“We stayed here in October 2020, getting in a week's holiday while we could in the current climate.”
October is usually wet, so we wanted somewhere cosy so we could curl up with a log fire if the weather turned cold...
Elm View is in a small village, with a pub, a church, and not much else - perfect! It is also ideally situated for driving to the lovely local towns of Chipping Campden, Broadway, Stow-on-the-Wold etc., all within a short drive through beautiful countryside.
The gravel driveway allows for spacious and safe off-road parking, with a decent sized garden at the rear. Be aware that the main photo shows one big house - it's actually a semi-detached house!
Downstairs is a good-sized living room, with open fire, DVD player and CD/hi-fi unit, good sized Freeview TV and the BT router. The Onkyo CD/hifi player and the TV are both connected to the Q Acoustics speakers, which makes a huge difference. You can connect an iPod to the Onkyo too. The sofas are new-ish - the three seater is very comfortable, the two seater isn't.
On the other side of the small lobby is the kitchen, and a separate larder with dishwasher, proper 50/50 fridge/freezer and washing machine (note: no tumble dryer). The kitchen has everything you need - oven, electric hob, microwave, table and sink.
Up the fairly steep stairs to the first floor, where you'll find the main bedroom - large with a double bed, bedside tables, wardrobe and cot - and the second bedroom, smaller but with built-in wardrobe and chest of drawers, double bed and lovely views. There is also the bathroom, with separate shower enclosure, bath and sink.
The second floor is accessed by steep stairs and a very low doorway, and comprises just the third bedroom. It's a bit awkward to get to, and I wouldn't fancy a nighttime trip down those stairs for a wee, but once in the room it is a large, comfortable room with a double bed.
So, pluses and minuses time.
Pluses:
Very clean
Good bed linen, towels etc.
Lovely cosy log fire
Comfortable sofa
Excellent broadband / wifi - with a standard BT router if you need to connect an ethernet cable
Great CD player/hifi, with quality Onkyo stereo and Q Acoustics 2020i speakers
Good sized TV and a DVD player
Minuses:
The pillows - take your own, as they feel like they are filled with ball bearings
The mugs - a truly horrible mix and match of novelty mugs, they need binning and replacing with a new set from Ikea!
The water is foul - we ended up buying a couple of large still water bottles for drinking water. The tap water makes tea and coffee disgusting, with sludge and scum. Really would check it with Thames Water as it is awful.
Double bed in the main bedroom - it is both uncomfortable and too small - the room is huge, so why not have a king?
On arrival we also noticed no hot water, the shower trap was blocked, and the shower head knackered. Called Manor Cottages (on a Sunday morning!) and within an hour and a half the maintenance man was there to fix all three problems, which was exceptional. After that, lovely hot water, new shower head, clear draining shower - I really don't understand why the previous reviewer didn't simply make a call to have the issues resolved. To be fair, I would have expected the cleaners to have noticed the tepid water, and certainly the blocked shower trap, but fair play to Manor for sorting it out so quickly and efficiently.
With just a few adjustments (and not terribly expensive ones) this would be a 5 star review - as it is, I would definitely return (just remembering to take my own pillows, a Brita filter and mugs!).
Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes.
- Mrs Thomas, October 2020
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a fair and comprehensive review. We're so glad you had a lovely stay and enjoyed the facilities at Elm View. Thank you for alerting us to a few issues- for which we apologise. We have just today received new pillows for all of the bedrooms (and hope you enjoy them if you make a return visit!) However, I'm concerned you found the bed in the master bedroom uncomfortable, as we place great importance on sleeping comfort, and invested in a quality bed. It is a regular-sized double which we have alway found big enough. We are staying there ourselves next week, so will be able to check for comfort.
I'm sorry about the mis-matched mugs. These are actually not for guests- you seem to have stumbled across my personal collection which should have been in the owner's cupboard- apologies! There should have been half a dozen plain white mugs there for guests- again, I will check this when we go up next week; it may be there have been some breakages- we shall buy some more.
I am so sorry about the lack of hot water and shower head problem on arrival. We will speak to housekeeping to ensure that the hot water is switched on prior to any guests arriving and that the shower trap is clear. I'm pleased to hear that maintenance came out promptly to fix it.
I'm sorry you didn't like the taste of the tap water. We've not found a problem before, but I will definitely make a note to check it when we're up next week.
Thank you for your comments re the audio equipment in the living room- we took great care when setting up the system, so it's lovely that you enjoyed it. Thank you again for your feedback, and I'm really pleased to hear you would recommend Elm View to a friend.
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