Group Accommodation Cottages on the Isle of Wight

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Karen - Verified booking

  Following 2 weeks of storms, the track is now only 4 wheel drive friendly.

  The hot water tap in the kitchen cannot be regulated and goes to full power unexpectedly. The bathroom tap was loose and leaking. A plumber was called and the problem solved efficiently by Sykes. 1 guest slipped and fell on mossy pathway at rear of house, probably not a normal issue but gutters did not cope with the rainfall. We had read reviews of a small kitchen so were prepared, however, it was the lack of storage space for food that was a problem. Only 1 small cupboard in the kitchen was available for storage, all the others were filled with an unnecessary abundance of crockery. There was a lack of storage space in 2 of the smaller bedrooms. The ground floor bedroom only had a small understairs wardrobe, a bedside cabinet with 2 small drawers and a small dresser with 2 small drawers, difficult for 2 adults. A lot of our clothes had to be stored on the window ledges. The small upstairs bedroom only had a chest of drawers which we couldn't access because we had to put up a travel cot in that room. All toddlers clothes were laid out on the spare bed which wasn't too much of a problem, but might not be quite as acceptable for older people using that room. We loved the space both inside and out. The location was quiet and close to walks. Contacted Sykes re the possibility of an external washing line rather than using the tumble dryer, with 8 people this would not have been environmentally friendly. We were pleasantly surprised to find, on our arrival, that a line had been installed, plus pegs. We were staying for 2 weeks and were pleasantly surprised that after the first week, someone came in to change bedding and towels. The only thing that would prevent us from using this holiday venue again was the narrow lane that leads to the track because there are few passing places and there were often bottle necks where we had to spend a lot of time either reversing or waiting for other people to reverse. Whilst this was frustrating, it wasn't as frustrating as coping with people who didn't seem to appreciate that you have to slow down on small country lanes when you cannot see around a bend.

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• Kim - Verified booking

  We booked the Coach house as a group of 7 who were attending the wedding of a friend on the estate.

  The setting is absolutely amazing- right next to Appuldurcombe House, it is so picturesque and beautiful. The Coach House was adequate for the stay but it is quite dated and really needs a really good clean. I had an issue with some un-clean bedding and as the little handbook in the house says to, I called the cleaning company direct to request additional bedding (as there is zero left at the house- something I find a bit strange in case of circumstances like this). They are on the other side of the island I believe, but the lady I spoke to was nice enough and arranged for clean bedding to be delivered and left for us. In general the bedding is not that clean- it is old, bobbly and just tired. The pillows are also not in good condition, really thin & cheap and had no protectors on so were yellowing. My understanding is that all this is provided by a 3rd party (cleaning company) so I think the owner needs to have a look in to what is being provided as I don’t think it reflects the price being paid. Again, overall the house was suitable for our needs of a wedding weekend stay but it was not in a clean condition and is tired and dated in some areas- from sticky kitchen tables & floors, stained carpets, ripped leather on sofas to cobwebs & thick dust, it needs a really deep clean. We had friends staying in other cottages on the estate and these are more modernised and clean, so maybe this is due a makeover soon… On a side note, there is no downstairs toilet. One main bathroom/toilet which is upstairs on the far side and one en-suite. For 7 adults this was just about doable. For over £1100 for a 3 night stay I wouldn’t say it was good value unfortunately. It was a good base for us and the surroundings are lovely but I probably wouldn’t stay in this cottage/coach house again.

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• Andrew - Verified booking

  The house was fine in general, but there were many spiders in the property and a lot of cobwebs both around the ceilings and around the windows.

  The windows were not clean. The kitchen was well equipped and it was nice to have plenty of cups and glasses so the dishwasher could be filled to capacity before being set off. The master bed was very soft, which made it rather uncomfortable for us. The fact that the ensuite has a glass door was not very good because when used in the night the light lit up the bedroom. The left hand side of the second double bed was not comfortable, with springs felt in the shoulder region. There was a shower hose to attach to the bathroom tap, but this was not really successful. The stairs were very long, which was not made clear in the listing and so the fact that there was not a downstairs loo was a bit of a nuisance for our elderly relative. There was a great storeroom, which we used for the bike. It would have been good to have some info on the House and grounds showing where we could go with maybe some local maps of the estate. We found many nice pubs to eat at but we have always found previous visitor recommendations in a visitor book useful.

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• Laura - Verified booking

  The barn was fantastic!

  We all loved it, the garden was large and secure, the games room entertained the teens for hours, the house was lovely, the beds were comfortable and everything was well presented. Kitchen was well equipped. I loved that the house had 2 separate upstairs bits. The bath took a while to run, but you could just set it running a bit earlier to solve that problem. The bad reviews I felt were really clutching at straws. I dont know what some people expect when they go away, especially to a dog friendly family sized house. The only small issues were the showers: the downstairs one got water everywhere somehow, and the upstairs one didnt work. If we were to return to IOW I would definitely use this place as a base; it's a fantastic location down a dirt track and away from other people, so you can have music on and play outside later without worrying about annoying people. It's easy to get anywhere on the island aswell, nowhere seemed to take longer than 45 minutes to get to.

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• Martin - Verified booking

  Feedback:- 1/ The property needs to be refreshed internally with a re-decoration.

  The walls are marked and look grubby. 2/ A deep clean should be undertaken. 3/ The cutlery, plates, place mats, etc need to be replaced with new sets to accommodate 7 people as they are all worn and dirty. (ie There were only 4 breakfast food bowls). 4/ The 3 piece sofa needs to be replaced as it is peeling and very badly worn. 5/ The sink plug in the upstairs bathroom was broken. 6/ The clock in the kitchen was not working and was not working when we last visited in 2022. It is still showing 2.25. 7/ All the windows need cleaning both inside and out of the property as they are very dirty. Overall, the property is in a lovely location and setting. I have visited with my family for a great number of years and unfortunately the property has been in slow decline due to a lack of maintenance and cleaning over the years. This needs to be rectified as a matter of urgency.

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