Large Dog Friendly Cottages in Ledbury

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Victoria - Verified booking

  We were contacted at 3pm on Friday (we were due to arrive at 5pm) by the property owner to let us know that the Aga was not working.

  We were a party of 13 (8 adults and 5 children) and we had booked this property to gather as a family to celebrate my Sister's 40th Birthday. I had planned a menu for the weekend which included cooking Filet of Beef En Croute and Dauphinoise potatoes on the Friday and Roast Chicken on the Sunday. I had planned the menu, bought all the food, prepped the beef and potatoes, and also had a Tesco food shop being delivered that Friday night. I had read reviews of the property that said previous guests had been able to cook a Christmas Dinner so I had every confidence that I would be able to cook the planned menu. When speaking to the owner, he asked me if we would be able to manage with just the hob which I said we wouldn't, and that they would purchase a portable oven for our use. I asked whether this would be big enough to cook a meal for 13 people and the response was that the portable oven is the same size as the aga. It was the same size as ONE of the Aga ovens, but the Aga has TWO ovens. On our way to the property, feeling very anxious about the cooking facilities, I phoned Sykes and explained the problem. The person I spoke to said they would speak to the owner and call me back. They never called me back. On arrival I could see that we had 1 small portable oven, and also a microwave oven which works as a convection oven. The first meal that I attempted to cook was chicken and chips for the children. It soon became very clear that the small portable oven was not able to cook 2 things at once - it was not an adequate substitute for an Aga, and certainly not adequate to cook a meal for 13 people. Having already prepped an expensive meal for the Friday night (Filet of Beef and Dauphinoise potatoes) I did my best to try and cook it with the inadequate cooking equipment that had been provided, but suffice to say, it was very stressful, very time consuming and the food was not cooked in the way that it should be due to not having a proper oven or Aga to cook in. We had arranged to go out for a meal on the Saturday which was a welcome relief, but I had bought 2 chickens to roast on the Sunday. There was a Slow Cooker in one of the kitchen drawers which I thought would be a good option given that I did not have an oven that worked properly. The slow cooker initially heated up, but after an hour had cooled down and it was apparent that this was broken too so I ended up having to poach the chicken on the hob. As a family, we had put a lot of time and effort into planning this special weekend, and indeed had planned an extensive menu to ensure that 13 people would be well fed and enjoy some nice food. Unfortunately, a broken Aga and a feeble portable oven as a replacement meant that cooking was stressful and far more time consuming than it should have been, everything took twice as long to cook and even then, the food wasn't cooked in the same way as it does in a normal oven. Mostly it was overcooked because the oven temperature was so low, you had to cook everything for much longer. In addition to this, the hot tub was not hot, it was warm at best - hot tub maintenance kindly turned this up for us on Sunday morning but it had already affected our enjoyment of the hot tub. Also, the downstairs floors were not clean - I ended up hoovering and mopping myself as they were so filthy. Please can you let me know what compensation will be provided as the property is advertised as having a working Aga, which it didn't have, and the replacement was not fit for purpose.

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• Victoria - Verified booking

  We were contacted at 3pm on Friday (we were due to arrive at 5pm) by the property owner to let us know that the Aga was not working.

