Group Accommodation Cottages in Scotland

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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• Ken - Verified booking

  First Impressions of the cottage where quite positive, it is an old stone Building which remains cool even on a warm day.

  The heating to the property is controlled by a timer which in turn is controlled by the owner, hence at night on our stay in mid September it got fairly cold. There was also a fume smell emitting from the oil boiler in the en-suite double bedroom, especially if the door to the en-suite bathroom left closed. Hence due to there only being two of us we opted to sleep in another of the 3 bedrooms, the lack of heating control at night was a slight downside to our stay though. Privacy was another problem at the cottage as it is part of a multi unit letting set up, with a number of permanent residents also. This meant the need to the keep curtains drawn, or residents can see straight into the holiday let, access to property was via two Drives each very pot holed even for a 4x4 to use. There was also a distinct lack of where to go leaflets for things to see and do in the area, on leaving we left our leaflets there for new guests to use when they arrive. Seating in kitchen looked period but was very uncomfortable and all the chairs rickety, with very loose wooden Joints with some previous attempted screw repairs quite dangerous really. These need repairing properly to safe guard future occupants safety when using the focal point kitchen, as this is a premium property it really needs all the little details re- addressing especially the boiler when the rental season finally quietens down. The property could be brought right back up to scratch, over the course of a couple of days re-investment and time. Overall we enjoyed our time there but it could have been so much better.

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• Peter Battye - Verified booking

  Very comfortable cottage. Only 3 of us so it seemed very, very spacious but it would be roomy even if there were 5 or 6 of you. Conservatory and large dining kitchen contributed to the feeling of space. Excellent shower. Washing machine and a washing hanger in back garden. Also an indoor collapsible hanger. Comfortable beds. Super quiet location on the farm but only a 3 minute drive to Dalbeattie. Lots of nice walking nearby. Kippford is a nice small coastal village. Dalbeattie is a nice town. Good cafe. Nice meal in the pub. The small but ''packed with stuff'' Dalbeattie museum is very interesting. Spent about 2 hours in it. What a nice area overall. Unspoilt, ''undiscovered''. Castle Douglas is a nice town and New Abbey a nice village with a very good cafe. Sadly Dalbeattie FC were not playing at home during our stay. I would have gone. Did go to Queen of the South vs. Alloa Athletic on the day of our arrival. A ''seven goal thriller''.

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• Laura - Verified booking

  Really lovely place to stay, extremely clean comfortable and finishing touches are beautiful throughout.

  Pictures actually do not do it justice to be honest it’s a lot bigger than it looks and the kitchen is more beautiful in real life. Plenty of everything for use glasses, cutlery, plates etc. Wee garden is a lovely touch if the weather is nice just to sit and have a drink really peaceful and quiet. The cottage is situated on the main road and parking is free either on or across the road which is fantastic. However it is a main road and can be busy with traffic and cars pulling up to park and use the shop/takeaways but it is nice to a see a busy town. As the cottage window is lower people cannot directly see in the window and with the windows closed you do not hear them it did not bother us however I can see how it could if you are fussy. The cottage is really handy for everything if you’ve had a long day you are 1 minute to any of the food places and the shop is next door. Would recommend :)

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