Holiday Cottages in the West Midlands with a Swimming Pool

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Pauline - Verified booking

  We have just spent a week at this property which initially looks great - the outdoor facilities are fantastic however we encountered a number of issues during our stay.

  The hot tub was not ready for our arrival - the temperature was only 30 degrees and strangely had a soft cover - the towels were still wet in the dryer. At 1pm the following day it was still only 32 degrees and a few of the younger guests , fed up of waiting to use the facilities, got in shivering! I was made aware of exactly what time they got in by the owner who has cctv all over - it’s more than a little disconcerting especially for my 16 year old niece to realise we were all being watched even in the hot tub! This seems a complete breach of one’s privacy. The hot tub didn’t reach the required temperature until after 11pm on our second day. We reported this and the maintenance chap with the help of my nephew brought the hard cover from the side of the property - it was ripped and broken. Be aware there is a curfew of 8 am to 10 pm on the use of these outdoor facilities which is not highlighted anywhere on Sykes site. The fun police have been let loose outside with nearly 30 notices most of which are along the lines of ‘be quiet’ ‘no music’ . Perhaps the most vulgar and disrespectful to guests was the notice ‘do not pee in our hot tub.’ Sykes were made aware early on of issues like this and of the dishwasher which wasn’t initially working - we were advised on being initially shown round the property to put it on the hottest pot wash setting which seems odd unless they knew of an issue. There were numerous disappointing aspects such as a leak in the main upstairs bathroom, blocked drain in shower cubicle, no oven gloves to safely remove food, a dangerous oven not secured in. Sykes asked us to keep photos and video evidence of all of the above however it seems they have happily taken their commission and have done nothing to ensure we are compensated for what they agreed in my initial call to them had been lack of advertised facilities. The only contact we had with the owner was at 11pm on the penultimate evening asking us to turn the music down which we did - I foolishly thought he might be contacting us to discuss the above - he followed up the call with a huge WhatsApp message in which he complained to me how little money he makes on his property letting after Sykes have taken their commission. Having paid just shy of £3,000 I had little time for his message. He’s also forwarded photos of fake tan on some of his towels and a bit of food on his new oven gloves! I found him most unprofessional. If you are looking for a luxury property to enjoy with family and friends……keep looking……this isn’t it!!!

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• Helen - Verified booking

  We stayed at Freshwinds in July.

  Lovely location and really quiet. Very comfortable rooms and plenty of room to spread out! We unfortunately arrived later than expected as the journey was AWFUL and took us nearly eight hours to get there and as Stephen was going on holiday the next day, he couldn’t wait for us (totally understandable) and so we had no ‘handover’ of the house and nobody checked in to see if all was ok during the week. We saw the pool guys twice, so felt a bit abandoned but it wasn’t really a problem! We all thoroughly enjoyed the games room, table tennis, table football, karaoke and hot tub etc. Unfortunately, although the pool was warm for the first few days, towards the end of our stay the pool was very cold and not able to be enjoyed. Very disappointing as this was the main reason we booked Freshwinds and definitely dampened the mood but the hot tub was a hit because of this! Several towels and pillowcases had marks on but they were ok and the cleanliness was generally very good. I was surprised that there wasn’t a welcome tray/pack on arrival. I usually love sitting down with a drink and reading info and looking at leaflets of the surrounding area etc. Simple things like nearest hospital/medical centre, nearby pubs, takeaways, supermarkets, instructions for appliances, when the pool guys/gardener are due etc but Google was our friend re pubs etc. (I’m old school though!) I think my biggest bug bear was the sheer amount of SILENCE/BE QUIET notices around the garden! I understand there are properties close by and I totally understand the 8am - 10pm curfew on noise in the garden but it was literally everywhere you looked! It made us quite conscious of even sitting out and talking! Despite the gripes, we all had a lovely relaxing, comfortable week away and on the whole, we enjoyed our stay.

