Large Dog Friendly Cottages in Minehead

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Josephine - Verified booking

  Good points - We all slept very well, the beds were very comfortable and all the rooms and bathrooms were all a very good size, it made room allocations very easy.

  All rooms clean and well presented. - Well stocked kitchen - everything was brand new and it was well equipped including kids meal things, we were impressed with the range of cups, glasses and plates. However, the plates were not great quality and we found left marks after using with cutlery. Also we tried to find out from Sykes what we could expect to find in the kitchen but they were not much help at all. Therefore, we unnecessarily packed pots, cooking utensils, even a blender as well as plastic plates, cups and cutlery because of the lack of information we did not want to risk not having what we needed for the duration of the stay. - good location to shops - very helpful that the property is well located with access to 3 major super markets, very handy and a definite plus. - The games room was a real hit. The multiple functional table provided hours of entertainment and was a great addition to the property. Also good that there was TV in there although upon arrival was not set up. - Great size and very spacious living room especially for the kids to play, we were able to set up the babies play pen and it was very thoughtful that a baby gate was provided although we didn't have need to use it. However, for the open fire I would suggest an enclosure/guard around the fire place, we had curious babies who often wondered up to it so we had to use one of the tables to separate them from it. - Very happy with the parking - we were able to get all 5 cars in - Thank you for the beautifully decorated Christmas tree - We also appreciated the very helpful and useful 2nd cooking area outside the games from, essential with a big family and lots of things to cook for Christmas. Bad points/things to improve - We appreciated the history of the house (I read in the welcome pack that it was built in 1780) and can also appreciate the cost of maintaining such a building but there are still some things that I believe can be improved. Some were quite frustrating and I would suggest they are looked into sooner rather than later. - Firstly there was no ground floor WC - I noted the cloakroom on the first floor but it was packed full of stuff and not useable, this meant that if you had go to the loo the only option was in your room, very difficult especially if you are on the upper floors. The fact that there is a cloakroom available it should be made accessible. - Upon arrival it was not obvious (at least not to me and my husband) about how to gain entry into the house. There was no clear instruction in the email which contained the code and it frustrated me that I had to call the helpline in order to get information. We travelled from East London and it was a 4.5 hour drive with a 6 month baby, the last thing I wanted to do was to spend an extra half and hour trying to figure out how to get into the house. Clearer instructions should have been provided, even as simple as, "key pad for entry is located on the right hand side of the door". As we received a code and the email made mention of keys, we assumed we were looking for a lock box that contained the front door key. I did not appreciate the extra effort after such a long journey. - Extreme problems with the internet, it was very helpful that the information was clearly provided about the Wi-Fi but it only worked well on our phones and tablets. It very much needs a boost as it was not able to carry the TV in living room and basement. although the TV was fine in room 4. I can appreciate that there were a number of devices connected at the same time which may have contributed to the problem, but this should have been expected and anticipated. The fact that the house can take up to 16 people and has three TVs, the necessary adjustments should be made to ensure better internet connection. As guests we should not need to compromise on this. - The biggest issue we had however, was with the hot water, some rooms were worse than others, for example my cousin and his wife in room 6 complained of no water and had to use the facilitates in the neighbouring room which had no problems. We should have been told about the tank and how it work, you cannot assume that we would know and again as guests this is not something we should have compromise on or worry about. - Thank you for providing the brand new travel cots as we requested, they were very easy to set up and very helpful that a protector and sheets were provided, however, mattresses were the wrong size and were too big for the actual cot. We were able to use them regardless but it meant that my child slept on a slight angel which was of course was not ideal. You'll need to change this asap for the correct size. - We loved room 1, especially the extra big bathroom, however, it had two major issues, firstly the bathroom is big but has insufficient heating for the size, so despite having a heated towel rail it was not enough to heat the room to a comfortable level. I would suggest adding an extra heater, the one I had in room 4 was very good. The second issue with this room was the heating in the bedroom. It cut off, the heater did look old so it may be it died, thankfully we used the portable heater in the living room, which was fine. However, guests should not to deal with problems with such basic needs such as heat and water. - As mentioned above the kitchen was well stocked and had a lovely new fridge, however, for a house that size with that many people 1 is simply not enough, you need additional one, even if it is not as big I would suggest an extra one. - I had to report that we had issues doors not closing properly and some jamming. In room 8 my cousin was trapped in the walk in closet for over an hour, we were all down stairs and didn't hear his cries for help and he didn't have his phone with him, so he had to break the glass to get out. The other door that jammed was the bathroom in room 3, luckily no one was in it at the time. - Initial instructions should have been provided to explain how to use the fireplace and portable heater you cannot assume everyone knows how to do this.

