Big Cottages & Group Accommodation in Dawlish

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Simone - Verified booking

  We are a family of 4 - 2 adults, a 10 and 8 year old.

  We have just returned form a 7 night stay in August 2024. Please be aware Old Town House is situated on a very busy road. The traffic is continuous even during the night and early mornings. We struggled to sleep through the road noise, even with all the windows shut all night Traffic noise is also loud from the kitchen and living room. I did speak to Sykes cottages before I booked our stay and was told the road was quiet, trust me it's not a quiet road! The garden is not accessible from the cottage, you have to leave through the back door and out into the parking area. It's not suitable for children to be on their in the garden and you can't dry washing outside as the garden is not secure. Also one of the garden seats was badly broken, so only enough seating for 2 people. We found all of the mattresses on the beds to be very uncomfortable. The blind in the master bedroom did not work and fell down every day. The cottage was fairly clean. We had a glass of water left next to one of the beds from previous guests, and there was a used tissue shoved down the side of a mattress on another bed. Also the photo of The Old Town House shows the whole front- this isn't the actual holiday let, its one 1/2 only. We felt very very let down by Sykes Cottages, as I raised these points on the 1st day of our holiday. No one came back to me until the last day of our holiday , thier resolution was a £17 refund from the owner and a £50 refund from them on the condition we packed up and left early. This was not acceptable for us because of our children. The nightly rate was certainly more than £67. Thier attitude to our complaint regarding the road noise and garden was shameful. It is a nice walk into the town, and Dawlish is lovely. The cottage has all the kitchen facilities required and the shower is great. However, the description and photos are not accurate, and we definitely definitely won't ever book with Sykes Cottages again.

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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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• Alison - Verified booking

  The location of this house is great for town and transport links and we liked leaving the car to walk around or catch a train.

  It is quite a roomy property and has been decorated to a good standard. On arrival the property smelt unpleasant, which was strange as it had been cleaned very well and we saw the cleaners leaving. There was a strong vinegar smell (maybe a cleaning fluid) and the kids said the cushions on the sofa smelt strange (maybe needs a deeper clean? ). We left the door open for a couple of hours to help loose the smell which mainly went after 2 days stay and was the ok. The kitchen looks almost new and had every utensil necessary with plenty of pots etc. We found the little freezer o.k for our needs but is too small for larger items like pizza. Plenty of crockery and cutlery which is good and much better then many homes we have stayed in. Soaps and dishwasher cleaners provided which is also good. A good night's sleep was a bit difficult due to the very noisy road being used as a rat run at all hours and not having a deep nights sleep on the uncomfortable lumpy beds sadly. I think this property could be 5 star if a downstairs toilet could be added in the cupboard area by the front door as would be very useful, and new mattresses on beds for better sleep. We would stay again if beds more comfy. Thank you for accommodating our last minute booking. Also the company who respond to queries were extremely efficient, polite and helpful

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• Maureen - Verified booking

  The property was in a lovely position and suited our needs there were just a few issues that could have been better.

  The second floor bedroom window blind was broken on our arrival. We contacted the caretake, initially by text but no reply so had to phone her. She said the owners were sending a new one but she did not know when and would get back to me. Following day I had a text from her to say could she get into property to measure blind to forward this to owners so they could send new one. However looking at feedback comments at the cottage it appears the blind had been an issue for a while. We were only staying for 3 nights so this issue was not fixed by time we left. The people staying in that room had to use the cushions from the living room sofa as a way to cover the window at night - there is a street light outside the property. The bottom sheet of the first floor bedroom had some black marks on the edge of it. We also commented to the caretaker that the water tasted metallic and was that an issue in that area but got no reply. We did note there was a new kettle in the property and wondered if it was that or the water supply. We ended up buying bottled water and boiling it on the hob. Also only one toilet roll was left at the property and it would have been a nice touch to have a spare one. Having said all of this we did enjoy our stay and the cream tea, milk and bottle of water in the fridge was a very nice touch.

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• Pam - Verified booking

  This was our second stay at the cottage and we loved it.

  It takes a while to get everything from the car (parked some distance away) to the cottage itself but once in, we had a very relaxing comfortable week. Thanks for the welcome pack (nice not to rush to the shops to have a cup of tea) and a special thanks to the owner who immediately posted on to us a leather jacket that we’d accidentally left behind. The beds were very comfortable and it was lovely to wake up to the sound of the sea each morning. I like to cater while we’re away and the kitchen was well equipped with everything needed (maybe a microwave spatter guard would be a good addition). The lounge had comfortable reclining sofas and a ‘no fuss’ TV and we enjoyed our meals in bright dining area with a sea view. The patio out the back would be great for al fresco dining - maybe on another, warmer, visit? We hope to be back again and would certainly recommend to others looking for break that is quiet, yet handy for town and transport.

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