Holiday Cottages in Oxfordshire

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Claire - Verified booking

  We are going to start with the positives….

  . Great location. It’s a characterful and quirky property, which on the surface looks great. There were some lovely touches, like bubbles and chocolate in the fridge and smellies for the bath. Sadly, over our stay, we picked up on more and more issues. The frustration we had was a lot of them had been picked up by previous guests so we had expected them to have been addressed but they weren’t…… The main shower is not fit for purpose. It looks great, but the water trickles out of the rainfall head. You can’t shower properly, and certainly can’t use it to wash your hair. Also, the water struggles to flow down the drain so what water you do have stands; when it does go down slowly there is a problem with the drain and you get a load of debris coming back up, making the shower floor dirty. This issue was picked up in June ‘21, July and Nov ‘22, yet not been rectified. Shower sealant needs replacing. Kitchen doors are difficult to open; one of us lost a finger nail! Need fixing or door handles putting on. Picked up previously. The dishwasher had been left with standing water in it….owner came and put it on a 3hour cycle which we then had to live with - it’s open plan and very noisy….if you use it, put it on when you go out! WiFi password not provided, so we had to ask for it…..so simple to leave this somewhere, along with instructions for heating, oven etc….nothing provided. Picked up previously Nov ‘22. No plug by a mirror …picked up previously. The beam in the main bedroom is low and a hazard. It’s mentioned in particulars but doesn’t say it’s low….beware. I am 5’10” and have a photo to show it coming to just above my eyes and it’s between the bed and bath/loo. I’m guessing I am not the only person to walk into it in the middle of the night. Previously mentioned in Aug ‘21. It says you can laze in the bath and admire the countryside in the fields surrounding the cottage. It’s a lovely bath but I have a photo of the view and it’s of a fence immediately outside the window. We found dirty and stained crockery in the cupboard. We stripped the beds when we left and were disgusted by the state of the pillows. They were very poor quality, had no protectors on them and had LOADS of stains….made us feel sick. They need replacing and protecting. Thankfully the beds had protectors but they also badly need washing, Main bed squeaks with every move you make….loud enough to wake someone if you are sharing. The garden is in need of lots of TLC…..loads of weeding, pruning and the brickwork needs cleaning. As previously mentioned in 2021, the metal furniture is very rusty….wouldn’t sit on them…the pictures of it are obviously years old and not a true reflection of the furniture or garden in the current state. Also the garden is not very private as it is on the front so other guests and owners can be around. The pictures make the garden look much bigger than it is. We had wood for the log burner but no kindling so had to get some before we could use it. There are lots of things that need addressing but most have been mentioned previously so not sure if anything would be done; it’s such a shame as the style is great but the issues make this a disappointment and not worth what you pay. Also, be aware that it is actually smaller than you may think from the photos….great size for 2 adults, or with 2 children, but too small for 4 adults. We didn’t mention all the issues as they arose, as whilst owners on site, they were not really engaged with us….there was no welcome either face to face or text; they did pop in to switch on the dishwasher but we saw one on departure but they didn’t even acknowledge us. Also, we had a power cut…nothing from them to check we were ok or offer us candles…we text them and we just got a one line text back to confirm it was a power cut. This, with most issues having previously been raised, we saw no value in trying to pick up with them when there. In summary, this place could be a delight, but the issues that are recurring need to be addressed and some care and attention made to the maintenance both inside and out.

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• Julie - Verified booking

  We booked 11 nights at the Hemmel in July prior to the May/June reviews publishing, so we were reasonably alarmed by the description of unhygienic and unsafe conditions that later followed.

  We rang Sykes as soon as we saw the reviews and were informed we needed to speak to their sister company Manor Properties. After some chasing up on our behalf we were finally able to speak with someone who advised some of the issues had already been resolved and took my outstanding queries back to the owner. However, no one followed this up with us again prior to the holiday which was disappointing. Given we were unable to cancel without losing our payment we decided to take a chance and continue with the holiday as planned. We will start with the positives: The location of the property was fantastic, we were able to visit lots of areas of natural beauty, National Trust properties and even Oxford city centre. The house was very private, despite proximity to the second holiday cottage and owners home. In addition, it is worth noting The Hemmel is attached to another cottage (belonging to a separate owner?) but we were not disturbed by anyone in any of the other properties. The most we saw / heard was the occasional car driving in/out. The front garden we thought was delightful with lots of flowers, and it was peaceful enough to enjoy the bench without being overlooked. Little Coxwell was literally over the road from the property and cannot recommend The Eagle pub enough – fantastic food, but do make sure you book! We were very comfortable in the property, slept well on the four poster bed and had everything we needed for a pleasant enough stay. The downside to the property: Our biggest issue (and really does need addressing) is the very poor quality shower. It looks pretty and has good temperature settings but has no power to it at all and takes ages to wash/rinse. Don’t be fooled into thinking you will be able to use the shower over the bath as this does not work – the handle moves but you can only get water out of the bath tap. The bath itself was fine, although doesn’t drain fully (tilted back slightly) so beware of standing water. Also, a little trading standards discretion needed with the promise of “you can laze in the glorious roll top bath in the corner of the bedroom and admire the Oxfordshire countryside in the fields surrounding the cottage”. You can see next doors lawn and hot tub (where a fence panel has now been moved to one side) but only if you crane your neck over the taps, otherwise you really are looking at a brown fence. The hot tub belonging to the other property we were attached to is literally outside the living room window – thankfully no one used it during our break but this could impact your stay. Generally the house is like a show home – looks really beautiful but not always functional, which is a shame. We are glad we went but would not look to return to this property and wish we had been more informed prior to booking.

