2 Pink Cottages, Aldeburgh

Reviews (6)

• Jane

  To add insult to injury we were also not informed that the building works had over-run (we discovered this ourselves 4 days before arrival) and we were then told that regardless of the errors in communication, we would loose all of the money we had paid for the cottage if we cancelled, effectively giving us no choice but to attend. We did receive a 10% discount and after a lot of haggling a refund of the booking fee plus a £40 gesture of goodwill but we would have preferred to make an informed decision in the first place or be permitted to cancel with a full refund to avoid the building works altogether. I notice the 10% discount is now on the website until December. Luckily our fears about the noise and interruption to online meetings whilst working from the cottage were unfounded, and we ended up having a very pleasant stay with no issues. In contrast a previous group had reported in the visitors book that they were woken up every morning at 8.30 by building noise so it seems to be pot luck as to how noisy the works will be and how much of an impact this will have on individual stays. House itself although further from the town than we realised, met our needs perfectly with a downstairs en-suite bedroom with walk-in shower and a garden for our dog although there was sadly not enough comfortable seating for us all 6 of us to be together in either of the two lounge areas at the same time. The upstairs bedrooms and bathroom are of a lower standard, size and cleanliness to the downstairs en-suite bedroom and the stairs themselves were very steep and narrow in contrast to the accessibility of the downstairs - not ideal with 3 grandparents staying. The carpets desperately need to be cleaned or replaced and the hoover bag also needs replacing on a much more regular basis - when we tried to tidy up a couple of days before the end of the week we realised the hoover bag was completely rammed full of dog hairs and dirt and had clearly not been changed for a very long time. There were no replacement bags in the house and the house keeper couldn't supply any so we were given a second hoover to use instead. Access to the property down a narrow single track lane and reverse parking through the narrow gates at the end of the garden was a bit awkward in an SUV so we parked outside the gates as directed. We probably would not have booked if we had been aware of how tight the parking and turning spaces were but it was manageable. The bottle of wine and biscuits on arrival were a very nice gesture but we were a little bit puzzled by the provision of hotel style shampoo and body wash (not really needed) when only 2 dishwashing tablets were provided for the whole week. Having 2 under-counter fridges was very useful indeed and there were plenty of plates and glasses so we only had to use the dishwasher once a day rather than after every meal which made a huge difference! The pans have unfortunately all seen better days and do really need replacing. The complicated heating programme that was initially controlled remotely by the owner was very hard to figure out. We couldn’t get the temperature in different zones ideal for our needs even when we requested control ourselves - but at least we were too hot rather than too cold! Overall despite our reservations we had a very pleasant stay and loved exploring the local area. Aldeburgh is a great base to explore from and dog walks on the beach and next to the estuary were very enjoyable. Our suggestions for improvements are exactly the same as many others both online and in the visitors book at the house, so it is not clear how effective giving feedback is going to be. The property was clearly lovely when it was newly refurbished as visitor feedback testifies but it is now getting a bit tired and needs some TLC. A window clean including inside the frames themselves - carpet rug and upholstery clean - mould removal in the upstairs shower - and new saucepans - would all help bring the house up to the standard of other rental properties we have stayed in. A security PIR light at the bottom of the garden is also desperately needed as the path to the house is dark and slippery. A solar powered one would be better than nothing at all. It would also be very helpful to install grab rails in the accessible shower room as the floor did get very slippery after the shower was used.

• Mark

  Television no bbc and difficult to work. In the kitchen the saucepans need replacing. Not one of our best choices to stay. Driveway difficult to manoeuvre.

• Andrea

  There were hairs and dust moats all over the downstairs and the rug was dirty. The stairs carpet was dirty also. One of the biggest issues was spiders, I must have disposed of over 30 spiders all round the ceiling. I have photos if required. The shelf with the mugs on was dusty and covered in bits. It really had not been adequately cleaned. Sykes properties always have a feeling no one else has been there...this was the opposite. The door handle to the bathroom came off in my hand the minute we arrived. Worst of all my 80 year old father in law who is not a big man, sat on the stool in the bathroom and it collapsed. Luckily he did not injure himself but needed to be helped up. There was a screw holding it together with no nut on the end and some smaller screws had totally sheared off! I would also recommend removing the rugs in the kitchen/living space....they are far too thin and a hazard as they slide all over the floor.