Dog Friendly Cottages in Dumfries And Galloway

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Leanne - Verified booking

  We (2ad and 4ch age 7-11) had a wonderful stay at this cottage.

  From the pictures I wasn’t sure if it was two cottages side by side but it’s all the one cottage, so was a relief. Wonderful location, right on the beach. Great size garden, half of which is stoned incase you need to park the car. Dog hated the stones but luckily there was a path she could use to get to the grass lol. A washing line too which was fantastic. A nice view onto a field with horses too. The house inside was great, a brilliant size. The main bedroom was beautiful and spacious. The other bedrooms were great too. The kitchen, though small, was fine for our needs and had lots of utensils which was great. The house is situated on a path which leads to the beach so there are lots of people passing. This wouldn’t be a problem but our dog barks at people constantly so if I would’ve known, I may have avoided this property (glad I didn’t!) but just incase this is an issue for someone. We got cold at times, especially in the evening and at night. The heating is timed, so could do with a wee heater to use for the bedrooms, especially the main bedroom. Maybe some extra pillows and blankets too for us with no blood. The shower base filled quite quickly so may need looked at. The bath plug was hard to get out too…we used my sons plastic arrow set lol to stick to the plug then pull it out. Enjoyed a few baths. The beach is weird. I’m sure there is history regarding it. There are bouts of sand, dry and wet, severe muddy sand and loads of bricks and rocks. The kids just loved going for walks along the beach. We done it morning noon and night. Take a torch!! Maybe wellies or decent walking boots too. The only one downside was there is no local shop, so it was quite a trek to just get milk etc so stock up on supplies when you go to the supermarket. We would return in a heartbeat. The games in the cottage were great, I got halfway through a jigsaw! Just ideal, and thoroughly recommended.

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• Brian - Verified booking

  Just as other reviewers have written, the house is lovely, with outstanding views across the Urr estuary and the Solway Firth.

  It has been restored and refurbished to a very high standard. I would love to know its history. The interior design is inspiring: beautiful furnishing fabrics, carefully restored and reupholstered older furniture, art and museum pieces discreetly fixed down or locked behind glass, modern beds and sofas. All tableware and cookware is by Denby, and there is plenty of it. Unfortunately, there were shortcomings. We arrived to find the dishwaher out of action, with an inadequate note telling us not to use it, an engineer was needed to fix it. We called the NTS representative on Monday. She explained that the engineer was waiting for a spare part to be delivered. She did not know when the dishwasher might be fixed. Washing up by hand for a large household was a disheartening chore, especially after we invited our Scottish family to Sunday lunch and washed up for 21. The dishwasher was eventually fixed on Thursday afternoon. Five days at the sink certainly dampened our holiday spirit. Standards have fallen since reviewers mentioned the house being "spotlessly clean". While the kitchen and bathrooms were very clean, many weeks'-worth of dust covered some surfaces (sideboards, mantlepieces, hearths, TV table, half-landing windowsill). It appeared that a golden retriever had occupied the first-floor en-suite bedroom; its long hair remained on the carpet and sofa and soon transferred onto the one-year-old baby's clothes and hands. Some bin bags and a second kitchen bin for recycling would be useful. Perhaps NTS could also ask Dumgal Council for more orange-lidded wheelie bins for recycling. Both recycling bins were already three-quarters full and, as they are shared between Auchenvhin and Saltflats Cottage and are collected only once a fortnight, two bins are not enough.

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• Donna - Verified booking

  I absolutely loved this house.

  Beautiful location. The decor and the period features were very appealing. The grounds were fabulous for my dog to explore. Very comfortable bed. The kitchen was very well equipped for cooking, ample amounts of crockery and cutlery. The views from the windows are fabulous. However, there are a few things that do need to be addressed. As previously mentioned in reviews, the door knobs are extremely difficult to open, the hot water taps in the bathrooms are dangerously hot. The plug in the private bathroom requires attention as water drains out quickly and its not easy to top up with a scalding tap. The house was very cold and it was not possible to over-ride the control. The guest information said there were extra blankets in the cupboard under the stairs, unfortunately, it was locked. I was slightly niggled that I had to empty a very full dishwasher before I could use it. There were no dishwasher tablets, salt, pepper, cling film or foil - I rarely stay anywhere where these aren't provided - so come prepared! I thought the living room could have been cleaned more thoroughly - my dog was very interested in all of the snacks between the cushions. There was an ice-cream spoon and burst balloons on the floor and evidence of dog hair on the furniture. Also, the Christmas trees were still up, despite me arriving on the 12th night! I'm aware all of these things are very easily rectified. These are the things that could turn a very good stay in to an outstandingly fabulous one! All this said, it certainly wouldn't deter me from booking again - I'm planning another visit. The area is beautiful for walking and tranquility. Fortunately, I had great weather. Just the break I needed.

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• Diane - Verified booking

  Spent a month at the Blue Door, was a little disappointed with some aspects.

  The cottage really needs a general refurbishment, the decor was tired and worn. The room at the very top which my husband used as an art studio was lovely and light but we found the living room, dining room and bedroom at the back quite dark and for me it was a little claustraphobic. Blue Door had a well equipped kitchen but the utensils badly need replacing and bin does not work via the pedal (not hygenic to have to open manually via the lid). When we checked the cooker, the oven was dirty, there were a couple of items of food in the freezer and there had been food left in the cupboard. I noted that someone said they had left this on a previous review, not sure why this had not then been removed. We were asked to air the rooms when we left, this was not possible in most of them as the windows do not open. We apprecite that with this type of property that there are things which simply cannot be changed but it could be freshened up very easily. The general rubbish bin was the smallest of all and with no recycling facilities for the Blue Door it filled up very quickly. This was not helped by someone adding their rubbish to it (3 bags during our stay). I emailed NT directly about this and I was advised it would be sorted. Overall it was a comfortable stay but we would not return again to the Blue Door particularly in the summer when the prices are very high. Cheaper properties of the same space etc are available in the town. I would recoommend Kirkcudbright, it is a lovely town to holiday in, lots of great walks and good facilities in the town itself. It was also very quiet where we were, nice to just hear the local bird life.

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• Andy - Verified booking

  Where to start.

  After coming to powfoot for over 30 years this is the worst place we have stayed. The cottage is damp filled, we had to leave 2 days early as we felt it took unsafe to sleep in Each room was outdated, filthy cobwebs dust dirty carpets, wall, under the seats. The bathrooms both had mould, again indicative of damp problems, disgusted by air fresheners No dryer, on rainy days all to be had was radiators, making towels and clothing stink of damp. Spilt food from previous rentals found under cooker when sweeping. Airing cupboard which housed vacuum and mop, filthy, covered with dog hair. We have photos of all we have highlighted taken on our 2nd day Our holiday ruined and our budget. Terrible service from the owner, only contact was a cleaner who clearly doesn't do their job Complaint raised with Sykes on the Sunday 4th August, who said they'd contact the owner and still yet to hear back from them. Review left on trip advisor and intent to seek legal action Disgusting at best. We are NHS frontline staff, time together is rare and precious, we have a disabled child, so this should have been our safe, comfy, quiet space, ruined by the misrepresentation of a not so lovely cottage and sub standard service.

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