Large Cottages in Dorset for Group Holidays

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Alastair - Verified booking

  A gorgeous setting in a superb location.

  Not having Wi-Fi/signal was a godsend and three young boys (2/4/6) had great fun playing tag/rugby/football passing in the garden. Unfortunately the holiday was let down by a few major points: a ridiculously small downstairs bed; a kettle that didn't work 95% of the time, the remaining 5% requiring you to hold the button down; a shower head blocked with limescale and pinched hose held together with electrical tape; electrical tape used to hold the bulb holder of a bedside lamp together; and an very strong smell of damp. We own an 18th century cottage and appreciate that whilst a certain level of dampness is to be expected within a property of this age the level within St Gabriel’s was excessive. The bedding felt constantly 'damp' and clammy, clothes felt damp when left out overnight and a leather handbag strap went mouldy inside of a week. Not to mention the effect on bread and other perishable food. I’m not sure whether there was an extended duration between the previous guests and ourselves but the smell was very strong and the walls visibly damp. Crumbs in the breadbin, a half-finished bottle of open ketchup, hair in the shower and general grit/grass on the floor on arrival suggested a lacklustre approach to cleaning. There should be mention of the smaller-than-standard-double sized bed which even without a pregnant wife was completely unsuitable in this day and age; it felt like the desire to cram two bedside tables in had led to that decision yet in reality all that happened when you decided to try not sleeping on your side was that you ended up headbutting one of the very sharp corners. That said, it was a nice week and the cottage is in a wonderful setting.

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• Sarah - Verified booking

  Blythe cottage Location of the house is great for those without a car - walking distance to train station, local beaches, shops, cafes and lots of places to eat out.

  The house is in a quiet area just next to a quiet pebble beach where local swimmers gather. Weymouth beach is busy but nice - they have a fun fair on the beach, nice sand and swimming too. You're able to hire chairs and windbreaks etc quite cheaply. Felt restful and peaceful but also local things to do if you're interested. House is really lovely - nicely decorated with well equipped kitchen for cooking. Recycling is only possible taking it to local centre so probably not viable unless you have car. Bathroom is downstairs. Stairs are all quite narrow and steep so something to bear in mind if you have mobility issues. Would be suitable for couple, group or family but note that one of the bedrooms leads to another if privacy would be an issue. No streaming accounts pre-given on TV but can sign into your own streaming accounts. Nice garden, but with the sea so close by that's definitely the main draw! Couple notes: toilet seat doesn't currently fit so that needs some attention from the owners/management company. Also, couldn't see that there were any summer (low tog) duvets provided (although may have missed them) - didn't affect us as weather wasn't that warm, but in hotter weather other options would be helpful. There is underfloor heating on the ground floor which we had to turn on as it got a bit chilly, but bear in mind if takes about 3-4 hours to heat up and even then it's only in certain areas. There is a gas fire which we couldn't figure out but to be fair we're not super familiar with them. All in all we had a lovely stay!

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• Jeanette - Verified booking

  We were not able to check in until 5PM due to the extended time needed for the cleaning, which considering the check out time for the previous guests was 10am, meant there was seven hours cleaning time.

  It also meant that a large proportion of the first day of our holiday was over by the time we had unloaded our cars and put our things away. Unfortunately, there were a number of issues: Half an opened bottle of squash left on the floor in the living room. A cup with lipstick on it. Some kitchen cupboards had not been cleaned. The inside of the kitchen bin was dirty. The dustpan was warped and not fit for purpose. A piece of carpet, used as an outside doormat resulted in wet footprints over the floor when coming in from outside. Stains on mattress protectors on both beds on the first floor. Garden furniture appeared not to have been cleaned for a very long time. Inside windows were dirty. The toaster only has one side working. Add to that that there wasn't any non slip mats in the shower trays and one shower tray kept overflowing. As stated in some reviews the lounge suite was probably the most uncomfortable we've ever sat on. Also, beds were not the most comfortable but appreciate they might suit others. On the positive side, there was a reasonable amount of space and it was in a well appointed area.

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• Catie - Verified booking

  Thank you for the welcome pack - much appreciated.

  House was in a good spot, perfectly placed for our Coast Path walking. It was just the right size for three sisters, and easy to warm up. Kitchen better equipped than some larger houses we've stayed in. Bus stop on the road right outside the complex was really useful. When we had an issue with finding the light switch (!) the Sykes out-of-hours respondent was super helpful - thanks. A couple of things would make it even more comfortable: There's a strong smell of dog, which must be fairly constant given the Febreze provided. If you got rid of the throws on the sofas, it would help a lot. We didn't use the bigger sofa at all as the smell was so strong. The mattress on the small double is the squeakiest I've ever encountered. A folder of info about the house itself - eg. how the cooker, microwave etc work, would be more useful than the Lyme Bay generic folder. In fact, we were confused to find that the house is managed by LB Hols when we'd booked via Sykes. I'm sure there's a good reason, but it would be good to be told. Thanks.

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• Kate - Verified booking

  This is a lovely cottage close to the centre of Weymouth.

  It looks like it’s been recently painted/refurbed, with lots of quirky little touches. Beds are comfortable and kitchen it well equipped, although more tall glasses needed . Nice size dining table. It was nice and clean. Nice views of sea just outside front door. Quiet location. The parking situation is a bit of a pain, parking is 5 minutes walk from cottage to carpark and the pavement situation in between is not the best, so bringing bags plus children back and fourth was not ideal. Be warned the stairs are very steep and the landing area very tight. So you have to be quite mobile and the set up did make me nervous with 4 year old. However my 8 year old, loved the loft space. The only toilet/shower is downstairs. Shower is fine but the toilet seat was awful. It was broken and incorrect fit for toilet, so kept throwing you off/sliding about. The sofa is uncomfortable and could do with some investment. Easy to get into town and close to Nothe Fort, nice watching the swimmers from the small bay at bottom of stairs.

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