Big Cottages & Group Accommodation in Suffolk Coastal District

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Anne - Verified booking

  We were disappointed.

  We had really hoped we had found a place we could return to frequently, particularly for the festival. The good things: the location, parking, having outdoor space, the well stocked kitchen ( a sense that eating and hosting was important) and the 'cultural ambience' of art, music, film and books (what makes Aldeburgh a special 'by the sea' place for us). What's wrong then? A sense that some corporate fairy has waved a wand and decreed what brings in income: many beds, at least 2 bathrooms and TVs, and 'seaside themes (seagulls, beach-huts and bunting on table clothes and mugs etc). Does this matter? Yes, because it lacks integrity and pushes the accommodation into a generic 'seaside cottage' branding. It threatens to lose the specialness of this place and its heritage: which people like us are willing to pay for when we find it. More crucially, it can make accommodation uncomfortable when overcrowded with wrong or unnecessary things.. Too many beds!!!! All very clearly 'beds'...the in-your-face iron bed upstairs is almost fun in being such such a statement, but in the end it's a mistake, particularly when it is not being used and just sits there taking up space in the sitting room. The little beds downstairs take up too much space as well - a whole room given over to them. Why not redesign the two rooms downstairs as the two main bedrooms (move double bed downstairs) and then have a day bed upstairs for 'extra' space when needed? How often do 6 people use this place anyway? Must be quite crowded when they do - especially around the dining table. Other than bad use of space, other things niggle and as the week progressed began to irritate: the left hand French doors onto the balcony do not open (the lock key has no purchase and clearly needs replacing - we tried all the keys). Three glass panels in these doors are 'blown' - nice view of condensation in all three. Not being able to open these doors makes the room loess cool on hot days and funnels access to the balcony through one set of doors. Outside, this space (breeze and sea view) is wonderful but set up very badly for use. The chairs are very uncomfortable and very heavy: fine for brief dining, but not for sitting for a coffee let alone a book. Something more comfortable is needed (we carried deckchairs up there). The garden is so sadly 'let go', The grass has been cut, but the beds are overgrown with weeds (not attractive ones!!) and shrubs have not been pruned so flowering is sparse. I'm not a fan of tidy gardens, but this one is really badly unkept. You can just see the bones of what was once a well laid out garden with good architectural planting and interesting trees. Why would one sit a in a 'new feature/ of a half-boat seat when surrounded by weeds??? It would be easy to pack the beds with ground cover and herbs (rosemary, lavender etc) which could be allowed to take over (with little need for maintenance) as an alternative to weeds (and herbs for cooking would be great). Finally, there are some internal longer term maintenance problems which are already visible: the shower tray is moving away from the wall and opening up grouting (it will need more than extra grouting to deal with this), and the third or fourth stair tread 'falls' when trod on with what is almost the sound of a slam or something heavy being dropped. Why am I taking time to write although this? Because we were so looking forward to this rental, and with a little more thought and care (and a little less concern to maximise potential rental stream through generic sea-side cottage branding and stuffing it with beds and TVs), this could be such a good place to rent...............it is clearly important to the owners, and we would have liked it to have been the same for us too. (An up-note to end with: the welcome gifts of food and drink on our arrival were very appreciated - thank you, but, a last down-note: Adnams did not give us a discount as they said they couldn't without paper proof of offer, so please make sure some vouchers are made available in the property). Thank you for taking the time to read this - please keep and make this place as special as it could and should be....

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• Victoria - Verified booking

  We booked this property because of its uniqueness and we weren't disappointed.

  We really enjoyed being surrounded by Robert Sadlers beautiful paintings and sculptures and thought the top floor was an especially lovely and special space. Unlike a previous, frankly bemusing post, we felt the owners have done an excellent job of maintaining the history and integrity of the studio while making this a comfortable and well laid out holiday home. We loved the upstairs bed, it felt very special to sleep up there, and were not thrown by a seaside themed tablecloth or slightly squeaky step. The balcony is a wonderful place to enjoy a morning coffee and the garden is really lovely. Our dogs especially loved it and I really appreciated the mix of naturalistic planting to encourage insects and wildlife with the more manicured sections. The gardeners came while we were there and did an exemplary job of tidying the space and it is clearly well maintained. I was not bothered by the small TV either as I came away to visit the beautiful local area and to relax and enjoy the peace and tranquility of this property. We enjoyed exploring the town and ate out at several local restaurants, cafes and pubs. We have to give a special recommendation for the afternoon tea at The Chocolate Teapot which was delicious and amazing value, plus the staff were so friendly and accommodated our two large dogs without any fuss. We also enjoyed visits to some of the dog friendly beaches, walks in beautiful nature reserves, two English heritage castles and the stunning gardens at Helmingham Hall, so there were plenty of nearby low-key relaxed activities to give us the chance to recharge our batteries. Sadly, the Red House isn't dog-friendly so we couldn't visit,which was my only disappointment of the week. The only thing I would change would be that shower in the upstairs bathroom and I note it has been mentioned in several reviews before. It requires Herculean strength to turn it off. I could only do it using a towel and both hands for extra leverage, however this means the design of the shower means you get covered in icy cold water and/or cover the bathroom floor in water too. Other than that, this is the loveliest dog friendly property in a really good location for access to the high street and beach while offering something much more special than the other more generic properties available in Aldeburgh.

