Large Dog Friendly Cottages in Suffolk Coastal District

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Jane - Verified booking

  Communication from Best of Suffolk was very poor as we were not informed at the time of booking that building works were scheduled to finish 3 weeks before our arrival and we were therefore denied the opportunity to seek an alternative at that time.

  To add insult to injury we were also not informed that the building works had over-run (we discovered this ourselves 4 days before arrival) and we were then told that regardless of the errors in communication, we would loose all of the money we had paid for the cottage if we cancelled, effectively giving us no choice but to attend. We did receive a 10% discount and after a lot of haggling a refund of the booking fee plus a £40 gesture of goodwill but we would have preferred to make an informed decision in the first place or be permitted to cancel with a full refund to avoid the building works altogether. I notice the 10% discount is now on the website until December. Luckily our fears about the noise and interruption to online meetings whilst working from the cottage were unfounded, and we ended up having a very pleasant stay with no issues. In contrast a previous group had reported in the visitors book that they were woken up every morning at 8.30 by building noise so it seems to be pot luck as to how noisy the works will be and how much of an impact this will have on individual stays. House itself although further from the town than we realised, met our needs perfectly with a downstairs en-suite bedroom with walk-in shower and a garden for our dog although there was sadly not enough comfortable seating for us all 6 of us to be together in either of the two lounge areas at the same time. The upstairs bedrooms and bathroom are of a lower standard, size and cleanliness to the downstairs en-suite bedroom and the stairs themselves were very steep and narrow in contrast to the accessibility of the downstairs - not ideal with 3 grandparents staying. The carpets desperately need to be cleaned or replaced and the hoover bag also needs replacing on a much more regular basis - when we tried to tidy up a couple of days before the end of the week we realised the hoover bag was completely rammed full of dog hairs and dirt and had clearly not been changed for a very long time. There were no replacement bags in the house and the house keeper couldn't supply any so we were given a second hoover to use instead. Access to the property down a narrow single track lane and reverse parking through the narrow gates at the end of the garden was a bit awkward in an SUV so we parked outside the gates as directed. We probably would not have booked if we had been aware of how tight the parking and turning spaces were but it was manageable. The bottle of wine and biscuits on arrival were a very nice gesture but we were a little bit puzzled by the provision of hotel style shampoo and body wash (not really needed) when only 2 dishwashing tablets were provided for the whole week. Having 2 under-counter fridges was very useful indeed and there were plenty of plates and glasses so we only had to use the dishwasher once a day rather than after every meal which made a huge difference! The pans have unfortunately all seen better days and do really need replacing. The complicated heating programme that was initially controlled remotely by the owner was very hard to figure out. We couldn’t get the temperature in different zones ideal for our needs even when we requested control ourselves - but at least we were too hot rather than too cold! Overall despite our reservations we had a very pleasant stay and loved exploring the local area. Aldeburgh is a great base to explore from and dog walks on the beach and next to the estuary were very enjoyable. Our suggestions for improvements are exactly the same as many others both online and in the visitors book at the house, so it is not clear how effective giving feedback is going to be. The property was clearly lovely when it was newly refurbished as visitor feedback testifies but it is now getting a bit tired and needs some TLC. A window clean including inside the frames themselves - carpet rug and upholstery clean - mould removal in the upstairs shower - and new saucepans - would all help bring the house up to the standard of other rental properties we have stayed in. A security PIR light at the bottom of the garden is also desperately needed as the path to the house is dark and slippery. A solar powered one would be better than nothing at all. It would also be very helpful to install grab rails in the accessible shower room as the floor did get very slippery after the shower was used.

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• Linda - Verified booking

  Pretty little cottage, superbly positioned close to both Aldeburgh and Southwold with Dunwich just a few mins drive away which is stunning.

  Nice friendly pub opposite and the village shop is well stocked. If you don't want to do a 'mainstream' supermarket there are farm shops and a very good Budgens 5 mins away at Darsham. The high quality kitchen is very compact (not an issue for me at all) and I used the large and very useful utility room for storing our groceries (to note there are two fridges, one in the kitchen, one in the utility for perishables). The only kitchen "bits" I thought could be included with the cutlery/utensils are a pair of scissors, corkscrew, can opener but I normally pack this kind of thing anyway whenever I go away. Good quality bedrooms and bedding made for relaxing sleeps. We enjoyed mostly good weather so were able to sit out in the little courtyard garden :) The owners have put helpful instructions in the utility room to inform guests how things work including the radiators - we downloaded the App as suggested which was really good. All in all a super & much needed week away in a lovely cottage which I thought was excellent value for money and we would definitely like to return.

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• Amy - Verified booking

  Very happy with our stay, thank you!

  It was close to the sea, shops and pub - what more could you want?! The cottage was modern and beautifully laid out with lots of equipment in the kitchen, laundry and games in the living room. We found it to be a warm house, so a fan might have been welcome at times, but that could just be my age! The accessibility for a less able grandparent was great - it would have been nice to have a higher seated armchair but we managed by using one of the lovely big cushions as a booster seat! Lovely garden and outdoor seating, the only slight note is the lavender which has taken over the front path a bit - it smells gorgeous when u push through it, but it was wet when we arrived so we got damp legs! Maybe it could just be tied back a little? Just to mention, the door on the double bedroom upstairs does not seem to click shut when closed. I also left a note about one of the mugs, which has an invisible crack! We found it to be very comfortable and ideal for a family get together, many thanks for having us and the budgies!

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• Russell - Verified booking

  We loved our stay and would defo be back.

  We hired bikes from eezy bikes and had lots of fun ok those for the day. Crabbing at walberswick is a must and fish and chips at aldeburgh were very tasty. The cottage had everything we needed and the beds were so comfy. The weather allowed us to have a few bbqs with a chilled glass of rose to go with it. The only downside was that on the first night I fell off the wooden chair in the garden hurting my leg, back and hip quite badly as it just crumbled underneath me, it was very weather worn, I reached out to the best of Suffolk several times via email and tried to no avail to find a telephone number for them, They haven’t responded to any of my emails which isn’t very good. Just want to ensure that this doesn’t happen to anyone else visiting the property. Maybe after they see this review they will have the decency to get in touch with me. I did send photos of the chair and damage caused to my leg which is now slowly healing.

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• Andrea - Verified booking

  The property was not up to the standard I have been used to with Sykes bookings.

  There were hairs and dust moats all over the downstairs and the rug was dirty. The stairs carpet was dirty also. One of the biggest issues was spiders, I must have disposed of over 30 spiders all round the ceiling. I have photos if required. The shelf with the mugs on was dusty and covered in bits. It really had not been adequately cleaned. Sykes properties always have a feeling no one else has been there...this was the opposite. The door handle to the bathroom came off in my hand the minute we arrived. Worst of all my 80 year old father in law who is not a big man, sat on the stool in the bathroom and it collapsed. Luckily he did not injure himself but needed to be helped up. There was a screw holding it together with no nut on the end and some smaller screws had totally sheared off! I would also recommend removing the rugs in the kitchen/living space....they are far too thin and a hazard as they slide all over the floor.

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