Big Cottages & Group Accommodation in Burford

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Didier - Verified booking

  I had a really pleasent and comfy stay in this suprisngly quiet house, so much so , that i would happily return.

  Other feedback is as others have already stated: 1. I noticed in both Manor Cottage properties i've stayed in the interior is cleaner than the exterior. They don't seem to have an appropriate outside space maintenance routine & it shows. Not that the spaces aren't usable or appreciated, they are. But in general holiday lets do fall down on exteiror maintenance and here is the same. They need to keep pace with the seasons to stay on top. Tumbled roof moss, bird feathers, spider webs and weeding, greening stone work are classic signs. 2. The house is very old and full of character so a bit of wonky is not an issue. I did notice reported failed curtain rings and hard to flush toilets in reviews remain unaddressed which suggests feedback is not routinely acted upon as stated. Other issues: 1. Taking a dust pan and brush to a set of stairs revealled they obviously hadn't been properly cleaned for a while. We also found some long black hairs in our bathroom. While some / most of the property does appear super clean it's a shame to know corners might get cut. I was left wondering if detergents are used to clean bathrooms and what other bits might be neglected. It's a big property and i can imagine a daunting propsect to clean but hygiene risks only increase in such places. 2. This might be one for the local vicar rarher than an electrician but the first couple of nights were chilly and we could not get any radiator in any bedroom or the sitting room to activate following house instructions. Then all of a sudden one might suddenly heat up, but is was terribly random. None of it made any sense at all. Also the radiator in the tv snug made an alarming rattling noise after being on for several hours. When finally one evening the dish-washer came on without ever being used or even switiched on we decided the whole issue might have something to do with a resident ghost. The house electrics didn't seem dodgy and the heating was all about illogical water flow, but this house is in permanent shade so i'd want an assurance all is working if i were to stay during the winter.

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• Gemma - Verified booking

  I strongly recommend you do not stay at this porperty or use this company.

  The house had not been cleaned prior to arrival. It was littered with dead insects on the floor, dead flies on the windowsills, numerous cobwebs and more dead bugs floating in a half-full bath. We raised this with the property managers who gave reasons for the above (eg they were unaware the cleaner had not been, the house has a known problem with woodlice) and offered a clean, however we had already had to spend the start of our holiday cleaning it up. The house is as listed, however it is showing heavy use and wear and tear and is not at the standard expected for a listing of this value. This was in addition dirty mud marks from previous guests. On the third night the living room ceiling started to leak. We had to mop up and put vases/jugs down. It meant the living room was out of use for our young child. This was clearly not a new leak given the staining on the ceiling. We reported this to the property managers who explained they were aware of a leak and it should have been fixed. We find it unacceptable that a property with a number of known issues was let out and it hows poor management and a total disregard for the guests. Our complaints were met with reasons for this issue which did not resolve the matter. Additionally, as we did not have an account with Sykes there is no email address or message function to feedback. We have stayed in the cotswolds multiple times with different companies and so can vouch for this property and company being well below the experience expected for this area.

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• Elaine - Verified booking

  We had to find a place to stay at the last minute.

  We found Butler's Cottage on line and it seemed perfect. Unfortunately the website we were using reported an error and it would take up to 48 hours to get a response. I looked it up and found Butler's Cottage again at Sykes Holiday Cottages website. They actually have people answering the phone and they were very helpful through the booking process. It was arranged that we had the cottage for that night. The instructions given for accessing the cottage were easy to follow. The address on the High Street in Burford, Oxfordshire was central. Even though it is a busy thoroughfare with a heavy tourist influx during the day, once you opened the door and walked down the private Close to the cottage the noise of the High Street faded away to leave the sounds of birds in the Wisteria and quiet church bells on the hour. The kitchen appears to be a cooks kitchen! Everything you might want including a crepe pan! We had peach crepes for breakfast one day. There is even a dishwasher. There is a laundry room with everything necessary for a traveler. There is a staircase at either end of the cottage so my husband and I used the bedroom and bath on one side of the house while our daughter and baby used the bedroom and bath at the other side. One group did not disturb the other. There was a third bedroom in the middle we did not need. It was a wonderful respite and the people at Sykes Holiday Cottages were very helpful at all times. Burford is a wonderful village central to exploring the Cotswold.

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• Jacqueline - Verified booking

  This is a fabulous property, the cottage is in a superb setting and has a lot to offer.

  An open plan and well stocked kitchen for family gathering, books and games, many countryside (dog) walks, a lovely local pub and the owner clearly has a great eye for internal decor. The maintenance team was also very helpful and fast when we realized the outside table parasol was missing, coming round within a couple of hours to sort it out. There are some negatives that previous reviews have mentioned, it is starting to show wear; the rugs for example look quite grubby. There is also only one shower for up to 8 people. However my only really notable complaint, and it really is a big negative, is the quality of the beds. For the price you would expect large luxurious beds and this is not what you get. The beds are old (divans that are now stained and on the floor without valances), no headrests, extremely hard (even with a mattress topper) and desperately uncomfortable. Unfortunately the same kind of bed was in all the rooms. It’s a real disappointment, we would have immediately booked again for another year but the sleep quality was too poor and we all came away with aching backs. It would have been five stars if not for the beds and there only being one shower.

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• Ian - Verified booking

  Yes some comments: An 18.

  00 check in does not work for us. With a small dog and 3 month old baby not being allowed into the property until 18.00 makes the travel day very arduous. With a 10.00 departure, it effectively means we only have 6 days at the property. Given that the only realistic way to travel to Swinbrooke is on the A40, to leave later on Friday would have meant hours stuck in traffic jams. An 18.00 check in was understandable when Covid was rife but now it just looks like an excuse. Smaller issues: The TV in the lounge is very difficult to operate. 'Stuart's' note says it should be tuned to AV7, after a very long time trying to make that work, it transpires ot should be AV5! There were no dishwasher tanblte sso we had to buy some. The vet lisited in your notes closed down some while a go. There is no phone signal in the house or anywhere nearby so impossible to contact anyone. A landline would be invaluable especially for emergencies. As you will see I am regular customer of Manor Cottages so I hope you will take my comments into account.

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