Holiday Cottages in the New Forest

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Paul - Verified booking

  We were very pleased with the property and its garden leading down to the river.

  We were 4 adults, two small children and one old arthritic dog! John - the owner - contacted us in the week before to make sure that we knew about the arrival and parking instructions and to answer a few questions that we had about fishing the river and any possibility of getting in a little earlier on the Saturday. John advised that as he couldn't greet us on that Saturday that I contact his House Manager Carol and speak to her. That I did, Carol was very helpful and on arrival gave us a comprehensive tour as well as explaining a few things to us. We certainly couldn't fault the administration at all. Whilst the front of the house is directly on the main road through Fordingbridge we did not find noise an issue; indeed Tesco Express 50 metres or so to the left and New Wong's Chinese take-away a similar distance to the right were extremely convenient! We found people we met in the town to be very friendly in these difficult times. Downstairs the rooms layout is very interesting with the kitchen, dining room and breakfast room all being on slightly different levels. The couple of steps between each level may present a slight problem for those of limited mobility; however not for us!. Perhaps the lounge might be a little on the small side if 8 adults were in the property; however the real wow was the self-contained Games Room to the side of the kitchen:- Big Screen wall mounted TV, a games console and a large leather sofa - this proved a big hit with the grandchildren given the amount of rain that fell during the week! Fishing was very challenging because the river was flowing very fast given all the rain and much weed was being carried in the flow; heavy tackle needed but even so not a successful week. To sum up: Very good property, good location for accessing New Forest as well as other towns like Bournemouth. Ringwood & Salisbury. If only weather had been a little less wet then we would probably have been out and about to enjoy more of the surrounding region.

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• Andrew - Verified booking

  Riverside House was delightful and I have no hesitation in highly recommending it to others.

  Our large family found it the perfect hybrid of village life in the New Forest (and 20 minutes from Mudeford) combined with the convenience; a Tesco Metro open until 11pm every night and great restaurants / takeaways in the village. We would recommend to other visitors the George (a wonderful pub / restaurant by the river adjacent to the bridge), the Raj (excellent Indian food), Lambretta (excellent pizza) and the nearby Chinese. The house and garden are wonderfully spacious and well presented; enough room for a large family group (7 adults, 1 child and a dog) to have their own space. The obvious 'Jewel in the Crown' is a relaxing morning tea / coffee on the jetty at the bottom of the garden and watching the ducks, kingfisher and other native life going about it's business. We were lucky enough to have the foresight to bring out own inflatable canoe to explore the river for ourselves. The courtyard hosted many family chats over a glass or two of wine and the gardens are beautifully planted. There has clearly been significant investment in the games room (the TV is amazing, watched just once) and bathroom; the water pressure in the shower matched the top quality fittings. The kitchen has everything one might need and we enjoyed using the BBQ. .A review will always be subjective but our family loved their week spent at Riverside House; I hope others equally enjoy it. We will be back!

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• Michelle - Verified booking

  Had a fabulous week thank you.

  The house was exactly as described and beautifully clean. Carol was very welcoming the tea, coffee and bottle of wine was thoughtful and the New Forest parking pass was more than useful. John rang us a couple of times before our holiday and gave us all the information we needed plus recommendations for eating out. If I was going to be extremely picky (which according to my children I am,) I would say that if there were 8 of you staying then none of the many reception were big enough for you to all hang out together it didn’t bother us as we only had five in our party. Also, again with a larger group, the one bathroom would make getting out in the morning long winded but it states one bathroom and one downstairs toilet in the description so you know what you have booked. Thanks again, we had a lovely time and I would say to people that are nervous about going away during the pandemic that the house was extremely clean and the New Forest was fairly quiet with lots of space, we at no time felt any more vulnerable than we do at home, we did avoid the larger seaside resorts though!

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• Clare - Verified booking

  Riverside House really is a beautiful home.

  We met John and his wife on arrival and they couldn't be more accommodating which included providing some lovely welcome gifts. The house is beautifully kept and immaculate whilst at the same time feeling homely and relaxing. Lovely garden and seating areas - what's more special than having a cuppa by the river on a beautiful summer evening. The front of the house is directly on the main road, but please do not let this put you off as once you step through the front door and particularly into the back of the house, peace and tranquility with only a faint distant sound of the road. The games/TV room a particular favorite for my family! Having direct access to Fordingbridge was perfect, with lovely pubs, restaurants, bakery and many other amenities - all without having to drive. The bus stops outside the property which we took advantage of with a fun day exploring the New Forest on open top bus - this really was lots of fun. I genuinely wanted to stay for longer than a week and I can only speak positively of our time spent at Riverside House - we loved it.

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• Robert - Verified booking

  We have just spent 7 wonderful nights at swallow lodge .

  From the moment we walked in to the time we left it was amazing. There was a welcome hamper for us when we arrived for which we were very grateful. The fit and Finnish and cleanliness is first class.the amount of equipment they have in there leaves you wanting for nothing as they have thought of everything you need for a lovely break .when we met nicky and roger they made us feel very welcome and are lovely people was really nice to meet them .knowing they are just next door should you need anything. Milford is a lovely place and was central for all the places we visited ,we ate out at smugglers and the lazy lion both very good ,a shop, fish and chip shop within a 5 min walk .we would definitely recommend swallow lodge for a nice relaxing break book with confidence its amazing.we have booked many places with Sykes over the years and never had a bad one yet but this one is up there with the best . Bob and Michele

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