Villas In Western Isles

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Andrew - Verified booking

  I stayed at this property between the 8th of March and the 15th of March and I booked it because I had stayed at Otter Cottage approximately 200 yards along the road recently in January.

  On the face of it this is a modern property which certainly looks the part but I had a nightmare week there. On arrival no satellite signal so could not use the TV, the basement TV also had no signal but access to iPlayer etc, I could not use this as my wife is disabled and on a feeding pump and could not use the stairs, when I booked I made sure everything that I needed was on the one level, after much faffing about with the owner and the housekeeper the following day they arranged for a satellite repair guy to attend from Stornaway on the Monday to check the satellite position as they stated that there had been storms and had knocked out a lot of other satellites, two guys turned up in a private car without a ladder and new they couldn’t reach it , came into house and checked the connections and could find nothing amiss, and stated it was a subscription issue, by this time I’m none too pleased so they went away in the huff, spoke to housekeeper Elly who said that she would get onto Sky and get sorted, came back to me and said spent hours onto Sky and it would not be up and running now till the following Thursday ( now I’ve been a Sky customer for over 25 years and never been in situation where it would take more than a few hours to upgrade or install a package ). because the Tv in the lounge was Sky Glass then you could not use it even as an app , was offered a smaller tv by Elly on the Tuesday to get me at least BBC iPlayer but by this time I was not prepared to stay in and deal with it so told her to forget it, now guess what? by the Friday when I left there was still no picture ( took a photo as proof ), next door neighbour who was a nurse noticed my wife had a nasal tube and new she was on a feeding pump as this was now Wednesday she asked if we knew the power was going down in area the next day Thursday, I told her no I was not given any information about this, she said that everyone had three months notice of this as a few properties ( new builds ) up the coast were all being connected to the electricity grid and power could be out all day and possibly into the Friday. The house itself is cold, although you can allegedly up the thermostat to increase the temperature but the owner 600 miles away can override it, the ceiling is the height of a double decker bus so any heat goes straight up about 16 feet, the owner said to use the display fireplace to boost the heat but as I explained to him it is a fan heater which aims the heat into a glass fish tank type display and cuts itself out constantly, so my wife is sitting with a hot water bottle in a property that I had paid a premium price for. The lounge had no small tables to put a drink on so I had to go upstairs and take two bedside cabinets down to use as tables ( Elly came with two small tables on the Sunday or Monday ) the lounge has large windows but no blinds or curtains so you are sitting there at night and feel like a goldfish, god knows what it would be like in the summer. There is a distinct lack of places to hang things, no key hooks , no towel hooks in bathroom, you are encouraged to use the side door into the utility but the door is either warped or badly fitted , no trays to put wet boots or hangers for jackets, no shower caddy, no space/shelving at bathroom sink to hold toiletries, had to store at windowsill, no scissors no torches, had to buy scissors in Tarbert , supposed to be dog friendly but large glass coffee table by lounge window with sharp corners at dog eye height ( and the owner is a vet ) place is surrounded by sheep which is not ideal if you have a dog as the new fence down the right especially has spaces at the bottom where a dog can escape. Supposed to be instructions in a black box on how to use the hob but found none ,had to google it. On reading the house guide it gives the owners application to Harris council to use the property as a rental BUT it clearly states that due to the way water is supplied/stored for use at this property and is susceptible to legionella then the property is NOT to be rented to people who may be vulnerable and the owner has clearly ticked the box to say that he complies with this regulation. So maybe he ( a medical professional ) can explain how my wife who has a suppressed immune system managed to stay here and was potentially put at risk, and why this is not clearly advised on SYKES SITE. So to conclude would I recommend this property Would you like to phone a friend?

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• Visitor September 2020 - Verified booking

  We are on the ferry, leaving Harris, and I just want to grasp the moment and say a huge thank you for all your help and advice for our stay at Corncrake.

