Axminster Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Rosa - Verified booking

  Pleasant converted barn in beautiful surroundings.

  A couple of negatives however. Although the barn has a ground floor bedroom with ensuite, it is not really suitable for guests with mobility issues. I had to purchase a half step in order to safely use the shower cubicle. The only real access to the barn is via a flight of wooden steps with no handrail. I feel the property description should be clearer on these It is correct that the barn is not compliant with Part M of the building regulations in force at the time this listed barn was converted. The necessary modifications to the listed building and setting would not have allowed for this, and in addition to the fact that this is a farm, with sloping gravel surfaces, it was not feasible to set out to be “disabled compliant”. Thank you for highlighting this to other potential bookers with serious mobility issues. We would of course hope that it is evident from the photographs that there are steps to the property. In fact, there are three external doors to the barn, two of which have steps and no grab rails. There is however a small glazed door to the rear of one of the sofas, with a key for guest use. The threshold of this door is virtually flush with the exterior gravelled surface. We also gave you a key to the glazed doors directly out of the ground floor bedroom, which have a standard height threshold. We have had an access statement since opening the cottage and will double check with our marketing agent that this is available to prospective bookers. The shower in the ground floor bedroom is a 900mm quadrant shower with a standard low rise shower tray. We do not propose to fit grab rails, for several reasons but partly as the shower door handles provide for some stability, along with rubberised matting, which we do supply. We understand that access detail is important to anyone with serious mobility issues, and understand that the ground floor room, whilst generally making for a great and spacious bedroom, may not meet everyone’s specific needs. issues. I did speak to the owner, by phone, prior to our visit, to ask if there was a grab rail in the ground floor shower. The owner said this wasn't possible, but a temporary one could have been added easily. I would suggest that an access statement should be undertaken and the property details amended. We enjoyed our visit to the area.

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• Carolyn - Verified booking

  The property is picture perfect from the outside inside is a different matter.

  The floors needed a good mopping. There were cobwebs between items of furniture and the walls and spiders everywhere. We could live with this. The maintenance on the house is very poor. There are peeling damp patches around the house and general maintenance as poor. The tiling around the bath could have been done better by a three year old. The lighting was very poor with the only decent light in the kitchen. The kitchen was very poorly equipped. However the biggest issue was not mentioned in the Sykes blurb. It mentioned that the ceilings were low. They were fine at about 6 ft 5 inches high or taller. The one light in the lounge could be an issue for a very tall person but at 5 ft 10 I was fine. What is not mentioned in the blurb is that the door heights varied across the house. In order to prevent any head injuries you need to be a maximum of 5 ft 4 inches tall. My 85 year old father left after our stay with 3 bleeding head wounds from banging his head on the door lintels. There is obviously knowledge of this issue and the solution was to staple 3 small cushions to 3 of the doors, however the cushion was staples on to one side so your could reasonably safely enter that space but if you were to leave there was no protection attached to the door and injuries occurred. Overall the accommodation would really not be recommended. This is a pity as usually good from Sykes. It does not deserve any more than 2 stars at most. Fortunately it is in Devon and we could spend the days elsewhere in the county. The return to the house was not a time of joy. My recommendation is to avoid this property at all cost. It would really not be suitable for 6 people. I could offer mor observation’s but will leave it as DON’T STAY HERE!

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• Robert - Verified booking

  Booked late on with the principal criteria being proximity to our son and family.

  The accommodation was adequate for our needs , the bed was very comfortable and the shower was superb. On the downside, the property is quite dark inside because there are no rear windows and the lighting provided (except in the bathroom) is inadequate. There are no views from the property other than across the car park and the small patio, next to your parked car, is not an enticing place for evening drinks, or a meal. There is little that can be done about that, it is what it is as a former stable complex but no effort had been made to make it slightly more attractive. There were brackets for hanging baskets outside but no hanging baskets. As a result of the above, we felt that the price charged was high. Our plot also lost the evening sun earlier than the other units. On arrival, the 'welcome' basket consisted of 2 packs of biscuits, coffee sachets and tea bags. Previous stayers we noted from the guest book received the more normal Prosecco! Nor could we quickly chill the wine we brought, as we arrived to the fridge turned off and the door wide open! By contrast, our son paid less for 2 bedrooms with a nice sitting out area and views across the valley and only a mile away, also on a farm.

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• Tania - Verified booking

  A wonderful cottage and great stay.

  There is some really useful info in the cottage, however the font of the text is really hard to read, some info about bins confusing and out of date (bin dates). E.g. the four wheeled bin at the top of the drive for rubbish, the recycling - put the bins or the bags at the top of the drive? We did our best. The central heating instructions were non-existent so we had a guess at how to use them - would rather have had instructions so we didn't break anything (needed as the kitchen end of the cottage gets quite cold). A little fan on the fire (specific ones for fires) would be great to help push the heat into the rest of the cottage. I did raise the (potential chimney) water leak in the kitchen with the office, so hopefully the owner has been made aware as the ceiling is bowing in the alcove. A little bit of chicken wire or netting on the bottom of the large gate would be great to stop the dogs escaping - we used the windbreaks so we could relax and not worry they were heading out for a swim! None of the above was a major issue at all, just hopefully a bit of info to help improve the property. It was really very lovely and felt like home, thank you :-)

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• Lai Mie - Verified booking

  Our family and dog really enjoyed our week at The Apple Barn.

  The owners were really friendly and approachable. The cottage was very comfortable and one of the nicest places we have stayed in. It was a heat wave so we were really appreciative of the fans provided. The location was wonderful, it was peaceful but within easy reach of busy Lyme Regis. If you like pulled pork baps, then I don't think you can find finer than from The Whole Hog. We also enjoyed take out lunch from Red Panda. There is not much light pollution where the property is situated so it's just about possible to see The Milky Way from the terrace. We highly recommend a visit to Sculpture by the Lakes (about an hour away in Dorchester, although no children under 14 or dogs allowed) and The Tunnel Tree Tops (about 15 minutes away in Charmouth). The cliff walk from Seaton Beach to Beer was also lovely. All in all, it was a wonderful and much appreciated break.

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