“The house is certainly large and can easily accommodate 10 people in its bedrooms and reception rooms/dining room etc, although only two bathrooms is not enough for 10 people.”
The garden is also large, but the area around the front door is covered in weeds and generally unkempt – we also had to pick up toys from the garden and the lawn needed mowing. There was a significant smell of wet dog when we first arrived, but we got used to that (and the property did allow dogs so fair enough). We got the impression that the property was a little closer to the sea, when it is in fact two fields away, so whilst the views of the sea are great from upstairs, you are a 5-10 min walk from being on the cliff path. Most of the garden furniture was rusty and you had to be very careful when using it. The BBQ was good and we made an excellent meal on it one night.
With the Exception of the showers (clearly recently renovated to a high standard), the rest of the house is tired and needs a good re-decoration – Master bedroom wallpaper is literally peeling off in multiple places, damp patches everywhere, stained cushions on nearly every chair, carpets in need of a good clean, plaster falling off in en suite bathroom, all the windows had wind whistling through them (we had very windy weather for two nights and had to put parcel tape on the bedroom windows on the second night because we couldn’t sleep with loud noise!).
The kitchen was well stocked with dishes (although some of it did need dusting!) and cutlery and everything worked, expect the fridge door that did not shut properly without an extra push (like previous visitors, we lost some milk and chicken because it went off due to the door).
Unlike previous guest reports, we found the house mostly clean, other than the windows in the conservatory (lovely big room overlooking the garden), which were dirty with previous visitors hand prints all over them and some of the crockery and cutlery needed washing – so this should be picked up by the cleaners each week.
The bed configurations were fine, the beds were very comfy and towels provided were lovely and fluffy. The airing cupboard was a disaster zone and we did not hang anything in there to dry. As mentioned by previous visitors, the master bed had two single duvets on it, which is weird and uncomfortable – a little purchase here would solve that. The sets of drawers in all bedrooms were one tug away from falling apart. The en suite had no lock on the door, a broken sink plug and the main light was broken. There was a distinct lack of mirrors
Overall, we enjoyed our stay, but were disappointed with the general repair of the house and feel it needs some TLC – it is clear it is the owner’s second home rather than its main purpose being set-up as a holiday let – the upside of this is that it had lots of things (cooking stuff, cutlery, crockery, good beds, books, toys etc) that you might not get in a holiday let, but the downside being is that we didn’t feel like we had been considered as paying visitors looking for a quality holiday cottage experience.
Thank you for this feedback. The property is clearly described and
copiously illustrated on the website, including giving accurate timings to
walk to the beach so not quite clear as to why it was further from the sea
than you imagined. The decor is a matter of personal taste (as you say it
is our second home) but again the only changes from the photos on the
website are where we have replaced with new in the last 18 months.
Re the Master Bedroom and certain other comments, unfortunately COVID-19
put paid to a planned renovation earlier in the year which has now been
rescheduled to take place this autumn, (naturally along with a very deep
clean).The fridge door was working fine in July when we stayed but we will
of course investigate this. Bedroom chests, wardrobes etc were all fully
functional in July, again we will check these closely on return to the
property.
The airing cupboard is not intended for tenant use (and marked as such).
The grass is mown on a fortnightly cycle and weeds around front door
regularly checked.
Property Owner