Group Accommodation Cottages in Oxfordshire

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Andy - Verified booking

  I would not want to stay here in the winter.

  Rodent sized holes under the door from the dining area to the garden look very inviting for a cold four legged critter or in fact any other critters out there. Furniture in the lounge is very stained and we were pleased we could sit in the garden due to the weather. However, the garden lights are in fact nowhere near the garden seating area so a little useless as it gets darker. The knives and forks look like they were there when the place was built and that is not a compliment as to their vintage look. Rugs, both upstairs and downstairs, are threadbare and fraying at the edges. Some of the windows are broken and the garden was quite overgrown during our stay. The key safe is in fact nowhere near the front door and so when arriving in the dark it was a challenge to find the door keys tucked around the corner nowhere near the door !! In the upstairs bathroom the sink was falling off the vanity shelf so be careful when washing in it or cleaning your teeth for fear of it parting company with the shelf, and the glass tiles are all lifting off the surface too. The bin in the bathroom also doesn’t close and needs to be replaced but was still there so contents are all on display. The pots hanging in the kitchen needed to be cleaned prior to use. In the main bedroom one wall was plastered but not painted. In the downstairs bedroom en-suite there was mold in the bathroom which has clearly not been cleaned sufficiently and the walls are showing signs of damp in the main bedroom upstairs and in the downstairs bedroom. This property is advertised as being dog friendly but there is in fact nowhere convenient for dogs to sleep as there is no door on the kitchen area and so dogs, unless kept in a bedroom with you are, free to roam around the house, which is far from ideal. Also, it seems the place must be totally cleaned tip to toe on departure which is not ideal when kicking out time is 10 am..... plus I would highly recommend taking your own towels as we have been charged for a towel with a bit of mud on it and a towel with some water based makeup on it.... having used them obviously... derrr... you would think you could !! The issue with the towels is the fact that the decision to charge for them was taken before they had been put in to a washing machine. Unless of course the linen and towels are not normally washed between guests ? This was all done without any discussion on the matter, despite us asking for better information and whether the towels had actually ventured anywhere near a washing machine or not, however the funds were simply taken from our account with zero discussion on the matter... It is also ironic that on arrival, the tea towels that were in the kitchen were absolutely filthy and we put them to one side but there was no mention of the tea towels in the “damaged towels” claim and it was a good job we took our own tea towels as directed. We would not stay at this place again and we would not use Sykes cottages again either. Their handling of the matter was to simply brush it under one of the threadbare and frayed carpets...

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• Carol - Verified booking

  We had a reasonable week but there were a few niggling problems.

  I know we could have reported issues to the management but we were on holiday and didn't want intrusions. The kitchen work surfaces and table were grimy along with some of the crockery. The fridge door is broken so not able to store opened cartons. The fridge also froze the contents of the salad drawer. The microwave was very temperamental as was the cooker. I think the television also needs replacing/upgrading to a smart tv. The wall brackets seemed to be broken so the tv slants downwards. I know a lot of people won't be bothered by not having an up to date tele but they don't have to use it and that's their choice......but for those that do like to view then the facility of stuff like "catch up" should be available in a "high end" property such as this. One last moan.....the en-suite bathroom in the attic bedroom. It's a lovely room but please provide a bit of privacy in the form of a blind for the clear glass window. The attic bedroom can provide a bit of a challenge for the less mobile but at 73 years old I managed the staircase and the low bed. Our 2 grandsons shared the twin room and loved it. My Husband has health issues so he had the 1st floor double bedroom and was happy with it. . On the positive side the building was charming and sympathetically restored with lots of original features. It's a very quiet area as well so not much passing traffic. It's also located in a beautiful part of the country which is central to many other places of interest. . Sadly we probably wouldn't return to this cottage but what doesn't suit us might not be a problem to others. We've rented very many properties over very many years so have a lot of experience in rating. For us we would rate this property as "middle" because there is room for improvement in facilities and cleanliness.You can't alter the layout of the property but despite having a reasonable sleep in the attic bedroom I wouldn't choose to do it again. I've no doubt that younger people wouldn't feel the same way though.......they would probably love it. ;-)

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• Deborah - Verified booking

  We have been before and it was disappointing that more had not been done to make the garden more secure for the dog.

