Dog Friendly Cottages in South East

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Lena - Verified booking

  Had a lovely stay at The Orchard.

  Space is great and rooms very comfortable. Although the accommodation is spotless it's decor is very tired and could do with some TLC. There is a lot of minor stuff not working and the plumbing definitely needs addressing as there are lots of loose taps and furred up shower heads. A few new washers wouldn't go amiss. The tumble dryer might need looking at as it makes a horrible noise. The outside of the accommodation let's it down as the gutter needs fixing and clearing and the garden needs some tidying and all in need of general maintenance. We had some issues with getting hot water but it's was due to the eccentric plumbing and a couple of calls to the host got it resolved. But it wasn't very convenient to have to do this. A few spares such as bulbs being available would have been helpful. Perhaps a welcome/house guide summarising the house quirks would be helpful? TV in lounge was amazing! Main bathroom shower likewise. Host was very polite and helpful. Kitchen very well equipped but could use some weighing scales perhaps? H&S wise the poolside is lethal if wet, some rubber matting wouldn't go amiss to make it much safer. We had several near misses and one accident on the steps from the house into the pool despite being very careful. Especially worrying when we had elderly and very young children in our party. I would say not doing so is failing in duty of care. A sign warning of the slippery surfaces is not sufficient in my opinion. Thank you Orchard we enjoyed our stay immensely despite a few things hiccups. Wold have give a higher rating if not for poor maintenance of plumbing and safety issues of poolside.

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• Robert - Verified booking

  The Old Stable is well presented and a wonderfully equipped holiday home.

  Everything has been provided to an extremely high standard. Despite dire weather predictions our stay was not interupted by the sound of raindrops. All good so far. This is very much a working farm and as such the sound of tractors working from 7am should not be unexpected. Another aspect worthy of note during spells of warm weather was the abundance of flies......again not unusual on a farm but preparing food is not a task for sharing with our six-legged friends. A country property was chosen for walks and enjoying the outdoors. It is not feasible to walk from the door, therefore the car is required every day . . . . Herein lies my final gripe..The A40 is a busy road and joining it is a nightmare. Forget trying to turn right because a sufficient gap is as likely as a fly swatter having a success rate capable of deterring the other house guests. Engage power setting, turn left and trust other road users are taking notice. Walking the 1.3 miles to the nearest pub was possible but conversation, bar shouting, has to be conduced during breaks in the traffic. Our stay was enjoyable and the area is full of beautiful destinations - honourable mention to the warm sausage rolls from the butcher in Burford. These and his own pork pies are not to be missed. There is little the attentive owners can do about any of this and as such my comments are aimed purely at the expectations of prospective holiday makers. Nature has her own way of retribution - on our return home our south facing windows had their share of uninvited flies!!!!

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• Jocelyn - Verified booking

  We were a party of 8 adults, 3 children under 6 and a dog and booked The Orchard for a family birthday celebration.

  It was a really wonderful week and this lovely family home suited all of our needs perfectly. The house was very spacious, with a large table able to seat all of us in the dining room and another, smaller table in the kitchen, which still seated 8 comfortably. The kitchen was large and very well equipped, having everything we needed, so it never felt crowded. The cottage was also clean and there was lovely linen on the beds. The bedrooms were comfortable and although the bedroom furniture in particular, was dated, it rather suited the age of the house. The en suite shower rooms were small but the main en suite bathroom was good and the family bathroom was spacious, with a large shower and roll top bath. Everyone in the group loved the beautiful swimming pool but as the 3 children were non swimmers, we made sure they had buoyancy aids for safety, as I believe the pool depth varies from 3 ft to 6 ft 6”. Although the property is situated on a fairly busy road, it’s surrounded by fields and is perfectly located to explore the Kent and Sussex countryside, National Trust properties, beaches etc. One small point we would like to mention to improve things for the future, would be to illuminate ‘The Orchard’ sign outside the property, as two of our party arrived in the dark and went up and down the road several times, trying to locate the house. It was fine once we all knew the exact position of the property. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed our week here, I would recommend The Orchard and would love to stay here again!

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• Angela - Verified booking

  First of all let me say that we had a really great time, 3 generations of 6 adults, 5 children and 3 dogs, the secure garden for the dogs, the paddock for ball games and the pool all made for a very relaxed fun time for everyone.

  We loved the quirky layout and although the decor is generally very lacking with paper peeling from walls etc. in some rooms and very shabby furniture it meant that we could be relaxed about having children and dogs with us. First impressions were not too good, the building is in need of some serious repair/maintenance. The front entrance was rickety and dirty, I swept and washed the porch before the rest of the family arrived. However inside everything was clean and very well equipped apart from no scissors in the kitchen and two unusable tin openers, which provided a challenge. The sofa-bed mattress needs replacing immediately, but luckily we had sleeping bags with us so used them on top to cushion it. Otherwise all the bedrooms were very comfortable. The shower tray in the main bathroom is dangerously slippery, causing two near misses and needs some non-slip strips. The heated pool was fantastic for all the family providing hours of fun, however the steps down into the pool area are worn and slippery even when not wet so need some attention, perhaps again some non-slip strips or surface needed. All in all, I would recommend the Orchard but with the proviso to accept it for what it is and enjoy the company you are with.

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• Rob - Verified booking

  Linda Cottage provides everything to support a lovely holiday in this quiet village on the island.

  From the moment we walked down the path surrounded by the spring blooming Clematis and into the cozy warm cottage our stay was made perfect. I am a regular customer of Sykes Cottages renting their holiday let’s 3 or 4 times a year and can definitely recommend the cottage. It has everything you would expect with the added benefit of a double lower bunk bed that can prove really useful for families of 5. In addition there is a very well stocked reasonably priced convenience store open until 9pm in the evening that is located less than 1 minute walk and a friendly cozy pub just 10 minutes walk away… what more could you ask for. The Village Inn at Bembridge is a must, make sure of an early visit during your holiday as you will definitely want to return there! The friendly owners of Linda Cottage made us welcome from the very start and we’re kind enough to post a flask I had foolishly left behind… nothing was too much trouble. We will definitely consider booking this cottage in the lovely village of St Helens when we next visit the IoW….

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