Villas In Cowes

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Jason - Verified booking

  On arrival the house is impressive.

  It’s obviously spacious and well designed. However, the initial impression didn’t last long. Our excitement at arriving was massively tempered when we saw there were dead plants in plant pots in several of the bathrooms and the garden the planters were all dead. Plus the garden area was really dirty - there were cobwebs and plant waste around the garden and the patio had stains across it as well as there being food waste left on the grass. Obviously we are aware there was a drought in place but leaving entire planters with dead and dusty planters added to the unloved and shabby look of the garden area. And then there was no welcome pack at all. Not even a packet of biscuits or pint of milk. The kitchen is impressive looking, however there weren’t enough plates, cups and crockery settings for all of us, given that with a dishwasher you should have a minimum of 2 per person. Because whole drawers were given over to the owners spices and sauces and etc it felt very much as if we were in an Airbnb rather than a dedicated holiday home. All the things above made the place feel much less special and to be honest we were all pretty disappointed. However the biggest issue was the ‘fourth bedroom’. This was not actually a bedroom. It was an office with a pull out double bed which was like sleeping on a rock. The room was not furnished to be a bedroom - there was no bedroom chair, no dressing table or mirror and nowhere to put a suitcase. You couldn’t even pull the blinds down without standing on the rock hard bed. My daughter had to sleep there and even sleeping with three duvets under her we had to go and buy a mattress topper to make it a comfortable room. This is not a proper bedroom and she slept badly all week. My mother in law, who had paid for this trip as an 80th birthday treat to her family, was bitterly disappointed and felt like we’d been let down. To add insult to injury on the last three days the neighbour was having work done and the fence/gate was taken down so that our dog had to be guarded when in the garden and the noise and dust from power tools meant it was impossible to sit in the garden during the day. We loved the location and the size of the house but we did come away feeling very ripped off. When we communicated with your company initially about this booking, we were told that the owner sets the price, but I do feel that your job as agents is to mediate and to check that the house is good value. For around £600 a night for a three bed with ‘add on’ bedroom, I can tell you that this is not good value. For that rate we expected it to be slick and luxurious rather than a basic level. The fundamental principle of a good’s night sleep should be met as a minimum. When you are stretching yourself to afford something this special it is so disappointing to walk into a home that felt like it had been uninhabited and unloved for months. To then be unable to guarantee a proper bedroom for one of the party was really unacceptable.

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• Suzanne - Verified booking

  The parkdean resort was amazing.

  The location, facilities and entertainment were great for a family holiday. We ate on site a couple of time and used the passes to access the pool and clubhouse I. The evening and both adults and children enjoyed it thoroughly. However, the caravan was not uo to the same standard as we expected from such a great site. The interior was dated, there were lots of unnecessary items in the caravan that couldn't be used such as lamps situated where there were no plug sockets. There was a lack of plug in general which meant that you couldn't watch TV at the same time as having a lamp on. The kitchen was very basic. The grill wouldn't stay on and to use it, you would have to keep the gas knob pressed in. There was only one shelf in the oven, which meant that cooking for 5 people was tricky. From staying in other caravans there seemed a lack of storage space in bedrooms. We also couldn't seem to find any instructions on how the heating worked. When we arrived the shower was on and the bathroom floor was flooded, I believe there had been a problem with the water on site before we arrived so assumed that when the cleaners were in they forgot to turn off the shower. The light switch in the bathroom was also too short. This meant that 2 of the 3 children couldn't use the bathroom at night as they couldn't reach the pull cord. It was also very hard to shut the double bedroom door, which meant waking the children up eheb the adults went to bed. I think it would also be worth mentioning that, as you are surrounded by established trees that it is quite a common noise to hear acorns falling onto the roof. This wasn't a problem but 2 of the children were a bit scared of the noise on the first night.

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• Peter - Verified booking

  I am partly dissabled so my comments are based on this.

  1. I had to park next to the property because of my health problems but found it difficult to do so. 2. The property has a massive, huge, Acorn tree over it, and the acorns were dropping onto the roof every night which kept me awake. 3. The seating was tidy and clean, but not very comfortable at all, there was not one comfortable chair in there. 4. The heating was not very high , as most of the week it was very cold and could'nt work out how to adjust it. 5. I feel that Sykes have not explained the surrounding area enough, Because it was so hilly, I had a job to get about, so did'nt walk anywhere. I don't think its catered for the elderly enough. I left a day early as did'nt want another cold night. Thank you

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• Henry - Verified booking

  During our stay there was a major problem with the boiler leaving us without heating or hot water for quite a long time.

  The owner did eventually get an engineer out to look at it but not until Thursday morning, we’d been there since Monday. There was also an issue that there was no information pack in the caravan so we had no way of knowing who to contact. There was an ‘owner’ number on the app but this number took you to the cleaner who was very surprised to hear that her number was being given out!! There was also an issue that the kitchen sink didn’t have either a plug or a washing up bowl so we had to go out and buy one before we could do any washing up!! Once these issues had been sorted the caravan was quite comfortable and was in a good position to explore the Island.

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• Claire - Verified booking

  We had a lovely week at Aquanaut.

  Although pricey, the property was probably actually better than the online description and the stunning sunsets were incredible - could be seen from the garden, ground floor and upstairs sitting room. The kids had a great time in the hot tub and enjoyed the toys in the house. Bedroom space was good, though the ground floor double is not nearly as nice as the other bedrooms. We walked or cycled to the nearby beach in Gurnard (though it's a steep hill!), and had lovely cycles along the beach front into Cowes. Overall a very nice villa, though we felt it was probably over-priced.

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