Big Cottages & Group Accommodation in Looe

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Julia - Verified booking

  Elmbank is a gorgeous house - really spacious and well equipped.

  It is also in a great position, only a few minutes’ walk from the town with various shops, including 2 Co Ops and approx 10 mins walk from the beach. As others have mentioned, the hill to get up Shutta Road is pretty steep but we managed it with our 3 children aged 6, 3 and 9 months, usually going out at least twice a day. Pushing the buggy up was hard though!! The owners sent us a pdf with lots of really useful information the day before our stay and it was a nice surprise to find out that a parking permit would be available as this wasn’t included within the Sykes listing. When we arrived we were a bit nervous to use it as the details were completely faded and unreadable - but after a quick message to the East Looe Town Trust who manage the car park, they provided us with a new replacement permit. The car park is next to the beach, which was actually handy for leaving beach gear in but the spaces are very tight so unless you have a small car, you probably wouldn’t want to have to navigate getting in and out each day. We actually didn’t use the car all week which was lovely and although this was one of the more expensive places we have stayed in recently (also much bigger, as it has 3 bedrooms when we only really needed 2), it was well worth the money to be able to walk everywhere and nip down to the beach when the sun popped out. There are very few downsides to this property but if you are thinking of staying with young children (crawlers) be aware that there are 2 open fires with real coals in. We left our 9 month old in the lounge for a few mins when we arrived and came back to find him looking like a chimney sweep!! There is also not much of a garden - only a paved area but with a picnic bench - but this wasn’t an issue with the beach so close. We are were also confused as to why a note had been left in the property stating that recycling wouldn’t be taken that week - even though other houses on the road had their recycling bags out and a quick chat with one of the general refuse collectors confirmed that recycling would be taken as usual. However, the bags weren’t left for us so we didn’t have much choice which doesn’t sit well when we try hard to be as eco friendly as we can.

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• Jayne - Verified booking

  We have been booking with Sykes now for a few years and every place we have stayed has been wonderful until now.

  We turned up half an hour before the allotted time but it gave us the opportunity to see where the cottage was before we went for a coffee. We got out to let our dog go for a quick walk and we could see the cleaner was still in the cottage. Well I say we could see, what we heard was a small baby crying and a man shouting expletives at someone (we think maybe another child). It was horrendous. We got in the car and went into polperro. When we can back an hour later it was quite clear that whoever is the cleaner is had spent more time swearing than cleaning. The kitchen was a a disgrace and we have photos to prove this. The cooker top was smeared and not at all clean. The cooker equally so with a baking tray inside with a puddle of grease on it. The floor hadn’t been mopped and there was dust on shelves and cupboards with a sticky film that had been there for some time. We had to clean the kitchen before we were happy to cook in it. Upstairs was little better as the mirrors were all smeared and looked like they had been cleaned with a dirty cloth. The tv stand downstairs was also covered in dust and every horizontal surface was dusty and not helped with the amount of nick-knacks which had also not been dusted. The front door is a stable type but the bottom was not secured with anything as the bolt had broken and one which was missing completely. It could only be held in place by the top door. The hinge on the bottom door was loose so you had to really slam it shut. My husband did find a screwdriver and fixed this. The place also suffers from damp as there appears to be little damp course outside so rain water was held in place by the decking. Every cupboard we opened smelt musty and the area by the back door also smelt damp. I did buy a plug in room freshener to at least mask the smell. Not good when you are an asthmatic. All in all we were very disappointed with Sykes on this property and it was definitely cleaner when we left than when we arrived. Another security point. The key for the property was accessed via a key safe in the garage except the cleaner hadn’t bothered to even change the code when he put the key back so as soon as I opened the garage door the key fell out.

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• Jayne - Verified booking

  We have been booking with Sykes now for a few years and every place we have stayed has been wonderful until now.