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• Chloe - Verified booking

  The most disappointing stay that we’ve ever had.

  The Granary is advertised online with beautiful shots of the exterior, but prospective guests should be mindful of the fact that they can only view it from one aspect (not the aspect shown in the advertising photos online) as (understandably) one side of The Granary is inaccessible as it sits behind a gate to the owner’s home (no issue there) but when my fiancé “dared” to stand next to another side of The Granary, he was rudely told that he wasn’t allowed to stand there, by what was presumably a member of the family who own the farmhouse, Granary etc. Such a lot of emphasis is put on the outside space available to guests in the listing details, but the moment that my fiancé was stood there to admire The Granary, he was immediately told he wasn’t allowed (he was not stood behind any gate or sign-posted area that indicated it was for use of the owners only). Another family who were staying in the adjoining Cart Shed whilst we were staying at The Granary told us that they had felt uncomfortable during their entire stay, as they had felt members of family that owned the farmhouse & holiday lets were “keeping an eye on them” whilst they spent time in the allocated outside spaces detailed in the listing. Some things that I would improve if I owned this property: - the shower is basic at best. The water pressure is low and uneven - at check-in there were many areas of The Granary that clearly hadn’t been cleaned or wiped down prior to our arrival - the fixed pane windows are likely a huge selling point for many guests when considering this venue, but guests are greeted to views of untidy bins, broken plant pots, what appear to be empty buckets of materials/products & bikes from the farmhouse out of the fixed pane windows. We had hoped to have and capture beautiful countryside views from these windows, but the surrounding area was untidy as noted above and far from picturesque - guests of this “luxury” guest house are charged for fire wood. A first of anywhere we’ve stayed previously All in all, you couldn’t pay us to stay here again. There are much better holiday lets in the surrounding areas and I would urge anyone considering staying at The Granary to think again.

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• Gary - Verified booking

  All in all a very disappointing experience.

  The cottage is well presented in a beautiful garden and Niki could not have been more welcoming. However our stay was extremely unpleasant due to a persistent insect infestation. It was apparent on the first night that there were a lot of spiders around the place. My partner has a phobia and it resulted in poor sleep for both of us, as I was woken up to catch around 20 of them on the first night. We also noticed wood lice appearing at night too. These were around the edge of the floors, but also on the kitchen worktop and hanging from the loft hatch in the bedroom ceiling. I’d pick off about 10 a day, hoping that would be an end to it. Ants were also a problem in the kitchen, with them crawling all over the surfaces and cupboards. There is no lid to the kitchen bin, which may possibly have attracted them. In hindsight we should have complained immediately, but each time we thought that we’d sorted it ourselves and that would be an end to it. We did report it to Niki after the 5th night though and gave her the opportunity to sort it out. She attempted to eradicate them during the day, but we returned to the property late in the evening to find the problem to be as bad as ever. We took the decision to cancel the holiday rather than endure another night and packed up and left the cottage around midnight. We thought the four hour drive home would be preferable to another night there. We left the 8 wood lice that were found in the bedroom in a glass, for Niki to see the extent of the problem from just one evening. We also offered photographic evidence of this. The owners showed no concern that we’d had to leave and a request for any refund was flatly refused. Sykes Cottages state in their terms and conditions that they are simply a go-between and have no responsibility for the accommodation and just referred us back to the owners. We did take out an insurance policy through Sykes, but this did not cover the property being uninhabitable.

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• Lisa - Verified booking

  The Hemmel is a pretty cottage in a fantastic location.

  The cottage is a good size for couples, or families with smaller children (however the twin room is next to the living area and walls are very thin, so noise could be an issue). It’s not suitable for 4 adults. The master bedroom has a few very low beams, that need negotiating if your anywhere over 5ft! The games room is brilliant, a WiFi extender would be a good idea, so then it can act as a second reception room. I have given a three star rating, because I felt that although the Hemmel looks great, but there are a few key issues: 1. The living room area needs more comfortable / better seating for relaxing. The sofa is so uncomfortable, not suitable for relaxing. Same goes for the small chair. Fine as a seat, but you wouldn’t use it to read or watch TV, not comfortable enough. This may sound petty, but it meant we couldn’t relax comfortably and that’s what holidays are for!! 2. Cleanliness - the cottage was clean, BUT there were cobwebs everywhere, not only at high levels. In addition, the towels were clean, but smelt very musty. On leaving I found out why, the laundry at changeover is dried in a small outhouse/ shed. 3. There were a few things missing: - more cutlery. Four settings is skimpy - oven gloves - iron - new / better outside seating. - access to hose for dogs muddy paws - handle on the kitchen cupboard with the bin in….very difficult to open! For me, the cottage was style over substance. With a few simple but important tweaks, it could be so much better, instead it left me a bit irritated and not relaxed!

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