Large Holiday Homes In Helston

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Sian - Verified booking

  We spent a few days at Kober House over new year and had a lovely time.

  Before I list off some pros and cons of the property, I want to say we would absolutely stay again! But over the course of the few days we did spot some areas that need some improvement. I’ll start with the Pros: The house was immaculate and finished to the highest spec, beautifully decorated with a sea theme of turquoise, whites and greys. Bedding and towels (supplied) were clean, crisp and fluffy. The kitchen was well equipped with a large fridge and various utensils, as well as a dishwasher and washer/dryer. When we arrived there was a Christmas tree in the lounge which we thought was a lovely touch. We went with my three year old toddler, who was very excited to see a toy box of age appropriate toys and lots of children’s books available. Had it been the summer, my daughter would’ve taken full advantage of the summer house and mud kitchen in the garden. We were greeted with a welcome pack of mince pies, cream tea items, tea bags, coffee pods, milk and schloer, which was a wonderful touch. The lounge is well equipped with mod cons, including an xbox, streaming channels and a decent size tv, but I’ll say more about this shortly. Overall most things had been thought of and catered to. Now for the Cons: The photography of the front exterior is slightly misleading. Looking at the pics you’re led to believe it’s a large driveway, which is actually very narrow as it’s shared with the house Nextdoor, and impressions from all of us were that it was a quiet location. Whilst it wasn’t a constant flow of traffic, the road was still fairly busy as it’s the main one through the town. The check-in time for this property is 5:30pm. Not such a problem in the summer with the light evenings as it’s Cornwall and there’s an abundance of activities to keep yourself / kids / dogs happy. But 5:30pm on a dark, drizzly mid-winter afternoon, with two cars packed full of items and a very grouchy toddler is not ideal. An earlier check-in during the winter months would be far more suitable - even by an hour! Check-out time is 10am. Sounds doable. But there’s a long check-out list of things to do - make sure the rubbish is bagged up and taken out, make sure the dishwasher has been put on and emptied, make sure the house is clean and tidy, make sure beds are stripped and put in the bath with used towels, everything - including furniture - needs to be put back as you’ve found it; then after all that you have to find time to pack your things and fill your car(s). It genuinely is a military operation! A slightly later check out, or a less rigorous checklist of things to do before you vacate would be preferred - it is supposed to be a holiday after all. The stairs are very steep which isn’t ideal for children if they’re of the age where they require a stair gate. This house has been designed with families in mind, there is a nursery with a cot and a child’s bed, so an option of a stair gate would be good. The bathroom door upstairs wouldn’t lock properly. I try to keep an open mind on properties before I go on holiday, so didn’t look at reviews, but having looked at some reviews since returning home I found a review from several years back that said the lock wasn’t working then either. Not great that this hasn’t been looked at. The driveway situation is difficult. A shared driveway with the house Nextdoor and a narrow parking place for one car only meant that loading/unloading the cars was a challenge. The narrow space for the one car meant that we had to unload the car in the middle of the shared turning circle before manoeuvring the car into its space. We came in two cars and I was lucky enough to blag a parking spot over the road, so we could place the family car in the driveway, but anyone who has young children will understand you need the space for cars - especially when the house is on a main road and you can’t risk your child running out of the driveway whilst your attention is on the car. You could argue “come in one car then”, but I can’t imagine we’ll be the only guests to come in two cars. More about the lounge tv now, its a smart tv, with every streaming app you can think of. But if, like me, you’re reluctant to log in with your details, you then have a situation where you either watch Samsung TV Plus which is old repeats all day and all night, or you have to accept defeat and sit in the kitchen so you can watch standard channels. A Freeview box with some standard channels would be useful. Mullion cove is lovely and pretty, albeit very sleepy and out in a limb from all of the main Cornish towns. This is ideal for some, but something to keep in mind if you want to be in the hub. Helston was 15 minutes’ drive, St Ives was about 45 minutes’ drive, Sennen Cove was 55 minutes’ drive. Unless you stay totally local, you’re getting in your car. Please don’t get me wrong, it was a lovely house and we felt very comfortable there. We said several times that everything had been thought of. But in my view this is a summer holiday house, not a winter stay.

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• Louise - Verified booking

  Every summer in the last seven or eight years we have stayed in Cornish Cottages holiday lets in Mullion.

