Last Minute Cottages in Portland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Lisa - Verified booking

  This property had pretty views from the sitting room, an open plan living area and bedrooms and bathroom situated downstairs, clean and pretty comfortable throughout .

  There were various issues, some of which were down to us making assumptions on booking, some not. There is a lot of damp in the main sitting area, and the kitchen is very basic, not great if you want to cook. The cupboards are very high, we are not that tall and could barely reach. Oven looked new, no instructions on how to use it were provided though, so there was a lot of trial and error but we got there in the end! There is no washing machine (we of course should have checked and not assumed) three dogs and by a beach, plus good old English weather, meant we ran out of stuff very quickly. Strangely there is an airer and ironing board. The sitting area was comfy and we made up horror stories about the door in the ceiling :). The bedrooms were nice, particularly the larger room, the beds were comfortable. The bathroom was fine, tiled throughout, nice strong shower. The bathroom door kept jamming shut though and after getting stuck in there the first night, we had to leave it open. There is no outside space at all so you have to walk your dogs even if they want to go out at 2 am, in hindsight we should have checked on Google maps to see exact space ..a lesson learned! The property is set halfway up a hill, and the whole area is very steep, would not recommend to anyone with mobility issues. And although there is free onstreet parking, finding a space was very hit and miss, so be prepared to make many trips with your luggage! Good way to get your steps in though. Overall would recommend to anyone with a reasonable degree of fitness who wants a clean base from which to explore (assuming the damp and the sticky door get sorted) . Would not recommend to dog owners due to no outdoor space and no washing facilities, or to anyone with mobility issues. Hope people find this useful!

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• David - Verified booking

  Tastefully furnished and almost everything you'd need for a home away from home.

  Location was amazing being so close to the beach and loved the sea view from our bedroom. Great to have reserved, secure parking too. Was clean and different floors and the outside patio gave us space from each other which we needed for a longer stay! There was a nice welcome basket which included Dorset apple cake which was delicious! We holidayed for 2 weeks and things that you don't think of too much for a week started to niggle on our 2nd week. Beds were comfy but the duvets were 10 tog which were far too hot for summer and just using the cover was sometimes too cold, so summer duvets needed. The lounge TV was painful to use as as the remote slow and unresponsive, and it had limited functionality. When you've got younger kids, you will spend a fair amount of time in your holiday home and not having a decent TV with the ability to download streaming apps that we use like Disney was a faff. The upstairs Fire TV could do that but only if you have a prime account, which we do but it often just wouldn't work properly as Fire devices are prone to do. Also whilst we brought our own consumables like dishwasher tabs etc we hadn't expected to need bin liners for week 2. If you're staying for a week then none of this should bother much! A couple of extra notes to include that aren't written but good to know: The pebble beach has a steep bank to the shore line and a very short promenade so if you want to take a long walk, would advise wearing hiking boots. Nice cafe on the beach which sometimes hosts lovely evening pop up evening restaurants - check their Facebook page for more details.

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• Rob - Verified booking

  We stayed at Kimberlin for a week over the Easter period, as a base for attending an event at the nearby Sailing Academy.

  The location is perfect for that purpose - walking in about 20 minutes or a very quick drive. It's proximity to Chesil Beach is a great feature, and there are direct sea views from the top front bedroom. The house was spotlessly clean on arrival, and is well furnished with comfortable beds and sofas etc. We really enjoyed our stay, but there are a couple of points worth noting - these are factual rather than critical - there's nothing that the owners could do to address them! The development is a couple of years at most (probably less) and, as is the way the developers, they have crammed as many properties in a small space as they possibly could, so despite being a three bedroom property, the living areas (kitchen/living room) feel very cramped. We were two adults plus two late teenage children - and moving around the kitchen/dining table is "cosy" to say the least. There is only room for four chairs around the dining table (not sure what happens if 6 people book?), and you can't open the fridge/freezer doors fully without first closing the kitchen door. Over a week this did start to irritate. Likewise the on-site parking. The spaces are very tight for larger cars, and despite being clearly marked, guests/owners of other properties seemed to regard them as a free for all. We had to leave a note on a car to ask them to move so that we could use the allocated space for Kimberlin. There is parking right opposite development and at quiet times there are spaces - but in busy season that's not the case and we had to park some distance away.

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• Colin - Verified booking

  We had a lovely time staying at Kimberlin.

  It was very clean, had everything needed (even beach towels) and there was a delicious welcome basket. We had a problem with the back door lock but the owner dealt with that extremely quickly. It was so nice to hear the waves against the pebbles and view wonderful sunsets from the top bedroom window. The car parking space is tight for larger cars and we ended up parking outside the gated area opposite the development but that was not a problem. One small suggestion is for a larger shower mat for the downstairs bathroom as the small mat provided does not catch all the water from the shower. The location is great and well placed to visit many areas of Dorset. We particularly enjoyed walking from Lulworth Cove to Durdle Door, walking along Chesil Beach, visiting the lighthouse and also the Tout Quarry Sculpture park. Many thanks to the owners for sharing their lovely property.

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• Valerie - Verified booking

  We really enjoyed our stay.

  The house is lovely and was spotlessly clean. The decor and furnishing are all really nice and we especially liked the outdoor area. Great location and the harbour and supermarkets are all within walking distance. Locals are all really friendly too. Would recommend booking if eating out and had a lovely meal at The Cove House Inn. Weymouth is also a short drive away and lots of good restaurants and bars around there. Visited lots of places that are all within easy reach of the property by car (Portland Bill, Durdle Door, Monkey World, Sea Life and Sandworld). Would highly recommend and thank you for all the little touches in the property that made our stay enjoyable.

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