Dog Friendly Cottages in Exmoor

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Heather - Verified booking

  We've just had a fabulous stay at The Old Thatch over Christmas with our two dogs.

  The cottage is perfect, and larger than it appears in the photos. Has a well equipped kitchen and powerful shower. The fridge is a little small if you were planning to do a lot of cooking during your stay, but it was fine for our needs. We also loved the glass surrounded roof terrace where you could sit and enjoy the sound of the stream running past the back of the cottage. And to watch the nesting crows in the evening. Quite magical. We parked right outside the door for our stay, but there was other space opposite at the Rec entrance. Incidentally, if you have dogs, take them through the Rec, behind the tennis courts to the right and you will find an enclosed dog walking area with benches and poo bins so you can safely let your dogs off lead without issue. This was invaluable for us as we have one deaf dog and a new puppy with very little recall. The cottage's location is truly excellent, within a few metres of the High Street's shops, cafes and pubs and local hotel. All do food and are dog friendly. The local butchers are really good, with locally sourced produce. And if you love antiques and pets, the Pets and Ossibilities shop is a must! We noted a previous review from October mentioned the cottage wasn't ideal for dogs owners in wet weather due to the cream carpets throughout. That was actually a really helpful comment as we then came equipped. We took a plastic dust sheet with us*, which we spread from the inside steps across the first part of the carpet. And then used a couple of dog travel panels to fence that area in, effectively making a small paw drying / muddy boots space right inside the front door. Worked a treat for the entire break. Also having travel barrier helped as the door opens straight onto the lane (albeit a very quiet one) but for peace of mind, we found it really helped. *There is a very good home and hardware shop in the village where you can purchase a dust sheet if you didn't bring one. