Holiday Apartments in South West

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Lynda - Verified booking

  Met by Terry who secured parking.

  Went up several flights of stairs to the apartment with Terry apologising for the smell of rotten fish which was stronger in the flat. He had used air freshen to help. Terry had put an air fan on as the storage heaters were off so the place was chilly. Terry took us through how the flat worked and agreed it was very dated in decor. Once in the kitchen I asked how the oven worked as it was very old and we had an Xmas dinner to cook. After playing with the buttons he called the owner who took him through instructions and it worked. I kept the oven on and decided to cook our Xmas Dinner early as wasn't sure it would work the next day. Terry said the TV worked but didn't know how. Terry set up the storage heater to come on overnight. We left windows open to air the flat as the fish smell remained. There was an opened carton of milk which was half used in the fridge? Good points.....bathroom did have a fresher decor than the rest of the flat. Bed was large and very firm mattress and had electric underblanket which we did use the 1st night to take the chill off the bed. We had one pillow each so had to hunt for second clean ish pillows and wrapped them in spare bedding. Had to be careful to not hit the head on the jutting out cupboard on the wall. View from bedroom was very good. Lounge has dated sofa and chairs. TV was old and the programmes kept dropping out, no signal often. Liked the chair by the window, a lamp behind would have made it a good reading spot. Electric fire came in handy. Kitchen dated and tired but well enough equipped with cooker (once it worked) microwave and kettle (very badly chalked inside though). Plenty of crockery and cutlery available and complimentary detergent/dishcloth/teatowels. Fridge was ok (apart from the half used milk in situ). Bathroom was good, good shower, loo roll and soap dispenser. No WiFi. Use your own data. TV reception intermittent. Did enjoy the sea views, distance to the beach, swimming, walks around, quirky shops and general feel of Swanage. Would return to Swanage but sadly not to this flat. For well over £400 for 3 nights I would have expected it more updated decor and furnishings, better facilities like the cooker, cleaner, not smelly and warm on arrival. I do understand its owned by someone who may not visit often and its their loved holiday home over many years Have used sykes several times in the past and usually very high standard. I feel this flat does need a total upgrade for it to stay on the holiday rental market and achieve a fair rent. If it was updated it would definitely be worth revisiting and would be fabulous. Wish I could have written a glowing review like I usually do. Sorry

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• Lynda - Verified booking

  Met by Terry who secured parking.

  Went up several flights of stairs to the apartment with Terry apologising for the smell of rotten fish which was stronger in the flat. He had used air freshen to help. Terry had put an air fan on as the storage heaters were off so the place was chilly. Terry took us through how the flat worked and agreed it was very dated in decor. Once in the kitchen I asked how the oven worked as it was very old and we had an Xmas dinner to cook. After playing with the buttons he called the owner who took him through instructions and it worked. I kept the oven on and decided to cook our Xmas Dinner early as wasn't sure it would work the next day. Terry said the TV worked but didn't know how. Terry set up the storage heater to come on overnight. We left windows open to air the flat as the fish smell remained. There was an opened carton of milk which was half used in the fridge? Good points.....bathroom did have a fresher decor than the rest of the flat. Bed was large and very firm mattress and had electric underblanket which we did use the 1st night to take the chill off the bed. We had one pillow each so had to hunt for second clean ish pillows and wrapped them in spare bedding. Had to be careful to not hit the head on the jutting out cupboard on the wall. View from bedroom was very good. Lounge has dated sofa and chairs. TV was old and the programmes kept dropping out, no signal often. Liked the chair by the window, a lamp behind would have made it a good reading spot. Electric fire came in handy. Kitchen dated and tired but well enough equipped with cooker (once it worked) microwave and kettle (very badly chalked inside though). Plenty of crockery and cutlery available and complimentary detergent/dishcloth/teatowels. Fridge was ok (apart from the half used milk in situ). Bathroom was good, good shower, loo roll and soap dispenser. No WiFi. Use your own data. TV reception intermittent. Did enjoy the sea views, distance to the beach, swimming, walks around, quirky shops and general feel of Swanage. Would return to Swanage but sadly not to this flat. For well over £400 for 3 nights I would have expected it more updated decor and furnishings, better facilities like the cooker, cleaner, not smelly and warm on arrival. I do understand its owned by someone who may not visit often and its their loved holiday home over many years Have used sykes several times in the past and usually very high standard. I feel this flat does need a total upgrade for it to stay on the holiday rental market and achieve a fair rent. If it was updated it would definitely be worth revisiting and would be fabulous. Wish I could have written a glowing review like I usually do. Sorry

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• Sam - Verified booking

  The apartment was not clean at all.

  The bathroom had hairs and dirt in the shower, sink and on the toilet, there was also cobwebs in the shower and we were left with 2 half used toilet rolls and no hand wash. The shower is quite dangerous as it comes out either freezing or scolding and is very difficult to find a suitable temperature meaning we burnt ourselves a few times. The floor throughout was very dirty and clearly hadn’t been cleaned, there was a dead fly on the floor in the bedroom. The sofas in the lounge were filthy, so much so we didn’t even sit on them, they had stains on them and even the throw used on one was dirty as if it hadn’t been replaced/washed from the previous guests. The bedding had rips in and there were no cleaning products in the apartment to try and resolve the issues so we had to buy our own. There were also no spare bin bags for rubbish. It’s a huge shame as this was our first family holiday with our 3 month old and we felt like we couldn’t enjoy the apartment because we were too worried about the lack of cleanliness, especially with our baby. We made this known on our first night to Sykes and they tried to contact Carbis Bay Holidays and received no response, and we are still awaiting a response after leaving nearly 2 weeks later. The apartment is in a great location and could be lovely if it had been cleaned and some of the issues sorted. Overall we were really disappointed and wouldn’t book again.

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• Mj - Verified booking

  Overall a very nice place to stay and somewhere I'd happily revisit, though there are minor caveats.

  The location is excellent and the balcony is a lovely place to sit, eat and watch the world go by. The harbour is lively, but not irritatingly noisy. The kitchen is well stocked with cookware and a sizeable fridge/freezer and the furniture is all very comfortable. On the potential downside, the flat is on the top floor of an old building and the ceilings are fairly low. If you're under five feet nine you won't have any problems. Taller than that and you begin to risk minor concussion in doorways. If you're a lot more than six feet tall, it simply won't be workable. Don't make the same mistake as me and be sure to take good note of the instructions for entering the building. There isn't a traditional keypad and this can be very confusing if you're super tired after a long journey and have no experience with that sort of device. Otherwise, just a few minor things that could be easily improved. Thicker curtains/blinds in the bedroom would help to block out the strong high summer early morning light. An electric fan should be provided (this could easily be stored in one of the cupboards during the cooler months): ventilation is good when the windows/doors are open, but when closed to keep out noise and light it can get a little stuffy. It would also be good to have a light summer duvet or light blanket for the warmer months. I would also recommend providing a knife sharpener.

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• Mr Loyden - Verified booking

  The Old Bakery is the hidden gem of Newlyn. From booking to departure the whole holiday was stress free and we thoroughly enjoyed our time staying in the house. From the pink front door to the underfloor heating in the bathroom, there have been no compromises with the refurbishment of this house. The beds are super comfy, the kitchen is a dream and the cute little welcome pack of milk, tea, coffee and biscuits was well received upon arrival. The owners have gone above and beyond here and we loved our stay. They have literally thought of everything from a board games cupboard to cookbooks! The location is superb. There are shops, a chip shop, a pub and a little cafe to name a few places all within a couple of minutes stroll. We parked the car each night in the Duke St public car park which was free overnight from 4pm - 9am and was ideal for us. We would 100% recommend a stay at this property. It was a welcome retreat and we would return again without question! A well deserved 5 star review! Thank you!

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