Large Dog Friendly Cottages in Brixham

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Mike - Verified booking

  The cottage generally was let down by its "scruffy" appearance, whereby upon arrival to the property our first-impressions were of almost abandonment from outside.

  The wrought iron front gate was in a state of disrepair and little more than barely usable (not helpful with a family of 5 with a 2yr old toddler and a dog), the front garden was generally overgrown and unkempt which was very disappointing. The same comments can be made of the rear garden, this was woefully overgrown and the patio area at the top of the garden should be condemned due numerous paving slabs being loose and susceptible to trips and falls which could have considerable consequences! The lower part of the garden immediately as you exited the back door required over two hours worth of manual labour, sweeping and cleaning patio furniture to make it usable.......not exactly what you want to be doing on the first day of your holiday! Inside the cottage was better and generally as expected and we felt comfortable spending our evenings either around the kitchen table or in the living room, the beds and bathroom linen were fresh and comfortable but the general level of cleanliness in the cottage could have been better, lots of cobwebs and dust on and around all the ornaments and nick-nacks and not enough cleaning equipment to deal with available or a "contact this number XXXXXX" to allow us to either resolve ourselves or get someone in. There may also be some room for improvement on the description of the local amenities, in particular the the public house that was mentioned being just down the road. The Bell Inn is NOT for families neither should it be suggested as a place to go, it was probably one of the roughest, tattiest and worst public houses I have ever had the misfortune to patronise. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *******Owner Response******* Firstly may I thank you for taking the time to give me feedback, as owners we genuinely take onboard what our guests impressions are and where appropriate improve our facilities to ensure comfort of future guests. Now if I can comment on the main points of your feedback. 1) "scruffy appearance, overgrown & unkempt gardens" - We were shocked by these comments however once we had spoken to our gardener we understood fully what had occurred. Our gardener had broken his arm and had not been around to the cottage in a few weeks, so quite rightly it was overgrown, we sorted this out immediately and going forward put procedures in place for the new gardener to send us pictures of completed works. We have also bought a stylish brand new 8 seat rattan table and chairs for the patio area. 2) Front gate not shutting - This has been repaired, so too has the side gate which was a bit stiff so a new handle has been put on it. 3)The 3 wobbly paving slabs in the garden have been re cemented in. 4) Our cottage is historic and so full of character, however we take on board the "nick nack" comment and removed many of the "dust collectors". 5) We also had too much crockery which may have looked a bit mis-matched so the excess has been removed so it looks less like a 2nd hand car boot sale stuff and more appealing. The Bell pub, which does have very friendly publicans and locals, is undergoing renovation & is now tatty and scruffy this has been removed from recommended places. 6) One of the toilets is off of the kitchen however as a grade 2 listed 16th century property we have to work with the rooms we have. The W/C door is on the left and one step down of the kitchen. I'm sorry that you could not find my number from the welcome pack as we always advise our customers to contact us day or night if you have any questions or issues. As I would much rather arrange for housekeeping or gardener to come and sort out any issue immediately rather than be unhappy at the end of stay. I have now pasted my Phone number on the top of the welcome pack. We do love the cottage and really want everyone else to enjoy it too.

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• Bethan - Verified booking

  Overall, we had a lovely stay, and the property is very charming (the comments below are nit picking but could be easily fixed!

  ) the area is lovely and a perfect base to explore south Devon! The house is on a relatively busy road, with cars and motorbikes driving through quickly (and noisily!) This isn’t the fault of the owners but the listing could make it clearer. The general cleanliness of the property needed improvement. Much of the cutlery needed re washing as it was dirty, there were areas of the house which clearly hadn’t been vacuumed/dusted in some time. The shower in the main bathroom was covered in lime scale and water marks so clearly hadn’t been cleaned in some time (also couldn’t use the shower as it didn’t drain - to be fair, we didn’t report this as only discovered towards the end of our stay, and there were other showers to use). The twin room on the top floor is unusable (in our opinion) by small children/people with mobility issues as it’s at the top of a very steep and windy stairway - again not the fault of the owners and is part of the charm of the cottage but could have been made clearer. The bed on the ground floor (off the living room) was very comfortable however the double bed on the first floor is in desperate need of replacement. Despite staying at the end of June, the garden furniture had not been cleaned. There was also an issue with parking as one of the two advertised spaces was occupied by the owner of the neighbouring property. There appears to be some confusion between the two property owners over who is entitled to use these spaces - luckily the issue was very quickly resolved during our stay but can see that it would be a possible issue, particularly if the neighbouring property is occupied (currently not lived in but is being renovated).

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• Tony - Verified booking

  We all enjoyed our stay at 1 Alston Farm cottage.

  Very clean and cosy cottage. Ideal location for visiting and exploring surrounding areas. The only issue we had with Sykes was the key code they had originally sent us.After receiving this code,Sykes then sent us a second code saying that this code was the correct one and to ignore the first one. When we arrived at the cottage it was pouring with rain and only to find the key code we were told to use was did not work. I managed to look through my emails from Sykes which luckily I had kept and used the first code they sent me,that turned out to be the right one in the first place. By this time we were all soaking wet and not amused. I spoke to Sykes during our stay and told them what had happened,they did not apologise for their mistake but said they would pass on what I had told them to the owner. I did not feel it was the owners fault but that of Sykes. The owner contacted me the same day to apologise for the mess up but I told her I didn't think it was her fault but that of Sykes. The owner and myself had a very nice conversation over their cottage and said we had enjoyed our stay and Antonia said she was pleased to hear that.I thanked her for contacting me and she thanked me for being understanding. I hope that Sykes resolve the key code problem.

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• Mrs Ward - Verified booking

  We couldn’t fault this property or the location. The owners had considered everything, and the kitchen cupboards were stocked with every plate, cup, glass, and utensil you could possibly need, and as a group of 6 we really appreciated the dishwasher. It was spotlessly clean, and the house was tastefully decorated with an appropriate nautical theme, with wonderful attention to detail, and felt newly done. It seemed very spacious for the six of us that stayed there. Having a garage to park our car in was a bonus, as was the terrace area where we sat and watched the sunsets over the harbour, and the dog walkers in the park next door. The views from the two back bedrooms are stunning. It was a short walk downhill to Brixham harbour and the town, and although it was a relatively steep walk back, there is a bus stop right outside the property. The bus routes from the town are very good and make it easy to get to Torquay, Paignton, Newton Abbot and Exeter for days out. We stayed there as a family of three generations (aged 16 to 77) and all of us agreed it was perfect and the owners had clearly made their guests’ comfort and convenience a priority. We highly recommend Sail Away (and Brixham) as a holiday destination.

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• Mrs Young - Verified booking

  As a family of 5 we had an amazing week at Sail Away., There is so much to do locally as well as a short walk or drive away, from the free open air swimming pool, bars, restaurants ,boat trips and beaches. There was more than enough room for us all and there was more than enough equipment. You really don't need to bring anything but toiletries and beach towels. Having a shower room as well as a bathroom was great with taking 3 teenagers on holiday! Beds were comfy and everyone slept well. There was even a towel for the dog. There are buckets and spades, deck chairs, umbrellas and games/books for rainy days. The location was perfect, being outside of the harbour meant it was nice and peaceful but only a short walk down to the shops, beach and harbour. Although be aware , there are lots of steps down into the town! Local beaches are pebbles although that dint bother any of us, although I would say maybe invest in some beach shoes if you are planning on visiting the local coves and Blackpool Sands. There is a sandy beach at Broadsands Beach. I would definately recommends to friends and family and come back again

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