  We turned up half an hour before the allotted time but it gave us the opportunity to see where the cottage was before we went for a coffee. We got out to let our dog go for a quick walk and we could see the cleaner was still in the cottage. The kitchen was a a disgrace and we have photos to prove this. The cooker top was smeared and not at all clean. The cooker equally so with a baking tray inside with a puddle of grease on it. The floor hadn’t been mopped and there was dust on shelves and cupboards with a sticky film that had been there for some time. We had to clean the kitchen before we were happy to cook in it. Upstairs was little better as the mirrors were all smeared and looked like they had been cleaned with a dirty cloth. The tv stand downstairs was also covered in dust and every horizontal surface was dusty and not helped with the amount of nick-knacks which had also not been dusted. The front door is a stable type but the bottom was not secured with anything as the bolt had broken and one which was missing completely. It could only be held in place by the top door. The hinge on the bottom door was loose so you had to really slam it shut. My husband did find a screwdriver and fixed this. The place also suffers from damp as there appears to be little damp course outside so rain water was held in place by the decking. Every cupboard we opened smelt musty and the area by the back door also smelt damp. I did buy a plug in room freshener to at least mask the smell. Not good when you are an asthmatic. All in all we were very disappointed with Sykes on this property and it was definitely cleaner when we left than when we arrived. Another security point. The key for the property was accessed via a key safe in the garage except the cleaner hadn’t bothered to even change the code when he put the key back so as soon as I opened the garage door the key fell out.

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• Nicky - Verified booking

  We loved our stay at Elmbank, a lovely big 3 storey home with absolutely everything you need for a home from home stay.

  Perfect for a family or group of friends as the house is so big. Spotlessly clean with access to plenty of towels and bedding if required. The views overlooking Looe Harbour were spectacular day and night, and as the weather was perfect we loved sitting on the front patio with a bottle of wine. You have use of a bbq, and there are all sorts of things to help with your day on the beach, such as wind breakers, cooler bags, buckets/spades etc, even a trolley to help with carrying it all back and fore. The home has a smart TV so you can access your Netflix and Apple TV accounts, surround sound sonos speakers and plenty of comfortable seating for the nights spent indoors. The kitchen and utility room is equipped for all of your needs, nothing has been forgotten. There's also a small travel hairdryer. The only negatives was the walk up the hill from looe town/beach especially on arrival with heavy luggage and bags, as there was no way our car would fit on the road up to the house. We are fairly fit so it was OK, I wouldn't let it put you off, but we nearly brought our parents who would not have been able to manage the hill every day. The car was parked in the long stay car park, which was again fine for us, as we didn't use tbe car all week as the weather was amazing, and we used the train to travel out of Looe (recommended) but if you have typical British wet weather you would need to walk for about 10 to 15 mins to get the car. Also the garden area needs some tlc, with maybe some extra seating/ sun loungers as it really is a gorgeous sun trap garden. I say these are negatives but they're not the end of the world and won't spoil your stay. We would definitely come back to Elmbank it really is a lovely house to spend your holiday in.

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• Michelle - Verified booking

  Cottage itself was in a lovely location, pretty central for everywhere.

  It had pretty much everything you could need utensil wise and everything was clean, well except the floor, I was wearing white trainer socks on arrival and when I went to take them off that night, they were filthy. I even had to clean the soles of our slippers because they were dirty when we left, and I have beige carpets at home. So not impressed with that. Also, there’s no instructions for anything, when we’ve stayed at cottages in the past, there’s normally a book, with everything you need to know, how to work the heating, WiFi code, how to use the oven etc. took us 2 days to realise there was in fact a microwave, which, I must say, is pretty dangerous, as it’s above the oven and grill, so if your short, you either need help, or you’ll wear whatever you’ve heated up, not very practical. Couldn’t find a washing machine either? Again, no info in cottage. The rooms are comfortable, but if you’re in the twin room, you can hear everything in the toilet. Also, I think people who had stayed previously had had dogs with them, as I’m allergic and had a reaction as soon as I walked in. Might be worth giving the place a proper good clean and change blankets that dogs have probably sat on, especially if your next guests aren’t taking dogs. Overall we had a good stay, but would we come back? For the location, definitely!

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