Half Term Holiday Cottages in the UK

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Nadir - Verified booking

  The cottage has suffered from a prolonged lack of care and maintenance and is not as shown in your website.

  To start with the fridge freezer was too small to cater for a family of five. Insufficient space for freezer food and a very dated fridge freezer indeed. The cooker, well what can i say, very outdated indeed and stopped working after one use. Then two days later it suddenly started working. The first-floor bathroom was again dated, the sink was blocked during the entire holiday and the toilet could not be flushed by us all and you have to repeatedly pull the dated chain system of the toilet for it to then work. The bathroom facilities need updating. Soaps were left where it was used by previous holidayers or guest which i found absolutely disgusting. The bedrooms were dusty and cobwebs every corner of the bedrooms seems to me that it has not had a deep clean since for ages. My children all suffer from dust allergies and they all became unwell and we were all sneezing every day with red itchy eyes. The house had sudden power cuts on many occasions which scared us all, especially during the nights. The lamp shades keep falling down and my son try to grab it and burned his little finger created a blister. The upstairs toilet mirror had no lights. There was no guidance on the bins. However, the gardens were beautiful and well maintained and we all loved it, but we heard a lot of gun shots and people walking in the woods adjacent to the garden that made us feel concerned about our children's safety. I think the woods are used for hunting, but we were not told. Also, we were not told that the woods belong to next door neighbour, and we were approached by her very aggressively and in a very judgemental way. We had explained our position so politely and apologised to her, but she was still aggressive. That evening we were called by the owner at around 8.30- 9.00pm regarding this matter which i found quiet insulting and quite rude to be exact as it ruined our pleasant evening. We felt so uneasy that we lost the mood of our holiday and we cut it short and left three days early. We also had problems parking our car off street and parking the car in the space provided was tremendously difficult and i had scratched my car from the fence post when going into the parking space. the fence closing off the parking space was ridiculously awkward and annoying needs major improvements. This property did not meet my standards and I suggest you inspect the property immediately as I am sure it would not meet yours. This is the first time I have used Sykes Cottages and unfortunately it may be the last.

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• Sascha - Verified booking

  We stayed here for a week and really enjoyed our trip.

  Having been to Cornwall for the first time we were surprised by the beauty of the landscape in this are. We had the most wonderful stay at Raven Cottage and highly recommend it. Everything was perfect from start to finish. The house was clean upon arrival, creating an immediate sense of comfort and relaxation. The beds were incredibly comfortable, ensuring a good night's sleep. After coming back from our daily trips to beautiful places we were more than happy to enjoy the evening in the winter garden with this stunning view. We will surely miss sitting here and watching endless waters and seagulls right in front of our (temporary) home. The kitchen was another highlight of our stay. It was fully equipped with everything one could possibly need to prepare meals, from pots and pans to utensils and appliances. Overall, Raven Cottage provided the perfect setting for a peaceful and enjoyable getaway. The attention to detail in every aspect of the house made our stay truly exceptional. We would not hesitate to return and strongly recommend it to anyone looking for a comfortable and well-appointed place to stay. Thank you for making our trip so memorable!

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• Joan - Verified booking

  When we booked this break back in January 2024 Raven Cottage was claimed to be all on one level however, there was no mention of the 30 feet step climb from the road to the property.

  There was no mention of the ongoing building work in progress next door that in turn made access to and from the cottage dangerous. These two details would have stopped us booking this cottage in the first place. The rubbish bin and bags were full to overflowing and had obviously been that way for some time.and the advertised 3 spaces for parking were reduced to1 due to storage for next doors building materials. The advertised photo of the front patio was impressive but the side patio area and furniture needed a good clean.It was two weeks prior to our break that we had any hint of the building work or the access steps and we were advised of a discount due to the building work. We paid the full advertised price for this cottage and never did see the discount offered . Due to family health emergency we had to cancel our break and return home after 36 hours, possibly a good move under the circumstances. We were mislead with the advertisement and would have looked elsewhere had we known of the hidden extras. To be fair the interior of the cottage and facilities were exceptional and the views were stunning but we had no intention of sitting indoors for a week.

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• Carolyn - Verified booking

  Had a very pleasant short-stay at Gun Hill.

  A super Cottage with a lovely Garden. Perfect base for exploring a lovely part of the country. A couple of minor complaints in that the downstairs loo wasn't working (Flush Broken) & that I had to get the hoover out at one point to sort out the well-established spider population. Appreciate that you can't stop them getting into an old house but some of the webs looked as if they'd been there for a while. Lots of plus-points however : the overall cleanliness, the welcome bottle of wine, comfortable beds, pretty much everything we needed (iron/ironing board & even a Smart-TV) The traffic using the road outside, whilst not at all busy, was fast & made manoeuvring out of the driveway a little dangerous. The pub, one minute's drive away, was superb, so handy to have a good local when you are staying away. A water filter would be useful as the tap water was a little 'metallic', again minor, as the pub supplied us with bottled water. The surrounding area was peaceful & quiet, lots of trees & country lanes, several NT places nearby that are well worth a visit.

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• Annabel - Verified booking

  We had a lovely stay.

  Chris had been very responsive by email prior to the stay so I had no questions once we were there. There was also a useful folder relating to the cottage and area and notes left in strategic places. However on getting ready for departure we could not find instructions for what to do with the recycling other than to take glass to the nearby pub, which we did. It was just before we left the house and I am afraid I forgot to mention it to Chris and left it there. My friend found the third bedroom a bit cold, but she really does feel the cold. It’s an old house of traditional construction so hardly eco and easy to heat. The garden is great. We took my dog and did lots of walking. I know the area, but still nearly lost my Wellington boot in very deep mud on one walk. I would advise people to avoid bridleways, which are extra muddy when it’s been wet, and stick to footpaths as horses aren’t allowed in them. Anyway we loved the cottage and would like to return in the spring.

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