Cottages That Sleep 12 In Cotswolds

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Peter - Verified booking

  A wonderful family three days was spent by us at Arlington Mill.

  (There were ten of us). It is an amazing building and is just right for a large family group. There is so much space that everyone was satisfied with their own en suite accommodation. We ate in on two nights, preparing huge banquets in the massive and well-equipped kitchen (two freezers and two fridges!). The Catherine Wheel Inn is a stone's throw up the road and did us proud on one evening. This mill is an amazing place and there is so much to see in the village and surrounding area. It is a delightful part of the Cotswolds. Just one or two minor gripes. When using previous rented accommodation we have usually had a TV set in the bedrooms. Arlington Mill does not, though we were probably too tired to bother, anyway! The TV in the lounge appears only to receive programmes via Sky as Freeview failed to pick up any signal. The soundbar failed to switch on and is very precariously attached to the set. I am familiar with the model and it seemed to be inverted? We tried everything to get it into action, but it seemed dead. We brought DVD's with us for the grandchildren but were unable to use them as the player was not connected to the set and the leads appeared to be missing. The heating system is quite complex and not to be messed with! The timer appeared to be incorrectly set though we were frightened to fiddle with it and left it well alone! In leaving it as it was the heating seemed to come on very late in the evening and hardly at all in the morning when we were getting up. The master bedroom, however, was always warm. As a result, we had to purchase heaps of logs and used the very efficient log burner to heat the dinning and associated lounge area where we spent most of our time. These are only minor gripes about a holiday let which is second to none. It certainly has the 'wow factor' and is well worth the money. Congratulations to the owners who have done a great restoration job on what is a wonderful old building of some significance.

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• Peter - Verified booking

  The farmhouse provided a near perfect setting for a gathering of friends to celebrate a big birthday and the arrival of 2020.

  The bedrooms and bathrooms were good; the lounge and snug, with their wood burners, very welcoming; the two kitchens great for all the cooking; the dining room ideal for the big meals; and the games room was fun. Anticipating that a farmhouse in winter might be a tad chilly, we came with ample woollen jumpers, etc. Not needed - it was a lovely warm house throughout (once we'd mastered the heating). The Aga provided more than enough heat for the main kitchen, which became the focal point for breakfasts. The entrance "porch" was an excellent large space for muddy boots and all our jackets. The location of the property meant we did a variety of lovely walks all around us, without any need to get in our cars. And the town was a short walk away for the occasions we needed it, which weren't many. Minor less positives... As noted by others, the property is on a busy road and so the crossing of it to get to the side of the road with the pavement requires patience and care. And there is some noise from the road to be heard. The welcome basket consisted of a packet of chocolate biscuits and a packet of shortbread biscuits. I'd suggest that's embarrassing for a group of 16 adults to be presented with, especially given the cost of the rental. There's lots of kitchen equipment, but it needs to be searched out. There didn't appear to be any order to where it was stored. More helpful instructions for the central heating would be useful. We weren't to know that apparently the housekeeper had turned down a thermostat such that the heating to one section of the vast property wasn't coming on. If you need a TV, which we didn't, then the only one downstairs is too small even for the snug.

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• Nancy - Verified booking

  The house was wonderful.

  Roomy and spacious and beautiful. We had a fantastic time. The traffic was quite loud when sitting outside, but we had been forewarned about this. We didn't have cars, so it was great to be able to simply walk to Stow-on-the-Wold. The two living rooms were amazing, the play room was great fun, and the huge dining room divine. There were a few small problems. When we got to the house the Aga was not on. I rang Manor Cottages and within an hour someone had come to the house and started it up. He also took me around and explained the heating systems. The housekeepers had forgotten to leave black rubbish bags (pretty fundamental for so many people) and by the time they came with them I had already run out and bought some. Also, the next guests came at 11 am on Sunday, having been told we would leave at 10 am, but I had arranged with Manor Cottages we would stay most of the day. They were very nice and it worked out fine, luckily. One of the toilets broke upstairs and there was a small leak through the ceiling, but it was pretty minor and as it was the weekend and we were unable to ring Manor Cottages, we simply stopped using the toilet. With so many in the house this was not a big problem. I did text the number which had been left in the house for such things but got no reply. Despite these small things I thought it went great, and it was truly a wonderful weekend.

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• Sarah - Verified booking

  We were a big family group of 20 celebrating a belated ( covid) 50th birthday.

  South Hill is ideal for large groups, plenty of parking, plenty of rooms, bathrooms and space. We loved having 2 kitchens and lots of fridge and freezer space and you couldn’t wish for any more cooking pots, pans or cooking space!! Games room a bonus! It obviously had been empty for a week or two since the last clean as on arrival there were many ants in the kitchen and lots of insects dead and alive in the bedrooms, shame these hadn’t been cleared!! Sykes cottages did send someone round with ant powder! What you fail to realise on reading the description of this place ( and let’s face it why would you dwell on it!) is that Fosse Way is very very busy main road full of cars and massive lorries careering at high speed along a 3 lane road. There is no pavement on the side of the road the property is on, only on the opposite side so to walk anywhere you have to brave crossing the road which can take minutes and is nerve wracking with older people and young kids. So a “5 min stroll” into Stowe is rather more like an raised heart rate road cross followed by walking on a narrow pavement up the side of a very busy road. So in summary the house is great but better to be aware of the road as I would not let my ( early teenage) kids ever cross it on their own. We were hoping they would be able to wander in and out of Stowe but this stopped that!!

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• Victoria - Verified booking

  We had a lovely stay, thankyou.

  There were no tea towels in the kitchen and this was our biggest frustration over the weekend. The property is a little worn and well lived in, but it's comfortable and clean. My biggest issue with this overall booking was the difficulty in speaking with anybody to discuss our reservation ahead of our stay. I was desperately hoping to organise an early check in, was more than willing to be accommodating for how this might work (appreciating check outs and preparing the property), but trying to speak to anyone on the phone was impossible. The customer service when trying to accommodate the request to speak to someone was unhelpful and dismissive, it would take them days to respond to my queries and as a new representative was picking up would have to start the query all over again- their system does not log your previous enquiry. On the day of our reservation I received a voicemail from a very chirpy representative- the property was ready and we could check in from 2pm. Not particularly helpful when it's currently 1.30pm you've got 20 people arriving from all corners of the country and you yourself have a 3hour journey ahead. If you are looking to book this property, please be mindful of check-in times and the ability to liaise with anyone about your reservation ahead of time.

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