Villas In Shanklin

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Mike - Verified booking

  We have been visiting the Isle of Wight for more than twenty years, and most years, we try to stop somewhere different.

  Consequently, we have stopped in a great many properties all over the island so far. Unfortunately, I must say that this particular property is, by far, the worst that we have ever used. Firstly, the booking page needs to clearly indicate acceptable arrival or departure times. For many properties, the arrival time is 3 pm, so we arrived on Saturday at around 2:50 pm. However, the so-called "cleaners" were still on site and informed us that the arrival time was, in fact, 4 pm. They did offer to allow us to leave our belongings, but we declined and came back an hour later. I say "so-called cleaners" because the property was far from acceptable when we finally arrived. The kitchen table had a vinyl tablecloth with bits of food stuck to it in several places, and the toilet was in a deplorable state, with a dirty seat and unmentionable substances stuck to the tiles just next to the toilet cleaning brush. The TV screen and kitchen windows were filthy. We rented the property for two weeks, but to our surprise, there was only one hand towel and two bath towels for the entire period to supposedly serve two people. There was also no tea towel at all, so we had to go out and buy our own. On Saturday morning, at the end of the first week of our stay, the cleaners turned up at 10 am on the dot. We answered the door and asked them what they wanted, and they said that they had come to do the changeover. They were utterly oblivious to the fact that we were renting the property for two weeks. Additionally, there were no spare bin bags or floor mats in the bathroom, and the shower screen leaked so badly when we took a shower that we had to mop the floor every time we used it. The paint around the bathroom window is peeling off. In addition to all of the above, the property itself is generally very shabby and seriously needs a makeover. We shall not return to this property and certainly would not recommend it to others.

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• Malcolm - Verified booking

  The Shingles is in a nice location just a few yards from the coastal path with lovely views of Sandown.

  However the property wasn't as we had hoped for. Positive points were the comfortable bed, good wifi signal and plenty of hot water but the overall cleanliness of the cottage left a lot to be desired and it could also do with some modernisation. The main issue though was the fact that we were unaware that we were not hiring the entire property and we were quite alarmed on the first night when we heard footsteps in the roof space above. The next day we noticed the skylights in the roof which confirmed this and it would appear that the owners live in the adjoining property and the roof space of the Shingles is part of their living space. Other potential guests need to be made aware of this as it isn't made clear in the property description. Also, although 'Things to do' booklets were provided there was a complete lack of any personal welcome pack from the owners, a guest book and something simple like a pint of milk left in the fridge would've been nice. All of these things are usual practice with such cottages that we have stayed in before. The metal patio chairs were starting to rust and could do with painting and / or the provision of cushions, and another thing that I would like to draw potential guests attention to, especially those with children is the deep uncovered open well in the garden. Despite the issues with the property we had a nice week on the Isle of Wight. We would like to recommend the Ocean Deck bar & restaurant on Sandown esplanade for an excellent Sunday carvery. This was our go to place for enjoying a drink after a day exploring the island.

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• Nicholas - Verified booking

  Alarm bells should have been ringing due to the lack of reviews about this property.

  It just wasn't very clean. The lamp shades were dusty. There were food stains on the crockery. There was a privacy issue as we could look directly into the upstairs windows of the houses opposite and they into ours. Downstairs, passers-by could look in as they walked along the pavement, hence the profusion of net curtains, which made the property decidedly claustrophobic. The ceilings are so high that all cosiness was lost upstairs. The colour scheme of blues and wood grain makes the house seem cold. From the kitchen area you have to cross the entrance hall to reach the dining room, which was a rather narrow, dark room. The games hamper was a bit of a mess with pieces of games spilling out of the boxes. It needed a good sort out. The pub nearby was noisy and we heard late night drunken swearing and arguments. I knew when booking that the property had no outside space, but the close proximity to the neighbours windows and their outside space was uncomfortable; the house was an island. Every morning we didn't enjoy the revving of the neighbour's motorbike. We could never park in the street near the property. We had to park in a public car park in the next street. The owner did give us a free pass for this but nevertheless it was an inconvenient walk. The area of Sandown was really run down. The abandoned and derelict hotels on the nearby seafront were so depressing and the pier was horrible. I have to say it was the worst town and cottage I've ever stayed at. It just doesn't work as a holiday cottage, in my opinion.

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• Sue G. - Verified booking

  Fab-u-lous !

  The Culver Down Manor exceeded all of our expectations. From the moment we were warmly met and shown around by the lovely house manager Sara, until the moment we regretfully closed the door for the last time, behind us, we had the most amazing weekend. The house is beautiful and spotlessly clean. It is evident that so much care and attention to detail of this period property has been made by the owners Laurence and Sharon. There is a wide choice of stunning bedrooms. I can certainly recommend bedroom 4 with en-suite facilities and panoramic views of the garden and the sea beyond. Everyone commented about how comfortable the beds were. You will be equally amazed by the communal facilities of the drawing room, dinning room and kitchen. I have never seen such beautiful stained glass windows in a house before. We were lucky enough with the weather to sit out and appreciate all that the garden has to offer. Without doubt our stay at the Culver Down Manor has created such wonderful memories I don’t think anyone in our party will ever forget. If only I could give it more than 5 stars I would.

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• Ian C - Verified booking

  A real privilege

  When I was looking for somewhere to have my sixtieth birthday celebration, I came across this house, and from the description seemed perfect, but just too good to be true. But I can now say that not only did it live up to expectations, but amazingly exceeded them. The setting is stunning, in beautiful grounds on the the clifftop, but it is the house itself that is the star. Big light and airy rooms, with wonderful furnishings and fittings and decor, all in keeping with the Art Deco theme, made you feel you had stepped back into a bygone age. It felt a real privilege to be staying there, and trusted with this amazing place. The big dining room was a perfect setting for my birthday dinner, and the kitchen had everything you could possibly want to prepare and serve the meal. The owner was very helpful and responsive, and on his recommendation we had food for the meal supplied by Deli Tramezzini, which was great, and a cake from Wight Vintage, which was also wonderful. So it was very memorable weekend for us all, topped off by the lovely warm and sunny weather the whole time.

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