Villas In Devon

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Valeria - Verified booking

  The description of the property is miselading and inaccurate, the plumbing is not working and the outside space is not secure for any pet to stay in.

  There are a lot of things that are wrong/different from what stated in the description of this property: 1) The cottage is off a very narrow and steep road (grange road) and it's at its very top, off a sharp bend. The description provided states that parking is available on grange road, though this is not the case. The road is very narrow and neighbours' cars are parked outside their properties. There are then 4 garages and a clear 'no parking' sign. The only option would be to park the car directly opposite the steps that lead to the cottage, though there are actually a public path, which can not be blocked, rather than part of the property. Unless you ahve a very small car, parking is a serious issue at the property. 2) There is no secure outside space. The picture included in the property listing shows in gact a public access gate. The actual outside space of the property is occupied by bins, and not fenced off. It is completely adjacent to a public footpath, very much in use. Similarly, the 2 neighbouring gardens are not fenced off, so aside from having no privacy nor peace, pets are in no way safe to potter outside. We had to keep our dogs indoor at all times when at the cottage. 3) The smell reported by others is accurate, not a pleasent experience. 4) The downstairs (basement) twin room is very cold. This may be because one of the twin beds is squashed against the only radiator in the room. This was not so much of an issue for us because we had no hot water nor heating throughout our 5 days stays, 5) The bathroom is extrimely dump, and its floor is very rubbery and squashy, a plastic type solution, which is not pleasent at all. There is no opening window either which makes it even more humid. 6) It is completely overlooked, and in a very noisy spot right in the middle of a public footpath. Unlike what stated, although amentities are close by, they are over the bridge the other side of Bideford. 7) The staircases inside are very steep, only one has a bannister, which is not ideal, given that the bedrooms and kitchen are on the ground and basement floors, so there is constant need to go up and down. What about our stay: completely unacceptable is what comes to mind. On arrival (check in after 5 PM) there were no keys. After 5h drive on the eve of the Easter Bank Holiday, with 3 dogs we had to spend nearly 2h trying to get hold of the keys and ended up having to spend a night elsewhere which set us back just shy of £200 (this was because the letting agent closes at 7PM, and they would not have been around over the long weekend, so we could not risk not having somewhere to stay). The 2 hours were spent on the phone to both the letting agent and the owner who provided different accounts of the issue and how to resolve it (the housekeeper is on her way with the key, the plumber forgot to leave the key, the locksmith is coming to let you in, you are at the wrong property etc). When we finally got into the cottage, we realised there were serious plumbing issues, with loud banging noise from the boiler and the water pipes as if somebody was trying to kick the door and walls down, or being in an MRI scanner. We reported the issue to the owner and the letting agent, after a sleepless night (we politely did not want to wake her up during the night), and it transpired this was a pre-existing issue. A 'quick fix' she suggested did not work, hence another sleepless night. Her only help was on Easter day to suggest we turn off the boiler so out of 5 nights we spent 1 in a hotel, 2 without sleeping, and 2 without hot water or heating. Outside it was 6 degrees, but the owner told us she gathered it was unseasonably warm so no need for heating or hot water. She also suggested that we could turn the boiler on during the day, but she failed to appreciate that loud banging noise that is constant does not really appeal to paying guests when on holiday whether during the day or at night. The final suggestion - and refusal of sending an emergency plumber - was to look in the green folder left at the cottage which had instructions on how to use the heating. We did point out it did not explain how to fix a broken boiler but it fell on deaf ears. The toilet stopped flushing on day 4, and the only night we cooked we realised out of the 4 hobs, only 1 works (the others are jammed). I have already mentioned the inaccuracy in the description of the cottage. Did we get a refund, an apology, or a goodwill gesture of any sort? No. Will we go back to Devon? Yes. Will we ever consider going back to this cottage? No. We reported serious issues in good faith, during our first holiday since 2019, and it was disappointing to be treated with contempt, and disregard when we only asked for basic utilities. Given previous reviews we knew this was a period property that came with issues, and was not to everybody's taste, but we did not expect there to be no adequate plumbing for the basic use of toilet, washing facilities and heating.

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• Craig - Verified booking

  House smelt of damp.