  Also, a shame that more cannot be done about the old barn. However, these are problems that we were aware of and prepared to live with. What was not acceptable was the later check-in time of 6pm to find that the property was less clean than the first time we booked. There were sticky marks on the kitchen floor from previous spillages, which we wiped to find the cloth was black with dirt and the skirting boards were very dusty. We also found, on striping our own beds, that some of the bedding and protectors were stained. It is interesting to note that, although assured in the welcome folder that mattress and pillow protectors are washed between bookings, it was requested that these were left on even though it was requested that we strip the beds. The biggest disappointment still, was that the bed in the upper bedroom was broken. This was only discovered when sleeping on it and it became more like a hammock in the middle of the night. We attempted to fix the problem, which turned out to be loose base supports, but again they moved in the middle of the night. The people sleeping in that bed were leaving a day early so at that point there was little point in calling in maintenance. Either way, it should not have been left in this state for someone to sleep on, surely this would have been known about when the bed was changed last time? It was also noted, on attempting to fix the bed, that underneath was a pile of disused wood and again more dust and dirt. I have photographs if anyone would like them as evidence of the poor state of maintenance. Sadly, we will not be returning next year. It is such a shame these issues have let down what is otherwise a beautiful property that is well equipped and in a lovely location, if only it was cared for properly.

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• Jacqueline - Verified booking

  We hired the cottage for a mini Christmas break.

  2 adults, 3 children. The cottage was plenty big enough for all of us. (Although the living room is probably the 'coziest' for space of an evening) It was clean and warm with everything we could need and we would definitely stay again! The welcome gift was thoughtful and essentials in the fridge and cupboards etc were very gratefully received - Thank you!! It was a perfect location we used it as our base and then explored Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water, The Slaughters, Bibury and Blenheim Palace, it was such a beautiful break. Practical things that I'm sure other reviews mention, yes the barn right next to the property isn't pretty, but they are open and honest about it, it's seen in the pictures and if you can just look past it, it shouldn't detract from how great everything else is. Some light bulbs didn't work, some kitchen pieces had a few minor breaks, all of which would probably be rectified if the owners were aware I have no doubt. The only negative comment I have regarding my whole stay was the mattress in the attic room. It is a memory foam mattress and I'm not sure if it has been damaged, or the slats underneath to support are damaged? But I spent my nights sleeping, feeling like I was falling into a definite dip. By the end I had two pillows over the area to level me out, but if this is a permanent issue I can see it would agitate many guests! It is a beautiful home in a gorgeous location!

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• Owen - Verified booking

  It was a last minute booking after a recent family bereavement, so generally, we were happy with the booking.

  However, there were a number of things we felt were in desperate need of modernisation. First of all, the bathrooms. The showers were particularly bad, the one in the bathroom upstairs didn't even attach to the wall, and there was no mirror above the sink so it was impossible to shave. There was a mirror above the sink in the wet room downstairs but the light wasn't working! The bedroom with the twin beds in (where we put our children) was particularly cold, and when the heating came on, the boiler in the room beneath them was so loud it woke them up at 5am for three days straight! I do understand that upgrading the boiler isn't cheap, but it was the noisiest I've ever heard and could easily be replaced with a much quieter one. All the pipes throughout the house banged loudly when the heating came on. Some urgent plumbing work is required. The TV was tiny and could be updated, there was no option to use catch-up or apps etc, something the owners could easily rectify. But I think the thing which really was unforgivable was that there were huge dog poos everywhere inside the grounds. Why these hadn't been picked up I really don't understand. I think it's obvious that this property is managed by a large agency who are clearly based several hundred miles away, and don't get to inspect it on a regular basis. I couldn't recommend staying here to anyone until some major refurb and clean up work is undertaken

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