Holiday Cottages That Sleep 8

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• 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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• Julie - Verified booking

  We were very dissatisfied with the condition of The Abbey.

  It was extremely dirty when we arrived. One of the beds was completely full of black dog hair, inside and out! The entire house was filthy. Full of cobwebs, dust and dirt on all windowsills and shelves, with dead flies and bugs etc. Bath had scum mark, showers had a lot of black mould, the dishwasher was virtually breathing... the list is endless and we have many photos. The owner called the cleaning company they use who arrived a couple of hours later and she did the best she could but was also appalled at the condition of the property and apologised, she too took photos. We complained about the lack of wine glasses and the owner purchased some and brought them over promptly. This was Christmas break and when about to prepare our Christmas meal we noticed all the baking trays were unusable, they were beyond rusty and also mouldy. I called the owner again and he promptly went to purchase replacements. The cutlery drawer was full of crumbs and dirt and utensil drawer was full of black dust and dirt... it was very unpleasant. We had to put everything through the dishwasher and disinfect the drawers before we used anything. In all we were very uncomfortable there and felt the high rent paid for that time of year was completely inappropriate given the condition of the house There was a hot tub but we felt it very risky to use from a hygiene perspective given the condition of the rest of the property, so it was a perk we didn't benefit from. The stress and inconvenience we experienced and could have really done without. We would have left but with other members of the family arriving from the next day we didn't have anywhere else to go. Such a disappointment.

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• Ross - Verified booking

  The House. the Views and the Surroundings were fantastic!

  Getting in was a major problem as the paperwork said about a key on a hook, not in a new key box!. Getting hold of someone to give us a code (both Sykes and the Cleaner were chased) took nearly two hours and it was pouring with rain, not a good start, we were told this was because Sykes had not up rated their website. NOTE: Sykes, there is no way to contact anyone other than sales and they were not very helpful. We got in to a house smelling of major sewer spill down stairs in the main bedroom and had to pour a bottle of bleach down the shower drain to remove it, this did come back twice more, very unpleasant. We hovered up some pop corn in the main room on the first day and cleaned the moldy shower in the down stairs in the main bedroom as much as we could, it was unpleasant. The house and fittings were tired but acceptable ( the pool ques had no tips or were bent so not able to use) We had a house in port Issac last year similar in size and price which was immaculate and I am basing my feedback on this and the feed back to them was very good. Lastly I don't like the constant monetary threats that seemed to be part of this hire (£100 per half hour of not leaving on time) etc. Will I get a £100 per half hour for the time I had to wait to get in? I don't think so! The fact you are asked to take the sheets off to save the cleaners time. You should pay the cleaners more maybe? Otherwise the family had a very good time but could have been even better! and less stressful. Regards Ross

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• Noreen - Verified booking

  If you love trains, the The Railway Retreat will be your happy place.

  Not only do the Northern Rail trains trundle past, but so do the North York Moors Railway locomotives, diesels and vintage carriages. The youngest members of our party (aged 5 and 6) very much enjoyed waving to the train passengers from the terrace of the property. An added bonus was that often the trains stopped for several minutes right outside, as the signals were there. As my childhood home adjoined a railway line, I was reminded of that time through the sights, sounds and distinctive smells of the steam trains particularly. The Railway Retreat is only a 5 minute walk from Whitby Station. As one of our party was disabled, this was particularly pertinent, as he was able to walk to the station then join us on a NYMR steam locomotive driven train to Grosmont. The house itself we found very accessible, though the steep stairs had to be negotiated carefully. The Railway Retreat is within easy walking distance of a play park, and also of the town itself, with its famous abbey, and interesting shops. There is a chip shop round the corner, so no need to go into Whitby for a fish supper. Several of our party enjoy hiking and both the Cinder Track walk to Scarborough and the Cleveland way clifftop path are literally on the doorstep. So, overall this was a house that ticked all the boxes for us, and made my birthday weekend very memorable and special.

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• Mandy - Verified booking

  Abbey Cottage is very beautiful, the size of the garden is huge & filled with many plants & trees.

  Our 3 dogs loved running round the Cottage & playing ball. The thatched roof is beautiful with its wolf & crown perched on top. Inside is a large beautiful kitchen filled with everything you could wish for, I never wanted to return home. Three large king-size bedrooms with lovely crisp clean bedding, two with en-suites bathrooms & a downstairs WC. The dining room adorns an old table & chairs in fitting with the period of the property. The lounge has two comfy sofas & an old wooden chest as centre piece. All rooms have a TV, so there's no reason to fight over the remote! There are two staircases, one easily accessible from the lounge & another that resembles mountain climbing by the kitchen. You will not believe the slope of the floors upstairs until you see it! Apart from the kitchen & bathrooms, which are modern. The rest of the property is kept more in keeping with the original features. The vast conservatory is so beautiful, I'd love to go back during the summer months to enjoy it! In the gardens is a meditation room that lights up beautiful at night, a summerhouse with a pool table, a table tennis table in the garden, a playroom wooden house & a Shepherds hut for extra guests. We had the best relaxing time, just remember to take slippers for the cold hard flooring & wellies for the morning dew outside.

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