School Holidays 2017 Cottages In Sidmouth

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Andrew - Verified booking

  An excellent and well presented modern holiday stable, which includes a fully fitted kitchen, central and under floor heating, as well as one of the best internet connections I’ve found in the middle of the countryside.

  This stable is in a group of other buildings, some of which also look to be rented as holiday locations, these buildings are located off a private road which leads off a single track country lane. Having said all of that my wife’s heart sank when she realised the size of the location (on first sight), although nothing has been done to hide the fact that this is in my view an extremely compact location, its only when you see the place you realise how compact it is. Some examples are, closing the doors in the bedroom is hard as if the bed is moved or even if the duvet is hanging of the end of the bed. In both bathrooms the sink is so small and there is an awkwardly placed shelf above the sink making it extremely hard to brush your teeth. One item which was not on the pictures is the bin in the kitchen, which as all the upstairs rooms are merged it’s like having a kitchen bin in your kitchen, dining room and sitting room. I think this is due to the very compact nature of the stable. Personally, we found it hard for 3 people, and in my view if the upstairs and downstairs were swapped (like a traditional location) and there was only one bedroom for two, this would be a much better offering. Also, with the bedroom upstairs you would not get up and the first thing you see in the morning is another building (which I think was also rented). The natural views from this location are stunning and it’s a shame they can’t be fully appreciated. This would also reduce the chance of waking people up if someone is walking around upstairs. We knew there was no fan, so we bought our own, however we had difficulty finding somewhere to put it, again due to space issues. There are a few minor maintenance issues which I’m sure the owners will fix, for example if you flush the toilet sometimes it makes a strange noise which you can hear everywhere until its flushed again, and the only way to turn the tv on and off is via the main switch as the button on the remote does not appear to work. It’s a relatively short trip to the coast road where you can quickly get to all the local amenities. My personal view, I always headed for the main road first and tried not to cut through Sidbury, as this minimises the risk of having to reverse up single country lanes. Lastly the family who own the locations seem very friendly and helpful.

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• Robert - Verified booking

  This is our 7th or 8th stay at The old Stable.

  We love the surroundings. Peace and quiet. Our dogs enjoy the walks and the garden. The bird song is amazing and watching the bird of prey just chilling on the garden fence was awesome. Some may find the track to the house a bit daunting due to being bumpy and sometimes rather muddy because of the cows. Just drive steadily and all is fine. The owners are helpful but defiantly not intrusive. Flowers, biscuits and milk always to be found on arrival, although our flowers were overlooked and we were left with the old ones, which I’m sure was an oversight. We left fresh ones ,given to us by friends. The bed and bedding is first class. Always so cosy and soft. Soft towels too that actually dry you! A small en-suite but serviceable . The kitchen is equipped with everything you need with a new oven which was great. The house is an upside down house making use of the wonderful views from the upstairs French windows to the Juliette balcony . We never tire of looking out. My wife finds the stairs very difficult with her arthritis, and also getting out of the shower in a small area, but she is determined to return, hopefully next year when fingers crossed ,there will be a new lounge furniture. Our biggest dislike which hasn’t changed is the sofa. We have mentioned it before. It is so uncomfortable with hard lumps and bumps which spoils our evenings. We even thought of bringing in a garden chair. ! It unfortunately gives us terrible back aches, and on many occasion prompted an early night , when we would have preferred not to. Overall we love staying at the stable. So many places to visit nearby. Unfortunately due to our 16.5 yr old golden cocker who had doggie dementia, we were unable to go anywhere as she suffers great anxiety in the car. {We had to sedate her for the journey to and from } however she appeared to recognise where she was and enjoyed ,along with our younger dog all the outside had to offer which is fabulous. We recommend The old Stable . Lovely walks up the track or in the little woods. Sit in the garden area watching nature ,Alfresco dining.Visit the dairy farm ,and all the local coastal towns which The old Stable is wonderfully situated for.

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• Mr Finnigan - Verified booking

  We wife, myself, and our 8 year old cockapoo recently returned from a lovely week at Glenislea. The location is fantastic: 50m to a park, where people were having picnics and barbecues (and perfect for that early morning or late evening walk with the dog). The park includes a securely fenced play area - ideal if you have children. 100m to the seafront promenade, just by the lifeboat station, and also 100m to the local independent shops, pubs, and cafes. Sidmouth has the added bonus that it is still bustling, even out of season. The house is is secluded, and set back, but still has views of the park, play area, and sea views. It is spacious, with a large lounge and diner on the ground floor, together with a kitchen and downstairs WC. The first floor has a large double bedroom at the front, a separate twin room, shower room, and separate WC. Whilst the 2nd floor has another double bedroom. There is a small private, and tidy courtyard to the rear. The beds are very comfortable! As each day went by, we became more and more relaxed, and it was great to dump the cars at the end of each day, in the local car park (20m away), and dine out in one of the many nearby pubs and restaurants. Most of the pubs, cafes, and shops in Sidmouth are dog friendly too, which was a bonus for us. I do recommend purchasing an e-permit for parking in the local car parks (£25 for 7 days), which is also valid in all East Devon council car parks, so handy if venturing further afield. We would happily recommend Glenislea to friends and family, if they were considering a break in this lovely part of East Devon.

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• Sue - Verified booking

  We really enjoyed our stay.

  The accommodation is beautifully appointed, very clean and comfortable and there is everything you need for a great stay. The Old Stables is in a very peaceful setting with lovely views over the countryside. The owners were very helpful and the welcome pack and fresh flowers were much appreciated. The track leading to the accommodation would be challenging if you had a car with low ground clearance but as we have an SUV it gave us no problems and was all part of having a peaceful country holiday surrounded by fields and trees. The upside down design of the property is cleaver and the open plan living space upstairs works really well. We really appreciated have a good television and efficient Wi-Fi (so often lacking in holiday accommodation) which made for very relaxing evenings. Sidbury is a nice village, very close, with shop etc and we could easily get to the coast and there is plenty to do and see, even in chilly February. Also a number of places to eat within a reasonable distance (be aware that many close early in winter so we ate out at lunchtime). The only improvement would be to sort out the rather soggy sofa. As there were only 2 of us we could get very comfortable but if there had been 4 of us staying that would not work so well. We had a lovely break at The Old Stables and hope to return. Thank you

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• James - Verified booking

  Beautiful property renovated to a high standard in a great location, walking distance from the seafront with ample parking.

  Great outdoor space and variety of bedrooms. Kitchen dining room is a fantastic size for larger groups but sitting room is a little small for a larger group to all sit together. Had an issue with the electrics during our stay in bad weather, lost all power and had to isolate one RCD a sit appears the outside lights were causing the issue and Sykes couldn't get maintenance out, unfortunately the issue was unresolved during the remainder of our stay meaning we were left without lighting in the downstairs bathroom & lounge. Only other thing to note was we think it would be a good idea to have a railing on the edge of the patio as its a 3 foot drop to the parking area, we had 4 children in our group and when returning in the summer it would be great not to have to worry about them falling if we spent more time outside. We also didn't use the front door as it was a bit fiddly and awkward to close, this is where the key safe is kept so may be a slight issue to address there, not major as there is another entrance on the opposite side of the house. That's just minor feedback and recommendations and what is otherwise a fantastic property which we have already booked to return to in 2024 :)

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