Driftwood Polzeath, Cornwall

Great little stay.. 2mins from Beach. 2mins from shops and restaurants. Perfect accommodation for myself and my family. 2 double bedrooms and 1 bedroom with bunk beds. Decent size kitchen. Only negative we will point out and this shouldn't put anyone off this stay is it could do with a bit of an update. Bit of paint and new rugs maybe.

The is the second Sykes we have made and both have been splendid both in terms of the booking arrangements and the delightfulness of he owners of the properties.. The caretaker (Lee) at Driftwood even texted us on the day of departure to tell us about a local road closure and to suggest an alternative route - that was certainly going the extra mile (and no pun intended!). Many thanks to al. CB

We enjoyed our holiday in Polzeath, have been holidaying here for 30 yrs and it never fails to please.. Cottage was perfect for our very mixed age family and will book again for next year if available

We were disappointed to arrive at the property and find many lights were not working as the bulbs had blown.. This was especially annoying in the kitchen as 2 of the 3 spotlights had gone making the cooking and prep difficult. Suprised no one checks this kind of thing on changeover day. There were other things allough not the fault of the owner were a little annoying: a sofa cushion smelt strongly of urine, water dripped through the bathroom ceiling when it rained and the side door lock broke so we couldn’t use that door. The caretaker though was great as he came out and sorted the lights, tried to fix the door but made sure it was closed locked and took the cushions away for cleaning.

We had mice in the cottage which was horrible

Ideal location.. Lovely bright roomy sitting room. However I would recommend bringing basics such as your own bath and hand towels, washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets. There is very little left in the bungalow. Also worth bearing in mind there is no washing machine and nearest laundrette is by the campsite the other side of the beach. Rooms are quite small with very little hanging space. The room with bunks and single bed is very small and smells musty even with windows open all week. The little garden gets the sun all day so nice to eat breakfast outside and for drinks in the evening. Fortunately we had lovely weather all week and the bungalow made a good easily accessible base for beach shops etc. We were 3 single ladies. I think this accommodation is better suited for a couple possibly with children. We still had a lovely week but should I return I would come better prepared. Maybe we have been spoilt in previous properties

Driftwood needs a really good clean , on first look it's fine but when you stay you see that there is dust everywhere the ornaments and such need a good dusting .. The patio could do with a blast clean . The garden furniture could do with a scrub to get rid of all the spiderwebs . The living room carpet is full of stain marks . The cushions on the sofas were covered in marks and black dog hairs look like they need replacing . We would have had a restful time in polzeath but for the fact that there were a number of major building works happening resulting in a rude awakening from 7 am onwards , exceptionally loud scaffolding clangs and digging machinery, drilling etc . On arrival we had a double bed made up in a room that wasn't quite large enough for a double bed . It was placed against a wall resulting in a difficult scramble for one of the occupants to get out of bed should the need arise during the night . We had to unmake the bed and make up a bed in the other room. This first room would have been fine for children but not for us as we are over 65 years of age . A little thought on the caretakers behalf should have realised we were an adult couple with out children and both needed to extricate the bed from both sides . We have stayed in previous Sykes cottages and have in fact booked a further one for later this year on each occasion there have been complimentary items for the family . Not expensive things but a small bottle of milk and a couple of teabags for arrival. There was absolutely nothing at all we had to go to the shops to get some before we had even unpacked after an 8 hour journey this would have been most welcome . Furthermore when asked to leave the residence clean , there wasn't anything under the sink as far as cleaning products go to do this with apart from a cloth and brush . A bottle of some sort of all over cleaning product would have been useful. Overall not quite up to standard or worth the money . If this had been our first Sykes booking it would have been our last I'm afraid .

The pictures on the website looked a lot nicety than the real thing.. The windowsills and blinds were very dusty and need a good clean. The single bed in the back bedroom had a squeak and we had to prop it up with books to stop the noise. The place did feel comfortable though and great location for the beach.

I love the location - so great for the beach..

Great little place, would stay again

Please note the late check in time which does mean late departure time so may suit some people.. No mobile signal so unable to communicate effectively with rental manager. Just to note as overall a brilliant holiday.

Second time we've stayed at the cottage and we absolutely love it.. Just perfect for a getaway for my wife and i and our dog!

We stayed in Driftwood in October 2017, a family of 2 adults and 2 children aged 7 and 3. We had a great week. We were very lucky with the weather as it was sunny for half the week. We spent the mornings chilling out in the cottage. We didn’t have any problems with lay ins or with noise from Granny’s Cottage, in fact they were very nice and did great sausage butties and a half cake for us! Driftwood has a real relaxed feel about the place, a proper beach hideaway. We loved the white painted walls, the open dinning room with the sun coming in through the glass doors and the living room with the huge sofas. My 2 boys would spread out on there together and read or watch films in the afternoon while me and my husband sat and drank tea, talked of afternoons out and read. The sun coming in through the windows and the heaters on, made it wonderful and cosy. Perfect to come back to after a few hours surfing. The cottage is so close to the beach, about 3-5 mins walk - and that is with a slow 3 year old! We all loved the surfing. The private garden at the back was great for stripping off wet wetsuits, throwing them over the washing line to dry and diving into the cottage and the warm shower before tea and cake lounging around. We tried to book again for the summer but it was fully booked. Writing this review now (March 2018) as I was about to book again for April and remembered I’d not reviewed. The only down side to this cottage was a mild damp smell in the small bunk bed room, but this could have been because of the time of year. We had the heater on in there and it helped. But otherwise loved our stay.

Photographs don't offer proper justice to this wonderfully airy and well lit property, which is also so close to the beach. However the cafe directly opposite ("Granny's") makes sleep impossible from 8:30am, which includes SUNDAYS. This is a regular and sustained alarm call of over 20 minutes as plastic furniture is needlessly and very inconsiderately dragged around each morning. There is no reasoning to be had with the Cafe owners who feel everyone should be up by 8:30am (presumably in the same way everyone is forced to listen to the uncontrolled barking of their dog). Sadly such a poor neighbour made this otherwise fantastic holiday somewhere to never return for us. A holiday should include peace and sleep, that is also without the barking of an agitated dog. Granny's Cafe has certainly cost our repeat business.

The accommodation was great & so near the sea.. Only one point-it would have been useful when looking if it had mentioned that the local beach has a dog ban. Otherwise I was very pleased & would consider booking again.