Holiday Cottages With Hot Tubs In Carbis Bay

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Jan - Verified booking

  We did enjoy our holiday at the apartment.

  It was very comfortable and I think freshly decorated as it was different to the photographs. The views were amazing with some beautiful sunsets. It was really close to the train station which was only a couple of pounds return into St ives and took about 3 mins. There were also really lovely coastal walks from the apartment. So there were a lot of positives. However we were really disappointed with a lot of aspects and felt the description of the apartment is misleading and the photographs really do need updating. The first major thing we noticed on walking into the apartment was that the living room is a lot smaller by a good 5ft than the photographs show. This appears to be because an extra room with bunkbeds has been added. I don't know if this room is just for the owners to use but the door was open and the beds had ,what appeared to be, used bedcovers just rolled back on the ends of the beds. (Which really isn't acceptable considering the cost of the apartment). The living room has not only shrunk but is decorated differently and has some furniture missing, probably because it no longer fits in. The second major thing was just how close to the road the apartment is. This isnt mentioned at all and the photographs showing the view of the outside from the apartment are cleverly taken so you aren't aware there is a road there at all. It states in the description there is a private balcony, well yes it is private in that it is for your use only but in no way do you have any privacy when you are on it. To begin with it is overlooked by the apartment next door. But the main issue we found is because the balcony is on the ground floor, when you sit at the table, anyone coming round the corner and walking past(and a lot do walking down to the beach) they are so close you could reach out and touch them and you do feel like you are in a bit of a goldfish bowl. We imagined having breakfast on the balcony each morning but after experiencing this the first morning, we never sat out there again as we might as well have been sitting outside a cafe in St ives. Now this was just an issue for us I'm sure this wouldn't bother a lot of people but you need to be aware of it before booking so that you've got the choice. Had we been aware of this we would probably not have chosen this apartment. Obviously the hot tub is also on the balcony so getting in and out of it you were on full view of anyone walking or driving past however once in the tub it was relatively private. And as a positive, the hot tub is checked by a very nice man 3 times a week who was really helpful. The balcony is definately not spacious as quoted in the description! Because of the proximity to the road, lying in the bed in the master bedroom, you can see inside the cab of any vans driving past. You could also see people walking past on the opposite side of the road so you couldn't walk around the bedroom in the nuddy, of course you could drawer the curtains but then that defeats the object of having the lovely views to look at(of the sea not of us in the nuddy). On a positive note, although the road is so close it is not a busy road and is especially quiet at night so doesn't disturb your sleep. I don't know if it would be busier at the height of summer. We stayed in May. The trains also run past quite close but that didn't really bother us but it might some people. The apartment appeared to be clean especially the kitchen and the bathroom. However I was quite surprised that the hand rail on the stairs leading to the bedrooms was so dirty that I had to buy some wipes and clean it. I also had to clean the bathroom door which looked grubby and had black marks on it. I wouldn't normally do this in a holiday place but felt because of the current times it should really have been cleaned as It was really noticeable. The windows in the main bedroom also had hand marks on them however I didn't clean these as I didnt want to spend my holiday doing housekeeping considering the amount of money we had paid for the apartment. There were a couple of other niggles. Outside the apartment there were a number of paint cans just left outside the kitchen window. There is a dishwasher and tablets were provided but there was no washing up liquid or tea towels. There are only 4 cups so if you don't want to put a dishwasher on to clean a couple of cups you may want to bring some washing up liquid and a tea towel or you will have to go out and buy some like we did! There are also no oven gloves provided so you couldn't get anything out of the hot oven. We ended up having to use one of the bathroom towels We had one day of quite heavy rain so decided to go back to the apartment to watch a film. However everything we tried to watch required a pin. We gave up on films in the end and decided to watch Agatha Raisin thinking surely that was relatively safe but even this was pin protected. We rang Sykes and spoke to a really lovely helpful lady who said she would ring someone to get the pin for us. However, she came back to us and said whoever she had spoken to wouldnt give the pin number out and we would have to wait until 9 oclock in the evening to watch anything other than children's films.!!!!!!! Even she thought it was ridiculous. Again for the amount of money we paid for this flat and the fact that sky TV and movies are mentioned in the description, this really isnt acceptable. Finally, if two couples are sharing this apartment, whoever gets the main bedroom is definately getting the best deal with the views and balcony. The second bedroom only has a small window which looks out onto a brick wall and next door's very tiny patio area. We didn't use this room so it didn't affect us but I feel people should be aware of it before booking. I have marked the ratings down only because of the above issues I dont really like to do this but I want other people to be aware of them so they have an informed choice and know exactly what they are booking as I feel this is an expensive apartment and had we been aware of some of the above we would not have booked it.

  Read more less >

• Gina - Verified booking

  The location of the house is beautiful and it is lovely and bright inside.

