Dog Friendly Cottages in Orford

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Judith - Verified booking

  The property was just as it looked in all the photos.

  It was easy to find and in a great place for exploring Orford itself, taking the boat over to Orford Ness (which I had booked in advance online to ensure we could go) and coastal walks. We didn't use our car for the first two days! The garden was a pleasant place to sit in the afternoon sunshine with a view of the Keep. The property itself was well laid out, contemporary in design, extremely well equipped especially in the kitchen area. The bed was very comfortable as well as the sofa. The TV was only able to show bbciplayer, prime and netflix as there is currently an issue with the freeview. We did also have only lukewarm water for the shower but the owner was helpful when I phoned her on the first day. The bath was fine, nice and long and relaxing. We had the best welcome pack we have ever had in a holiday cottage, thank you. We had breakfast at the bakery, a lunch at the Jolly Sailor (a bit chaotic garden table service!), an evening 'pub' food meal at the Kings Arms and a drink in the garden at the Crown and Castle. Would recommend the village stores too and we loved the honesty box newspaper hut near the village hall! A great choice all within walking distance. The property is set behind The Dunns which is owned by the same family. Would highly recommend staying at the Curious Oyster, you will not be disappointed.

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• Susie - Verified booking

  First of all I apologise for forgetting to clean up after the dog in the garden.

  I have been back today to do it. I feel the cottage is in need of some work to bring it to a suitable standard for holiday rental. There is paint peeling off the wall and damp under the windows at the front. The radiator in the bathroom is in very shabby condition. The sofa is on legs which are not attached to it and having lifted the sofa to retrieve a dog toy we couldn’t fix the legs back and couldn’t use this. The description says ‘two bathrooms’. That is not true and it should be made clear that the bathroom is downstairs and through the kitchen and living areas. It should also be made clear that you cannot just let your dog out for a wee at night because the ‘courtyard’ is across the path and you have to be dressed, have shoes on and have the dog on a lead. Being Christmas we used a lot of the cookware and most of it was grubby. One cooking dish in particular was dirty and had several cracks in it. The Christmas ‘decor’ was very disappointing consisting of a wreath on the door and a tiny tree on the windowsill, both of which seemed very old. The whole place was musty smelling. Orford lovely but the cottage seems as though the owners scrape by doing as little as possible and I think most visitors will be disappointed. I particularly feel the photos are very misleading.

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• Ralph - Verified booking

  The accommodation is clean, modern and 'Scandi' influenced.

  The main living area is well appointed with good quality fittings and welcome items provided. The Oyster's location is excellent, adjacent to the castle, next stop the Crown & Castle, then the newspapers in the foyer of the Town Hall, the General Store (great bread and selection of cheeses, etc.), King's Head and the Jolly Sailor - three recommended dog-friendly hostelries and venues. Some other places are not dog friendly but we did use the tearooms on the riverside and the smoke house shop. Maintenance - the enclosed garden's grass had not been cut for some time so clearing up was made a little harder (perhaps its being re-wilded?) and the conifer type hedge up the driveway was also unkempt to the extent it brushes the car as you use the drive when you get as close as you can to the on-site bungalow. The Curious Oyster sign at the end of the drive is also unkempt as its partially covered in ivy so look out for The Dunns sign and you're there, it's the same driveway. Would we go back - certainly, good accommodation, well sited, clean and the people we met seemed friendly.

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• Pauline - Verified booking

  The house is lovely but a few things that could be improved:- 1.

  Dining table way too small, only comfortable for 6 people; there were 9 of us. 2. Tap on sink in the utility room very loose & no hot water. 3. Cooker old & didn't work very well, no grill pan, induction hob not working very well, made it very difficult to cook there. 4. Why leave just one dishwasher tablet, surely enough for the duration of the booking is not too much to ask. 5. No kitchen towels; this is a basic requirement. 6. Side door has a broken seal which made it very difficult to open; not ideal when I'm trying to get in from the pouring rain! Had to go round the back of the house to get in. £1500 for 3 nights is a lot of money and for that I expect more. I also tried to contact the company several times before my visit but it was impossible, the online chat, the SMS and the call back options didn't work & it was beyond frustrating not to be able to talk to someone to answer a question, pretty bad customer service. I've used Sykes for years but they were so much better as a small independent company than they are now.

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• Nikki - Verified booking

  Absolute gorgeous bolt hole, with lovely Scandi styling.

  The welcome gifts were much appreciated and got our holiday off to a great start. We loved it. We did leave a note as the taps in the kitchen and bathroom sinks did drip significantly and loudly (probably noticed more because of the silence!) and the hoover performance was a bit patchy but those are niggles really and easily fixed. It’s such a fabulous spot and we loved it. Pinneys seafood, Pump Bakery bread and cakes, great pub food in The Kings Head, coffee and cakes in the cafes, fine dining at the dog-friendly table in the Crown and Castle, river trips round the Ness - we did it all. Also day trips to Aldeburgh and Sutton Hoo plus a look round Orford Castle which is literally on the doorstep. The grounds were great for walking the dog - he loved all the new smells! Appreciated that so many places were dog- friendly, including the Curious Oyster. We’ll be back!

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