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• David - Verified booking

  £10,000 for a 2 week cottage holiday in Market Drayton.

  This was four times as much as we normally pay but it was to be our last holiday with the extended family and we thought we'd really push the boat out. The children and grandchildren would love the outdoor heated pool. So we booked Freshwinds. It was dreadful. The pool was unheated so could only be braved by some of the party and then only for a very short time, as with open water swimming. Only for the last 3 days of the fortnight did the temperature reach an acceptable level - after a replacement pool heater had been installed. The stonework around the pool was unsafe, as was one of the pool ladders, there were weeds around the swimming pool which was directly overlooked by CCTV cameras in the trees. The property was dirty and not as described by Sykes in many respects, the garden was overgrown, the outdoor furniture was filthy and the pond looked like Shrek's swamp. There were dangerous broken and smashed floor tiles in the utility room and bathrooms, the washing machine did not work, the ceiling fan could not be switched off and had to be disconnected after 3 days, the floors of the balconies were covered in moss falling from the overflowing gutters, a cupboard was full of old batteries which were corroding and the house had an awful smell which we could not get rid of. There was blood on the bed sheets. I could go on and on. I emailed Sykes and sent photos and on the Tuesday of week 2 the manager and two staff turned up to 'put things right'. I asked them to leave as the pool was now usable and we wished to try to make the most of what remained of our holiday.

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• Jeffrey - Verified booking

  Freshwinds was an absolutely gorgeous place to stay.

  Lots of room and lots to do. From the pool table to the football table, to the heated outdoor pool (that isn't small! About 8ft deep at one end and a comfortable maybe 4 ft at the other, plenty of room for lots of fun!), to the amazing hot tub, which comfortably sat 5!) to the extensive gardens where there is always something to see, to the football pitch, to the selection of games both indoors and in the summer house too. There is also the karaoke, another nice addition, although we didn't use it, it was nice to know it was there. Comfortable beds, beautiful views. Amazing. My words of advice to anyone is this, please be aware, it is based on a hill, which is quite steep. Also, there are a fair few steps, so please bear that in mind...But honestly, once in, I only popped out for supplies and we spent the whole week there relaxing and enjoying the house! Stephen (then maintenance gentleman,) popped by most days, just to make sure all was OK, and the gardener came most days to upkeep the garden, but we rarely saw him, if we did he was helpful and kind. The biggest issue we had was the fridge, as it simply wasn't big enough or working well enough, for the size of the house. There is an extra American fridge freezer in the shed by the pool, but, not practical for food for the kitchen all the way through the house. I'm hoping this gets sorted as that was the only major issue we had. I can highly reccomend this stunning house to anyone. Thank you for letting us enjoy it! I'm hoping to return in the future.

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• Lucy - Verified booking

  We were a group of 16 aged between 1 and 73 and the house was just perfect for us.

  I was a little worried that it was going to be a bit run down as the photos show the house is quite dated but I don’t think the photos do the house justice at all! The place is immaculate! It is old fashioned in parts but it has been so well maintained and is spotlessly clean. It feels so homely due to all the added extras the owner has considered for all ages, the biscuits and bottle of port on arrival, the decor the games and toys, Xbox’s, karaoke, the little ones loved the giant dinosaur in the bedroom and the little man cave outside. The games area in the garage was a huge hit too. We loved that we could easily switch the table up to change from pool to air hockey and table tennis and also play darts too. The outside area is amazing and despite the endless rain we still made use of the pool and hot tub. Summer here would be spectacular! The kitchen was very well equipped with everything you need, even herbs and spices in the cupboards. We reported that the washing machine appeared faulty and even though we said it wasn’t an issue and that we didn’t need it anymore it was replaced within half an hour. All the bedrooms were a great size, nicely decorated and very comfortable. If I can suggest one improvement it would be hooks or something to hang bath towels on to dry. Really minor but that was the one and only thing I thought could be better. Overall, absolutely perfect stay, thoroughly enjoyed by all.

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