“We really enjoyed our stay at the Island Yurt.”
I had read through a lot of the previous feedback over the past couple of years and it came in handy, we prepared a few things which made our stay better.
For people wondering whether this stay is for them:
We found that the owners were very generous with facilities like the sauna, the hot tub, the row boat, the gas bbq, the firewood and brazier. No extra charges for these. Also immediate hot water, dishwasher and a powerful shower. Bed was comfy, with nice cotton sheets and feather duvet. It ...
I had read through a lot of the previous feedback over the past couple of years and it came in handy, we prepared a few things which made our stay better.
For people wondering whether this stay is for them:
We found that the owners were very generous with facilities like the sauna, the hot tub, the row boat, the gas bbq, the firewood and brazier. No extra charges for these. Also immediate hot water, dishwasher and a powerful shower. Bed was comfy, with nice cotton sheets and feather duvet. It was super private, hidden away amongst the trees on the lake (2 other yurts on the lake but both hidden away only found when on the row boat!). The projector, dvd player set up was handy, it made us laugh that to keep the projector screen from flying up it needed to have the hot water bottle hung from it as a counter weight :)
There was a nice shaded deck area to sit and also a covered porch and watch the ducks, geese, moorhens and swans float about the lake.
If you can't bear spiders or bugs you would struggle here. You are in the trees and over the lake. Spiders in the yurt help keep the other bugs at bay so you just have to see them as part of your cleaning crew.
This holiday was dog friendly, the yurt grounds had a gate which meant he was off the lead and able to mooch about as he liked. Also he really enjoyed his walks (mainly off the lead unless the geese were on the paths) around the lakes and through the grounds.
Parking beside the yurt was very helpful. Also it is very close to the M5 (not so close to hear it, but perfect for getting around). We enjoyed visiting Stratford upon Avon, Evesham, Worcester and Gloucester cathedrals are dog friendly so when it got to 30 degrees we took our hairy black dog there to cool off. Cheltenham is also nearby.
The upkeep of the outside of the yurt/porch looks like it has been challenging and it probably needs a bit more attention than a once over.
Some feedback for the owners:
1. A window which can be opened in the bathroom would help massively with the damp and steam in there.
2. Consider at least obscuring the bathroom window, I have seen a lot of feedback about there not being a blind, opaque sticker would help (we took some paper and blutacked it over the window for privacy)
3. An insect screen on the kitchen window and an insect screen door into the yurt would have been very useful to help get air into the yurt without increasing the bugs and midges. We fashioned a midge net above the door ourselves otherwise we would have been roasted with the door shut or infested with bugs with the door open.
4. I have very bad reactions to insect bites so I always prep well and carry a large mosquito net (and this time a cheap metal pole gazebo) which we erected above the bed. This meant we didn't have to worry about midges through the night. It was nice to have what felt like a 4 poster bed.
5. We took our own telescopic duster to help clear some of the cobwebs from inside the yurt.
6. A hand towel and teatowel for the kitchen area would be useful (we should have asked you if you had some but we never got round to it)
7. We brought our own foldout chairs to use, but we loved the metal table and chair set outside, just consider providing thin cushions for those seats and they would be perfect.
Overall we thought it was a quirky, relaxing holiday in an area we haven't been to before, which was good value and our dog had the best time. If we lived closer we would probably like to go back.
Many thanks,
Gaynor, Ian and Alfie x