  We book again and again because of the high standard of the properties which, we assume, you at Sykes also inspect regularly to ensure your high standards are maintained. We have always really enjoyed staying in CC properties. This year, however, we stayed in Pencoys, Glenmoor Lane via Sykes. Individually the issues below are not particularly worthy of comment but, taken together, are indicative of a neglected, poorly maintained property. The property is in a less than satisfactory state. • None of white goods were adequate – the casters on the dishwasher trays and during our stay the dishwasher stopped working altogether; two of the hobs on cooker were not working; the fridge light was not working and the fridge is clearly near the end of its life; the washing machine needs servicing – it did not washing clothes very well; • There had been amateur efforts to cover up the mould on the bathroom walls, ceiling and window blind. There has been no effort to deal with the big patches of mould in the living room (above the French windows) • The decoration hasn’t been refreshed in many years • The kitchen window needs replacing as the double glazing seal is broken and you can’t see through portions as it is obscured by water. The DG seal on the twin bedroom window has also broken • The soft furnishings in the living room are past it - especially the armchair where the cover is in a particularly poor state • Battery needs replaced in kitchen clock - clearly not been working for some time • Several of the gutters are blocked by large bit of turf! • There were virtually no clothes pegs and those that remain broke as we tried to use them as the plastic was so old – and the rotary dryer doesn’t turn because of it overgrown with vegetation • Several of the plates, bowls and glasses were chipped and the crockery was so old it looked like it had come from a charity shop • The chopping board was dirty and stained – it needs replacing • The sun shade with the table on the back patio not secured so it is unusable • The dining table mats are sticky – not clear of this was from age or poor cleaning The housekeeping is carried out by neighbours who are clearly not able to provide a professional service: • Some of the towels were musty, smelt unpleasant (the neighbours do the washing, not a professional service as set out in the information provided at the cottage) • Although we had booked two weeks there were no toilet cleaning or other cleaning materials – especially poor for a summer let (we have never stayed in a let where no cleaning materials were provided) • There were no replacement kitchen bin liners • There was no hand soap of any kind - not helpful on arrival • There were bit of food in the cutlery draw and a couple of the plates in the cupboard were encrusted with food • The vacuum cleaner is in desperate need of a service – does not work well and leaves a smell of dog! • In other CC properties there is always a welcome of a cream tea/hand-made biscuits/bottle of wine. Here there were just a couple of packets of Tesco’s own brand biscuits – frankly, better not to bother The owner, it seems, is happy to take our money but unwilling (or unable) to maintain the property to an acceptable standard. The property did not represent value for money and we think we are due a refund of some of the cost – 25% seems fair recompense. When we raised these issues with the housekeepers/neighbours there was little they could do (we did get replacement towels on our last day, they provided some cleaning materials and, apparently, the white goods are being replaced as a result of our comments). They spoke with the owner who asked us to get in touch via you, as our agent, to discuss further.

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• Nh - Verified booking

  There is no doubt that Penarvon House is a near perfect setting for a holiday.

  Two bedrooms, the main living space and the kitchen have fabulous views across the Helford. And I mean totally fabulous... why go anywhere else when Cornwall is sunny! This was a week-long break for us, our adult children, plus one partner and the mother-in-law, plus two dogs. Oh, and the World Cup was on, so a good space to watch the England games was a must. Sounds stressful, but this was a perfect rental for the group. The living space is huge, with plenty of room for the footie fans at one end, and others to play cards and games etc at the other end... and that's ignoring the Games Room downstairs. The dogs were well enclosed within the garden, and there were some lovely walks nearby, we'd have done more, but our older dog finds hills a bit tough these days. It's a short walk into the village, and also to the ferry for Helford Passage. Frenchmans Creek is also a short walk away. Helford village itself with it's little shop and a delightful cafe (Holy Mackerel) is charming. To be fair, Helford, and particularly Orchard Lane, is a little bit of a challenge for drivers unused to the tiniest of Cornish lanes, but there's also a sense of delight to have grass from the hedgerows brushing both sides of the car! I would recommend hiring a boat (if you're not a sailor) from Sailaway - they operate from the jetty by the pedestrian ferry, but make sure you ring to book in advance. It was a really fun day, and even the wobbly mother-in-law managed it. Another recommendation is the New Yard restaurant at Trelowarren... locally sourced ingredients in season - delicious. Penarvon House is very much the upper end of the rental market, hence the slight niggles, I'm afraid. Towels were included, but we were only left with the bare minimum number, and there weren't any hand towels left for the ground floor toilet, the utility room or the kitchen; and we were left with no tea-towels at all. It felt a bit odd to make do with a large bath sheet instead. Lovely as it is to have fabulous east facing views from the two main bedrooms, they also get a LOT of light through in the early morning. If it were my property I would ensure that the blind in the master bedroom and the curtains in the lower bedroom were effective at blocking the light. The fact that we found a sleep mask downstairs indicates that others have had the same issue. The worst problem though, I felt, was the difficulty we had making the toilet in the master ensuite flush - you had to keep pressing and pressing the button over and over again to get it to respond. It wasn't electric, but it was extremely reluctant. I also think the cracked floor tiles throughout the property slightly spoil the luxury edge. Sorry to have the niggles, but overall we had a lovely and very relaxing week.

