The cottage is in a good location.. Julie was very helpful in providing a dvd player as there was none at the property. It was nice to have cake and milk ready for our arrival. The bed was comfortable and the bedding clean.
We did feel that the rest of the property was not clean. Dust and cobwebs everywhere, mismatching glasses, table wear. Two of the hob gauges had been previously broken, as had the handle to the dishwasher. The cat flap in the kitchen has a massive gap that lets cold air in. There was just about enough wood for a fire one chilly evening, a little stingy in our opinion, especially if there are no controls on the heating. There were also no tools to clear away the ash with after, so we had to leave it.
It also seemed odd that a long list of things we needed to do on departure was left, strip the beds, empty the bins etc. We would have done this anyway out of courtesy to the cleaner - but this list also makes us doubt that there is sufficiently paid cleaning time for anyone coming in.
Lastly, after returning home we were hassled about a negative review that Julie felt must have been left by ourselves in the visitors book. It was not. We had decided to leave a day early to work commitments, we were disappointed with some of the cottage, but decided to make the best of it and not make a fuss. Being hassled has led to us making this comprehensive review in the hope Sykes will add it to any other concerns over this host.