School Holidays 2017 Cottages In Gloucester

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Peter - Verified booking

  Not what we expected from description.

  It’s a lovely location, and the property looks nice, walking in it looked great. However, it lacked a lot when looking closer. It is advertised as no pets, great, as we have a pet fur allergy in the family, and that point made us pick it over another property. On arrival we were pestered by a cat, that was very familiar to the place, trying to get in as we were. It didn’t stop. Every-tine we came and went it tried to get in. As others have stated there are annex doors, locked, in the kitchen area. This was not mentioned in description. The owners reply acknowledged these doors. However we were aware somebody was in there, could hear them, lights on and off, as well as their rubbish in the bins, so clearly being lived in. It was very uncomfortable to know someone was just a door away, we wouldn’t have booked if we had known this. There is also an exterior door in the children’s bedroom, hidden behind the curtains. With our son being autistic with issues of doors being locked, security, he was not happy and didn’t sleep because of all of this. I would consider the property in breach of contract, it’s not what we thought we had booked. We were out for a couples of days so didn’t spend time sitting on the sofa, until Christmas Day. We noticed the removable sofas covers were very dirty. We also noticed after our daughter started with streaming eyes, itching skin and sneezing that there was cat fur on the arms of the chair and sofas. This for her made Christmas awful. The kitchen looked good until you looked closer. The kettle had a fur coat inside, desperately needs descaling. We couldn’t make a hot drink as the fur came out with the water. The toaster was pretty burned out and rusty inside, so not even a slice of toast could be done. The pots and pans in the drawers, what little there was of them, were mouldy. The fridge has issues as it is frosting up. We had planned to cook a good size roast for Christmas dinner, but we couldn’t as kitchen was poorly equipped. Christmas Day ruined. The washer dryer has an error, it wouldn’t allow anytime over 12 minutes drying time, so was useless to us. The property was generally unclean, not hoovered, dusted, questionable if bedding was changed as there were marks on them. Dirt and hair in the bath, dead bugs in the shower, conkers in with the 2 toilet rolls. Very poor. The description states fuel provided, which as the only fuel user is the fire,that should be logs etc, there was only 2 that were damp and small. Empty fire lighter packets. The property was cold as heating didn’t warm it at all. As others have said, there were no instructions for anything. The welcome pack lacked anything required. There was no means to contact owners, which could have helped ease some issues. The issues of cat fur on sofas, needed the change over clean to be much better, incase a guest let it in, as some from reviews suggest. Perhaps state the cat is not to be let in. Too late for us. our Christmas was cut short as we left on Boxing Day after trying to contact Sykes to report issues and try to resolve, but Sykes didn’t answer or respond, even to the emergency contact. We had no choice but to leave as our daughter’s allergy was getting worse. Since leaving Sykes has been useless, infact they are making it worse and pushing us to take legal action to resolve as they have been unreasonable. The property has great potential as it’s a nice location and building, but needs extra work to maintain it as a whole and concentrate on the details of being fully cleaned and providing full information, a welcome pack of maybe milk, bread, biscuits etc etc would have be nice.

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• Sue - Verified booking

  We were greeted over the fence by the owner on our arrival and she was polite and welcoming and then left us to get settled in.

