Beach Cottages in Ayrshire

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Andrew - Verified booking

  There is no disputing that this is a unique cottage in a great location and it was a joy to stay.

  We had a fantastic week exploring the Ayrshire coastal path, traffic free cycle ways and Arran. However, there were some fundamentals which could be improved. The heating was barely adequate. Any warmth provided from the under floor heating was cancelled out by the draughts through the single glazed west facing windows and the gap under the kitchen door. A draught excluder against the door and secondary double glazing would help retain the heat. The gas fire in the lounge did generate some warmth but this did not extend to the bedrooms. The extra blankets provided proved to be essential. We generally consider ourselves to be fairly hardy, dressing appropriately in cooler weather and keeping our heating low at home, but the cottage was definitely chilly. Parking – we followed the instructions to park across the yard, so it was rather frustrating to find other vehicles parked outside the property with full views into our lounge and ground floor bedroom. It would have been preferable to have our car parked there so strangers could park further away. No visitor information was provided or a guest book from which we could glean any helpful advice. The internet was weak so it was difficult to access information. There weren’t any reference books etc. which may have been helpful. The shower drain needed unblocking. The water spread over the floor and the squeegee brush provided was fairly ineffective. This is probably a maintenance issue. The cutlery and crockery were in some instances in short supply. The cottage sleeps 4 yet only 2 desert spoons were provided. Larger cereal bowls and more mugs/beakers would be useful, along with some microwave dishes with lids. The instructions in the cottage requested that the dishwasher should only be used when full, but there wasn’t enough basic equipment supplied in order to do this, and we ran out of mugs etc. before it was full, so we mainly washed by hand. The ceiling drying rack was useful and clothes washed in the daytime, dried overnight.

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• Sarah - Verified booking

  The site is really nice do thought this place would be good.

  But disappointment hit us on going through the door. Firstly it smelled really musty then we came to realise how basic / stingy it was equipment wise and also how old much of it was going back to original features like the spa bath. Plastics were yellow to orange with age, some fittings were rusty and grubby. Headboards looked unhygienic and one wobbled backwards and forwards by 2 feet or more. Quilts / pillows were inappropriate - very thin or extremely old ( sheets good). Mare minimum of cutlery and crockery in kitchen. No point having dishwasher if only have 6 knives etc. It just shows lake of awareness of what is needed - more like what was the bare minimum needed. No instructions or welcome pack. There is no en-suite as described. There are just 2 toilets. Pull chords were filthy and bathroom / kitchen blinds dusty and rusty. No bath mat to stop from slipping, shower an ancient electric shower that was extremely weak. Shower screen creaked like mad, so did the bath. Found what I thought was a loose cable only to find out that worked the spa bath. But who would enjoy the experience in an environment in such a horrible bathroom. Door battered about and in need of a paint, lock dodgy - got stuck in it. Need I go on. Oh also main light in main bedroom didn’t work and another in sitting room. One bed light between 2 beds only. On a positive note the sofas were good. We were supposed to stay 4 nights and had paid good money but we only stayed one night as it was such a depressing experience. We had just come from a wonderful other holiday let so couldn’t believe this one. Site facilities were good if we had stayed and used them but this was no way up to the standards expected these days, was soulless, dirty, old and pretty depressing.

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• Evelyn - Verified booking

  Very well appointed and clean kitchen.

  ....Living and dining area 1 dining room chair requires fixing..very shaky. Overhead light very poor. Standard Lamp 1 bulb missing..no replacement left....Torches not working ..no rechargeable batteries as advertised.....Seating too low for disabled person ..a raiser could be fitted at very low cost...Sliding door between Dining and hall requires attention. Had to replace overhead light in hall bulb left...Bathroom Perfect. Bedroom 1 clean and tidy..bedroom 2 large and easy for wheelchair...however all mattresses require replacing as all were sagging in the centre so not a lot of sleep. Found myself sitting on the base and almost fell on the floor making this dangerous. The linen on all beds were Pristine this was great. I had asked for the double bed to have made into two singles this was not done. No linen left that we could do this ourselves. If all the little tweeks were done I would have no hesitation on recommending this cottage to anybody. It seems a great pity that the complaints let this cottage in such lovely surroundings down. And at the price I would have expected better and also being a member of the trust I felt very let down. Remember it is being advertised as a disabled cottage and this is from a disabled point of view. Evelyn Conn.

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• Jane - Verified booking

  Dear Staff of Sykes Cottages, Unfortunately, we only spent one night at this cottage (paid for three nights).

  There were several items that were not up to standard that I will highlight later, however the main issue was no hot water, this is quite unacceptable. I called reception twice to ascertain the location of the hot water immersion switch and was informed that it was either located behind the living room door, or in the kitchen. After switching every switch on in both locations, to no avail, there was still no hot water. I understand that it's a basic requirement to have this when renting a cottage. The kitchen: Only five dinner knives supplied. (we were a party of six) No operating instruction left for the appliances i.e., cooker oven /dishwasher. Bedrooms: Single bed under the window, (right hand side facing front of cottage) the bed sheets were damp. On putting on heater in the bedroom to try and dry it out, I was text alarmed by Brunston Castle to remind me of the rising electricity costs. Main Bathroom: black mould around the bath is not acceptable. Very poor performance from the shower. All in all, it was not a pleasant experience, I would have expected at bare minimum a guest information book containing all information relating to the cottage, this is standard practice in all cottages that I have rented from in the past. Regards.

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• Allan - Verified booking

  The cottage is superb, the grounds are stunning but can someone please sort out the underfloor heating.

  Initially it wasn’t working so no hot water or heating but NTS staff reacted exceptionally well and had plumber in within a couple of hours, well done. Once fixed, the heating just kept heating and as I looked at thermostats they were all set to 25 or 26 degrees, our dogs thought they were on a hot plate. I reduced all to much lower temperature but after a while they all reset back to the higher temperature. Perhaps the thermostats could be made so that in order to alter temperature the NTS staff are required, I realise that is extreme but very evident that someone has been randomly attempting to adjust the temperatures and messing up the controls. Aside from that a great visit as always and really it isn’t the problems that cause issues, they only become an issue if they cannot be addressed and I have to commend the staff with how they dealt with us, even providing mobile electric radiators to warm the cottage until the heating could take over. Also a tv in the bedroom would be fantastic as being wheelchair bound I sometimes like to stretch out on top of the bed to ease pain and a tv would help pass the time more easily as I do this. Will definitely be back.

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