School Holidays 2017 Cottages In Dawlish

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Simone - Verified booking

  We are a family of 4 - 2 adults, a 10 and 8 year old.

  We have just returned form a 7 night stay in August 2024. Please be aware Old Town House is situated on a very busy road. The traffic is continuous even during the night and early mornings. We struggled to sleep through the road noise, even with all the windows shut all night Traffic noise is also loud from the kitchen and living room. I did speak to Sykes cottages before I booked our stay and was told the road was quiet, trust me it's not a quiet road! The garden is not accessible from the cottage, you have to leave through the back door and out into the parking area. It's not suitable for children to be on their in the garden and you can't dry washing outside as the garden is not secure. Also one of the garden seats was badly broken, so only enough seating for 2 people. We found all of the mattresses on the beds to be very uncomfortable. The blind in the master bedroom did not work and fell down every day. The cottage was fairly clean. We had a glass of water left next to one of the beds from previous guests, and there was a used tissue shoved down the side of a mattress on another bed. Also the photo of The Old Town House shows the whole front- this isn't the actual holiday let, its one 1/2 only. We felt very very let down by Sykes Cottages, as I raised these points on the 1st day of our holiday. No one came back to me until the last day of our holiday , thier resolution was a £17 refund from the owner and a £50 refund from them on the condition we packed up and left early. This was not acceptable for us because of our children. The nightly rate was certainly more than £67. Thier attitude to our complaint regarding the road noise and garden was shameful. It is a nice walk into the town, and Dawlish is lovely. The cottage has all the kitchen facilities required and the shower is great. However, the description and photos are not accurate, and we definitely definitely won't ever book with Sykes Cottages again.

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• Maxine - Verified booking

  On arrival though check in was from 3pm we had to wait for 10 mins as cleaner was running behind.

  The photos were deceptive, had to walk through the front garden to the house which is the only area to sit, we did have a nice time but things could be improved there needs to be either vertical blinds, net curtains or privacy film put on windows as there is no privacy in bedrooms if you wish to relax with the blinds up especially the master bedroom and the bedroom facing the main road. The master bedroom was right by the gated entrance so be aware you will need the blinds down most of the time. The kitchen was OK but needed sharper knives for cooking and tongs, everything was quite high which if your vertically challenged may be a issue. The welcome pack should have all appliance instructions which is usually supplied in every house we have been to, it says everything is self explanatory but not really we had to Google how to use the ovens. Beds and pillows very soft so maybe have a couple of firmer ones to give people a choice. According to your website listing it looks like the private seating area overlooked sea is part of the house which it is not, it is on part of the walk to the private beach which if you have mobility issues is not easy to get to, you have to walk downalot of very steep steps then under the railway, when you get to the other side its abit overgrown I don't think going down and back up will be easy if your carrying beach stuff with you, also there is building work going on at the estate because of the cliff workers which isn't listed. Lovely walk along coastal path to dawlish but steep coming back up though the views make up for it. All in all we had a nice time I'm just being picky but think slight improvements would help other people.

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• Alison - Verified booking

  The location of this house is great for town and transport links and we liked leaving the car to walk around or catch a train.

  It is quite a roomy property and has been decorated to a good standard. On arrival the property smelt unpleasant, which was strange as it had been cleaned very well and we saw the cleaners leaving. There was a strong vinegar smell (maybe a cleaning fluid) and the kids said the cushions on the sofa smelt strange (maybe needs a deeper clean? ). We left the door open for a couple of hours to help loose the smell which mainly went after 2 days stay and was the ok. The kitchen looks almost new and had every utensil necessary with plenty of pots etc. We found the little freezer o.k for our needs but is too small for larger items like pizza. Plenty of crockery and cutlery which is good and much better then many homes we have stayed in. Soaps and dishwasher cleaners provided which is also good. A good night's sleep was a bit difficult due to the very noisy road being used as a rat run at all hours and not having a deep nights sleep on the uncomfortable lumpy beds sadly. I think this property could be 5 star if a downstairs toilet could be added in the cupboard area by the front door as would be very useful, and new mattresses on beds for better sleep. We would stay again if beds more comfy. Thank you for accommodating our last minute booking. Also the company who respond to queries were extremely efficient, polite and helpful

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• Maureen - Verified booking

  The property was in a lovely position and suited our needs there were just a few issues that could have been better.

  The second floor bedroom window blind was broken on our arrival. We contacted the caretake, initially by text but no reply so had to phone her. She said the owners were sending a new one but she did not know when and would get back to me. Following day I had a text from her to say could she get into property to measure blind to forward this to owners so they could send new one. However looking at feedback comments at the cottage it appears the blind had been an issue for a while. We were only staying for 3 nights so this issue was not fixed by time we left. The people staying in that room had to use the cushions from the living room sofa as a way to cover the window at night - there is a street light outside the property. The bottom sheet of the first floor bedroom had some black marks on the edge of it. We also commented to the caretaker that the water tasted metallic and was that an issue in that area but got no reply. We did note there was a new kettle in the property and wondered if it was that or the water supply. We ended up buying bottled water and boiling it on the hob. Also only one toilet roll was left at the property and it would have been a nice touch to have a spare one. Having said all of this we did enjoy our stay and the cream tea, milk and bottle of water in the fridge was a very nice touch.

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• Carol - Verified booking

  Wow! A really first class house, spacious, comfortable and tastefully furnished and decorated.

  The property is exactly like the photos and was spotlessly clean. Great kitchen facilities with everything you need should you choose to dine in (as we did) and easy to follow appliance instructions. Big beds which were super comfy and inviting, providing a great nights sleep with blackout blinds. The owner information pack was extremely useful and accurate as was the information we received from the owners prior to arrival. We really enjoyed relaxing in the tropical garden when the sun allowed, it’s a real sun trap! Had a lovely time on the estates beach, very private and quiet with lovely views from the seating at the cliff top. Great location for exploring Devon, had some great walks on the south west coastal path, which was on the doorstep, and would recommend The Ness at Sheldon for food and views (an hours walk, fab.) We had a great time at Sail Loft and would love to stay again and would definitely highly recommend! We loved it!

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