Christmas Cottages in Norfolk

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Nicola - Verified booking

  The cottage is in a good location and facilities are commensurate with the Syke’s 3* rating.

  Unfortunately the cleanliness of the cottage (inc. bathroom, kitchen and carpets) really let the property down. This was part concerning given enhanced cleaning should have been in place due to the C-19 pandemic. That, along with some maintenance issues, dampened the start to our holiday - which we spent deep cleaning the cottage. We are used to pets and booked the cottage knowing it’s sometimes let to guests with dogs; (although we didn’t bring any four legged friends with us due to space). However, on arrival the cottage smelt overpoweringly (of dog), to the point of being really unpleasant. We filled the hoover twice, vacuuming the living room carpet, landing and stairs (which is no mean feat given their relatively small area), and had to keep the doors and windows open whenever we were in the cottage to air it. There were food spills in front of the microwave in the kitchen but by far the worst was the bathroom: The seal on the shower screen was thick with black mould, as was the shower hose, and plug. Black mould also extended ~ a foot up the corners either side of the shower. The seal around the bath had started to peel with (pink) bacteria and mould gathering underneath. The bathroom window sill was dusty, as were the bottom rungs of the towel radiator. Maintenance issues; (mentioned in a previous review in June) persisted: Bathroom and kitchen taps were dripping (during our stay the kitchen tap was dripping so much it filled the bowl in the sink a couple of times every 24 hours). Rusty garden furniture. In addition; the towel radiator in the bathroom has also started to corrode and was rusty - I received an interesting response when I reported this to the owner. We also spent some time hammering carpet gripper back down after both my daughter and mother cut their heels (on different treads) coming down the stairs. Other minor issues (e.g. less bowls than beds in the property) were also left with the owner. We contacted the owner at the time of our stay to report the issues. He was apologetic and has offered some compensation - albeit this is still awaited.

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• Michelle - Verified booking

  The property is very well placed for getting about the coastal routes.

  Few minutes walk to the beach, shop, chip shop, pubs and the excellent bus service for when you want to leave the car. Currently the bus fare is capped at £2 per adult per journey on the coastal hopper, excellent for getting about when you want a rest from driving! The property is located in a quiet off main road position. Access/parking was tricky especially if you have a large car like us and there are other cars parked but it’s possible and the owner gave very good instructions on how to approach. It’s a very old cottage so yes the stairs are very steep and may be a challenge for some especially during the night trips to the bathroom. It has been well equipped with everything you need and of good quality however we didn’t find the beds comfortable at all but that’s personal preference and may suit others as mentioned in other reviews but not for us I’m afraid. The internet was dipping in and out, we were made aware of this by the owner and it was being attended too externally, not his fault. We didn’t make use of the outdoor space because the weather wasn’t great unfortunately, had we had sunshine with the beach being so close I guess we would have had a very different experience but that’s the way it goes in the UK I’m afraid. Take the time to review others feedback this review is based on our personal experience during our stay, the cottage has many good points and some not so good for US.

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• Ian - Verified booking

  On arrival the cottage was very clean and as described.

  Very cosy with a good sized kitchen and a separate dining area. As described in the property detail the steep stairs and shower over the bath may mean the cottage is not suitable for people with mobility issues. The garden would be a fantastic spot to relax in the summer. The location is perfect for the beach, walking, shop, pubs, restaurant and public transport. All these facilities within a 3 minute walk. Parking outside the cottage entails angling the car between 2 properties to enter or leave the private lane, with average reversing and parking skills this is easy after getting used to the required angle of approach. There are alternatives in parking on Felbrigg Rd for free (after the right hand bend park on the right by a small grass bank) or pay £28 for a week to park in the Beach Rd car park (you can use the ticket in other NNDC car parks such as Wells and Sheringham which offsets the costs). You park under a tree on the lane which can result in large bird droppings on your roof, the neighbour uses a car cover to negate this issue. If you have 2 cars consider bringing the smaller one. In the cottage only one issue, a young child next door during the day would very often be screaming for no apparent reason. Hopefully the child will soon grow out of this behaviour as in the early evening we had to turn on the TV to drown it out. Overall a very enjoyable holiday and I would recommend the cottage.

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• Trevor - Verified booking

  The cottage was cosy and well equipped but wasn’t really suitable for older people .

  The stairs are really narrow and steep ( older cottages always are) and the bathroom is on the ground floor at the back of the cottage, so quite a trek in the middle of the night! But for a younger couple or family it was a good choice. The bathroom and kitchen are lovely, very modern and had everything we needed. When I rang the owner for key details he said he had some issues with the cleaner so had to get a new one. I hope this works out because though cottage was fairly clean overall it needed some attention in places. The freezer still had food in it from previous people, the kettle was full of lime scale and the dining table was very sticky. The cupboard under the stairs ,where the vacuum cleaner and brooms are kept, looked as if everything had just been thrown in so was a big jumble of stuff. It was very difficult to get things out to clean up sand or spills etc. The little garden was nice but again the shed had loads of junk in it, an old cupboard, oven, kettle etc. Things that really needed chucking out to make space for things that are needed. Parking is a bit hairy, thank goodness my husband can reverse park in a very tiny space but we managed! This cottage is in a lovely quiet position in east runton with loads of things to do close by and ideal for families that need a beach within a short walk but attention to cleaning and tidying of cupboards would make a huge difference.

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• Kelly - Verified booking

  We had a lovely break in East Runton and 5 Melinda cottages was a perfect base with easy reach of the beach at East Runton and into Sheringham and Cromer.

  The cottage was clean and well equipped but the beds were really uncomfortable. All 4 of us did not sleep well over the 3 nights, we all ended up sleeping on top of the duvets for an extra layer over the mattresses springs, also they were very noisy, whenever you turned over the bed/headboard banged and creaked. We would advise the vendor to invest in some new comfortable beds for future visitors. We had seen that others had commented on the parking being an issue but luckily we have a smallish car that we were able to manoeuvre down the narrow driveway and into the small parking space, I think if you had a big car you would struggle but understand that nothing can be done about this issue. The only other negative was that although the garden area is secure and enclosed, we were not aware and people staying at the property should be aware that you are unable to open the back door for your dog as there is a pathway between the cottages that then leads to the garden area. Which meant putting our dog on the lead and taking him into the garden but we appreciate that this is a typical lay out for old cottages and couldn’t be changed. However, we had a great break staying in Melinda cottage and were really lucky to have brilliant hot weather too.

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