New Year Breaks In Scotland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Andrew - Verified booking

  There is no disputing that this is a unique cottage in a great location and it was a joy to stay.

  We had a fantastic week exploring the Ayrshire coastal path, traffic free cycle ways and Arran. However, there were some fundamentals which could be improved. The heating was barely adequate. Any warmth provided from the under floor heating was cancelled out by the draughts through the single glazed west facing windows and the gap under the kitchen door. A draught excluder against the door and secondary double glazing would help retain the heat. The gas fire in the lounge did generate some warmth but this did not extend to the bedrooms. The extra blankets provided proved to be essential. We generally consider ourselves to be fairly hardy, dressing appropriately in cooler weather and keeping our heating low at home, but the cottage was definitely chilly. Parking – we followed the instructions to park across the yard, so it was rather frustrating to find other vehicles parked outside the property with full views into our lounge and ground floor bedroom. It would have been preferable to have our car parked there so strangers could park further away. No visitor information was provided or a guest book from which we could glean any helpful advice. The internet was weak so it was difficult to access information. There weren’t any reference books etc. which may have been helpful. The shower drain needed unblocking. The water spread over the floor and the squeegee brush provided was fairly ineffective. This is probably a maintenance issue. The cutlery and crockery were in some instances in short supply. The cottage sleeps 4 yet only 2 desert spoons were provided. Larger cereal bowls and more mugs/beakers would be useful, along with some microwave dishes with lids. The instructions in the cottage requested that the dishwasher should only be used when full, but there wasn’t enough basic equipment supplied in order to do this, and we ran out of mugs etc. before it was full, so we mainly washed by hand. The ceiling drying rack was useful and clothes washed in the daytime, dried overnight.

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• Jean - Verified booking

  We had a lovely holiday but a few small problems.

  We arrived and parked at the front of the cottage to be told by an angry neighbour that we were not supposed to park there, not a good start to the holiday. There were instructions as to where we should park in the cottage but would have been helpful to have this information before we landed!. We had a problem with the ensuite shower, firstly because it looked broken and we couldn't work out how to use it. We contacted the owner who was very helpful and told us how to turn on the shower. However it was so hot we couldn't stand under it and no way of turning it on to a cooler setting. There is another shower in the main bathroom above the bath but we were 2 separate couples so it was not really convenient for us to use that one. The mattresses are really uncomfortable with springs sticking up in some of them. We all said the same after our 1st night. Some padded mattress covers would make them more comfortable. We had to borrow cushions from the beds to use on the settees as they were very soft and deep and we oldies needed back support. Overall the cottage is very well equipped with everything you need for a self catered holiday. The views across the garden are stunning and the garden is lovely. There are lovely walks all around the area and lots of helpful info as to where to go and where to walk. We recommend The Anchor in Kippford for food. Lovely little coffee shop down at the bottom end of Castle Douglas main street. The Loch at Castle Douglas is very picturesque with a nice circular walk around it.

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• Pauline - Verified booking

  The apartment is lovely and is within easy walking distance of the town.

  We were having a lovely holiday until Sunday morning when my husband said that there was no hot water and so could not have a shower. Despite me phoning the 'emergency number on the kitchen wall - George - was not answering his phone. I also tried to call Sykes Cottages and eventually got through mid morning and the lady who answered the phone said that someone would get back to me. Well she did - about 30 hours later. Because we thought that someone was going to come and repair the boiler we put our sightseeing plans on hold for the day so effectually LOST 1 day of our holiday - Thanks. I tried to phone again the following day and eventually a woman from a cleaning company called me back - when we were on a pre-booked tour - and asked me if we had reset the boiler? My reply was that neither of us were qualified plumbers and were not prepared to touch someone else's boiler because if we did something wrong then you would charge us for it. So she went round and fixed the boiler. When we returned to the apartment the boiler was working again. Also, she had changed the emergency number on the kitchen wall to that of the cleaning company. What a shame that someone hadn't done that before we arrived, then we wouldn't have WASTED a whole day of our holiday. So we would like recompense for our lost holiday day. Please send £75.00 to the card number that I paid you from.

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• Evelyn - Verified booking

  Very well appointed and clean kitchen.

  ....Living and dining area 1 dining room chair requires fixing..very shaky. Overhead light very poor. Standard Lamp 1 bulb missing..no replacement left....Torches not working ..no rechargeable batteries as advertised.....Seating too low for disabled person ..a raiser could be fitted at very low cost...Sliding door between Dining and hall requires attention. Had to replace overhead light in hall bulb left...Bathroom Perfect. Bedroom 1 clean and tidy..bedroom 2 large and easy for wheelchair...however all mattresses require replacing as all were sagging in the centre so not a lot of sleep. Found myself sitting on the base and almost fell on the floor making this dangerous. The linen on all beds were Pristine this was great. I had asked for the double bed to have made into two singles this was not done. No linen left that we could do this ourselves. If all the little tweeks were done I would have no hesitation on recommending this cottage to anybody. It seems a great pity that the complaints let this cottage in such lovely surroundings down. And at the price I would have expected better and also being a member of the trust I felt very let down. Remember it is being advertised as a disabled cottage and this is from a disabled point of view. Evelyn Conn.

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• Allan - Verified booking

  The cottage is superb, the grounds are stunning but can someone please sort out the underfloor heating.

  Initially it wasn’t working so no hot water or heating but NTS staff reacted exceptionally well and had plumber in within a couple of hours, well done. Once fixed, the heating just kept heating and as I looked at thermostats they were all set to 25 or 26 degrees, our dogs thought they were on a hot plate. I reduced all to much lower temperature but after a while they all reset back to the higher temperature. Perhaps the thermostats could be made so that in order to alter temperature the NTS staff are required, I realise that is extreme but very evident that someone has been randomly attempting to adjust the temperatures and messing up the controls. Aside from that a great visit as always and really it isn’t the problems that cause issues, they only become an issue if they cannot be addressed and I have to commend the staff with how they dealt with us, even providing mobile electric radiators to warm the cottage until the heating could take over. Also a tv in the bedroom would be fantastic as being wheelchair bound I sometimes like to stretch out on top of the bed to ease pain and a tv would help pass the time more easily as I do this. Will definitely be back.

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