  We have looked forward to this break and spent a little more than normal on this property for a treat after all the lockdowns. The house is really lovely and comfortable but feel it needs a little TLC and a rewrite/update of the description on the booking site. The following points could be addressed for future guests: The living room has shrunk by more than 2 feet and the lovely rocking chair described in the listing isn’t there. I’d bought a new book to enjoy there! There is now a 3rd small bunk bed room in the space that has been taken which isn’t mentioned in the listing. The hot tub was set at 27 when we got in the first night so had to abandon immediately until it heated up the next day as it was tepid. We’d looked forward to that after travelling all day from Manchester. It was main feature of the property we wanted use of all holiday. Also the waterproof speaker mentioned in the house book was missing. The boiler timer control doesn’t work so the house was boiling for 2 days. The heating is either on full or off. Fortunately it was mild so we left it off after it cooled down. We have the same boiler and replaced the MT10 timer 3 times before overriding it with a Nest Thermostat for £70. Main bathroom - toilet seat not fixed after last review. Not ideal when recovering from a rib injury to have a wobbly seat. Hubby would have fixed it himself if he’d got a screwdriver with him! The lid on the pedal bin fell off on first use. Inexpensive to replace. Bathmat was falling to bits on the back. En-suite - plug in sink doesn’t work Wine cooler - repeatedly followed instructions to set but it kept defaulting to 27 and warming contents. Perhaps the housekeeper could set things up for arrivals? Laundry bags listed on Covid instructions non existent for dirty sheets and towels. Looked round the house twice and just left in separate piles. Don’t get me wrong - the house is amazing and we had a lovely holiday! Would we stay there again YES. Carbis Bay is beautiful and the views are to die for! The coast path is on the doorstep too! It’s nearly perfect

  Read more less >

• Elizabeth Jayne - Verified booking

  Firstly the property is in a beautiful location just above Carbis Bay with amazing views.

  We know the area and most of the properties in the area very well as have been visiting Carbis Bay for for 20 years. We did have issues: The first evening we put the dishwasher on to find it was leaking - looked as if this was not the first time. Managed to stop the dishwasher straight away. There was blockage remover under the sink but we decided not to fiddle and contacted the company first thing on Monday. Spoke to Sykes at 10.43 on Monday to report the dishwasher, broken toilet seat in main bathroom and issues with general cleanliness They took details, put me through to property services ( told them the same thing) and was informed someone would be out today to resolve. Nobody turned up all week to resolve - there was someone in the property at all times so we did not miss them. I then left a note for the following guests. Cleanliness was not what I expected with a 5* rating. Issues :- Filthy handrail going downstairs ( cleaned myself and photographed the cloth afterwards as I could not believe how dirty it was) Bedding - hairs on main bedroom duvet - looked like blood stains on one of the pillows and the bottom sheet looked grainy and not welcoming. Pillows had seen their day. Second bedroom - bathroom cabinet full of hairs and sweet wrappers and sweets left on floor Window sills dirty - cleaned a couple of them myself, dirty hand marks around both patio doors Mould on back of curtains in mainstream bedroom and dirty patio door sills in master bedroom and lounge Main bathroom toilet seat broken The main bathroom sink had been chipped ( for the owners) Missing glasses and cups etc in kitchen A bulb needs changing above bed in master bedroom The photos on your site are not how the property is furnished so needs to be updated. We love visiting the area and did not let if spoil our stay, however when you are paying good money you expect this to be reflected in the standards of cleanliness and service.

  Read more less >

• Alison - Verified booking

  Lovely house, lovely position, the view was stunning from the balcony.

  Poor maintenance and cleanliness in certain areas really let the property and our holiday down. The master bedroom had black mold by the windows. The downstairs outside area was very dirty. The table had all green mold all under the glass. This was unusable, the table and chairs on the balcony were filthy from being left outside and the sunbeds were rusty. There were problems with the jacuzzi, after 3 days, we noticed all this dirt and grime around the jacuzzi and dirt floating all on the top. It should have been maintained twice during our stay according to the handbook in the house. Contacted Sykes three times for help, was told the company had been to sort it. No one arrived, jacuzzi was unusable, tried to clean it myself. Made no difference, asked Sykes for help, said they would speak to owners re: compensation. Nothing was done, couldn’t use it. This really upset everyone as this was a very special celebration for us all and cost me a lot of money for 1 week. Met the maintenance guy as we were leaving and he tried to say he jumped the fence to clean the jacuzzi during our stay. Well, what can you say to that? He was very rude and arrogant because he knew he had not done his job. I was angry and we all left to drive home gobsmacked by his response. Received an email to say owners weren’t prepared to apologise or take any responsibility. Such a disappointing attitude. No care or attention to detail, its obviously about the fast turnover of guests in high season and customer care and satisfaction is not a priority. Very sad end to what should of been a fab time celebrating with my family.

  Read more less >

• Jennie - Verified booking

  Lovely big spacious villa with amazing views , the hot tub is a great added bonus !

  However upon arrival it was very evident that outside was extremely dirty . When we opened the French doors that led to the balcony ,the first thing that greeted us was clumps of wet grass all over the decking leading up to the hot tub ,the upvc door frames inside were absolutely filthy and so was the guttering (definitely hadn’t been cleaned this year) so first thing we had to do was clean the whole decking area and wipe over the upvc. The hot tub had quite a bit of sand in ,so water definitely wasn’t changed upon arrival ,probably topped up and chemicals added but listing states that water is changed after every guest so that’s incorrect ,plus there’s no way a hot tub would reach 38 degrees in a 6 hour window change!! 2nd bed base was broken upon arrival (which should have been picked up on changeover!) but once reported it was repaired within an hour -excellent service from Carbis Bay ! There was no light bulb in 3rd bedroom lamp (again should have been checked before our arrival ) Overall the Villa is lovely but the lack of cleanliness outside really let it down,when you’re paying premium prices you expect the standards to be the same,so unfortunately I wouldn’t stay in this villa again for that reason. (I have the photos of the outside area if you’d like me to send them over !!)

  Read more less >