  We were a party of 13 (8 adults and 5 children) and we had booked this property to gather as a family to celebrate my Sister's 40th Birthday. I had planned a menu for the weekend which included cooking Filet of Beef En Croute and Dauphinoise potatoes on the Friday and Roast Chicken on the Sunday. I had planned the menu, bought all the food, prepped the beef and potatoes, and also had a Tesco food shop being delivered that Friday night. I had read reviews of the property that said previous guests had been able to cook a Christmas Dinner so I had every confidence that I would be able to cook the planned menu. When speaking to the owner, he asked me if we would be able to manage with just the hob which I said we wouldn't, and that they would purchase a portable oven for our use. I asked whether this would be big enough to cook a meal for 13 people and the response was that the portable oven is the same size as the aga. It was the same size as ONE of the Aga ovens, but the Aga has TWO ovens. On our way to the property, feeling very anxious about the cooking facilities, I phoned Sykes and explained the problem. The person I spoke to said they would speak to the owner and call me back. They never called me back. On arrival I could see that we had 1 small portable oven, and also a microwave oven which works as a convection oven. The first meal that I attempted to cook was chicken and chips for the children. It soon became very clear that the small portable oven was not able to cook 2 things at once - it was not an adequate substitute for an Aga, and certainly not adequate to cook a meal for 13 people. Having already prepped an expensive meal for the Friday night (Filet of Beef and Dauphinoise potatoes) I did my best to try and cook it with the inadequate cooking equipment that had been provided, but suffice to say, it was very stressful, very time consuming and the food was not cooked in the way that it should be due to not having a proper oven or Aga to cook in. We had arranged to go out for a meal on the Saturday which was a welcome relief, but I had bought 2 chickens to roast on the Sunday. There was a Slow Cooker in one of the kitchen drawers which I thought would be a good option given that I did not have an oven that worked properly. The slow cooker initially heated up, but after an hour had cooled down and it was apparent that this was broken too so I ended up having to poach the chicken on the hob. As a family, we had put a lot of time and effort into planning this special weekend, and indeed had planned an extensive menu to ensure that 13 people would be well fed and enjoy some nice food. Unfortunately, a broken Aga and a feeble portable oven as a replacement meant that cooking was stressful and far more time consuming than it should have been, everything took twice as long to cook and even then, the food wasn't cooked in the same way as it does in a normal oven. Mostly it was overcooked because the oven temperature was so low, you had to cook everything for much longer. In addition to this, the hot tub was not hot, it was warm at best - hot tub maintenance kindly turned this up for us on Sunday morning but it had already affected our enjoyment of the hot tub. Also, the downstairs floors were not clean - I ended up hoovering and mopping myself as they were so filthy. Please can you let me know what compensation will be provided as the property is advertised as having a working Aga, which it didn't have, and the replacement was not fit for purpose.

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• Elaine - Verified booking

  When we arrived at the property we were not sure about it because it is so quirky and different but after getting used to it we all loved it.

  The hot tub, table tennis,lovely garden and other games plus comfy beds and a well stocked kitchen were all brilliant. We struggled with the Aga as none of us had used one before but we didn't cook much and there is alternative hob and oven. We were fortunate with the weather it was very warm but this made the heat in the kitchen from the Aga which stays on very hot. We used the Trumpet Inn several times which was just across the road and there is also a cafe across the road and farm shop/cafe just down the road for when you don't want to eat in. Minor negatives some bedrooms did not have mirrors/bedside tables. We also thought the big lounge would be better for TV and more sofas we were a group of 8 adults and 2 small dogs. Only major negative which the hosts could not do anything about was road noise when we were in garden. Fortunately could hardly hear it inside the property. We all said we would go again.

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• Vivien - Verified booking

  Had a fantastic stay here.

  We were a family group with five young children, so the very well stocked playroom was much appreciated, they didnt want to leave! We also loved the garden - lots of play equipment for the children, and lovely hot tub for the adults. The house itself was absolutely fantastic and very well equipped - we were even left some lovely biscuits and chocolates, and there were fresh flowers in the communal areas as well! Our only negative comment would be that there are no single beds, or twin rooms. We had to put very young children in a large double room on their own ( we didn't want them to share a double bed) which they found rather scary. It would be nice if there was a single bed in one of the double bedrooms, so that it could be used as a double or a twin - the rooms are so big it could be easily done. The whole family really enjoyed themselves, we hope to return sometime!

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• Ewen - Verified booking

  We had an excellent family stay at Mainstone House.

  Everything we needed was there. Unfortunately the pub over the road shut down the week before we arrived but there is an excellent tea shop directly across from the house. The main road traffic noise and the daily attendance of the hot tub maintenance individuals were the only two small slightly problematic issues. The landlord was lovely and did inform us when the hot tub was being maintained so we did our best to ensure the two dogs we had with us were out of the way to avoid barking! The main road noise is just something to be aware of, it didn’t affect our stay. All in all it was a lovely experience, it was clean, had ample facilities, the beds were extremely comfy and the garden and outlook was fantastic. I’d thoroughly recommend it as a base for a large party to explore the area.

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