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• Ruth - Verified booking

  The location of Kober House is good for exploring the area.

  Mullion is a very picturesque place, and there are some stunning beaches, coves, and clifftop walks nearby. The local shops are well equipped and easy to reach. Plenty of eating places, the curry place was excellent, fish and chip shop very good and pubs nearby too. We had a wonderful family holiday, and the fact that we could take our dog made it extra special. The house was spacious, well equipped and comfortable. We enjoyed having a log fire. Parking wasn’t a problem, and we easily got two cars alongside the right hand side of the house, leaving the drive free for turning. There is parking on the road if needed. The beds were comfortable. Bathrooms were good, but the sink in the upstairs bathroom is small, and the door is a little tricky to slide across until you get used to it. The kitchen was home from home, and the lounge was great for relaxing in, especially the large, circular chair. There are two complaints, both are important to note. Firstly, there was no recycling bin on site which made sorting our waste more tricky. It wasn’t possible to take all our recycling to a local collection point, so we would love there to be recycling containers at the house. Secondly, the garden is not enclosed and safe for dogs. We have a largish dog, a lurcher, and he found at least six holes in the hedge to escape the garden. We could only take him out in the garden on a lead. Worryingly the other side of the hedge is a drop of a few feet off a wall into the garden behind. Also there was some rusting wire tucked into the hedge which could hurt an unsuspecting dog. We thought the problem could easily be remedied by some fencing ( wooden or wire) behind the hedge to stop escapes to the neighbouring garden, or the holes in the hedge being blocked with fencing. It can’t be described accurately as an “enclosed” garden when you have a dog with you. Both those points are minor, and they didn’t detract from the holiday, but I feel it is important to draw attention to them. The cream tea on arrival, numerous leaflets and holiday information, visitors book, and WiFi made for a more personalised stay. We would love to return to the area in the future, and would definitely stay at Kober House. We thoroughly recommend it to anyone intending to stay on the Lizard or nearby.

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• Lissy - Verified booking

  The cottage is well equipped.

  The kitchen especially is one of the best equipped we have seen in cottages. The house in general is well suited for four people. We had a baby and a pet in addition, and this worked really well. The rooms are comfortable and well decorated. There is enough and comfortable seating in the living room for four people (which is not often the case in all cottages). You can walk to the beach from the house (it's about 15 minutes by foot) as well as Mullion cove. The surrounding area is great, lots of lovely beaches within 20-40min driving distance as well. Whilst some people have commented that the door is weird as it talks to people, we found it really practical as it requires no key collection and you can simply enter a code. If you share with friends, everyone can just come and go without worrying about who has the key. I can really recommend the cottage. There are a few areas of recommendation for the owners, some of which have been mentioned before by others: The upstairs bathroom door - it's really awkward - it cannot be opened properly from the inside as there is no knob to push the door outwards with. It would be much better to fit a normal outward opening door. The lawn outside: given that it's a pet friendly cottage, having artificial grass is probably not the best idea if you don't have a dedicate area (e.g., of sand or something similar) for pets to toilet... just a suggestion. The starter kit for the log burner involved one soaking wet log - luckily we brought our own seasoned wood, but it would be worth thinking about this...

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