School Holidays 2017 Cottages In North Devon

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Mrs Lorraine Mulhearn - Verified booking

  Accuracy - stair gate, it is not a stair gate, more a living room gate (more below), putsborough beach pass non-existent Location - right in the middle of the village and handy for the beach. Couldn't ask for better Equipment - as above stair gate. There are attachments screwed into the top of stairs which a stair gate would connect to. Looked for this gate. Could not find. Tried to call the maintenence number in book (7pm Friday time we arrived at property) numerous times and no answer. There is also a number in the book for another holiday cottage company which I called to be told they did not have any property of this name on their records. 3rd time lucky got through to marsdens. Lady was very understanding that I had a 1 year old running around an upstairs living room with no stairgate to ensure his safety on the landing. She tried to contact maintenance but again no luck. I tried maintenance direct a few times the next morning. Finally got through a very rude unhelpful person called Claire. I explained we had found a stair gate but it was too small for the stairs and did not fit the attachments on top of stairs and asked if she could let me know where the correct gate was. She told me this was the correct gate and should extend. When I told her it wouldn't (and confirmed this by photo message) she very rudely said "well it was used by customers 2 weeks ago". She said she could not come and fit it as it was against health and safety. I understood this but asked if she one someone else could come and at least show me how it extended. She said this was not possible as Saturday was such a busy turnover day and she could try for Monday. I explained this was not acceptable as having paid a lot of money for the holiday I needed to be able to keep my child safe. She then told me I should search the house as she believed the extension bars may be in a wardrobe. I finally found 2 of these under the stairs (not a wardrobe). The gate still did not fit at the top of the stairs. It was not the correct gate for the attachments on the wall. I eventually had to makeshift the gate on the living room door using tools I had brought myself as without I could not have made it tight enough to be safe. This is not acceptable and I do not believe this should be advertised as a child friendly property. The highchair provided was also dirty with raisins still on the seat section from the last user. Cleanliness- as above the highchair was not clean, there was also hair in some of the plug holes in both baths and sinks Comfort - everything was comfy however the were a few things which would do with fixing at the property in order to obtain a 5 star for quality (the wood around the top of the balcony for one) Value for money - think it was expensive when taking into account the service we received from maintenance Likely to book with you again but unlikely to be this property unless it became more child friendly Would recommend the company as the lady I spoke to at 7pm on the Friday we checked in was very sympathetic and tried to help. But would not recommend property as it is. I would suggest marsdens or original cottages revisit this property and reassess if it is right for the company and if it still deserves 4 stars

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• Mr David Peck - Verified booking

  Property let down by housekeeping and maintenance and failure to attend property following call out. First impression overflowing bins and general untidiness around property - looked tired. First floor bedroom -central ceiling light 2 out of 3 bulbs not working. Ensuite- shaving mirror hanging off wall held on by one of two screws with skirting around bath panel held on by numerous pieces of sellotape. Ground floor main bedroom - large burn mark on carpet to right on entering. Bedroom with bunk beds - strong smell of dogs/animals. Contacted caretaker as per instructions during our stay as only light in downstairs bathroom stopped working. Essential to have urgently rectified with 3 young children using the facility at night. Surprised by our call we had to remind her that she was the main point of contact. We gained the impression she would not attend and tried to escalate the matter and phoned Marsden with no reply and then tried your "live chat" line twice with again no response. Your caretaker did not attend the property during our stay to fix matters despite her legal duty of care given young children using the bathroom at night. It was a pity something so minor became a big problem for us.

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• Colin - Verified booking

  This is a lovely cottage and we had a wonderful week!

  We had everything we needed here and it felt like home, but with a thatched roof. It's nicely furnished and the double bed was comfy. We even spent time in the pretty garden opposite the cottage, reading and having refreshments after going on our many walks in the area and note, there are lots of options. As advertised, there is a parking space, but be warned it is a challenge in a larger car as the entrance is snug. We reversed in, it was easier. There is a bed and accessories for a dog, so they're very welcome in the cottage. Please note that there is no wardrobe in the double bedroom, but there is a recess in the bathroom for hanging up clothes and that was fine. We recommend The Grove Inn which is only a two minute walk away. The hosts are very friendly, they've good local ales on tap and the food was terrific. It's a very popular pub, so make sure that you book a table! All-in-all, it's a cosy place to stay and we would love to revisit. Hopefully, we may even get to see a wild otter or Kingfisher next time!?!

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• Mrs Deborah Dwane - Verified booking

  We have stayed at Sundower previously on two occasions so knew that the accommodation and location were exactly what we required. The lower score for the equipment was due to the fact that the stair gate, which I had asked about prior to our arrival didn't seem to fit any of the doors or top of the stairs where there are fixings. Also, there was no brown bag for recycling cardboard, the hosepipe located in the garage leaked and the shaving mirror in the ensuite was loose, my husband said it seemed to have been missing a rawl plug. Nothing however detracted us from thoroughly enjoying our stay. I have already recommended Sundowner to a friend who was looking for a property and location to suit three generations of their family, which is how I found Sundowner originally. It is rare to find a property of this size which has three double bedrooms with three double beds.

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• Mrs Robinson - Verified booking

  Booked the day before departure for a late deal & the good weather, was not looking to go on holiday until the following week to be nearer easter but due to the best weather being the week earlier, we decided to book this house there and then and really glad we did, what a lovely house Top notch fixtures & fittings, a really nice layout. Thanks for the welcome pack of cake, choc biscuits & crisps, it was a lovely touch and much appreciated. Only about a 5+ minute walk to The Thatch pub down the road which serves delicious reasonably priced food/drinks along with its other pub, Billy Buds, next door. Have not been to Croyde since about 2013 with the whole family, six of us but yearned to return due to the village's beauty, so 3 of us went and we are glad we did, it brought back so many happy family memories.

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