Villas In Kingsbridge

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Sharon - Verified booking

  The last few miles to the cottage are on single track roads with passing places, so be prepared.

  Although we were initially worried about 43 steps, they are not steep and in good repair, with handrails either side. There is a good dedicated parking space near to the property. The location of the property is gorgeous and the view from the cottage is wonderful, could not be better. We had excellent weather in early to mid June and had breakfast and dinner on the patio listening to the sound of the sea. It's just a few minutes walk down to the quiet shingle beach below. The sea was clean and clear. We had some nice conversations with hikers as the cottage is right on the coastal path. There is a wooden bench in front of the patio, which is a view point for walkers. This was not a problem. There is a wooden table and 3 wooden chairs on the patio, a wooden sun lounger at the side of the cottage in the shed with a cushion kept in a bag. It is heavy so we left it out as the weather was lovely. Cushions for the chairs indoors in a basket by the door. There is shady space also on the patio. On arrival the cottage was generally clean but not spotless. I had to wipe down the clothes unit in the bedroom as it was covered in sandy dust. Also the fridge needed a bit of a clean. The unit in the bedroom was not very practical for storing clothes and only 4 hangers supplied. There was room for a single wardrobe where the unit was positioned. This would have been more practical and made for a more comfortable bedroom. Also a chest of drawers would have been more practical than an armchair. The double bed was comfortable. The blind was thin and let in light. The sea view was lovely. Plenty of sockets throughout the cottage. The shower room had plenty of space for toiletries on the ledge above the sink and there is an electric towel rail. Nice roomy shower, easy to use and water temperature good. Kitchen only had space in cupboard above fridge for storing food, but little can be done about that, due to fact it is a small property. It had all the necessaries for cooking. There was a washing machine and microwave. Under the sink were all the necessary cleaning products. A cupboard under the stairs had a hoover, iron and ironing board and concertina clothes dryer. We're not used to electric cookers and found it complicated to use. All the manuals are in a file in the storage cabinet in the lounge. There was a smart tv, and Alexa, which was nice to play music on, also Wi fi which was useful. The settee was comfortable. Hooks by the door to hang things on were useful too. All in all the cottage was generally well equipped. I would advise being prepared with supplies as the nearest shop is around 20 minutes drive, mainly on single track roads but the location makes up for this. Also you can walk to the Cricket Inn and Britannia Cafe on the beach along the coastal footpath which takes around 20 minutes. A torch is needed at night. The cottage is only 1.5 miles to Start Point lighthouse. It's around 40 minutes drive to Dartmouth, 20 minutes to Torcross and similar to Kingsbridge where there is a Morrisons and Tesco as well as some lovely independent shops. The Queens Arms, in the pretty village of Slapton, is around 25 minutes away, a lovely traditional pub with a gorgeous garden. We had wonderful weather and enjoyed out stay in this lovely little cottage in the most stunning location and would recommend it.

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• David - Verified booking

  Firstly the pros; This property is in an idylic position on the headland overlooking the beach at North Hallsands, waking up to that view every morning really set us up for our daily adventures.

  There are some nice walks from here, or for the less energetic a short drive will bring you to Start Point, East Prawle or Slapton Ley. Even just spending the day lazing about at The Reach or dog walking on the beach is very enjoyable. The coastal footpath runs directly past the gate where there's a bench that most walkers stop to take in the view so we got chatting to several very nice folk who stopped there. We took our Spaniel dog with us to The Reach and found it really good for him, we could leave the door open so he could come and go as he pleased without being able to get out of the enclosed front area and he loved it out there, saying hello to most passers by. Being a stonechipped / flagged area made it easier to keep him clean and wipe him down as there's nowhere out there for a pooch to get muddy and any sand he'd picked up on the beach could be easily dealt with out there too. It was a very enjoyable week spent in a lovely area. The cons: The property is starting to show some slight signs of a lack of TLC and attention to detail, the photos on the website must have been taken a while back when it was "fresher" so they make it appear a bit nicer than it actually is. The stonechiped area at the front of the house needs a good weeding for instance as it's starting to get quite overgrown in places. The were also a couple of items such as glasses / spoons etc in the cupboards that weren't very clean. The towels are starting to look a bit worn & shabby and could probably do with replacing soon, there are also a few minor signs of black mold appearing in the shower cublicle which whilst not too bad yet will need seeing to before it gets much worse. The shower though is very good. A shaving mirror in the bathroom would be nice as it's a bit of a lean into the big mirror and the light isn't very good in there either really, not helped by the lack of a window to cast any natural light. I would suggest that anybody booking here take along some Tupperware type containers to put any opened food items in, as we experienced a bit of an ant problem in the food cupboard during our stay, on our second day we returned after a walk to find ants crawling all over the inside of the cupboard. Once we'd wiped it all out and put any open items into containers, which we'd thankfully brought with us, it was fine apart from the odd ant or two we saw during the rest of the week. There didn't appear to be any cleaning cloths in the property, there were cleaning materials but no dishcloths or dusters etc that we could find. The WiFi here was also a bit hit and miss. Finally, whilst the bedding was perfectly clean and fresh on our arrival, there are blue pillows under the top white ones which personally I didn't feel happy about as these didn't appear to have removable pillow cases, they're more of a cushion, which raised the question of when they would have last been washed. I much prefer both pillows to have fresh white covers, but that's just a personal thing. Despite these negative comments, on the whole we spent a very enjoyable week at The Reach, the position of it is what makes it special but with a bit more thought and attention to detail it could be the perfect holiday location.

