anticipated how much I would need one. Due to the pool and having 3 girls I found myself doing quite a few "handwashes", and while this isn't the biggest deal in the world - it would be nice not to have had to. Maybe the owners could think about installing one? As there is space... All in all, we had an amazing break away in a tranquil, beautiful setting. Thank you to the owner Karen. We look forward to visiting again soon!

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• Alan - Verified booking

  Some items to consider if choosing this property: The sitting room photographs are misleading.

  The actual armchairs (not in any photograph) are very old, but usable. The bath/shower room had a considerable leak from the mixer unit, leaking water all over the end wall. The second bedroom mattress was uncomfortable and should be changed. No iron No hair dryer No vacuum cleaner The door to the en-suite bedroom seemed to be locked. After four nights we realised the door required a very hefty push to open it. It should be made clear that the entrance to the property is by the five bar gate drive and not where the sign for Downton Lodge is. The property was clean and tidy but I think there is too much play on the listed building aspect. Considering this is a high end cost property it certainly needs some work. The main benefit of this property is the excellent heated swimming pool. Very clean and well looked after. A pleasure to use. We had a pleasant time and the property is in an ideal location for the New Forest and the general area. However, it is unlikely I will use Sykes Cottages again. I do not like wasting my time going through several groups of multiple choice questions several times only for the phone line to go dead at the last choice. The web site could not understand my need to change a single 'date'. ( We had to leave a day early ). Also, I do not like being 'pestered' by emails wanting to know how my first night has been and what to do when I leave. I was told by some very helpful ladies ( not Sykes ) that the emergency phone number was some considerable time out of date.

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• Jacqueline - Verified booking

  Downtown Lodge is an annex joined to the main house.

  Despite this, we rarely saw anyone at the main house. As it is a listed building, it is tired in places, like many buildings of this age, but anywhere that truly matters is great. Modern bathrooms with powerful showers, beautiful master bedroom (please owner include photos on your listing), and fantastic pool. Also we were initially put off from booking as the photographed lounge furniture looked uncomfortable, however although basically decorated, the lounge also has traditional armchairs and a 2 seater sofa which were perfectly adequate. We also found the beds we used to be very comfortable but I understand this is very subjective. All in all we had a great stay considering the very competitive price we paid for a school holiday break.

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• Helen - Verified booking

  Lovely property.

  Had an issue with items left in the property from before we stayed set of keys, used tissues, what has upset us the most was we found in the bed my son slept in was under the fitted sheet the top of a diabetic insulin needle top. Luckily I found it as if he did he could have touched the end where a needle was exposed and pricked himself. He then didnt want to saleep in the bed the rest of the holiday. Bare in mind we paid extra for cleaning once we left to be able to bring an extra dog whick i had absolute no issues with at all but seeing the cleaning isnt thorough its abit of a waste paying extra. Be an idea to speak or change who they ise to clean the property Overall place was nice pool lovely.

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• Lorraine - Verified booking

  Lovely cottage with ample room/ facilities for 6 people.

  Owners very accommodating and we were able to use the pool as often as we liked. Parking is a little restricted if you have two big cars. Had never used an aga before so some instructions would have been good. The cleaners weren’t brilliant more care needed in the bathrooms and food was left in the kitchen presumably by the previous occupants. The shower in the main bathroom was temperamental It’s a lovely old cottage with rustic charm and a great kitchen. Couldn’t fault the master bedroom either. Fantastic location for staying in the New Forest. Would definitely go back.

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