Stroud Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Michelle - Verified booking

  We have stayed in holiday properties for many years (around 3 a year through Sykes).

  A few are fantastic and there are many we would not return too again. This property is perfectly placed and suited to walkers and ramblers. The local area is stunning and can say that the owners are blessed to live where they do. If you haven’t been to the area before I would definitely advise you to visit. You will not be disappointed whether by car, cycling or walking it is simply a beautiful landscape. For the tennis fanatic there is an outside court on site. Sadly for us we are not walkers, and had no energy for cycling or tennis. We work very long hours in our daily lives and so we picked our holiday property and destination as a place to rest and relax and recharge our batteries. We booked the Coach House for one specific reason. We don’t have a garden at home the listing showed several photos of a garden and views. We were looking forward to spend a few days in the sun relaxing in the garden. We were disappointed as soon as we arrived. The garden was in fact the owners. We had use of a small high walled courtyard at the front of the property. It reminded us of the backyard of a ‘Coronation Street’ style house. There was no grass but it did have a small table and chairs. For privacy we had to shut the large wooden gate. As the owners property is next to the cottage . The nearest we could get to see some of the views shown on the original listing was in the kitchen, which incidentally had the owners washing line in front of it. This of course will not get detailed on the listing. The Windows in the property upstairs are quite high due to the age of the building, so unless you are tall the view is difficult to see. The property itself was decorated and finished to a nice standard it was a comfortable stay. The bedding felt luxurious. There were movies and programs to watch if that is your thing and it is very quiet so noisy neighbours and traffic was never an issue. It is important to note like other Sykes customers we are unable to arrive until early evening 5pm and also leave on the final morning at 10am. This takes hours off your week away which may not seem much but makes a big difference especially against the cost of the stay. The reason for all these changes is to ensure that the properties have the additional cleaning required for COVID-19 reassurance. We have to question to what standard this cleaning is carried out and whether an overall standard has been advised to owners to follow. The property was not all clean when we arrived . There was dust under all the sofa’s. You sat on the sofas and a plume of dust came out. The fire had not been cleaned and we washed the bathroom mat when we arrived in the washing machine. Also, the windows to the walled courtyard were filthy inside. The toaster was full of crumbs in the kitchen. The toilet and bathroom were cleaned but the glass under mirror had been missed and was covered in a sticky dust. Simply we could not see any additional cleaning that had been carried out for COVID-19 reassurance. We understand everybody’s standard of clean is very different, but with the COVID-19 pandemic it is more and more important for companies like Sykes to give direction for owners and it’s customers what to expect and what is safe. With the additional hours given to this it is important that all properties are cleaned to the same standard giving everyone peace of mind. Overall – If you like the outdoors and you want a comfortable cottage to stay overnight this is your place There are lots of lovely restaurants and pubs around too. Sadly we won’t be returning due to the inaccuracy of the listing when we booked.

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• Jaime - Verified booking

  A very cold and unfortunately smelly stay at the Garden cottage.

  On arriving at the pretty Garden Cottage, there were problems with the drainage which meant that on using the bathroom it meant that the entire cottage filled with the smell of drains. Then on trying to leave the cottage the front door wouldn’t lock. Thankfully a man from the pub fixed the door for us by moving the lock. We were told not to use the heating as it was set by the owners and if we did change it, they would just revert the changes which meant there was no heating in the cottage for the afternoons which meant it was very cold. We were told to use the fire instead but this did not warm the entire cottage so our baby was colder sleeping upstairs. Throughout our stay we also had issues with with the dishwasher that didn’t work as it left marks on anything put in it. The man from the pub put salt in but it still left things dirty. We then had to use the kitchen sink but it blocked when you used it causing the kitchen to smell. Again a man from the pub helped out but this didn’t solve the problem and the sinks blocked several times and according to the man that fixed it there was a significant blockage in the pipes. We did note the problems with the pub but they couldn’t contact the owners while we were there. We did also contact Sykes and we were offered a free night stay in the pub but we live so far away that this isn’t an option with a baby for one night. No other help or compensation was offered by the owners. A real shame as the cottage is pretty and in a lovely location but we definitely would not stay again as it was stressful having to sort out the problems with the cottage and be very cold during the Winter period.

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• Christopher - Verified booking

  The following was noted in the guest book on departure.

  Missing, ambiguous, inaccurate, property descriptions. "off road" parking is not dedicated to property is in pub car park. EV charging is not dedicated to property it is a hotel owned facility. Rear courtyard has no sun lounger or bbq and is in near permanent shade (ps we saw a rat) Front garden is not secure for dog, no outdoor seating, needs drain cover. Odour in front room may be from floor mat we needed to spray No mention in description of adjoining and roof space hotel rooms above (noise issue). Fridge is only a larder fridge - freezer compartment would be nice to have. Impossible to clean properly before departure no mop no bucket no floor cloth useless broom useless vacuum cleaner. The bedroom is excellent comfortable and well furnished, bathroom also brilliant. WIFI and TV worked well. We did not mention that the downstairs windows are very insecure one hinge at least was completely detached also the back door sticks badly Breaker on the fridge circuit tripped late in stay and could not be reset - hotel were informed. On a more positive note we loved the area and the places we visited with dog in tow. Hotel staff were very helpful and we liked our evening meals. Main reason for this report is this is our second booking with Sykes, the first property was exactly as described down to the finest detail. This second clearly was not should we learn from this we should not trust Sykes again?

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• Rob - Verified booking

  We have been to over a dozen cottages up and down the UK in the last few years and The Coach House rates amongst our all-time top 3.

  The house was clean and well-maintained - there were no scuff marks or dirt anywhere. The beds were wide and comfortable; the bed linens were clean and comfortable. The kitchen had nearly everything we needed. Not all cottages provide things like kitchen roll, dishwasher tablets and tin foil - but we were provided with these at The Coach House. The lounge had two wide, comfortable sofas and a big foot stool in the middle of the room for stretching out while relaxing. The owners were friendly but not at all intrusive. In fact, one of the benefits of The Coach House is that it is an entirely detached property several metres away from the owners' house, so there is no noise from the main house. There was so much to enjoy at this property. The location is also great: the common was a 30-second walk away and perfect for walking our dog. The only minor quibble was that the shower temperature did vary during our showers. Usually at least twice during a shower, the water temperature would become cooler and we had to step away for maybe 10 seconds until it warmed back up again. But this was a minor issue and I would be happy to put up with it again as everything else was so comfortable and lovely.

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• Alice - Verified booking

  We absolutely loved our stay at Spring Cottage.

  The place really feels like home, we didn’t want to leave! Andy and Angela have put a lot of time, effort and money into making this period property luxurious and inviting. Only being recently renovated, the cottage was super clean and fresh, and you can tell has been renovated with a lot of thought and to a very high standard. The homemade cake and bottle of fizz were a very personal touch for our New Years visit. Whilst staying we weren’t blessed with the weather but we hiked every day - we loved the Laurie Lee walk which passed right next to the cottage and had some great elevation. You must try the Woolpack for great seasonal food. We loved our stay, we just can’t wait to come back! One thing I would mention, that I feel the reviews and listing doesn’t mention is the spectacular views directly from the cottage. We were so impressed with the location and the rolling hills right in front of us, we would definitely make sure it’s included in future marketing! Thanks again for the wonderful stay! Alice and Ben

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