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• Ms Susan Watson - Verified booking

  Property was lovely but I would not have wanted 6 people there, 4 x adults was enough based on the size of the kitchen and fridge, plus seating area in lounge. 4 adults plus 2 children might have been ok but you would not want young children on those stairs! Also, you need to know the other people well as you can hear everything through the ceiling! Otherwise, it was in a lovely location and the garden is fantastic (even though we didn't use it in November). Equipment provided was good although one the bedside lights in the downstairs bedroom doesn't work. Also, your inventory states that all properties have a supply of kitchen roll, cling film and tin foil but we couldn't find any. The welcome bag of goodies was very nice even if the crisps had a sell-by date of May 2022. Directions to the property were good but a name plate on the property would be good just to ensure you're in the right place. I wasn't happy being charged the damage waiver upon booking - we've stayed in numerous cottages over the past few years and not had to pay this. But the thought of paying £200 upfront and then waiting for it to be returned, with the possibility of being charged for any small damage / breakage that you were not even responsible for, is even more unappealing which is no doubt why you get a nice little earner on this. This is probably the main reason why I wouldn't look to book through this company again, and would advise family & friends the same, unless it was the only option in the area. However, we had a lovely week and there are some nice dog walks from the house. It's also nice and near to the Eels Foot Inn and conveniently situated between Southwold, Aldeburgh, Dunwich, etc,. Very relaxing and much needed break.

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• Alison - Verified booking

  Our visit to The Studio was enjoyed immensely once again.

  The welcome gifts were much appreciated. The weather was lovely which added to the pleasure. We did all the local walks along the marshes and seafront. We tasted lots of delicious seafood, bought from the fishing huts. The town delicatessen provided wonderful salads and cheeses. The property is set in a delightful garden and the house furnishings are of a high quality and comfort. We slept very well each night, lovely crisp linen, and it was so quiet. It was lovely to wake up to birdsong. We found a few things that the owner may like to consider:- 1. The kettle and taps need regular descaling, I did all the taps which were ‘crusty’ with limescale. 2. The upstairs shower mat needs either scrubbing or replacing. 3. Some pillows didn’t have pillow protectors on. 4.The downstairs double bedroom bedside lamp nearest the wardrobe needs attention, the stand is very wobbly. 5.The single room main lightbulb flickered. I was able to find a replacement in the sideboard. As this light has a special fitment, a spare might be useful. 6. We found a couple of dirty pieces of cutlery and a glass, these were thoroughly cleaned. 7. And a mystery to finish, the washing machine had a handful of small stones in the drum and rubber seal! I removed all that I could see before using the machine which seemed to run perfectly well. Despite all these points, we would love to return to The Studio next year.

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• Mrs Leaper - Verified booking

  We were a family of 4 adults 2 children and a dog. The cottage was almost perfect for our party. The children had just turned 3 years old so the stairs were slightly a problem, so unless sleeping downstairs younger children may have problems. The facilities were excellent and space was good. The chest of toys in the living space was a big bonus. The garden was excellent for all, especially the dog! The weather could have been better but we cannot hold the cottage to blame for that. A couple of problems we did have was, firstly we got confused regarding the dustbin collection as there were 2 collection days written down and no knowledge of which bin was due for collection. Secondly one of the neighbours had dogs and puppies. Every morning at between 4.30 and 5am the puppies were allowed to create a lot of noise which disturbed the older adults sleeping downstairs. This was very annoying and was repeated in the evenings as well. As it wasn’t totally known which neighbour it was, we couldn’t complain while we were there. Lowestoft and Southwold were lovely seaside towns and well worth the visit. A few more local maps would have been handy but we were unable to get any to leave behind.

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