Holiday Cottages in the Wye Valley & Forest of Dean

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Sally - Verified booking

  We absolutely loved our stay in The Annexe.

  Came for 4 nights with just me, 2 teenagers and the dog in a fairly rainy week, so was slightly nervous about keeping them all entertained and happy - but needn't have worried! The house was immaculately clean (and I mean, totally, utterly, spotless clean) and we couldn't have asked for better, more modern and comfortable facilities (my first time cooking on an induction hob - worked a treat!!). The lovely owners even provided us with a home-baked cake and cookies - they didn't last long with the teenagers in the house! Wi-Fi had a super strong signal, so we were able to stream movies, play games on our devices etc with no problems (essential with 2 teenagers in tow!). Plenty of piping hot water for showers or a bath, too. The beautiful but also wildlife-friendly garden and views from The Annexe were magnificent - I had a real stinker of a cold on our holiday, so spent a lot of time happily sat in the reclining lounge chairs reading and watching the birds coming to the feeders out the window. The location was perfect for a big range of activities too - we went to Go Ape, Goodrich Castle, Symonds Yat and the Taurus Crafts shops & cafe, but saw many other places we would've loved to explore if we'd had a longer stay. All were dog-friendly and lovely places to go (essential as my dog has separation anxiety so has to come everywhere with me). We loved our break in The Annexe and couldn't recommend it more highly as a place to stay.

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• Jacqueline - Verified booking

  The fact that I didn’t score top marks for each of the categories didn’t detract from our enjoyment.

  The location of this cottage is amazing if you like peace and quiet . If you want a ‘quick pop to the shop ‘ maybe not as good although there are plenty of supermarkets about 20 minutes away ( by car). Being in the forest at this time of year was a joy . Lots of opportunities to park and walk for hour. The garden is on a couple of levels with some interesting nooks and crannies . It felt completely secure for our dog to investigate. Surrounding towns / villages are very dog friendly and we were made welcome everywhere. (Try Alex Gooch in Monmouth). The cottage itself had all that we needed but for me the sofas were a bit tired and didn’t offer my dodgy back enough support . I realise that is something personal to me and maybe other guests would be fine. At home we rarely get the opportunity to watch television so it was a bonus to have a television that worked as described in the holiday listing . Very often, listings say ‘smart tv’ but channels are very restricted . However this was not the case at Anvil Cottage.

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• Steve - Verified booking

  The standard of the property was great it was exactly what we required for our family break.

  One disappointing part of the weekend was the lack of flexibility for a later check out than 10am on the last day. However, the biggest issue from the weekend was the departure procedure that was required either from the property owner or Sykes themselves. We are a clean and tidy family but the requirement to strip all the bedding, collect all the used towels, dispose of all the various recyclable materials into an outdoor facility (we’d already separated it into the correct receptacles within the property), clear out the main rubbish bin, etc. was all excessive. This was compounded by making sure this was all achieved by the afore mentioned 10am check out time. Is this kind of post-stay cleaning not a part of the rental price of the property? This would discourage me from using Sykes again.

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• Cheryl - Verified booking

  Sykes themselves were difficult to contact, however The Old Sunday School exceeded our expectations.

  Perfectly kitted out with every little detail attended to. Extremely clean, very well equipped kitchen, utility etc. Outdoor space, although compact had everything it needed, nice outdoor furniture, a gas BBQ and a large bike storage shed. The hosts were quick to attend to our queries and left a lovely welcome hamper. Bream itself had a Spar, a Co-op, a cafe, a pharmacy and a fish and chip shop. The pub didn't appear to be open during our stay. We can highly recommend the fish and chips! The house is a short driving distance from activities like woodland high wires, segway trails, arts and crafts, cycling and walking trails, a steam railway and numerous places to mess around on the water. Thanks for a brilliant holiday in superb accommodation.

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• Megan - Verified booking

  We had a lovely time at The Old Sunday School.

  Communication with Adam and Denise was excellent, always responding to our questions; before during and after our stay. We came to celebrate a 40th Birthday, the space was perfect for this, we were a party of 8: 6 adults and 2 children. We planned, cooked and ate delicious meals in the large and very well equipped kitchen. The house was super clean on arrival and we had everything we needed. We also had a food delivery which really helped start off our holiday. We visited loads of places nearby- puzzlewood, Clearwell Caves, Bathurst Lido, we also did a morning of canoeing on the river Wye which was wonderful. We also did walks locally. We had a great time and would recommend to large groups.

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