Big Cottages In Somerset

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Clare - Verified booking

  This is my 4th visit to Watchet which I highly recommend.

  However, it is my first and last in this house. I'll explain the reasons. From the get go this potentially beautiful house looks tired and unloved inside and out! The greenery outside in the photo is now dead and due for removal due to the damage it causes (explained by the owner Jackie). The balcony off the main bedroom is unsightly and unloved and may even be unsafe! Outside furniture looks old and sad! We must have been the first people staying for months due to the damp smell especially downstairs. No deep cleaning, webs on ceilings. Very damp downstairs double room - no windows to air the room ONLY glass doors. One door only can be kept open on a door chain. Not safe at night esp if any vermin around!! We had very hot weather and had to keep the bedroom door closed to keep the dog out. We also had two big issues (one potentially serious due to gas and no hot water) which were resolved by day 4. Luckily we were staying 14 nights! The WiFi (talk talk) was non existent and despite all efforts (and service call out again on day 4) be warned still remains poor. Suggest change of provider may resolve this! The outside is overgrown, especially the car park area and back gate passage area. The recycle buckets all around the back door will attract vermin. Proper storage recommended for these. Owner Jackie very attentive and apologetic for the gas and WiFi. Spouse Gary attended due to the gas issue and realised it required more than their weak efforts to resolve (day 4 remember!!). Over priced at nearly 3 and half thousand for two weeks. It is my firm opinion this property does not carry the Sykes values and should be removed from their catalogue until they have inspected it.

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• Julie - Verified booking

  Upon arrival at the cottage on a cold March afternoon we expected the cottage to be warm and welcoming, instead it was absolutely freezing!

  The heating had been turned off and the thermostat was only set to 13 degrees! It made our arrival very disappointing after having travelled over 4 hrs to reach it! We immediately turned the heating on and reset the thermostat to 22 degrees. It however took the cottage well over 24 hours to reach a reasonable temperature and we had to eat our first meal in front of the open log burner on our laps with our coats on! So fair to say not a good start to our holiday and what made it worse is that it was a surprise holiday for my husbands birthday. We contacted the owners who apologised that the heating should of been left on for us as the cottage had not been occupied for a few weeks beforehand. It didn't help that the sitting room had no door into the dining room (which remained too cold throughout our holiday to use) so when we ate any meals at the cottage it had to be on our laps in the sitting room! We managed to make a makeshift curtain door using a broom balanced on a chair with a bungy attached to the stairs and the sitting room did manage to maintain its warmth a bit better after that. However, on a more positive note the kitchen equipment and goods were of an extremely high standard probably the best I have ever come across which helped to make up for the cold cottage. So yes I would recommend this property but not perhaps during the winter months!

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• A - Verified booking

  Wifi, although advertised as available, was non secured and would not connect anyway.

  Not really a problem for us, but might be for others who may need it. There is a very noisy main road just below the property, the noise from which is quite invasive by day when outside or if windows are open. However it dissipates at night. Having said that, the woodland location and seclusion is perfect for those who enjoy walking and wildlife (we saw deer rutting, a fox, rabbits, birds of prey and squirrels from the house, and were serenaded by an owl (Little Owl?) most nights. There are numerous walks from the door, or further afield. The cottage itself is very warm and cosy, with plenty of wood for the fire/woodburer and piping hot water. We were only contacted twice by the caretaker, once to make sure we had arrived and were happy, and once just before we left to give us leaving details. Other than that we were left to our own devices. Just as we like. There were not reams of rules and regulations as is sometime the case at holiday cottages, so we instantly felt at home. Just one or two niggles : the upstairs loo takes an age to refill and the upstair shower head is "lazy" and wont stay upright. Perhaps a mirror over the basin would be better for those who wet shave. As a cottage in which to recharge the batteries it is perfect and had the desired effect.

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• Marion - Verified booking

  We loved our week at 'The Cottage' for several reasons.

  The accommodation is as shown and all very clean and tidy. Perhaps one of the twin rooms is more suited to two youngsters and not adults due to it's size. The owner provided us with a generous welcome pack so no need to rush to the shop for supplies. Parking is for two small cars. What is not shown on the web page is the really pretty secluded garden and garden furniture, which we couldn't use due to the continual rain! Within no more than a very short walk are a local Co-Op and several pubs. The Esplanade Bar, a mere half minute walk from the accommodation sells some lovely Somerset cider as does Pebbles. You should try these! Can highly recommend 'The Star' but you need to book for Sunday lunch and choices are limited after the first sitting. The Food is reasonably priced too. The food at the Bell was average. Public transport runs hourly to Minehead or Taunton and all at £2 per trip and bus stop 2 minutes walk from our accommodation. If only we had had sunny weather we could have done a lot more. Overall an enjoyable stay. Would we return for a second visit - yes if someone else did the driving as it was a bit too far for us.

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• Quanda - Verified booking

  The house was excellently positioned and as such we enjoyed our holiday.

  The house was clean and presentable but is in dire need of maintenance throughout and new bathrooms, not a 4 tick standard at all, possibly 3. We had excellent weather so we were out of the house a lot of the time and with 7 adults, varying in age from 80's to 20's the space available was adequate. However, with our family group consisting of people from The Midlands, Scotland and Spain it was not the ideal introduction to UK holidaying. Maybe the owners need to spend a week there themselves? To name of few of the issues; the bedroom downstairs is down a step from the main level with the only shower over the bath, hardly a room for those who have issues with stairs. The towel rail comes away from the wall when used in the family bathroom upstairs and the bath has the iron showing through the enamel in places and needs to be replaced along with the toilet cistern which is cracked. The cistern in the communal toilet downstairs is a different colour to the toilet itself and has a hole in the inside of the door. The dishwasher tray falls out of its runner every time it is used, even after putting it back together.

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