New Year Breaks In Cornwall

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Jacki - Verified booking

  We have stayed at Honicombe Manor previously in number 51 and we had had lovely stays so we were looking forward to another.

  Due to now being a larger party, we chose a larger property, this time being number 58 and we unfortunately felt our stay was not up to standards on many accounts which we are sad to say, took the shine off our holiday. Firstly, when we arrived, it was clear that the standards of cleanliness weren't up to what we would expect, or had from previous stays. Whilst it was clear the bare minimum had been done, other aspects had been left such as windowsills covered in dead flies, very dusty and sticky skirting boards and damp/mould signs on the bedroom ceilings. We overlooked this and settled in but as our two weeks went on, the difficulties we encountered Just seemed to mount up. We had a young child with us so were glad of the addition of the stair gate at the top of the stairs, however this was not securely fitted to the wall, making using it even more of a danger than not having it there at all, its clear its been attempted to be fixed in the past but has left gaping holes in the wall behind where it has ripped out of the wall. Furthermore, the balcony felt highly unsafe, there was an obvious slope downwards to it as you walk out and 3 of the slats in the balcony railings moved from side to side, not secured in which was another concern as we had a small child in our party. The hot tub, which is one of the highlights of the lodges we book at honicombe, unfortunately was clearly tired and many of the jets weren't working. The tired feel was obvious in the rest of the house where the freezer moved away from the units as you opened the door, towels provided (which is a bonus) were very hard and rough and one of the bedroom doors was hard to open and close. The lodge is advertised with two showers which we feel is important where the lodge can take up to 8 guests. That said however, the shower unit itself leaked and flooded the floor within seconds making it unusable and so we were restricted to sharing just the one shower. On inspection, it would only take a bit of silicone to fix the issue, and this issue (amongst others) have been mentioned many months prior so it was really disheartening to see this hadn't been bothered to be looked at. The shower was only used once as we noted it flooded, we cleaned it up and left it but then a week later noticed that this had then caused fungi to grow inside the house from the edge of the shower on the floor. The Internet was extremely slow but was changed half way through our stay which we were delighted about giving us a good connection. That said however, two days before our departure it then stopped working all together giving us nothing at all. Also, due to us staying for two weeks, the maids attended half way through our stay which whilst a nice touch, we had had no notice of this and were out at the time so we're unnerved to find that they had been in around all of our belongings without being made aware. Lastly, on previous visits, we had loved the manor pub, for the food and entertainment, frequenting it often during our stays. However we were gutted to find out that the entertainment was no longer on, the games room removed, the darts boards closed off entirely and food serving times restricted or closed entirely. It didn't have the same lively feel as it used to.

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• Trudi - Verified booking

  The holiday park was so peaceful and quiet.

  The lodge itself was very clean, comfortable and well equipped. It was a bit tricky getting my Mum’s wheelchair to the door, but that was my own fault for not checking the disability access. It was manageable but we had to go to go back on ourselves a bit to use the upper path. We loved the upside down arrangement of the accommodation; not only did it make it easy for my Mum to access the toilets and bedroom, but having the living room balcony on the first floor is great for views and alfresco dining. We didn’t really use the on-site facilities but the location was great, there’s an Asda garage just a mile or two down the road which is handy for supplies. We went to Tavistock which has an indoor market and some large supermarkets. Access to Dartmoor is close by, and Bude, Looe and Plymouth are all less than an hour’s drive from the holiday park. I couldn’t fault the accommodation, it was lovely. If I was really nitpicking, I would say that an info sheet or welcome pack might have been useful, just to point out that the Wifi router needs switching on, as does the hot water and to outline where the rubbish goes and what goes in recycling (some places don’t allow glass for example). Having said that, it wasn’t hard to work out. We would 100% stay here again, we were really impressed and were sad to leave!

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• Rachel - Verified booking

  I thought the inside decor was really cosy and beautiful and was surprised by the uplifting high ceiling and windows at the back of the lounge area with views of outside trees.

  Lying in the hot tub with the trees and sounds of bird song was really relaxing and really miss that part of holiday. Please don’t get rid of the hot tub as made the holiday extra relaxing. We were also surprised how close we were to sea; as walkable in 10 minutes. After couple of days discovered cliff path from top of lane hill; just outside houses area; I thought it was just someone’s drive; was handy to walk the dog. Would be good if there was a cliff path sign there, but it’s just handily opposite the dog poo bin. The cliff path area was stunning, and surprised to find walk north to Chapel cove closer than we thought( although would be more of a trek with a young family and beach stuff to carry; so would be easier then to drive to);and amazed such a small cove had a really good cafe and toilets. Would definitely love to come back sometime. There is a friendly grocery store; which we should have used more but had arranged a Tesco delivery; also a great pub and a relaxing bar where you can order food. Also a chip shop that is open the later part of the week and weekends. The gift shop near bar has a great supply of beach type stuff if you forget anything, like flip flops, beach mats, towels. If you love the beach; you really wouldn’t need to venture out of Porthtowan if the weather was good.

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• Barry - Verified booking

  Overall we had a lovely stay and lodge was modern, comfy and well equipped.

  We paid the extra fee to have wood provided for the log burner and was able to collect more wood easily from the wood store. But even without the log burner the property was warm enough just using the storage heaters. Access to the property was easily and faultless, bedding and towels were clean and provided as stated. There was ample amounts of cutlery, plates and cooking utensils, all you need for a self catering holiday. Parking was available at the back of the lodge although spaces can be tight if you have a big car. The site was great with things to do for all and the farm animals was a bonus to go and visit. Access road to the site is tight, rural and easily missed but once you know where it is, it is not a problem. Lots of extras on site available such as being able to use wellies provided, gym, indoor and outdoor bbq and games room. Only fault was the dishwasher, as the dial to program it has worn away so you don’t know what cycle you are putting it on but again not a huge issue, I just put it on and hoped for the best. The owner was lovely and very helpful, there was no pressure to rush out of the property. Would definitely return if staying in the area again.

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• Joanne - Verified booking

  On arrival the lodge appeared to have been cleaned superficially with dust & cobwebs on window sills and in corners.

  The lodge smelt of stale cigarette or "Vape" smoke. The walls the shower and bath overflow had black hairs stuck to them. After unpacking and eating we settled down to watch the TV and I was immediately bitten on the ankle by a flea which I caught and drowned in a glass of water. Initially we put this down as a one off and went to bed . Over the following night I received 4 to 5 painful bites which came up as large red wheals, my son also complained of being bitten. We took pictures of the bites to evidence which have been sent to you. Throughout the following day we tried to contact maintenance on the two numbers provided without success. The next evening both my Husband and myself were bitten on several occasions with the guilty fleas caught and dispensed in the same glass of water as the first, again pictures were taken & have been sent to you. We again attempted to contact maintenance and the owner, and had to resort to contacting Sykes to sort out. The house had to be fumigated meaning we couldn't access the property for all of the 24/10/23. Even after fumigation we were still catching fleas so made the decision to cut our holiday short.

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