Norwich Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• C - Verified booking

  We had 2 weeks of glorious weather in a beautiful area and for that we enjoyed our holiday.

  The fishing was brilliant catching bream early morning, roach, rud and perch. ( some outside storage would have been appreciated for fishing gear). Walks and boating excellent. We know the area well and had seen the boathouse from the outside so we did not expect luxury accommodation and was prepared to accept it for what it was --a boathouse with fantastic views from the French window and balcony. There were lots of good reviews in the visitors book and for many people that's their prerogative. .However, for us there were some issues within the boathouse that were not up to a good standard. + Although generally clean including all the bed linen and cutlery -( frying pans needed replacing.) + The carpet was old and well worn . Some of the soft furnishings eg cushions were worn and torn. * The shower unit was in need of retiling. +The sofa bed for us was just ok. The mattress by no means of good quality. + We appreciated and respected the quaintness and age of all the furniture but storage for guests was limited to a rickety clothes rail to hang our clothes and one rickety chest of drawers (all other storage was locked presumably for the personal possessions of the owner) + To use the cooking and catering facilities in the cramped kitchen area needed a bit of planning and initiative!!! To use the table top cooker you could not use both the oven and 2 hobs at the same time. However I did manage( with a bit of juggling) to cook several nice meals. The bottom shelf in the fridge door was broken/missing so unable to store anything other than small bottles without laying them down on shelves. + The balcony was in need of some attention. + There was an unpleasant smell from the cesspit We probably wouldn't have even filled in this review and would have overlooked all the negatives if it wasn't for the following- + We arrived on the sat and noticed the venetian blind did not pull e up properly ( ?cord broken) and by the Mon the blind had broken altogether and wouldn't pull up at all. We reported it to steven. (Sykes agent) who came over the next day at (9.am). Good we thought -- he was unable to fix himself---. Thurs- someone came to repair. Had to get some parts ( new string!!!!!!)-going to do it fri -did not come -- - then Mon --did not come. Eventually Tuesday it was repaired Hooray. We were 8 days unable to pull up the blind and enjoy the views, unable to walk out on to balcony without steadily manoeuvring around the blind and unable to enjoy any breeze that come our way in the heat wave. Steven did bring us a fan on the Sunday morning. We were very patient and tried no to let this spoil our holiday but since coming home I have been reflecting on the 2 week stay and paying over £900 mainly for the position and views to have it spoilt for over half that time .

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• Francesco - Verified booking

  Both me and my wife, had a great time.

  The views from inside the house were breathtaking and this made the holiday a great experience. The house is close to many beautifully areas to visit in a short driving distance including close-by villages and community managed local pub with great English traditional food and atmosphere. The house is also close to great walks in the local country site and the Broads riverbank that we explored daily . For us, the house had all the facilities that we needed as we love traditional places with some antique furniture and external balcony looking directly onto the Broads lake and the lake wildlife. Some suggestions for further improvement: To install a large sign at the gate entrance with the full name of Cygnus Boathouse, When we arrived we could not see the small and faded sign on the gate and next door property is also called Boathouse and has a lager Boathouse sign on the entrance gate that confused us and we had to ask for help from your contact name and number ( Stephen), to come onsite to give us access to Cygnus Boat house . Stephen was brilliant and helped us. Some more instruction inside, on how to turn some of the lights on especially the stairs light and the external light. To protect the furniture we purchased some placemats from the local charity shop. The above suggestion are minor compared to the great time that me and my Wife had . We are planning to return again sometime later in the summer. Thank you Francesco

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• Lynn - Verified booking

  Cygnus Boathouse is ideally located for exploring the Broads and wider Norfolk area.

  It's position allows glorious views of south walsham broad, however, theses are somewhat obscured by the branches of a large willow tree on the right. Whilst Cygnus was clean, I wouldn't describe it as comfortable, the sofabed is the most uncomfortable thing we have ever slept on. We had to buy airbeds to be able to sleep without feeling every spring in the, very thin, mattress. The furnishings and facilities are tired and shabby, the whole place could do with a complete update and refurbishment, the shower needs some mould treatment to remove the black from round the bottom. The parking area should be for two cars, however, half the area is taken up by a boat, meaning you can't turn your car round. This makes entering and leaving very difficult as there is insufficient space behind the entrance to reverse straight out without encroaching on someone's drive, which there are strict instructions not to do We enjoyed the area but wouldn't return to Cygnus Boathouse as it was not to the standard we expect of a holiday let.

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• Gregory - Verified booking

  On the whole,description in brochure was adequate,but the accommodation left a lot to be desired.

  The bed was very uncomfortable,as were the armchairs. The soft furnishings,cushions etc.were worn out & threadbare to the point of having large holes in them. The kitchen area was unsatisfactory as regards work space,& the cooker inappropriately positioned. Carpet had large holes,concealed by rugs. Entrance stairway,whilst no doubt meeting building regs,was rough & ready at best,& gave the impression of being unfinished,with one side open to the water & steep. Very awkward to unlock top door,from the stairs,if holding anything. The outer entrance door is a very poor fit & blows open in wind,& rattles constantly. There is no garden furniture at all,which negates the admittedly lovely view of the broad. Not withstanding the foregoing,the property is in a beautiful position & is capable of being a perfect holiday let,but badly needs renovation,& a lot of TLC. Certainly not a property to which we shall be returning.

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• Christine - Verified booking

  On arrival at The Haven we had a lovely warm welcome from Mary the owner to hand over the key.

  Inside she had left some tasty homemade treats and some flowers which were a pleasant touch. The Haven is light and airy with modern furniture exactly like the photos online. We found everything we needed there and everything was spotless. The bed was extremely comfortable and we both slept exceptionally well. Wacton is very quiet at night with hardly any passing traffic. On finding out we are vegetarians Mary must have researched Long Stratton because she texted me to tell me of a local vegetarian cafe, a very thoughtful gesture. All in all Mary is a lovely host, the couple next door are lovely and friendly and The Haven is perfect for peace and quiet after a busy day sightseeing. It’s a perfect base for visiting North Norfolk, the east coast, and villages to the west or south of Norwich. Would we recommend The Haven? You bet we would.

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