  As for a location, Scarista beach is about as perfect as it gets - for proximity to Tarbert and Leverburgh....and Temple Cafe at Northton, and beautiful gifts art and coffee at Tallanamara...Corncrake is wonderfully remote, and yet has so many places on hand to ‘pop’ to. The community shop at Leverburgh is the best; we befriended a fisherman at the quay who sold us his lobsters on three occasions! We found a butcher at the Coop in Tarbert, and worked out that the Uist fish delivery was on a Tuesday in Leverburgh. Temple cafe bakery on a Saturday and Sunday were divine (and we have a car full of her bread and pastries and muesli and chutneys and jams....and and and.....), and we went most days for a cheeky latte or mint tea. Alison who runs it is perfect for Harris, and we’re so grateful she has continued to stay open through the pandemic! My advice to anyone going would be to invest in good accommodation - each day, coming home to a lovely warm and cosy place, clean and well equipped, warm showers and comfy beds, was a daily delight. We would stay at Corncrake or Otter again in a heartbeat. We would love to return again soon. Thank you Wynne for all your help, and for calming my fears about my impulsive booking. We are so happy we pushed through and made it to such a beautiful part of our own country - I have seen more rainbows in a fortnight than in my whole life I think!! Hoping this email finds you well, and if you could tell me when Otter or Corncrake, or Alla na Mara are free/available in 2021, we’d be very interested in making another booking. Thanks again!!

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• Stephen - Verified booking

  'Holiday of a lifetime' sounds a bit clichéd but possibly doesn't cover our week on Harris in the Outer Hebrides adequately!

  !! Ok, we had a week of mainly sunshine and really warm temperatures (and we were aware that our own home in beautiful Cornwall had a week of much rain!) so maybe where we were staying wasn't that important? How wrong you would be! Corncrake Cottage was absolutely wonderful. We were expecting it to be from the range of photos on the LHH website, but sometimes photos don't live up to the reality. Not so in this case! The cottage is beautifully appointed and wonderfully designed. Comfortable and cosy we had everything we needed. Lovely welcome pack of goodies and even a welcome pack each for the dogs, along with bowl and mat for use during the week. Very thoughtful. If rain had forced us to be inside for much of the week it would have been a shame but a pleasure, to spend more time in Corncrake Cottage. The owners have thought very carefully about their property and the duplicate, Otter Cottage, next door. Dogs were allowed so our whippet and our friends' spaniel could come with us and enjoy those miles of unspoilt white sand beaches with us... Scarista Beach was just a five minute walk away and a real joy each day. (We loved Luskentyre as well!). The local shop in Leverburgh stocked an amazing range of things and were so friendly. We had one small issue with a window in Corncrake Cottage. The owner was with us sorting it within 10 minutes. Lovely to meet him and tell him what a great time we were having. If you want to spoil yourself for a self-catering holiday, consider Corncrake and Otter Cottages. They are unlikely to disappoint you in any substantial way. We would return like a shot!

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• Grace McLean - Verified booking

  Shalom Cottage was all we could have wished for.

  Clean, comfortable, warm with the best view over the Sound of Harris. Very well equipped especially as we love cooking, lobsters and langoustines from the pier, venison haunch steaks from the North Harris estate, scallops from the shack on the way to Uig, and the local community shop were so helpful and had all that we needed including saffron!! Croft 36 in Northton provided bread, some lunch and sweet treats. Bird watching was a treat and we had great sightings from the cottage itself as well as from the car and on foot all around the islands, averaging a Sea Eagle every day as well as many other exciting birds big and small. Thank you Kathryn for the oatcakes (Luskintyre, Kathleen MacLeod) and the fruit loaf (perhaps McLeans) and your helpful suggestions. A great nostalgia trip for us all remembering sailing out to St Kilda (which we saw again from the top of Toe Head) and our other trips including anchoring in Rodel Harbour, a lovely walk away from the end of the road, Harris has so much to offer and Shalom cottage became our home from home, thanks again, Grace & Grant, Dundee, Neil & Sheena, Andorra

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• Jo Cooke - Verified booking

  We really enjoyed our stay at Corncrake Cottage.

  It is in a wonderful location with easy access to the beach. We found the cottage very spacious, comfortable and practical with a good bed and lots of hanging space in the main bedroom and an excellent shower in the en-suite. Unfortunately the removal of soft furnishings in the sitting area, because of covid, meant it felt rather ordinary. Also the dining table and chairs have been replaced and in our view the replacements aren't as nice as those in the photo in the brochure. The LHH brochure promotes high standards so there we a few things which felt didn't match this aspiration. The oven has been replaced and the new one doesn't fit properly; one wheel was missing from the bottom dishwasher tray and another was loose making it frustrating to use; the ring position markings on the hob were completely worn away and the 'fridge door had only a bottle tray at the bottom. In these covid times it was also disappointing that the 'fridge and dining table weren't completely clean. Overall though we did have a really enjoyable and comfortable stay at Corncrake Cottage.

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