Big Cottages & Group Accommodation in Sandown

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Chris - Verified booking

  An excellent new house, in an ideal location that is let down by the equipment and bedding.

  The house furnishings have an unfinished feel. We had a feeling that the property was rushed onto the market with little thought given to the needs of the guests. There was a significant shortage of cutlery for example and that which was provided was of poor quality. There was only one small sharp knife so there was no means to cut a loaf or carve a joint. There were no baking trays. In fact kitchen utensils were in very short supply. In fact we have stayed in many self catering properties over the years and this was the most inadequately equipped that we have experienced. A washing machine was fitted in the kitchen, but there was only one small collapsable airer, no dryer and no line outside, so a family would have found drying washing impossible. The furniture and bedding in the bedroom definitely need attention. The pillows were very poor quality and uncomfortable. The bedding was also pretty poor. When we stripped the bed, the duvet stuck to the cover, so either the cleaners had spilt liquid on it or it had not been changed after the previous guests, ugh! My wife struggled to find anywhere to satisfactorily store jewellery and there was no practical place to apply make up because there was no appropriate shelving in the bathrooms or the bedrooms. When we came to clean before we left we found a sweeping brush and a vacuum cleaner, but no dustpan. We had to sweep and then vacuum up the bits. In concluding we had an excellent holiday which was marred not by the property, which could have been lovely, but by the owners lack of attention to the needs of their guests.

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• Nicholas - Verified booking

  Alarm bells should have been ringing due to the lack of reviews about this property.

  It just wasn't very clean. The lamp shades were dusty. There were food stains on the crockery. There was a privacy issue as we could look directly into the upstairs windows of the houses opposite and they into ours. Downstairs, passers-by could look in as they walked along the pavement, hence the profusion of net curtains, which made the property decidedly claustrophobic. The ceilings are so high that all cosiness was lost upstairs. The colour scheme of blues and wood grain makes the house seem cold. From the kitchen area you have to cross the entrance hall to reach the dining room, which was a rather narrow, dark room. The games hamper was a bit of a mess with pieces of games spilling out of the boxes. It needed a good sort out. The pub nearby was noisy and we heard late night drunken swearing and arguments. I knew when booking that the property had no outside space, but the close proximity to the neighbours windows and their outside space was uncomfortable; the house was an island. Every morning we didn't enjoy the revving of the neighbour's motorbike. We could never park in the street near the property. We had to park in a public car park in the next street. The owner did give us a free pass for this but nevertheless it was an inconvenient walk. The area of Sandown was really run down. The abandoned and derelict hotels on the nearby seafront were so depressing and the pier was horrible. I have to say it was the worst town and cottage I've ever stayed at. It just doesn't work as a holiday cottage, in my opinion.

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• Michael - Verified booking

  Property was very clean and tidy on arrival and all amenities were provided, including toilet rolls and hand wash in all toilets / bathrooms.

  Good location in terms of proximity to beach and kids play facilities being in easy walking distance of Sandham Gardens, Dinosaur Isle and the IOW Animal Sanctuary. Around a 10 minute walk to the pier. Earlier reviews had commented on the evening noise from nearby Hotels etc. We didn't find it to be particularly loud or disruptive, no more than you would expect when the property is located centrally in a seaside resort. The early morning sea gulls made more noise !! Currently there is building work going on just 20 yards or so from the property. Doesn't make for a great view but not a major issue. Work started each weekday morning around 7:30 finishing about 16:30. There was some low level noise but since we had young children in our party we were up and about before the workers started so no real issue to us. The property comes with one reserved parking space. There are a number of visitor's spaces. We had 2 cars in our party. Having been out for the day and returning before 16:30 all visitor's spaces were taken up by the construction workers. Fortunately the property is directly opposite to Fort Street long stay car park which has plenty of spaces available, so we would park there and then move the car when the construction workers had left for the day. So no big deal. I felt that the towels provided weren't of a great quality and that perhaps the bathrooms could have benefitted from some shelving to hold toiletries etc.. Other than that a nice property in a convenient location overall. Thanks.

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• Sarah - Verified booking

  We had a wonderful week at 34, Station Avenue!

  The house is a bit of a ‘tardis’: from the street, it looks like a normal terraced house but there is so much space inside! On arrival, the owners had thoughtfully left us bread and milk plus some biscuits - thank you so much. All the interior design was lovely, with high ceilings and original features which made it feel quite grand, and the whole house felt bright and well presented. My husband particularly loved all the lamp shades! My children LOVED having their own ‘kids’ lounge’, all the bedrooms were well proportioned with really comfy mattresses, the kitchen and dining room were great and it was handy having the utility space. One of the highlights was definitely the hot tub - it got a fair bit of use! Sandown felt a bit run-down, but it’s really well positioned to explore lots of other places on the island. The house is also really close to the High Street, where there is a Coop and Sainsburys. The only negatives were the showers, which were lovely and hot but just didn’t have much power to them. Apparently they were being replaced the week after we left! The oven also took a bit of working out - some instructions would have been helpful - but we got there! We all said it’s the best holiday house we’ve stayed in and would thoroughly recommend it for other families. (We were parents, two children aged 12 and 10, and my mother-in-law with her small dog.) Thank you so much!

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• Wendy - Verified booking

  Whilst it’s a beautiful property, we all felt that a little more could be spent on the mattresses.

  They were extremely uncomfortable and when you have been out all day, you want/need a good nights sleep and sadly those mattresses did not measure up. The main bathroom sink had an excessive amount of hair in the plug hole, whilst my family used that bathroom, it was not a welcoming sight. The plug in the downstairs toilet, regardless of how this is positioned the rubber washer around this prevents any water escaping the sink. Otherwise the stay was lovely, literally a few minutes walk to the beach, you could hear the waves at night when it was all quiet, one of my favourite parts to the stay. The building work talking place wasn’t too bad, the only issue there is the contractors using all of the visitors parking. So if you go out by car be sure to stay out otherwise any visitors using that area will not be able to park until the contractors have finished their working day. Whilst there is parking over the road the cost was not cheap. I would definitely recommend this property but would warn of the mattresses, otherwise my self and family had a very pleasant stay.

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