Holiday Cottages in Dorset with a Games Room

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Sue - Verified booking

  We had a brilliant holiday in Barley Mews, with mostly sunny weather, even if the wind was rather chilly at times.

  The location was great – 2 minutes from the coast and walks in Nothe park, and within easy walking distance of Hope Square’s restaurants, bars and facilities. The property was clean when we arrived, and we especially appreciated the comfortable beds. However, there are a few matters we would like to bring to your attention, which we believe should be rectified or brought to the attention of future guests. Although we didn’t use them all, the comments take account of the fact that the property had 4 double beds (assuming therefore 4 adult couples) and could accommodate 9 people. • Parking: As we had one medium sized and one small car, we managed, but we had to shuffle to get the second car out safely. I doubt you would have fitted two large (ie family) cars in the spaces provided, and there is very limited alternative parking. We are dubious that this is adequate for 9 people, 4 couples and potentially 1 child. Guests should be warned that manoeuvring in and out of the parking is tricky and the spaces only suitable for small / medium sized cars. • It is difficult to get adequate ventilation in the living areas and bedrooms. We couldn’t reach the roof vents and the windows in the walls do not open. Even in April it was hot & stuffy in the afternoons, and in hot weather it would be intolerable. • To get to the outside space you have to go through the middle of the family bedroom – a privacy issue, and a bedroom where in the evening a child might be sleeping. • It was very awkward having no shower in the downstairs bathroom which is potentially shared by 5 people. • Although the double bedroom downstairs has a free-standing hanging rail, there are no drawers, shelves or cupboard. • The quantity of dining equipment is inadequate – not enough wine glasses or tumblers for 8 adults; no serving dishes or tablespoons; no tumblers in the bathrooms. In a property of this quality, this is unacceptable. And although the property sleeps 9, there were only 8 dining chairs! • The concave doors on the kitchen cupboards are lethal if opened together – I trapped and cut my finger quite badly trying to open both together. At the least, guests should be warned to open the doors singly. • And we couldn’t find a First Aid Kit anywhere. • Only 1 key was provided for the mortice lock. The key safe would be used if all were going out, but if some members of the party were to go out whilst some remain in the property, if the door were locked & the key put in the safe, then those in the property would be unable to get out. 2 keys would solve this problem. • The TV in the games room isn’t working – believe there is a lead missing. • We were surprised not to find a town map and leaflets about places to visit, as we have always found these in previous properties we have stayed in.

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• Rieke - Verified booking

  Barley Mews is a lovely property in an excellent location.

  Unfortunately, there was a real issue for us with the several low wooden and also plastered beams on the first floor. We were warned about the ground floor low ceilings but not upstairs ( the site description does not mention these). Four of our guests were men of 6’ or over and they managed to sustain a couple of nasty head knocks each upstairs ( and downstairs) throughout the week. When we arrived, the fridge was not clean ,the toaster was broken and the downstairs toilet was dirty and the TV didn’t work as it wasn’t receiving a signal from the aerial. I contacted Dream Cottages who dealt quickly with these problems although the TV was never sorted as someone was going to come with a new code and never did. As far as the kitchen is concerned, for a property of this size and for potentially 9 guests, it is lacking in some basic cooking utensils e.g.it has only one very small (and well- used ) frying pan. There were no egg cups ( Dream Cottage staff brought some of these round). The rug in the larger of the downstairs bedrooms smelt very musty and had to be put in the games room. None of the cues for pool had tips on the ends so the game could not be played. The ceilings downstairs are just too low for adults to use the games anyway. We were disappointed to find a ‘welcome ‘pack of only 1 tea towel, 2 dishwasher tablets, 3 tiny guest soaps, 1 jcloth and 2 big bags. There bathrooms had no complementary toiletries at all. I could have brought these necessities with me of course had I been forewarned. It was a pity to immediately have to go shopping on arrival. I would like to say again what a lovely holiday property this is and with a little more care and thought , would be an all- round success. I cannot however recommend it for just adults of normal and above height. It is quite stressful to be constantly taking care as to avoid a concussion.

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• Alan - Verified booking

  My wife and I rented this house for a week and were joined for the weekend by family, making a total of 6 adults and two children.

  It was an ideal choice being so close to the harbour and town centre yet quiet and peaceful with two parking spaces. The conversion from brewery mews is very well done and the quality of furniture and fittings is impressive. All beds were comfortable and the bedding good quality. The bathrooms are modern and in pristine condition. The first floor open plan kitchen, lounge and dining area is where most time is spent and it works very well. Plenty of space and a well equipped kitchen. Downstairs is an unusual feature of a games room. We didn't make a lot of use of it but we can imagine a family with older children loving it. It is hard to find fault and the same is true of the Dream Cottages agency which is about 3 minutes walk from the house. Very good service right from initial contact. This part of town is really interesting and there are lots of good pubs, restaurants and walks, right on the doorstep. We would happily return and have no hesitation in recommending it.

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• Linda Dawn - Verified booking

  Great property , great location, been to barley mews couple times as family we ...

  Great property , great location, been to barley mews couple times as family we could not recommend it enough Fab … We had great weather in lovely property had a lovely holiday Downside if you can call it that Had neighbours complaining because while off loading our bags they where not happy the car was parked outside the property for 5 mins ( we did not complaint once while decorators blocked our cars in all week) very poor attitude from them It’s very hard to get such lovely place with all boxes ticked off for what you need … maybe the owners could think of converting the Messine into another bedroom our family is getting larger and would be great to have another double room Also the bins are not big enough for the property Or you need second collection … you can not leave rubbish bags outside because of seagulls Or many provide the property with anti seagull garbage bags Would still defiantly book again wonderful property Linda

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• Paul - Verified booking

  Property was very clean.

  My wife is a stickler for cleanliness and this property ranks as one of the cleanest we have stayed in, so please forward our compliments to the cleaning person/team. Just so you are aware the air hockey puck is missing and the wooden screen on the mezzanine level was blown over by a breeze coming through the sky lights (which scared the living daylights out of us as it does come down with a crash), so I’m not sure if it’s even worth having that there. Considering those are the only negatives I can find, you can see I’ve had to really scrape around looking for anything that we could possibly find fault with. I read earlier comments about the neighbours being rude, but we found them all very pleasant and had some good chats with them, so I rather suspect the issues were with the guests rather than the residents! Would certainly consider staying here again in the future.

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