Dartmouth Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• David - Verified booking

  Firstly ! I DONT want to take anything away from this beautiful house and our enjoyment of it BUT sadly I do have to start with a bit of the not so good stuff !

  . I had noticed on an review from SEPT 18 that a guest had encountered some issues on arrival with the key safe and contact numbers for the given caretaker company - so enough time you would have thought to sort that ? HOWEVER it took us over an hour to get into the house - the key safe is now redundant yet we were advised it housed the keys - entry is now gained from a KEY PAD which is located behind you when you arrive and look for a KEY SAFE !!. NO mention of a KEY PAD at all or its location which once you find it and understand what it maybe it is obvious BUT keep in mind you are directed to a KEY SAFE ? . Then we were also left with our car blocking the lane because we hadn't been given the gate code for entry - so we automatically became unpopular to neighbours who couldn't pass and we couldn't get off the lane - no mention anywhere of a gate release inside the grounds !! WORST OF ALL was the phone call to the caretaker who abruptly said we aren't the caretakers and haven't been for months and that they were fed up of being called - they couldn't or didn't want to help - we then had to call Sykes who even at 17.30hrs on a dark Saturday night thankfully answered and tried to assist but couldn't really offer anymore information other than now offer a gate code so we could move the car off the lane THANK YOU for Sykes for at least being there and ringing me back several times until after a process of elimination and head scratching we worked out it WASN'T a KEY SAFE we needed but a KEY PAD approx. 3in x 3in on an opposite wall ALL of this is important to mention regardless of what has been paid BUT even more annoying when you have paid for the DEAREST WEEK of the year XMAS and paid double what you can expect to pay in the height of Summer - VERY DISAPPOINTING REALLY HOWEVER - we SIMPLY love the place it is truly fantastic and we felt as if we belonged there DISPITE ALL of the above we had a FANTASTIC time in this beautiful home in a beautiful area - EVERYTHING we expected to enjoy from this house we did and the owners should be proud to own such a lovely home that they are prepared to share with paying guests SO - PLEASE PLEASE sort out these arrival issues and provide the correct details inc current caretakers etc to avoid this We arrived in the dark on a Winters evening having travelled for 6 hours we didn't need that !! We hope to re-visit in the Summer and again make the most of this GEM I deliberated about this review and how NOT to record a POOR review and I hope I have done that but our initial arrival issues had to be mentioned because it DID cause some level of stress I really thought we were going to have to find a hotel that night BEAUTIFUL HOME though !! FIVE STARS -- HONESTLY Hammond Family - GLOSSOP DERBYSHIRE

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• Ian - Verified booking

  Good morning,  I have tried writing an email to follow-up on my phone call on the 28th concerning 3 court cottages at hillfield village but this does not seem possible.

  For reference i have stayed in this property 3 times and at Hillfield 6 times so am comparing to previous visits.  I don't expect a holiday rental to be perfect (and in general this a comfortable home from home which is why we always book it) and we have had issues in this property in the past which the previously onsite team used to pop in and resolve instantly. There are a number of issues that need immediate attention.  Regarding the entrance door, on the bottom half of the stable door the door handle is broken and does not stay attached to the door, this obviously causes issues to open and shut it fully. I noticed this was an issue that got raised in Feedback on another property with a similar door on your website  and suspect, these doors are coming to the end of their life.  In the fridge, a clip is broken holding a shelf in place meaning you only have 2 shelves to use and not 3 which for a family of 4 self catering is an issue.  Various light bulbs need replacing as they dont work including a bedroom one and lounge one.  There is no mattress protector on the double bed which is pretty unhygienic. A glass has a chipped edge meaning it shouldn't be used. There are a number of issues regarding items that we're in this well stocked property that are no longer here. These include: a small kitchen knife, meaning you're always cutting items, with a large carving knife. There's no scales, but I know there used to be. There are plastic bowls missing meaning you would need to take china plates outside. The downstairs toilet has no toilet brush. The Hoover is filled up solid, meaning it doesn't work. I suspect the bag is filled up at the end of the summer. There is no broom meaning we can't even sweep up easily. All in all, there are quite a few issues that you or the property owner need to resolve because at the moment there are growing issues and I have stayed here multiple times so have seen the condition before. We always enjoy coming to hillfield village, and this particular property but if we had know about all these issues we would not have booked it. We didn't contact about these issues as i'm surprised you didn't already know and we just wanted to get on enjoying our holiday as we were out and about every day.

