Luxury Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Kelly - Verified booking

  Poplar Cottage is a very pretty, charming cottage which is one street away from the harbour.

  It made for a great location for Port Isaac itself. We booked Poplar Cottage, on the understanding that there was parking for one car. We weren’t aware, until receiving the check in details, that the car would be parked a few streets away, at the top of a very steep hill. Whilst the parking is very secure, it isn’t suitably located for those with mobility issues - as you cannot get close enough to on/off load items. We recommend packing light, and taking a case with wheels. This wouldn’t be an issue normally, but one of us was sporting a fractured knee and had we known in advance we may have opted to stay elsewhere. An improvement in clarity of description is needed. Having read the previous reviews, we contacted Sykes to establish if the points noted in the most recent reviews had been addressed. Having been assured that the heating was working and breakages replaced, we felt reassured. Unfortunately, on arrival this wasn’t the case - and we had to reach out to the local agent for assistance with the heating downstairs. This was needed as it was November and wet. The maintenance engineer tried their best, but could not get the Economy 7 heater to work. They returned 24 hours later with electric heaters. The house book which I understand usually has instructions has been removed due to COVID-19 protocols. Rather bizarre given that there are novels in the house to read. To help guests with their stay I would recommend these are reinstated in some form, even an online link to it would be better than nothing. This would’ve helped given the heating isn’t the typical gas boiler system most commonly found in homes. We love a fire in the autumn, and given the heating wasn’t working downstairs, we resorted to using the log burner. However, there were no fireside tools to assist us and as we couldn’t park close to the house so we had to carry logs and kindling from the local store, as nothing is provided. If a log burner is available, suitable fireside tools should be available and I suggest these are put in place to aid guests. The house itself was very clean, but it is clear that the property has received heavy use over time and therefore some of the soft furnishings are now very grubby, and have definitely seen better days. The carpet down stairs is also very dirty and definitely needs a clean or replacement. However, I should stress the bedrooms, bathroom and the kitchen are spotless. In summary, I would say that we enjoyed our stay at Poplar Cottage but there are a few minor tweaks to make this a better stay for guests - particularly around clarity of check in (WiFi code provided was incorrect), instructions for the home and cleaning of soft furnishings. In addition, there is no welcome pack such as small amount of tea, coffee or sugar compared to other rental properties in this price bracket, a few small touches may have been nice.

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• Kim - Verified booking

  When we arrived the cottage had quite a few cleanliness and maintenance issues.

  Blood on mattress protector, dirty, greasy oven and trays, windows dirty inside and out, dirty toilet brush and holder, dirty bathmat, bucket full cigarette ends under patio table, messy backyard, rail in bedroom broken, cracked glass panels in window,piece broken glass in bedroom drawer, no plug in kitchen sink. It was a shame we spent the first few hours after a long journey trying to sort these things out. Phoned sykes who were helpful and arranged another clean. Cleaners turned up the next morning and threw toilet brush and bathmat away. Tried to clean oven and trays as best they could, this is where a plug was needed in sink as the trays don't fit in sink bowl. They cleaned over and it felt fresher afterwards. They told us they're not responsible for any windows and outside cleaning. We managed to fix the clothes rail but it needs new one as it sways when clothes are hung. I spoke to the owner who said she was unaware of the cleaning problems and will sort maintenance issues out at a later date. Fresh flowers were left in cottage and the owner kept bringing them up but it's no good leaving fresh flowers if you're not concentrating on the cleanliness, the money on flowers would be better spent on other things. The cottage has alot of potential to be alot better, it has no identity with mismatched furniture and with a few tweaks could be much better. The area is outstanding beauty with glorious beaches. We visited Harlech, caernarfon Castle, Portmeirion,Shell Island. Had lovely meals in Norbar few times and Nineteen 57.

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• Kathryn - Verified booking

  We had a lovely week in Wales and managed to explore lots of local areas.

  The cottage is in a beautiful location. Just a few things let it down. The cleanliness was below average in comparison to other rentals we have stayed in. The facilities were disappointing in that the WiFi did not work for the latter part of the week and the spa bath didn't work. Several lights didn't work and the remote controls for the various TV's also didn't work. The cooker hood fan also didn't work. Many of the maintenance issues had been reported by previous tennants but nothing had been done about them. There was a lot of different kitchen pots/pans etc but a lot were dirty and old which put us off using them. We felt like just a small amount of tlc could really make a difference in this house. The bathroom and kitchen both need to be re-sealed. And a general de-clutter in the whole house as some areas were quite dusty and musty. There was a jigsaw which had missing pieces which was also disappointing and the garden area was cluttered and overgrown. The lounge/dining area was a lovely space and the settee was really comfortable. Later on in the week we discovered some equipment for the beach (body board, skimming board etc) which i think should be advertised as being available, perhaps in a welcome pack and the ability to hang some clothes outside but under cover was also really useful. The shower was a good, powerful shower. There are many good things about this property and the location and we feel it has the potential for so much more. Thank you.

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• Caroline - Verified booking

  Overall a lovely cosy little cottage in a nice location, and only a few miles from Polzeath, Wadebridge, Rock (and ferry) to Padstow.

  The cottage was clean throughout, with upstairs nicer than downstairs which was rather tired looking and some of the furnishings were chipped and worn. The lounge and kitchen is separate, not at all like the bright open plan kitchen diner which is portrayed in the pictures, but once we got our heads round this it was ok. The wifi password is still not correct (as mentioned previously), so basically just use the one on the router. The written directions from Port Isaac need looking at as these are pretty confusing particularly in terms of finding the allocated parking - which is behind a 5 bar gate half way down Trewethan Lane (the small steep one), and situated on the left where the lane forks. It could do with having the name of the cottage clearly visible on the gate itself as you can't see the one inside. The SatNav tries to take you right to the cottage which isn't possible as the lanes are too narrow and steep, which we found out too late and nearly got stuck! There was no mention of steep steps up to little garden at the top which could be a problem for an elderly person, but after staying in Port Isaac we realised we were probably quite lucky to have a garden at all. All in all though we enjoyed our stay.

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• Louise - Verified booking

  Lovely cottage, situated in a great location.

  Road was a little busy it's on, but you could hardly hear the traffic unless you had the windows open obviously. We found a parking space every evening. Further down the road on the right was a car park you could turn around in too which was handy as the roads are narrow all around the area. Cottage had all the amenities you need. Even foil, cling film and cleaning products too which was great! There was a little shop just over the bridge which was handy. It would be good if the TV wasn't flat against the wall but able to swivel as difficult to watch from both sofas. We like to watch movies in the evening after a busy day exploring. We visited Barmouth, Harlech, Portmerion, Beddgelert and Porthmadog! There is a lovely waterfall about 5 mins around the corner too in the car! It's expensive to park near the beaches, costing around £5+ for the day, but a few machines you could download an app and pay on which was handy given you didn't have to find change! It's better to pre-book tickets for Harlech Castle and Portmerion too. Harlech Castle was mandatory to book before you went due to Covid too. It's worth doing for Portmerion to avoid queuing! We walked past a big queue of people waiting.

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