“We had a 7 night holiday in this lovely cottage.”
There were 6 adults and 4 children (3 generations). We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and would certainly visit again. On our arrival, we were greeted by Julie, who explained everything in detail, and was very polite and kind, we later met Murphy, their lovely chocolate Labrador.
Although we enjoyed every minute of our stay, there were just a couple of niggles/comments that we have:
The pool was rather grubby, and had mold on the rim around (just above the water level on the inside), and the water wasn't really clear. We also weren't told that the pool was only open to us from 9am until 9pm. This wasn't an issue for us per se; however, I think this needs to be mentioned in the booking details as some people like early morning/late night swims. I also think that the pool windows should be one way windows, as the people in the next cottage could see our grandchildren and us in the pool, which made us slightly uncomfortable.
The bed downstairs was extremely squeaky, so we moved upstairs into single beds so we could sleep well. The other beds were extremely comfortable, and everyone slept well.
The kitchen was a great size, and had absolutely everything that you need for a large group of people, plenty of crockery and cutlery, and the large fridge freezer was great, (could maybe do with a bit of extra worktop space though).
It was a lovely surprise when we first checked in to see that we had lots of complimentaries; tea towels, sponge, dishcloth, bins bags, tea, coffee, milk, apple juice, biscuits, hand wash, some washing up liquid and dishwasher tablets. We had taken all our own, but the idea was very thoughtful.
I think the front door could do with a curtain/blind at it, as at night it can be quite off-putting. I also think that a shoe rack/stand in the hallway, would be an excellent idea, as with 10 people, there were shoes everywhere! Also a couple more coat hooks (there were 3).
The lounge was huge, and catered for us all to sit and chat on an evening; however, one of the back windows is directly at the entrance of the cottage next-door, which was very awkward for both parties as they could see straight in; maybe net curtains/voiles could be put up for some privacy?
I am very much all for recycling; however, the system was very different to our recycling at home; therefore, I think it would be a good idea to have various different small bins inside the kitchen, with labels above them, to show you what goes where - just a thought?
I think the garden area need a bit of TLC, it was rather overgrown, and unfortunately very uneven (on a slope), which again isn't evident on the details. Also, the playground area is not within the immediate grounds of the cottage, so children cannot go on their own. We did use the BBQ; however, this was really grubby, so we had to clean it all first.
The games room was great for the boys; however, it did say in the details that there was a game station in there, but there wasn't. There were books and a couple of toys in there, which was good.
The 2 new bathrooms upstairs are great, and the showers are fantastic; however, the over bath showers, and the baths water pressure was ridiculous. With young children, it literally took 30-40 minutes to even half fill the bath.
Lastly, although the door handles/latches are in keeping with the cottage, they are really noisy at night when you are trying to quietly nip to the loo and not wake the children!
Overall, this is a very lovely cottage, we all had an amazing time, and we would definitely visit again.
