“We had a really nice week here as a family of six, ranging in age from 4 to 60.”
There is a lot to like about the house. It’s spacious, was clean on arrival and gave the six of us plenty of living space without feeling on top of one another. It also stayed wonderfully cool during some very warm weather. The location is excellent, an easy walk into town while also being close to the main roads for exploring further afield.
For other families considering a stay, though, there are quite a few practical things we wish we’d known beforehand.
The biggest issue for us was ...
There is a lot to like about the house. It’s spacious, was clean on arrival and gave the six of us plenty of living space without feeling on top of one another. It also stayed wonderfully cool during some very warm weather. The location is excellent, an easy walk into town while also being close to the main roads for exploring further afield.
For other families considering a stay, though, there are quite a few practical things we wish we’d known beforehand.
The biggest issue for us was the beds, which are hard. The bed in the second double bedroom is also very low to the floor which made it difficult for the older members of our family and is worth bearing in mind if anyone in your party has mobility issues.
The kitchen was another area where we struggled. Although the house is marketed for larger groups, it doesn’t feel particularly well equipped for actually cooking for one. There’s very limited worktop space and a tiny freezer, as well as no colander, flat baking trays or oven gloves. The bowls provided are also tiny and not especially useful for family meals. We purchased larger bowls for our stay! There is a coffee machine but no complimentary pods or clear information about which type to buy.
One important point for parents of young children: the kitchen knives were stored in a low drawer at child height. With a four-year-old in the house this gave us a bit of a fright and we moved them somewhere safer for our stay. Perhaps a knife rack on the counter?
Waste disposal was also surprisingly time-consuming. Guests are expected to separate tins, plastics, paper and other waste across numerous different bins inside, with corresponding bins outside. We absolutely appreciate the importance of recycling but unfortunately the labels on the bins were so smudged and difficult to read that we couldn’t work out confidently what went where. The outside bins weren’t much clearer. Better labels and a simple, up-to-date guide explaining exactly how the waste should be separated would make this so much easier for guests. There was also no inside food-waste caddy or food-waste bags despite food-waste separation being expected.
There are several other areas where the property feels as though it could benefit from a little refresh and some thought about the guest experience. Although the house itself was clean, some of the décor is becoming dated, particularly things such as the light shades and artwork. The floors and doors are very creaky and could do with some attention and some WD40!
The courtyard was disappointing compared with the lovely listing photos. It felt quite unloved and unkempt in person, with a lot of bird mess and would benefit from being included in the cleaning and general upkeep between stays.
Some of the information provided to guests could do with a refresh too. The restaurant recommendations are out of date and include places that have now permanently closed, so it would be useful to review these periodically.
We also noticed after our stay that some older reviews had mentioned issues that are still present. For example, a previous review from mentioned the missing oven glove and received a response saying it would be replaced, yet there still wasn’t one during our stay. Small things but when several of them accumulate it gives the impression that the property isn’t being regularly reviewed from a guest’s perspective.
Overall, we genuinely did have a really nice week. It’s a spacious house in a fantastic location and worked well as a base for our multi-generational family. It just feels as though it needs a bit of a refresh and some attention to the practical details is needed. It would make a significant difference and could turn a good family stay into an excellent one.
