Dog Friendly Cottages in Cornwall

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Danielle - Verified booking

  We have just returned from a really lovely stay at Elfin Cotttage in Porthleven, Cornwall.

  It was a very long journey down from Lancashire and I was a little worried after reading some reviews but we where very happy with Elfin Cottage. As it is a cottage it isn’t big inside but we where a party of 6 three adults and three children as well as one dog and did not have any difficulties with the size of the property. It has absolutely everything you need and extra bits too like spare bulbs and all sorts! Also if you look in the cupboard drawers across from the stairs you will find all sorts of information leaflets and a little booklet with tide times on ( I put that in there!) so you can plan trips out. As we are not nosey Parker’s we didn’t realise until the last night that the chest underneath the tv has all sorts of games in too! The beds are comfy and we found the whole cottage to be lovely and clean and there was no mould in sight any where. The garden is just lovely, the roses are coming into bloom ( the children need to be careful around these as they are prickly but our three never hurt themselves) there where six chairs to sit out and the sun shone in the garden all day. There was plenty of opportunities to move the chairs into the sun and enjoy the garden. We perhaps could have done with a small table out there ( maybe a folding one or one kept out of the way under the window?) but we managed well without one. Although this cottage is near to the harbour and the beach it is tucked away,we just loved the quiet location, we couldn’t hear any of the bustle of the busy harbour. There is a table with four chairs in the dining room but there is extra chairs in the kitchen and we managed to fit six of us round the table no problem. We also didn’t find parking a problem, yes sometimes we needed to park on the car park next to the supermarket but generally it wasn’t a problem for us. We didn’t realise that there are restrictions on walking the dog on Porthleven beach at certain times of the year we where ok but between July and October there are no dogs allowed on the beach, so that something to bear in mind. Also the dogs are not allowed on the sofas or upstairs at all,something else to bear in mind. Our dog seemed to get the hang of this pretty quickly too! Overall, I would recommend Elfin cottage we have had the best time and we all feel sad to be back home from such a fantastic holiday, Porthleven really is just beautiful.

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• Joanne - Verified booking

  Read the reviews before you book!

  Elfin Cottage is a charming little property in a very handy, central location in Porthleven. Set back from the harbour (no view) with a small enclosed garden. Sadly we experienced most of the ‘issues’ previously detailed in the reviews left in the last 12 months or so…these include: • kitchen is tired and the provision is poor. We had to clean items taken out of the cupboards, which smelled damp and some of which had been put back dirty. The initial smell of bleach as we entered the cottage was overwhelming. The oven cut out twice which resulted in a 20 min meal taking over an hour - possibly due to a restriction on electric? Or a faulty thermostat? Difficult to see how this kitchen can cater for 6 people. The cooker hood needs a really good clean - the grease filters are filthy and it’s incredibly noisy! • water pressure and shower facilities were pretty poor. The shower cut out while showering a couple of times and dripped constantly. Both bathrooms have tiny, rusty towel rails which seemed pretty inadequate. • the garden is pretty neglected (the lovely rose bush in the photo at the front of the cottage is now dead) and needs quite a bit of tlc. Although there was a washing line (whirly gig) there was nowhere obvious to put it - it was also rusty. Fortunately hubby is resourceful and strung up a washing line! Thank goodness we didn’t have wetsuits to dry! We were also really concerned when our dog found a flat dead rat in the garden - although we do appreciate it could have been brought in by a cat or a bird? • There were a couple of safety bars missing from the windows (which could have done with a good clean). • there appear to be no recycling facilities available (apparently a requirement of the local authority?). With some TLC and a bit of investment this could be a delightful little cottage and I hope this feedback is acted on as-well as providing others with information we wish we had digested before booking (this is our only family holiday this year and we felt it was a lot to pay for what we got!) Having said all of the above, it is a beautiful area with lots to explore. Lovely shops, bars and restaurants. The Cornish welcome was very warm wherever we went - we will definitely be back to visit the area!

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• Julie - Verified booking

  Driftwood needs a really good clean , on first look it's fine but when you stay you see that there is dust everywhere the ornaments and such need a good dusting .