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• L - Verified booking

  My overwhelming memory of staying here is how disappointed we were to find we had literally been left the bare minimum possible and had to go out almost as quickly as we'd turned up.

  Not want you want on a cold winters evening, in a place you know nothing about. It was new years break, so of course, it would have been lovely to have a bottle of fizz in the fridge or at least something to mark the big occasion, there was nothing. Ok, not something we've historically encountered, but that was a 'nice to have'. What isn't a nice to have is the basics. We were literally left the bare bones to get us through our immediate arrival - a sachet of milk each....? A tea bag... less than a coffee sachet each....? I couldn't believe it. A couple of pints is only £1 and could've seen us through til morning. A loaf of bread, a block of butter. We weren't left ANYTHING to wipe down surfaces or clean up after ourselves. No sponge, kitchen roll, dishcloth or anything in this regard. 2 rolls of toilet tissue between 6 people, 2 dishwasher tablets, no bin bags other than the one which was in situ. It all felt really basic and minimal and if I'm honest...tight. It wasn't a cheap stay, but it was made to feel cheap by the lack of welcome we felt we had as a family. 6 of us staying from Wednesday until Saturday. It wouldn't have cost much at all, but would've made such a positive impact. The only other feedback I can offer is that if you are unable to make the super king into 2 beds on a short notice booking this needs to be conveyed to guests before they book. This was imperative for us, so when we arrived to find the bed still as a superking it was a problem. I wouldnt have boked the property if I had known this. Not hearing back from Adrian was also disappointing, I had assumed that all was fine, given that he didnt get in touch with me as he said he would. Such a shame

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• A - Verified booking

  Wifi, although advertised as available, was non secured and would not connect anyway.

  Not really a problem for us, but might be for others who may need it. There is a very noisy main road just below the property, the noise from which is quite invasive by day when outside or if windows are open. However it dissipates at night. Having said that, the woodland location and seclusion is perfect for those who enjoy walking and wildlife (we saw deer rutting, a fox, rabbits, birds of prey and squirrels from the house, and were serenaded by an owl (Little Owl?) most nights. There are numerous walks from the door, or further afield. The cottage itself is very warm and cosy, with plenty of wood for the fire/woodburer and piping hot water. We were only contacted twice by the caretaker, once to make sure we had arrived and were happy, and once just before we left to give us leaving details. Other than that we were left to our own devices. Just as we like. There were not reams of rules and regulations as is sometime the case at holiday cottages, so we instantly felt at home. Just one or two niggles : the upstairs loo takes an age to refill and the upstair shower head is "lazy" and wont stay upright. Perhaps a mirror over the basin would be better for those who wet shave. As a cottage in which to recharge the batteries it is perfect and had the desired effect.

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• Peter - Verified booking

  The house was a beautiful location and we loved it.

  However on arrival there was a very strong smell of oil which made everything taste of oil and was very unpleasant for 2 days and probably not good for the health. We couldn't spend time relaxing downstairs and eating was not an option unless we wanted to taste anything other than oil. Ironically I had asked for the aroma sticks to be removed as we have an extremely sensitive sense of smell. Angie Brown was very helpful in getting out an engineer within the evening of the second day of our stay. The smell started to subside after that but it was a while before it disappeared although we could sometimes smell it when we returned after a day out. I appreciate that these things happen but I understand that this had been known about for 2 weeks and yet we still had to get an engineer out who spent at least an hour on it. For such a lovely place this didn't give us a good start. The surroundings were lovely and generally peaceful. We would come again if there was no repeat of the oil leak.

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• Mark - Verified booking

  First the cons: One hand towel for 6 adults is ridiculous with a bathroom, separate toilet and kitchen sink.

  Only one tea towel. Only one washing cloth. No cleaning products for the kitchen or bathroom. The heating timer setting was unsuitable for the cool/wet autumn. Origami toilet paper (keep folding until you get something usable). We did report a loose toilet seat in the bathroom but had no feedback. Now the pros: Very comfortable beds. We had a problem with the king bed not being split into singles and this was dealt with within an hour. Very well furnished. All the kitchen equipment was more than adequate so that while the dish washer was on there was still enough cutlery and plates/cups etc to have a full meal. Really enjoyed the covered conservatory area. Well positioned in Porlock for enjoyable walks around the village and great for the North Devon coast. If the cons could be addressed this would be a 5 star for us all.

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