Beach Cottages in Devon

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Lisa - Verified booking

  No frills cottage in a great location.

  We were concerned about previous reviews and as is clear in the photos, Highdown is an older cottage which still feels more like a residential than a rental property. The owner had worked hard to make the place clean and fresh for our arrival, even down to a new coat of paint in the utility room. Good points - the house was generally comfortable (although the mattress in the master bedroom should be replaced), the kitchen was well equipped (though no pantry provisions except salt and pepper) - it was not at all spacious, as stated in the description but certainly adequate, there is a large fridge freezer in the utility which is useful, the wifi and TV were excellent, the conservatory when sunny was delightful, the fire was cozy and the garden a nice size (although not completely dog-proof - a tenacious terrier would squeeze through the front gate in a second). The driveway was tight, but we managed to get our Landrover 4x4 in with a bit of skilful manoeuvring (on my part). Less positively, we arrived in a wet and windy Easter week and storage heaters hadn't been turned up so the house was very chilly. On colder days I think the heaters struggled to maintain a comfortable temperature throughout the day and into the evening. The bathroom needs some storage (shelves, a bathroom cabinet?) as there was nothing to accommodate the smellies of 6 people and the provision of towels were a disappointment. Not sure why they state they are provided when all you get is one thin medium sized towel to last a week and no hand towels. I suggest you take your own. The owner however was responsive and did provide an extra electric radiator and a couple of hand towels on request. All in all we had a nice stay as Bigbury on Sea is a heavenly location for kids of all ages and dogs - The Journeys End pub has superb food. I wouldn't rent this cottage again as I think its rather basic and overpriced, but if you have realistic expectations it is a nice base from which to explore the area.

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• Tracey - Verified booking

  Wow...

  Bigbury-on-Sea is beautiful. Highdown is situated at the top of a very steep hill. Beautiful views to Burgh Island, which is worth a walk over, even just to have a drink at the Pilchard Inn. Little cafe/takeaway down on the beach car park which is pretty basic but lovely food. There is a food store within walking distance on a caravan park along with Fryer Tucks fish and chips (also very nice) but it is along quite a narrow cliff path. WiFi was very hit and miss but kind of expected that to be honest. Make sure you visit Pickwick Inn (pub) which is so lovely. Great food, lovely atmosphere and very dog friendly. Beware of the narrow lanes in the area, cars go pretty fast round them and although there are pull in places it does get a bit scary at times. Highview itself is a lovely bungalow. Pretty dated but we quite liked that. Could have been a bit cleaner but very cosy and warm. Loved sitting in the little dining area looking out to the sea even when it was raining. The garden is lovely too, wraps around the whole bungalow and is very safe for dogs. On two occasions we did have a chap come right through the garden to the shed at the back apparently to collect laundry? If he’d of knocked and said he was about then we would have been happier but to suddenly see a man walking around outside was a bit unnerving. The patio area again is lovely but not for small children. There’s quite a drop down a grass bank at the front of it. All in all we went away as a family of four (2 grown up children) after having an illness for most of the year to have some quality time together and a well earned rest and that’s exactly what we did. Would we go back there again? Yes definitely

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• Lindsey - Verified booking

  Great location and lovely of the owners to leave out a bottle of wine for us on arrival.

  Really lovely cottage, fully equipped with a tumble dryer, washing machine and dishwasher as well as great space and accommodation with both bath and shower. But there are some 'buts'. We had to rewash the towels as they were stained and smelled of cigarette smoke. They were good quality so washed up a treat. The kitchen floor is unsafe and in urgent need of attention - its collapsed under the vinyl and you can lose your footing in the cooker area. The paddock 'grass' was knee high and difficult to use for the dogs and us - could have been mowed. The shower head is held on by string in the bathroom and the exterior clothes airer is totally broken. It would have been useful to have a hose attachment for the outside tap to rinse the dogs and there is no sign on the exterior pillars to say this is Barn View, making it difficult to find initially. The TVs in each of the 2 bedrooms were not working on arrival and are not connected to anything - so it would have been better not to have them in the rooms at all. The tumble drier water tank was so full that the water filter is also full of water and was leaking onto the kitchen floor when we arrived. There was an exterior drain issue caused by damage to the drain prior to our arrival which necessitated DynoRod attending. This was not the owners fault in any way but we were asked over 3 successive days to leave our key out under the front door mat, which was not possible as the mat would have revealed the keys. So we left the property unlocked to allow access only to discover that the owner lived opposite and attended anyway so we needn't have done this. The cottage just needs sone tlc to make it back up to standard.

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• Claire - Verified booking

  The location is amazing, overlooking the sea and train line and just a short walk from pubs, cafes and train station.

  We stayed in the cottage next door a few years ago so were aware of the access to the property being down a ramp, steps and a narrow path but its worth it once you get your gear to the cottage. The sea front walkway is now fully open so over the bridge and few steps down will get you on there and it’s a short level walk to the centre, easier than going back up the slope. The things I will mention below did not affect our holiday but for the owner there are a couple of things to be looked and if no-one mentions them then the owner cannot sort it out. There are numerous bulbs out throughout the property, I'm happy to change a bulb in a lamp but these were spotlights, too high to reach without a stepladder. The handle has been snapped off the cupboard where the fridge is meaning you have to try and put your hand up underneath to grab the door of the freezer. Others have pulled at the door and caused the door to come away at the bottom. If I had a spanner and screwdriver I would have simply switched a handle from one of the other cupboards. The T.V in the living room does need updating or even just a DVD player put in front room. After a day of walking we like to watch a film but with basic T.V we ended up watching upstairs in the bedroom which meant we didn't make much use of the front room. We loved our stay and would definitely visit again, its just a shame its an 8-9 hour drive from newcastle!

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• Patricia - Verified booking

  We have been fortunate to have stayed in a few Sykes holiday lets, and have never been disappointed.

  However, we would not have booked Highdown last year if we had read the recent reviews written. But here is an update - Highdown is old and tired looking, but we felt the owner had read the same reviews and had made an effort to make changes. The property was clean, thick soft white medium size fluffy towels (no hand towels), tea towels, hand soap, and washing up liquid was provided, and the kitchen was well equipt. We found the master bedroom's mattress to be comfortable, and also there were two radiators to use if you found the property not warm enough. The only complaints we would make are, the little utility room with the large fridge freezer has a funny smell and this problem needs investigating, and there was no shower curtain / screen. Meaning that every time we used the shower, we had to mop the bathroom floor. (We must admit that we did not contact the owner regarding these problems, because we could not get a signal on our mobile). The welcome tea / coffee / sugar / milk and biscuits after along journey was very much appreciated. Thankyou. Bigbury on Sea is a beautiful location.

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