Last Minute Cottages in St Ives

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Gillian - Verified booking

  This is a really beautiful house in a brilliant location.

  It's very spacious, comfortable, attractively furnished, well equipped, all the appliances and the plumbing work well, and the sea views are stunning. It's only a 5-minute walk to the beach (down a fairly steep hill), or perhaps 10 minutes if you prefer a route with a more gentle gradient. It's only a short walk to the shops and town centre and the 3 parking spaces are so useful. We really loved the house and would very happily stay here again. The house is already wonderful as it is, but to make it even more comfortable for future guests, I've got a few minor suggestions. The family bathroom would benefit from a lock on the door - not all guests can be trusted to notice/respect signs! A few bedrooms only have Venetian blinds at the windows which don't keep out early morning light very effectively, so the addition of curtains would benefit light sleepers. I would have found oven gloves very useful, although I realise perhaps they aren't provided as it may be hard to keep them clean. An additional drying rack for washing would be useful for guests who prefer not to use a tumble dryer. There's plenty of kitchen equipment provided, but I didn't find any baking trays, and a big draining spoon for vegetables would have been handy. It would also have been a nice touch to find soap and dishwasher tablets provided in the kitchen. More importantly, the helpful email containing comprehensive guest information arrived on Saturday morning after we had already set off on our long journey to Cornwall, and I didn't find it until a couple of days into our holiday. It would be very helpful to send this email out a few days earlier, and additionally to provide a printed copy of the information in the house itself. The email attachment contained lots of useful information, but I struggled to read it on a tiny mobile phone screen. It would also be very helpful to have a sign on the kitchen wall with a clear explanation of the recycling, as there are multiple bins and coloured bags. I had to search the council's website for an explanation of which items went in which containers, not helped by the fact that there were some new food caddies by the bins which I believe were delivered for a recycling scheme that hasn't been introduced yet. I would also have welcomed instructions on what to do with the beds before departing - I wasn't sure whether to strip them or not. But please be assured that these suggestions are only intended to be helpful, and to make a wonderful house even more perfect than it already is!

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• R - Verified booking

  We were so pleased when we arrived at the property.

  The house is beautiful and was spotlessly clean in all areas . It is well maintained and cared for . Everything worked well and easy to operate ie showers and heating , cooking facilities. There was so much space for us all, the house is huge and has lots of character. We were two families, Those who had the top floor were delighted with their rooms especially as they could escape and get some privacy . They felt they had their own apartment. They love reading so they used the top floor settee for a reading area. The beds were super comfy and large . All the bedrooms were spacious and beautifully furnished . The bunk room was a bit smaller but still ample space for the teenager. Lovely view from the 2nd floor front bedroom with two seats strategically placed so that we could sit in the huge window and relax . The kitchen was well equipped . It has two fridges and a freezer which was useful with a large group . Lovely comfortable furniture throughout the house. It felt very home from home and we could have gladly stayed another week . We really fell in love with the house . A short distance from the beach and shops . This was helpful as the older children were able to walk into town independently. I’m sure we came home much fitter due to the incline back to the house but even for two seniors it wasn’t a difficult walk and it was enhanced by the view. The weather was mixed but it didn’t spoil our enjoyment. The games room provided much entertainment for the children and teens . The neighbours were very friendly and helpful too . Last but not least, Sue , the owner was extremely friendly, welcoming , patient and helpful with all our enquiries and easily contactable. When we return to St. Ives we would definitely want to stay in this property .

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• John - Verified booking

  This a very large spacious holiday house, it is comfortable and well furnished.

  We really loved sitting on the seats outside the front of the house with a cup of tea first thing in the morning.The outside courtyard was great for washing down our boards and wetsuits.The games room was a big success with young and old and the kitchen table comfortably seated all 10 of us. Porthminster Beach is the closest but the walk up is quite steep as you might expect if you know St Ives. The kitchen could be improved with the provision of oven gloves and some large roasting trays. Some of the cupboards in the kitchen could be emptied to allow you to put away your shopping. Too many seem to contain on odd assortment of dishes that someone needed to find a home for. A lock on the main bathroom door is needed. There was a lack of space for clothes storage in some of the bedrooms and a need for longer hanging space. Hooks on the walls would be a better arrangement than the stands presently in some bedrooms.The "Goody Bag" was very disappointing a triple pack of biscuits, tea bags and decaffeinated cappuccino coffee capsules some milk for a cup of tea after a long journey would have been appreciated. Clearer information regarding which containers to use for recycling is needed. We did ask Sykes Cottages for the type of coffee maker in the house but never received a reply. We would have expected all the necessary information about the house to be in a folder in the house but this came by email and was not seen immediately. We had a wonderful holiday and these comments are meant to be helpful for future guests. We would stay again.

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• Karen - Verified booking

  The property is much cliser to the caravan site than the pictures indicate.

  This became an issue when we used the hot tub late at night and were shouted at snd called rude names from the caravan residents. We were merely talking and laughing in the hot tub. This must be a regular problem with this property as the site contacted the property owner who cane round to tell us off ! We did not argue and got out of the hot tub. She also advised that we should not be in the hot tub after 9pm and that although the property took 10 adults the hot tub only allowed 6. Neither the curfew nor the hot tub max were made clear in the booking information. If you book a property with a hot tub you expect to be able to use it when you choose. The owner’s attitude was also unpleasant and she returned the following day - entered the back deck uninvited - and complained again and at length about the noise. She was patronising and this was unnecessary, spoiling the weekend. When you have paid £1800 for 2 nights in a property I think you should expect some privacy. It is a lovely house but we would not book it again and the restrictions and proximity to neighbouring properties should be made clear in the description.

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• Michele - Verified booking

  Could be a perfect property if a few maintenance problems were fixed.

  The sliding bathroom door was completely jammed which made the upstairs bathroom unusable because of lack of privacy . The large glass doors were absolutely filthy. And the garden was in a very shabby state plus the rubbish from the previous occupants had not been removed. I phoned the cleaning company who did remove the rubbish and said she would contact the owner with the other problems. The other issues were never corrected the whole time we were there. We did contact Sykes and dealt with Chloe although she tried to be helpful she didn’t come up with any solutions to the problems. The property is in a great location and is decorated to a high standard the outside shower is great to get sand off before going inside and the area to keep beach equipment is so useful. We also made good use of the two car parking spaces provided. This is a very good property just let down by the maintenance issues and lack of communication from the owner.

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