Dog Friendly Cottages in Wales

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Jane - Verified booking

  Sadly not the idyllic memory making stay with our parents we’d hoped for.

  Disappointingly, woken early by building machinery noise opposite going back & forth. Issue with flies in the cottage which made it very uncomfortable then finally unliveable. The fly issue got progressively worse it was really anxiety provoking & felt so unclean, no one was sleeping so we had to leave a day early, it ruined what should have been a relaxing lovely holiday for us all. The Owner was contacted & responded to reports, by sending the housekeepers to review the problem. They agreed it was awful and it ended up being a fly infestation in the space around the window frame. Unfortunately due to the age of the cottage all of the window frames have gaps so it was a ticking time bomb & we were the unlucky ones. The owners were kind enough to understand the distress it had caused & offered a 50% refund or a return stay booked directly with themselves. We had to decline a re-stay as the trauma of that stay still remains anxiety provoking nearly a month after our stay. However, during what was a very stressful time, following our stay (which was highlighted to the owners due to health issues) they decided to disengage communication & renege on their offer without clear communication to us. When approached about this I was informed ‘ I was right it was less than a third of our cost due to the additional booking fees & insurance’ this wasn’t the full truth and was never mentioned. Also that ‘the Sykes representative thought it was a more than generous offer in the circumstances as it wasn’t a problem of their making and they acted quickly’. They had no choice but to act quickly due to the severity of the problem which no doubt jeopardised existing bookings. It is also poor customer service that despite knowing these issues no representative from Sykes bothered to contact us to ask if we were ok in light of the situation. I was truly taken aback it’s taken me over a week to even attempt to respond but I feel that it’s anything but fair. It also wasn’t our fault we had a truly terrible stay, we tried our hardest to stay & make the best of it until it was impossible. We couldn’t leave any windows or doors open from the time we arrived as we initially thought the flies were entering that way. We subsequently, incurred increased costs due to the food wastage from preparing/trying eat meals in the property that flies had contact with ending up being thrown away/wasted. This meant although we were tired from forced early morning wake ups we then had to go out if we wanted to eat & not bring it back because of the circumstances. Both the emotional & physical upset plus exhaustion of our stay affected all the family negatively. In providing an honest review of this property other issues we feel need bringing to the attention of anyone wishing to book are the steps leading up to the garden. They are dangerous even for anyone without any mobility issues especially lone children, as plants have been left growing over part of the top steps so you have to side step to get to the top which is awkward & a hazard especially in wet weather. The kitchen table needs attention/ revarnishing/ table cloth it’s stays really sticky even when cleaned we didn’t know this & put magazines down that got stuck & ripped. It’s was brought to the attention of the housekeepers but they’re already aware. Evening times the smell of smoke is very strong on the stairs & in the hallway, it obviously comes from outside despite no windows or doors being open. This is obviously beyond the owners control, but it wasn’t comfortable for 2 members of the family who have bronchial related health issues. Needless to say we wouldn’t return or recommend this property.

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• Judy - Verified booking

  Castle coach house is so lovely, beautifully finished with lots of space and light.

  There is a great utility / boot room which helps keep all the mud out of the main house. The bedrooms upstairs have great proportions and yet feel very cosy, plenty of bathrooms! The open plan kitchen, dining and living space gives everyone the space they need. Sofas and chairs are comfortable. The different lighting options helps to make the mood right in the evening. Lots of classic furniture and trinkets to keep it feeling homely and interesting. The kitchen is well equipped. There are lots of games to be used. We absolutely loved the house. Couple of things to work on: maintenance of the washing machine, tumble dryer, dishwasher, extractor fans etc is probably due. The sitting room area could do with a picture or two or a wooden dresser with the tv inside a cabinet, and get rid of the fender which takes up space and looks a bit odd. The enclosed garden wasn’t enclosed as the gate is broken. It’s also unfortunately a muddy bog which may be tricky to figure out as it’s at the bottom of a hill. I felt a bit sad being right next to lovely garden areas of the castle which have private signs on them all so you can’t use them.

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• Christopher - Verified booking

  A fantastic family cottage, we had three generations staying and the cottage was loved by all.

  The house is so well equipped, it is closer to going into someone's home than a holiday let. The log fire creates a lovely cosy environment in the main lounge, and having the second lounge for the kids to play in was brilliant. The bedrooms are all of a great size with plenty of storage and the beds are very comfy! For a cottage with such history the house is warm and quickly warms up once activated. The showers in both rooms were great with hot water and good pressure! The kitchen was amazing! A range cooker was great and easy to use but what we liked the most was how well equipped it was, with big pans and plenty of cutlery to feed the whole family! The outdoor area is a lovely place to spend time in, and the views from the back are gorgeous. The location is five minutes out from Betwys-coed and we were able to go anywhere from Conwy to Portmadog in less than an hour from the cottage, through some of the best country side the UK has to offer! Cannot fault this property at all, and host gave us loads of great advice prior to our holiday starting. Perfect holiday!

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• Michael - Verified booking

  While the property was clean and basically as advertised, it was not dog friendly; space for night-time and early morning dog toilet purposes was inadequate.

  We found on arrival no basic toiletries, (soap and shampoo), let alone welcoming tea/coffee. And the advertised clothes washer did not exist. When the shower annexed to the larger bedroom locked into an "on" position, my son telephoned the owner, who was more concerned with his own holiday arrangements than those of his paying guests. I think I would also have wanted to know beforehand that the off-road parking is good, but the access to it is via a VERY narrow archway and if you are driving a larger vehicle you WILL have issues getting in and out. Also while the sleeping areas are all on the ground floor the living areas are on the first floor and the stairs are VERY steep which might well cause issues if someone has less than great mobility. We would have put the bin/recycling out had we known what day to do it, (and indeed I did put the recycling out) but the bin was overflowing by the end of our stay and I suspect the next person was going to have a very bad experience with that. (The overflowing bin was drawing the attention of a large rat.)

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• David - Verified booking

  If you get the wrong music in the pub then for that night the cottage is awful.

  5 hours of banging base that is so loud it shakes the windows and makes the fridge vibrate needs to have warnings. looking at the planned music I think we got the worse one possible. Also the Pub dropping empty beer barrels against the wall your headboard is on at 1am in the morning is unpleasant. The habit that locals ( Welsh number plate ) and delivery drivers have of parking on the double yellow outside the property and restricting or in some cases blocking the archway access also not good. Some of the people doing this appeared to be living or staying in the properties right next to the archway. I am aware this is likely outside the owners control, but it does affect the enjoyment of the property. Beds gave everyone sore backs to the point we looked forward to going home to our own beds and left a day early. If you happen to know the owners of the local chip shop, being open on your advertised open days would be nice, but meant we found chippy dee which was great. Aside from that it was a nice cottage.

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