Holiday Cottages In Polzeath

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Quintin - Verified booking

  Having been in many properties in the Trebetherick/Polzeath area over the years, we booked Gullsway Kittiwake (and the Annexe) with some trepidation as the customer reviews were poor.

  However, we found a solid traditional Cornish holiday house with plenty of quirks, not a boring modern designer home as so many of the properties here are becoming, with fantastic views of Polzeath beach and the panorama from Stepper Point to Pentire Head. Everything about the house was functional - and it would work well for a larger party with the other properties (we had the Annexe too - so eight of us): two dishwashers, plentiful tableware and cooking gear (more than in any other house we've been in), comfortable beds, varied living spaces. The house is fully double-glazed and hence warm as toast, even in February. The wifi seemed fine to us, and we streamed movies in the evening - despite the listing saying this wouldn't work. So - a great week!! We do have some feedback, mainly for Sykes/Brays, that would have made our stay that little bit easier: - There was no information posted about rubbish - where were the bins? is there recycling? what day is the collection? Your emails indicated that this would be posted, but wasn't. - There was no information about the laundry room. - There was no red laundry bag in the property for the end of the stay - or at least we couldn't find it - we added ours to the Annexe's red bag. - The property is heated by a large number of electric heaters. There was no guide on using them or setting them - and so they were on much more than necessary, wasting the Owner's electricity. - The fridge was a bit grubby on arrival - it could do with a really thorough clean of e.g. the glass shelves which had accumulated some dirt at the edges. As one of our party said - it's fine when it's your own dirt, but not when it's someone else's! Not a big thing - but it just does set a tone on arrival. (By the way - despite many reviews here, we found the property to be otherwise quite clean enough.) - The sun room is obviously the gem of the house, with its brilliant views - some more comfortable chairs in here would really be great. Generally - Gullsway is an unusual/quirky house, and a fuller introduction to in one of those typical "house folders" would have been useful, to give us the missing information. I thought that was standard practice for a letting agent - but didn't find one there.

  Read more less >

• Jane - Verified booking

  Kittiwake is in the most amazing position.

  I have been staying there since 1981 or before. I certainly danced on the beach at Charles and Diana’s wedding. I don’t mind it is old fashioned. However, the Henry sucks up the Lino and my cousin had to push the Lino back into the fitting slots. Why not get a G tech. We were delayed in our arrival and didn’t notice there was an open doggie poo bag outside the French windows until the Tuesday after we arrived. Perhaps that explains the multitude of flies in the conservatory. The property needs a mop and bucket to wash the floors as a lot of bits seem to accumulate on the floors. It takes some experience to guess the oven temperatures. The shower is fine but I remember bathing my 51 year old son in that bath when he was 8. The dirty sheet, and it was the same one, on the top of thewashingmachinewasa bit off putting, I noticed on October the3rd and it was still there, when we left on the 11th. The curtain rails need replacing and so do the curtains, they were hanging off in the living room when we arrived. A bit off putting you know. I only have praise for the John Bray maintenance men. I have always found them friendly and helpful and they are great. I imagine they must feel that life ISA’s uphill battle. Well done them. Dirty sheets are a healthhazardyouknow. However the position makes up for everything. I’m now into my eighties and am sad to think that has probably been my last visit as the path has got a bit steep for me. I have many glorious memories of Kittiwake and wish the owners every good wish for the future Jane Talbot I have no objection to you publishing my comments

  Read more less >

• Grant - Verified booking

  Overall a lovely stay, a few things could be done to improve future guests stays.

  No garden furniture whatsoever, meant we couldn’t use the garden like we’d want to for sitting out to dinner etc Only one set of front door keys, 2 sets would make life easier when the group splits up Back door can’t be locked from the inside Windows could be cleaned on the outside on changeover day so the spectacular view can be fully appreciated on arrival - they were really dirty and so my husband went round and cleaned them Beds are so creaky it’s impossible to turn over without waking yourself and others up in the room The view is second to none on this property and I don’t think you’ll find better at this price anywhere in Polzeath. It is basic but it does have all you need - well equipped kitchen and lounge furniture is comfier than it looks in the photos! Clean and tidy on arrival. There is a sign on the garden wall about parking fines for non residents - John Bray weren’t particularly helpful in knowing if a holiday tenant counts as a resident. We parked on the road and put a piece of paper in our cars explaining who we were. We didn’t get a fine (luck?) but it would be useful for John Bray to do some homework on this and include it in the listing for future guests especially as it’s advertised as having “ample” parking. The garage can be used if you have a small car, the driveway can be used for anything smaller than an xc60 (Volvo) but is on a very steep incline which is why we chose to park on the road. Overall we would stay at this property again (4 adults & 2 kids)

  Read more less >

• Jeff - Verified booking

  The standard of this cottage was out of line with the cost.

  We rang to complain about the cleanliness: this included a very dirty rug; chewing gum on the top of the sofa back; drawers full of debris and hair. But the appliances were also poor: we reported that the fridge had a shelf fitted with sellotape. The shelf fell out spilling a full tub of cream. The television did not work properly with a faulty remote. This had been reported by several former renters (according to reviews) but had not been fixed. A whole new television could be bought with the profit from one week at high season. The quality of the cutlery and crockery was poor. The mugs are all Easter egg freebies or cheap mismatched items. Because there is no dishwasher, most of them were stained and filthy inside. There were only two we were prepared to use. The cutlery is thin, cheap and mismatched. A set of decent cutlery is an appropriate expenditure if you want to charge this sort of fee. The location of the cottage is good although noisy at night, but for that price we were expecting a certain level of comfort. Last year we rented a property equally close to the beach which was much quieter and had Smeg appliances, Cornish Blue crockery and decent cutlery. It was some £200 cheaper. As agents, you should be able to let the owners know what an appropriate fee is. This was grossly overpriced, maybe 25% higher than warranted. We have rented cottages through John Bray for 20+ years, but this was poor, especially since it was not even full high season as state schools were not yet on holiday.

  Read more less >

• Florence - Verified booking

  Coppingers Cottage is in a fabulous location in Polzeath, just at the base of the hill, which is what makes this property so good.

  However, when we entered the property, it really did look like it had been neglected for years, with large amounts of black mould in every room. The sofas were comfortable but filthy- the armchair has a rip in the arm and under the base cushion there was large quantities of human hair and other stuff- it clearly had never been cleaned. Upstairs was better with the bedrooms feeling quite clean, and it was nice to have towels and bedding provided. There wasn’t much black mould in the bedrooms. However, there was lots of black mould in bathroom. There is no hand soap provided anywhere in the house, and only half a roll of toilet roll provided so this is something to bare in mind. Especially after the year we have had, we thought they might provide hand soap/washing up liquid. The kitchen was nicely kitted out with cutlery, pans etc, however, again it felt like everything needed a clean. Whilst we were away we saw a previous review of Coppingers, and tend to agree with most of that too, it did feel like an old student property/surf shack. Overall, the house was very different to what we had expected. It was dusty and the black mould was not good at all. We would like to stay in Coppingers for the location again, but would have to be reassured with updated pictures that a deep clean has been done, and many improvements made.

  Read more less >