  The patio could do with a blast clean . The garden furniture could do with a scrub to get rid of all the spiderwebs . The living room carpet is full of stain marks . The cushions on the sofas were covered in marks and black dog hairs look like they need replacing . We would have had a restful time in polzeath but for the fact that there were a number of major building works happening resulting in a rude awakening from 7 am onwards , exceptionally loud scaffolding clangs and digging machinery, drilling etc . On arrival we had a double bed made up in a room that wasn't quite large enough for a double bed . It was placed against a wall resulting in a difficult scramble for one of the occupants to get out of bed should the need arise during the night . We had to unmake the bed and make up a bed in the other room. This first room would have been fine for children but not for us as we are over 65 years of age . A little thought on the caretakers behalf should have realised we were an adult couple with out children and both needed to extricate the bed from both sides . We have stayed in previous Sykes cottages and have in fact booked a further one for later this year on each occasion there have been complimentary items for the family . Not expensive things but a small bottle of milk and a couple of teabags for arrival. There was absolutely nothing at all we had to go to the shops to get some before we had even unpacked after an 8 hour journey this would have been most welcome . Furthermore when asked to leave the residence clean , there wasn't anything under the sink as far as cleaning products go to do this with apart from a cloth and brush . A bottle of some sort of all over cleaning product would have been useful. Overall not quite up to standard or worth the money . If this had been our first Sykes booking it would have been our last I'm afraid .

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• Nigel - Verified booking

  The following extract is from a letter sent to Sykes Cottages on 18/9/23: to date (14/11/23) I have heard nothing, not even an acknowledgement.

  ..Having hoped for a peaceful and restful holiday in a Cornish cottage, I am sorry to advise that the lasting memory from our stay in Elfin Cottage will be the barking and howling of two black Labrador dogs from the cottage opposite (Kyldenna?) which occurred constantly throughout the week. The situation reached a climax on Thursday 14th September when it appeared to us that the two dogs had been left unattended overnight and were barking and howling continuously throughout the night; I have video footage taken at 06:37 Friday morning as an example of the situation which we found distressing from an animal welfare perspective and had seriously disturbed our sleep. It would seem that our concerns were not alone as the matter had been reported by someone to the RSPCA. Whilst packing up on Saturday morning at 09:30, I noticed a local RSPCA Officer speaking with a gentleman at the front door of the neighbouring cottage (Salvay?). I have just spoken with the RSPCA national helpline and understand that the situation on Thursday/Friday had been reported to them locally, that a case had been opened and an Officer had been sent (presumably the lady RSPCA Officer I noticed on Saturday morning?) to investigate the situation. Whilst the RSPCA was not in a position, due to Data Protection, to give me the case reference number and any update, the ‘Call Handler’ I spoke with a moment ago was able to share the above general information with me....I have just posted a 2nd letter to Sykes Cottages asking that my comments be treated as a formal complaint under the Complaint's Policy.

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• Craig - Verified booking

  This was booked as a 'dog friendly' cottage.

  Upon arrival we noted that dogs were not allowed on furniture or upstairs, not very dog friendly. The cottage was difficult to find once nearby as the final directions weren't clear enough. Whilst it was reasonably clean, the kitchen was dated and had chipped worksurfaces. There was insufficient room for 6 people to dine or sit comfortably yet this was listed as a 6 berth cottage. The wheelie bin in the front garden was full and overflowing with additional bags of rubbish on the floor. These were pulled apart by birds. Not a very good look for us when we arrived. They didn't get removed until halfway through the week so we had to put up with the noise if the bags being ransacked. There was insufficient crockery or small glasses for 6 people. All of it was bits and pieces cobbled together from old sets which didn't look very nice. The smell of the plug in air fresheners was overwhelming upon arrival which meant we had to open windows & doors to get rid of the smell. Two of the bedrooms unbelievably had their windows wired shut. This represented a huge safety risk in the event of a fire. Although we didn't need to use it during our stay, the woodburner was dirty and needed to have the glass thoroughly cleaned. Providing logs for visitors would have been a nice touch but there weren't any. Ending on a positive note, it is a beautiful area and the 'welcome pack' of scones, cream, jam, biscuits etc was a nice touch.

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