Holiday Cottages With Hot Tubs In The South West

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.

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• Jacqui - Verified booking

  The cottage itself was lovely and very well equipped and comfortable, one of the best I've stayed in.

  It was very clean and clearly a lot of thought has gone into guest comfort. The location is beautiful. What I didn't like was the lack of privacy. CCTV recording video and audio at the front. CCTV on the back garden. Neither were declared in the listing even though Sykes say it should be disclosed. Fortunately the hot tub is around the side and not covered by CCTV. Over zealous and very bright security lights made sitting outside in the evening with a glass of wine to enjoy the fading light impossible as they come on at the slightest of movements. This was a disappointment as it's a great spot for night sky gazing. Ditto for enjoying the hot tub after the kids have gone to bed. No screening between the neighbours conservatory which abuts the boundary so the neighbours were sat a few feet away looking straight into the garden. There was an odd and seemingly unnecessary mention of sex offenders in the guest information folder which my daughter read. I hadn't expected to be explaining to a 10 year old what a sex offender is on the first night of my holiday. The information on wild boar was interesting and informative. The hot tub almost certainly was not serviced during our stay. It had reasonable use as there were 5 of us but despite diligent showering beforehand by the 5th evening the water was cloudy and it had a very unpleasant smell. We left on day 6 so no idea if it was serviced after this. We pretty much only ever book properties with hot tubs and have never previously had issues with water quality or smell. It was too cold to use on the first evening presumably due to a change of water so don't expect to relax in it soon after arrival. When usable it was a great addition. On the whole what should have been a wonderful stay in a beautiful cottage didn't feel particularly relaxing particularly when using the outside space. I'm aware I could have cancelled on arrival as the CCTV was not declared however this wasn't a realistic option after a 7.5 hour journey with three young children. It's not particularly clear from the listing whether there's a dining table which almost put me off booking as we always eat meals at the table as a family. There is dining table with two benches and a fold up chair which was perfectly adequate for dining.

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• 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

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• 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.

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• Jenny - Verified booking

  We spent a lovely week at The Barn with my Mum and my brother and family.

  The main living area is huge, with loads of room for everyone - ample sofa seating, a huge dining table, and the pool table was popular with us all. The hot tub is excellent and the children enjoyed the play areas. The kitchen was well-equipped - I hate going away with a crowd and finding there are no big dishes to bake a lasagne or similar! No problem here a there is plenty of everything, including huge dishes. We loved using the Aga to cook on, but there is also an electric oven. We fed all our scraps to the chickens and the kids enjoyed gathering the eggs, which we enjoyed plenty of. There is a Rhea (like an Ostrich), an Alpaca and some Goats in the field opposite the house. I can't fault the house as it was great. Just be aware of a couple of things which are covid related so unavoidable I suppose. There is currently no BBQ, which was a small disappointment as we'd purchased food for a BBQ. Instead there is an outdoor electric grill, which we didn't use as it's a bit awkward to have a trailing cable, and just a bit of an unknown! Also, there were no games/puzzles. I know not every house has such things anyway, but we love a board game in the evening and didn't take our own as we were tight on space. Finally, there currently isn't anywhere shady to sit. We were blessed with hot weather but could have done with a parasol or two to set up on the patio. Loads of sun loungers though, which were lovely. Overall, a fantastic place and would definitely consider returning.

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