  The garden was pretty and was also dog friendly and secure. It had been raining heavily that day, but it was somewhat off putting to find that the septic tank for the cottage was in the garden near the property and was obviously not functioning properly, as the smell of sewerage was overpowering and the noise of the processing motor was quite intrusive, meaning that we needed to sleep with all the windows closed to keep the smell and the noise to a minimum. When we explored the cottage on arrival everything appeared to be clean and comfortable, with a pint of milk and some biscuits plus chews for the dog left for us, which was certainly appreciated. Unfortunately, when we turned back the bed there were several hairs on the sheet and a long blonde one on the pillow and on going into the bathroom we found several short, dark, curly hairs in the bath! It was also quite annoying that the inner front door was extremely stiff and tricky to open, literally requiring a concerted effort both to push the handle down and then to push the door itself open. The internet signal strength at this property was so poor as to be virtually useless, but maybe we hit a bad week as when we mentioned this problem to the owner she just said she'd not had any complaints from other guests. The one huge problem which completely ruined our whole holiday, though was when, on day 2, the owner shouted and swore at us over the fence, refusing to listen to any answers or apologies from us for something that we had already settled with the other owner a few minutes earlier! The genuine mistake that we had made, simply because the previous 6 properties we have stayed at have had no problem whatsoever with it, was to top up our electric vehicle charge using a genuine BMW slow charger, which plugs into a normal household socket, like any household appliance. (As an aside, the terms on the booking sheet clearly state that all electricity is included in the price paid!) We were totally taken aback at Brian's aggressive tirade and to say we were upset and angry is an understatement! This holiday had been meant to be a special celebration of our wedding anniversary and my birthday but we spent the rest of it feeling intimidated and unwelcome, finding excuses every day to delay going back to the cottage in case the owner was once again waiting at the fence! Ashleworth is a beautiful area and perfectly situated for exploring the locality, but needless to say we won't be coming back to Lawn Lodge!

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• Karin - Verified booking

  As a disabled person I always select our stays with Sykes, I fine their details of each and every property extremely helpful.

  I have to have properties that are on one level, along with walk in shower facilities, I always take a few items from home to help my stay, but these are minimal. Our stay at Orchard view was fabulous, the cottage is a home from home, from the moment you walk in you know that you are going to be comfortable, as we visited in Feb not the warmest or driest of times to holiday. It was warm and cosy as soon as you walked through each room. Both bedrooms are spacious and both have more than enough storage space, you would have to take an enormous amount of clothing to fill the wardrobes and drawers, Our super king sized bed was sooooo comfortable, and a good height to get in and out of, I cannot stand upright from low furniture. Jacques the home owner was super helpful, and knowledgeable about the area and what things are available to do. Our granddaughter loved the hot tub as did I, I was amazed that I was able to get in and more importantly back out, with help from my partner and granddaughter. Even though the weather was cold the hot tub was a dream, helped with my aches and pains and so relaxing. As you can gather I could go on forever about this cottage. The scenery from each room is glorious, even if you are not interested in horses you cannot help but love the landscape and it is so peaceful.

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• Bernadette - Verified booking

  Spotlessly clean everywhere.

  Very well equipped kitchen with lots of crockery, would have been useful to have instructions for appliances. Beautiful setting with undisturbed views. There are two locked doors to a separate annex which is not listed as being part of the building. It was very disconcerting to hear people moving about so close. Would not have booked if it had been mentioned. Heating, no instructions, it was cold at times and we needed to increase the temperature. No tools for log burner, we needed to use it though to supplement the heating. Bunk beds in the second very small bedroom are not suitable for adults. The barn should be listed as suitable for two adults and two children. This second room was very cold during the entire stay, perhaps the underfloor heating didn’t extend to this room? Welcome pack, lack of. Perhaps the owner doesn’t realise what others provide. One Nespresso pod and two gingers biscuits each is not a welcome pack.

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• Ivan - Verified booking

  The property owner (Jacques) contacted us soon after we made our booking, with clear directions to the cottage, as well as a list of recommended restaurants, and a list of what would be provided and what we would need to bring.

  On the day, he welcomed us personally, and gave us a tour around the place. Throughout the stay, he made himself available by telephone if we had any problems. The property was really cosy - it felt like staying in a home, rather than a hotel, which was absolutely lovely. The hot tub was warm and ready for us the moment we arrived, and Jacques was incredibly generous with the supplies he provided. There was ample crockery and cookware, and the facilities were all clean and functional. The property more than lives up to the pictures - the views out of the window were really very pretty, and Jacques has a number of horses. He was frequently up and about with them, and he and his wife were always friendly and up for a nice chat, and advice on things to do in the area. We'd be very pleased to stay here again. Thank you so much for a lovely few days!

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