Romantic Cottages in the UK

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Betty - Verified booking

  The renovation of this property is stunning with many attractive features but it is sadly let down by the absence of expected up-to-date facilities and hygiene which severely and adversely affected our enjoyment.

  This lovely home is downgraded with the many and various annoying niggles that become preeminent in your feelings of enjoyment, safety, comfort and relaxation. Nothing could have been resolved by a phone call to the owners or Sykes. We took the view that our stay should not be interrupted as we were also visiting a terminally ill relative each day. In the kitchen there is one mismatched chipped mug and one large chipped plate. Some old crazed plates and bowls distract from the food placed in them. The induction hob does well with the bumpy, dirty bottoms of most of the provided old frying pans. Weak plastic utensils and blunt knives add to the frustration of cooking for 8 with several inadequate, small pans. We shopped for satisfactory implements and fly spray (see later). The microwave oven had someone else’s leftovers stuck to the plate. The fridge had a huge clump of ice with something stuck in it; it needs defrosting and cleaning. The fan oven never reaches the required temperature: meals had to be cooked using the ordinary oven. Several of the kitchen cabinet handles are pitted and uncomfortable in the hand and are ready for replacement. The door to the utility room toilet area was difficult to open at the beginning of the week as it caught on the floor and injured a guest’s chest as she anticipated it opening. The table mats in the dining area were sticky to touch so these and the table were cleaned. In the lounge unsecured rugs presented a trip hazard for several of the party. After one of the party had to be saved from a dangerous fall against the fireplace we put the rugs in the corner of the room for the rest of the stay. All the beds in the bedrooms were basic but the pillows were thin and unwelcoming. In the en-suite in the main bedroom the lock is still suspect despite notes in the log (August 2019, July 2022). The toilet seat doesn’t fit and is twisted. The extractor fan doesn’t work so towels were always damp and this was the same in the other bedroom on the first floor. The ‘balcony’ has no seating area and there are no seats in the bedroom. The floor area above the garages is uneven. On Tuesday night four of us were woken by the gate from the balcony down to the kitchen area banging. It had to be secured by a chair from outside the kitchen being placed against the gate as the lock was completely ineffective: the latch was misaligned, rusty and cannot be fastened. The outside security light constantly illuminates the bedroom window and needs attention. In the second bedroom on the first floor the hanging rail is so close to the shelf that you endanger fingers when hanging a garment up. The extent of the grounds is clearly advertised but its suitability for walking on is not indicated. Where was the boundary? Could we reach the coast? What features were worth noting? The proximity and access to prominent places of interest is exaggerated, for example, access to nearby towns as mentioned by others in the log. Outside the kitchen there are 3 rickety chairs with a small damaged and dangerous table which we cleaned as all were covered with bird faeces: the remains of the plasterer’s work is still on the wooden planking in front of you. Four chairs and an equally inadequate table rests alongside a pond. We returned each evening for a relaxing drink but we couldn’t all sit down and certainly not in the same place. We searched by the wood store where, it was promised in the folder, other outdoor furniture could be found which we were free to use: another exaggeration as this consisted of one broken chair and an unusable barbecue. When we arrived, part of the wooden porch above us lay on the entrance tiles. We were greeted by an infestation of flies and the cobwebs around the doorway, inside and out, had had little impact on the numbers. We covered all our food and fought to eat faster than the flies. It was no wonder that we ate out far more frequently than planned in adjacent hostelries which, although in the country, had no flies attacking us. We live in a listed stone building in the country with cattle and sheep as neighbours but we have never been subjected to such an onslaught with nothing to combat our unwanted and unwelcome pests. We regularly visit cottages up and down the country and at all times of the year, but we have never ever felt so let down, frustrated, disappointed and exploited as we have with this one. This was not a home from home: it was far less from than that. It was a long way from value for money and our expectations of cleanliness, safety and well-being. During the week we had killed several flies in the master bedroom shower area. Before we left, I investigated the flies’ attraction to the shower drain. I intended to clear away any hairs from our shampooing that may be there: the mess was horrific. The drain was near blocked with grey clingy matter; I felt sick that we had been using this shower all week and had paddled in this gunge. Photographs are available.

