Last Minute Cottages in Kingsbridge

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Jonathan - Verified booking

  Beachdown is a lovely setting just a few yards from the beach in a lovely and popular location for good reason.

  It looks pretty from the outside and inside and was presented in a very clean and tidy way first impressions were excellent. Parking was great ample room for three big cars which we had. I wont mention all of the good bits there are plenty as you might expect including the views al fresco options big social area comfy beds but poor pillows powerful showers who doesnt love a good shower etc etc but I do need to mention its shortcomings particular when considering this is supposed to be a 5 star property. Our experience was somewhere in between three and four star. Practically it is missing a lot of key things or doesnt get them right. Toilet brushes there are none anyone out there enjoy wiping toilets by hand. Wet clothes indoor hanging space for when you come back from the beach there is none there is some outdoor but it isnt well covered from the driving rain that we had during our visit most days. Clothes storage in some rooms is really lacking. If youre here for a weekend it is fine but I suspect most will be here for a week. The fridge is tiny its a small fridge not even a tall one the property desperately needs another. We liked to stay in socialize cook and save a fortune in going out every evening or eating unhealthy takeaway. We were forced to shop everyday due to the lack of fridge space. The freezer is small too and just about passable. It desperately needs another main bathroom. But we knew that when booking. Not much can be done about this but just beware when booking that there is only one main communal bathroom. There was quite a few things that need replacing. Two to three I forget broken dining chairs they were somewhere between unstable and uncomfy seat was slanted and unsafe. Hole in outdoor furniture looked horrible and rendered one of the units unusable there were others. Broken parasol we did get some sun and wanted to use it but couldnt. The chairs and parasol were broken by the previous occupants the helpful owner told us not much he can do about that I guess nonetheless we were the unfortunate next visitors. Other issues. Outdoor furniture seat pads were all soaked upon arrival it took us two days to dry them out more hassle. Again not the owners fault. We had only enough hot water for two short showers at the end of day one so the first night six guests went without a shower having been on the beach for the afternoon a really poor start. The owner sorted the problem for us the following morning so credit to him for that. Visitor book was hard to find on arrival cleaners not doing their job properly rectified once contacted owner which took a while as we had no wifi and no phone signal so had to walk down the road to get a signal in the rain. Be wary of the poor wifi if you like to stream films in tablets etc. There is virtually no phone signal not the fault of the property or owner obviously but this necessitates a string wifi signal which the property very much does NOT have. You take these things for granted nowadays frustrating when you dont have them. Sounds travels throughout the property ridiculously well so if you have some of your party who stay up late or like to unload the dishwasher really quietly an hour before others get up without waking them forget it. We had to download a white noise app to drown out the noise. Hard floors are great for hygiene but terrible for noise when accompanied by otherwise lovely open staircases with no doors to help close the noise out. The kitchen cupboards some are hot as positioned next to hot pipes which massively reduces the food storage options poor design. There is no traditional extractor fan the solution in place doesnt work that well. All towels provided were far too small perhaps they were made for seven year olds. No salt or rinse aid in the dishwasher. No surprise there as very few holiday homes maintain their goods properly. Now it sounds like we had a horrible experience we did not. BUT it was sold and priced as a 5 star and for that we expect 5 star experience which we didnt get. Partly due to lack of facilities can and should be rectified, partly due to unfortunate timing of poor previous holidaymakers our bad luck prior to our arrival and partly due to a heating system that wasnt working as we were told it normally does. The owner did his best to help at the time including time on the phone and a massive drive for him to provide on-site support on a Sunday and post our stay by agreeing to a partial refund which eased the blow. So clearly kudos where it is due there. If youre a nervous driver you may wish to reconsider picking this property as the lanes are very narrow but that is not uncommon from this part of Devon and clearly isnt a feature of the property itself. Despite all this I will reiterate again we had a great time there but as presented to us it is a 4 star property at best and given the hassle wed rate it 3.5 stars. The owner has been presented with this review so they have the opportunity to improve it for others. It needs some money to be spent before it can be classed as 5 stars. Sykes take note.

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• Ralph - Verified booking

  This is the first Sykes Cottage let over many years that has not been up to Sykes standards.

  Although there was a folder from Coast and Country Cottages, it was general information and not specific to the premises. There was no information on the heating system and the WiFi was very intermittent. Three out of the four internal doors squeaked on opening and closing due to lack of maintenance. This took me only 5 minutes to fix using some oil. The main bathroom had a two way tap and shower system which did not properly turn from bath to shower as one or the other was always leaking. The plug in the sink leaked so one was having to keep topping up. The toilet handle had to be pumped two or three times to flush. The handle on the cutlery drawer was loose and the bottom plinth cover on the cooker kept falling loose. One of the drawer edges had been reglued but the drawer kept sticking. Someone had previously written in the diary ' needs a good deep clean' . I totally agree. Having said all this we had a good holiday. Just not up to Sykes standards

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• Christine - Verified booking

  The accommodation was very good and the location just what we wanted but it should be mentioned that there are lots of steps to the property.

  We were disappointed in the cleanliness of the kitchen especially the oven which was really dirty and especially as we were in covid situation should have been cleaned it needed a professional job done on it. The fridge bottom shelve on the door was broken when we arrived and was not fit for purpose because of the number of visitors it catered for the fridge should be bigger. We ate in nearly every day as it was impossible to eat out as every where was booked up we had tried to book in advance but it was impossible so we needed fridge space. Some of the dishes needed cleaning before we could use them that was not what nee expected. We where surprised with the amount of books games and toys available in the covid situation as well none were used because of that. This all being said we had a very enjoyable stay in the property and because of the excellent weather spent many days on the beach.

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• Jennifer - Verified booking

  We absolutely loved The Hideaway!

  It was a fabulous place to stay in a fantastic location. We love this corner of South Devon & have definitely found a new go-to - we will absolutely stay here again! The house was spotless when we arrived, super clean & the house overall was extremely comfortable. The kitchen was brilliant - really well equipped with everything you might need, & we loved the shared garden at the back. I only gave 4/5 for comfort, only because the lounge doesn't quite have enough seating for a family of 4 to relax & sit comfortably. We were only really home in the evenings anyway, so it wasn't a huge issue, but an additional comfy chair in the lounge would be useful. This absolutely wouldn't stop us staying in future, however. Thank you for having us & what a lovely property to be able to call home for a week!

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• John - Verified booking

  We enjoyed our stay at the Hideaway a perfect location for a relaxing time.

  The cottage was very clean lovely bed linen, and a comfortable bed, excellent bathrooms. The kitchen was well equipped, we would have liked a coffee machine and more mugs, some china mugs perhaps…. We were slightly disappointed with the sitting room not enough comfy seating certainly not for four people thankfully there were just us two. . The biggest disappointment was the outdoor facilities the terrace is shabby and the furniture tired and not for lounging. We were greeted with pot plants dead as dodo which were moved as no amount of watering would have helped. The owner should look at the terrace of flat number 1 to see what should be done.. We loved the pub, the hotel restaurant next door but one, and the superb beaches nearby. Thurlestone a delightful village we hope to return.

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