“We arrived at the old schoolhouse full of anticipation - disappointed beyond belief as the week went on.”
The cottage is in the grounds of the owners home, the cottage is a block that has their garage on one end and their workshop the other which they were in a lot of the time, there is no privacy you are in a goldfish bowl, the picture is very deceiving the area you see in front of the cottage is the shared parking area. The cottage smells of damp, it is not clean, cobwebs and dust on all picture frames and on the bedside tables, lampshade stained with watermarks, TV screen has not been cleaned for a while, dust on the wooden floor behind the TV - the cottage needs a deep clean. Main bathroom is off the kitchen and the smell of damp hits you as you open the door and the shower is COLD - I raised with the owner who boosted and then came in and checked and the water was warmer but when I showered on the Tuesday evening the water was cold again. Main bedroom area is dangerous, there are very sloping ceilings and when you access a small toilet and basin area when you come back out watch your head, my partner and I both hit our head the first evening and me again really badly on the Saturday morning the tears did not stop for most of the day. We were woken early a couple of mornings - once by a JCB and workmen fixing a tree that overhung their property and another morning by them turning on their car with the radio on loud whilst they loaded up. Heating was on a timer and came on in the morning and evening but we tried to get it to come on when we got back one afternoon no joy. I don't know how this property has a 4 tick rating from Sykes they need to visit and reassess the property. We left early and will not be using Sykes cottages again.
I have read the above feedback and very much regret that this family had a bad experience. This is very rare, as judging from my visitors€™ book most guests have a very enjoyable time here.
Cleaning and hot water issues have now been addressed, and timing of heating can be adjusted according to needs of guests, and weather conditions. Unfortunately, I went away on holiday during their stay, and so was unaware that they were not happy with the settings.
As to other issues, the Sykes description does say twice that there is an art gallery and framing workshop on site. The business is only myself occasionally, and I have no employees, so any noise would be very minimal.
The Sykes description also mentions clearly that there is restricted headroom on the first floor, so care must be taken by taller guests. (The upstairs toilet and basin are for the convenience of older guests who may have a problem negotiating stairs at night).
Yes, there is a shared driveway, but dedicated parking for up to two cars for the cottage. There are now two upstairs Velux windows overlooking the fields on the other side of the cottage.
Lastly, as a responsible homeowner I had to inform the local farmer about one of his trees in the adjacent field that was over-shadowing my property and starting to shed branches during windy periods. The farmer himself came with a tractor and helper (not a JCB!) to deal with the tree while the field was free of cattle. They were very efficient, and it was all done within about an hour.
Property Owner