  Read more less >

• Adam - Verified booking

  The cottage was absolutely beautiful!

  It exceeded our expectations in every way. The cottage itself is wonderful, very spacious, very comfortable. Absolutely spotless when we arrived. Had everything we needed for our stay. It was the little touches that made it all the more impressive, all the furnishings were high quality, the kitchen and dining room were fully equipped with everything to make our stay enjoyable. Had a wonderful time in the games room and in the hot tub! And I have to say extra special thank you for dressing the cottage up so festively for Christmas! We were blown away when we first arrived, the whole property looked absolutely beautiful (so much so that my 2 year old son referred to it as the "magic house" all week). The time and effort gone into dressing the house for Christmas was amazing and we were all very impressed. And an extra thank you for the welcome pack when we arrived - that was wholly unexpected but made the whole holiday that extra bit special. Communicating with the owners was also friendly and quick to respond to our queries. Cannot fault the place at all and can't recommend highly enough. Would definitely book again! Huge thank you! :)

  Read more less >

• Mrs Sharon Egan - Verified booking

  Fantastic holiday cottage. Games room a real bonus. Lots of space. Enclosed garden for dog. Beds were lovely and comfortable (if you like a hard ish bed which we do). The showers were good too. The beach was 15 mins walk away and can have the dog off lead. The Ship Inn pub was two mins walk and served great food including for vegetarians with some vegan options. The broads were accessible too with Wroxham being a 50 min drive away - we hired a boat for a day, lots of fun. Would definitely rebook this cottage if coming back to the area. Only small negatives were that the cleaners had missed some areas including the toilet and there wasn’t enough cleaning materials to easily resolve. Had to buy some - would recommend to the owners to put toilet cleaner and brushes in each bathroom. Also in the house rules book it was requested that dogs were not allowed on the beds and not to let the dog urinate on the grass - would have been helpful to know this in advance. It wasn’t too much of an issue but we have a springy spaniel who is used to doing both so took a bit of managing. Overall though a lovely cottage, thank you.

  Read more less >

• Pam - Verified booking

  The Old Chapel was a delightful house with charming features and an unexpected cosiness.

  We loved the generous space within the house and wished that we could have used the grounds outdoors more but the weather was wet for most of our week. There was an unfortunate incident on the Tuesday evening when there was an attempted break-in at the property; this included two attempts to force the front door, also there were indications of two failed attempts at opening our 2 cars. The incident was reported to the police. The housekeeper, Marcel, was clearly very concerned and offered any support that we wanted. This was followed later by a similarly supportive text from the owners. We thank them heartily. You, at Sykes, did nothing. I was amazed not to receive any communication from you following my notification to your Helpdesk. I don't want discounts or vouchers but I DO want you to know that your lack of care was most certainly noted. Therefore, my likelihood to recommend you in this case is, as above, 3 out of 10. The house and its facilities and its owner/housekeepers' support, 10 out of 10. I am glad that you will be sharing this feedback with the owners.

  Read more less >

• Gerry - Verified booking

  The property itself cannot be faulted.

  It is excellently appointed and very comfortable throughout, especially the beds. My only issue as a dog owner is the location. The property is great fur the dog, but there are very few places to walk off leash. This is farming country and almost all fields are naturally fenced off. There are absinthe walks for humans around the coastal paths but not really suitable imo for off leash dog walking. The other problem with the location is that almost all beaches locally ban dogs. The nearest we found was Newgale which is approx 15 miles away. If you don't have a dog however this won't be an issue and the place is great, and if you are looking to drive and see a number of Pembroke facilities and spots its a great base. The local pub (ship), just 200m away serves really excellent food, although you'll need a car for anything else as Trefin has no shops.

  Read more less >