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• Lisa - Verified booking

  No frills cottage in a great location.

  We were concerned about previous reviews and as is clear in the photos, Highdown is an older cottage which still feels more like a residential than a rental property. The owner had worked hard to make the place clean and fresh for our arrival, even down to a new coat of paint in the utility room. Good points - the house was generally comfortable (although the mattress in the master bedroom should be replaced), the kitchen was well equipped (though no pantry provisions except salt and pepper) - it was not at all spacious, as stated in the description but certainly adequate, there is a large fridge freezer in the utility which is useful, the wifi and TV were excellent, the conservatory when sunny was delightful, the fire was cozy and the garden a nice size (although not completely dog-proof - a tenacious terrier would squeeze through the front gate in a second). The driveway was tight, but we managed to get our Landrover 4x4 in with a bit of skilful manoeuvring (on my part). Less positively, we arrived in a wet and windy Easter week and storage heaters hadn't been turned up so the house was very chilly. On colder days I think the heaters struggled to maintain a comfortable temperature throughout the day and into the evening. The bathroom needs some storage (shelves, a bathroom cabinet?) as there was nothing to accommodate the smellies of 6 people and the provision of towels were a disappointment. Not sure why they state they are provided when all you get is one thin medium sized towel to last a week and no hand towels. I suggest you take your own. The owner however was responsive and did provide an extra electric radiator and a couple of hand towels on request. All in all we had a nice stay as Bigbury on Sea is a heavenly location for kids of all ages and dogs - The Journeys End pub has superb food. I wouldn't rent this cottage again as I think its rather basic and overpriced, but if you have realistic expectations it is a nice base from which to explore the area.

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• Tracey - Verified booking

  Wow...

  Bigbury-on-Sea is beautiful. Highdown is situated at the top of a very steep hill. Beautiful views to Burgh Island, which is worth a walk over, even just to have a drink at the Pilchard Inn. Little cafe/takeaway down on the beach car park which is pretty basic but lovely food. There is a food store within walking distance on a caravan park along with Fryer Tucks fish and chips (also very nice) but it is along quite a narrow cliff path. WiFi was very hit and miss but kind of expected that to be honest. Make sure you visit Pickwick Inn (pub) which is so lovely. Great food, lovely atmosphere and very dog friendly. Beware of the narrow lanes in the area, cars go pretty fast round them and although there are pull in places it does get a bit scary at times. Highview itself is a lovely bungalow. Pretty dated but we quite liked that. Could have been a bit cleaner but very cosy and warm. Loved sitting in the little dining area looking out to the sea even when it was raining. The garden is lovely too, wraps around the whole bungalow and is very safe for dogs. On two occasions we did have a chap come right through the garden to the shed at the back apparently to collect laundry? If he’d of knocked and said he was about then we would have been happier but to suddenly see a man walking around outside was a bit unnerving. The patio area again is lovely but not for small children. There’s quite a drop down a grass bank at the front of it. All in all we went away as a family of four (2 grown up children) after having an illness for most of the year to have some quality time together and a well earned rest and that’s exactly what we did. Would we go back there again? Yes definitely

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• Patricia - Verified booking

  We have been fortunate to have stayed in a few Sykes holiday lets, and have never been disappointed.

  However, we would not have booked Highdown last year if we had read the recent reviews written. But here is an update - Highdown is old and tired looking, but we felt the owner had read the same reviews and had made an effort to make changes. The property was clean, thick soft white medium size fluffy towels (no hand towels), tea towels, hand soap, and washing up liquid was provided, and the kitchen was well equipt. We found the master bedroom's mattress to be comfortable, and also there were two radiators to use if you found the property not warm enough. The only complaints we would make are, the little utility room with the large fridge freezer has a funny smell and this problem needs investigating, and there was no shower curtain / screen. Meaning that every time we used the shower, we had to mop the bathroom floor. (We must admit that we did not contact the owner regarding these problems, because we could not get a signal on our mobile). The welcome tea / coffee / sugar / milk and biscuits after along journey was very much appreciated. Thankyou. Bigbury on Sea is a beautiful location.

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