  Sofa and armchair were both damp. Too damp to sit on for any length of time (5 mins max before own clothes becoming damp as well). This meant there was no where to sit or relax in the day/evenings, outside of the small kitchen table or bed in the room upstairs. No access to WiFi, even though listed on listing. No WIFI network registered on either our phones or laptops. We tried a few times in different locations within the property both in the evening and following morning. There was no mobile reception either, so we were unable to rely on mobile data. Had we known this upfront, we wouldn’t have booked the property, as we needed to be able to work remotely during our stay. The owner advertises the property includes WiFi, which is totally misleading, given there was no signal at all. We did speak to Gavin (the owner) as soon as we arrived, on Saturday evening, and mentioned both the WiFi and the damp sofa, and his response was “no one has been in the property in the past five days, so it can’t be damp”. There’s an adjoining door (which is not lockable, and only has a small latch on it) between the master bedroom to the owner’s property, which is next door. Again, neither of which are mentioned on the property listing, which are important things to mention upfront. Dirty - dust and spiders found in every corner of the property All of the above contravenes the Consumer Rights Act. We tried to speak to the owners (in person) before leaving on the Sunday morning, but they were not in, despite saying they would be. We have text conversations evidencing this. The owner lives next door, so had no excuse not to come round to discuss or attempt to resolve the issues. Gavin said he would contact Sykes Cottages to come to some sort of resolution. We followed up with him (and have texts specifically saying he’d spoken to Sykes). And yet Sykes have no record of Gavin making contact with them, at any point. A very disappointing experience in terms of the property and the general lack of care and consideration of the owner. We had booked to stay for a week, but due to the poor standard and property not being as described, we only stayed for one night, and found alternative accommodation for the remainder of our stay in Devon.

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• Manon - Verified booking

  First some positive points: Bideford is well situated for local walks and for exploring Devon as a base and people were very friendly and full of suggestions for days out without us ever having to use the car.

  The very top floor of the cottage is lovely for sitting, relaxing and dining and offers a sideway view of the river (though slightly obscured by trees)and the cottage is well equipped with all appliances functioning. The heating works well and there is plenty of hot water. However: the ground floor (kitchen) and lower ground floor areas (twin room,bathroom) smelled terribly musty and no amount of airing/heating, air fresheners/diffuser or dehumidifiers could combat that smell. The smell hits you as soon as you come into the front door, it lingers and is very unpleasant. The lower ground floor twin room is damp and during our stay we certainly had to empty the dehumidifier tray 3 x a day. We think the problem area may be the bathroom, where a very powerful shower and its spray has saturated the floors over months and months of stays, but also because part of the cottage is below street level.(damp course?) We also do not feel that the outside area can be described as "a lovely spot to begin each day with a hearty breakfast whilst you canine companions play". It is a fenced narrow grass space with a small table near the bins and recycling area and the path for the neighbour - no views. The cottage is situated 1/2 way alongside a very long steep stone/concrete stairway. This is a public foot path/right of way leading from the higher situated areas of houses "East-the River" directly past the cottage then further down to the Tarka Trail and the old bridge across to Bideford. Therefore there are a lot of people using this path throughout the day (on their way to/from school, the shops, or even nights out) and they potentially all can look into the bedrooms and the living space of the cottage, although most are too occupied watching their footing on the steep steps. As mentioned you can park your car in Grange Road just at the top of the steep steps for access to the cottage, but be aware that this road is very narrow and steep and in order to access this road from/to the town one has to negotiate a very sharp blind bend.

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• Earl - Verified booking

  The front door and porch including steps into the porch look like they haven't been cleaned in years (first impressions).

  As you enter the front door you are hit by an overwhelming stench of damp and must,which does not go away,hence clothes bedding etc always feel damp and unpleasant. The humidifier (supplied) was in constant use but couldn't cope it had to be emptied frequently,hence the windows were damp and not very clean, I must agree with Mrs.Clarkes comments,(back in May)the water pressure to the shower and sinks is unbelievably high,hence everywhere gets wet and it's not adjustable,but this I think is only part of the problem,during heavy rain on the Wednesday the guttering could not cope. I will also clarify that the public walk through from the top road to the bottom road is in constant use,hence lack of privacy,all windows are on the Public side,so either close the curtains or put up with people gazing.Also used early morning by workers cutting through to get to town. The outside area is not a pleasant place to enjoy breakfast with two dustbins,several crates for recycling,the grass is mainly weeds and after being cut distributed around the so called garden,plus the outlook is a wooden fence alongside the public steps. Inside the house is well stocked with cutlery,glasses,crockery etc,there are the normal appliances,but the general appearance is that it could all do with a general upgrade,this is my honest opinion and I have to say there was no joy returning to the property at night.overall a very disappointing seven days.

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• Jason - Verified booking

  I have real mixed reviews for this cottage.

  The cottage it's self is absolutely stunning. Very well equipped kitchen bedding and towels provided which is an absolute bonus however we had a few problems. First off we come with a toddler 1 year old to be precise. This cottage has open stairs on all floors with no door and no safety gate. So we spent the entire of our stay trying to get our toddler to sit in one space and not run around so she didn't fall down the stairs. The property isn't safe as it is for young children and should be in the advert. Second of all we come with out 3 dogs but the garden isn't safe they can get out into the neighbours yard. The gate itself isn't any higher than a jack Russell that leads to the neighbours also they kept leaving the gates open. Also the garden was really muddy which was impossible not to walk back inside. There was a lot of poo in the garden and a dead mouse. The heating also does not work properly and made a very loud drilling noise. However the hot water worked just fine. But saying all this if things were changed for the safety of children and the dogs I would be back. Its in an ideal location and a beautiful cottage over all but maybe not with a hyperactive toddler. The views were also stunning ! So overall if things were changed in the safety aspect I'd come back next year.

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