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• Sheila - Verified booking

  There is a lot about this house that is great (as previously noted) however for us, the constricted access and ‘parking space’ mean that we will NEVER return.

  It is curious that the previous reviews have not made any reference to the to the horrendous access and parking issues with this house – a massive elephant in the room! The neighbours actually joked with us about their ‘Sport’ of watching people trying to negotiate the ridiculously narrow entrance road and then access the even more ridiculous parking spot in their city dwellers cars. They in their small cars – dented and scratched with lost hub caps and damaged wheels trims drive like maniacs up the narrow streets as if it were a contest. We have a Volvo XC60 which leaves about a 1.5 cm gap on each side entering the road. You may then need to pass/negotiate scaffolding and obstructions on either side reducing the width still further as we did. When you eventually reach the property, you are further hampered by the parking spot being at a 90-degree angle to the narrow road with further restrictions on the opposite side of the road. It will probably take a perilous 10+ point turn to get your car into the parking space, if you are lucky. Ditto when you try to get out. The curbs and walls take no prisoners. If your vehicle is longer or wider than a Volvo XC60 you will need to park in the town, but only if you are up early enough to find a space – which are like hens teeth. If you have more than one car then it will be more problematic because you only have a permit for one vehicle and the restrictions mean that you can’t stay for more than 4 hours. If you have to leave your car in town the walk up to the house is steep and so if you have any mobility/health issues it will be challenging. I repeat that there is lots about this house which is great.

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• Stephen - Verified booking

  The property itself is fantastic.

  A very modern barn conversion in a lovely location. Beds were very comfortable although I think an option for a harder pillow is necessary for those with that preference. There was no way of cleaning the toilets during our stay. On arrival, the property seemed unclean, lots of dust and cobwebs in easily accessible areas. There was dirty washing in the dishwasher, presumably from previous guests. Windows weren’t very clean at all. Pool table was slanted despite this being a major selling point for the property, so a bit disappointed with that although I did not stop us from using it each night. Lighting wasn’t great above the table and sometimes it was hard to see which ball was which colour (mainly when playing snooker). Hot tub is great. Although, with it being wood fired it takes time to heat up. This is not always possible with days out etc and by the time it has heated, it would be pushing well into the night. I know this is not the case for everybody. Have to say that the maintenance team were great as there were a couple of issues during our stay which were fixed straight away. Communication with them via e-mail was quick and easy. Lots of flies at the property which is understandable as it is on a working farm. The fly spray provided did not quite cut it unfortunately. I think this needs looking at (if possible). I hope this feedback helps in the future. Thanks again for our stay :)

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• L - Verified booking

  Overall the accommodation was nice and staff were helpful.

  We were disappointed that the pool and playground were out of action and looked like they had been disused all year. There were problems when we were there that did impact our holiday. On the first day the hot water ran out and there were no instructions of how to get more hot water. This meant we could not get showers after the beach so could not eat out as intended. The staff at coast and country tried to help Over the phone but could not locate instructions for the immersion heater, and the caretaker called to advise us the following day. There should be instructions in the property for this as the caretaker said it happens a lot as water capacity is low. On the 3rd day the en-suite toilet leaked overnight and could not be fixed, therefore for half the holiday we only had one toilet in use. I feel I deserve some compensation for this inconvenience as I had reduced facilities for half my holidays. Overall we enjoyed our holiday and would return here when the pool reopens.

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