Villas In England

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Gillian - Verified booking

  Sykes was a useful website amalgamating lots of property companies making it easier to look for somewhere to stay and it was a very user friendly site.

  However, I wonder how much this adds to the cost. Cottages are very expensive. This was a 4 berth and only two of us, but finding a suitable cottage for 2 is difficult, but it was reduced as I suppose someone cancelled. This was a Dream Cottages property. It was a lovely cottage, clean, well equipped. and comfortable ( would have liked the TV in the kitchen instead of the bedroom though).We know Corfe Castle very well as we have camped and caravanned there for 50 years and the lovely cottage decoration felt very in tune with the area. We had a few problems when we got there viz. the heating system wouldn't work, but I found a way to override this, the downstairs toilet wouldn't flush( we needed this as we were sleeping in the downstairs bedroom as my husband has some mobility issues which made the narrow, windy stairs a bit of a problem and we booked this cottage because of the downstairs facilities) but I used bowls of water to flush until it was fixed. The rubbish in bins at the back was packed solid and hadn't been put out for collection and we couldn't find the special council bags for our rubbish to be put in. I phoned Dream Cottages right away and they sent round a manger on the Monday, who fixed the heating system ( new batteries) and delivered the rubbish bags. He had booked a plumber who arrived on Tuesday and put in a new flushing system. I managed to get some of other people's rubbish out of one bin and transferred it to special bags and put out with our rubbish on Thursday evening. They said they would deal with the other bin in which the rubbish seemed immoveable. Very impressed with Dream Cottages, who acted as quickly as they could to put things right. I think the previous occupants could have let them know about these things which were a problem. No parking at the premises which was terraced and on a main road, but the prepaid parking space in the local carpark was fine, although walking back from there in the dark (we had a torch) and in the rain wasn't much fun. Villages like Corfe Castle weren't made for cars, and that's the beauty of it. You can't have everything. Overall, very satisfied. Thank you.

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• Jane - Verified booking

  Farriers Lodge has an extremely well equipped kitchen, with some quality kitchenware.

  However there were some other aspects that let it down and reflected in the management of the property. 1. We had requested for the downstairs bedroom to be made into a twin bedded room, however this has not been done. Unfortunately nobody was able to come and correct this, instead we were requested to do this ourselves and told where the bedding was kept - even though a token goodwill gesture was given ( hasn't been received yet) this is not something you expect to have to do. In having to move the beds around it became clear that some additional cleaning was needed. 2. In the cottage instruction manual it mentioned twice in there how to light the gas fire in the lounge - we could get this to work. So this was reported only to be told that it was for decoration purposes only. If the fire had been taken out of action, why had the instructions not been updated? 3. On arrival there were 3 lights not working, we eventually found some light bulbs and replaced them. However the lounge has only 2 wall lights, and we had to replace 1 of the lamps with a low wattage bulb as this was the only option available. However this exasperated the dimness in the room - but better than only 1 small wall light! If you require a well lit room for reading... then you may struggle with the lounge. 4. The dishwasher worked perfectly once we established that it needed rinse aid. So this was purchased and filled into the dishwasher. Again, not something you would normally be expected to do. When we called about the fire I was told I would get a call back the next day explaining why the instruction manual was out of date. No phone call received. Overall the cottage was cosy and comfortable, but some deeper cleaning, maintenance and management would make it even better.

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• Michael - Verified booking

  Yes, a number of things.

  But first I would point out that we came to this lovely cottage 10 years ago so we knew what we were expecting when we walked in. For a start, the fridge needed cleaning as did the outside of the oven door. We were told to put our rubbish in the purple bags provided. There were no purple bags, only black ones. Full black and purple bags were in the bins at the back from previous tenants. I contacted Dream Cottages to report this. We were informed that if we left all the black and purple bags outside the front on Friday they would be collected. Only the purple ones did. We brought all the black ones back to the bins at the back. The top screws on the shower head rail in the bathroom downstairs were missing rendering the shower unusable unless if held. A clip was being used to hold the shower head in a totally inadequate position. We reported the problem and were informed it would be repaired on the weekend we were leaving. We were surprised that it was not reported before. The toilet seat in the downstairs bathroom was not secure. The plastic seat is not of any quality and it moved considerably. The garden at the back has not been looked after for many weeks. It is overgrown and needs strimming. The parasol over the table is broken and needs replacing. It is a lovely cottage. We had no problem with the cottage itself. It seemed to be lacking some TLC.

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• Confirmed Guest - Verified booking

  We had a super holiday from start to finish. The Baker’s Dozen was a great base for the three of us to explore the local area. The property is just a few minutes walk from Alnwick Castle, some really good restaurants and pubs. Also, it’s just across the road from Morrisons, which was very handy. The parking space provided was more than big enough for our car. The apartment itself was clean and very well-equipped. The beds were very comfortable and we all slept so well all week. The welcome hamper included milk, butter, fresh crusty bread, shortbread and scones which was a lovely thought and meant we could have a cup of tea as soon as we arrived. The coffee machine was great and we brought our own Nespresso pods from home to use in it. The Digital Guidebook that was emailed to us a few days before our trip was so handy whilst out and about with details of places to eat and visit. We will return!

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• Confirmed Guest - Verified booking

  Wonderful stay. Great location and lovely apartment with everything you need from the minute you walk in. Clean and very comfortable. We liked the scones! The welcome basket was lovely and had all the basics but little extra treats like the wine bottles and the Easter egg for our daughter. It was great to walk-in to a basket like this especially after a long day, though it was very well put together and had everything we needed. The apartment was clean and tidy and well decorated but without clutter. The little vanities in the bedrooms were a really nice touch that made getting ready so much easier. We really enjoyed our stay. The apartment was lovely and had absolutely everything we needed. The space was comfortable and easy to be in. The location was also great – loved being able to walk everywhere. We will definitely look to Coquet Cottages again.

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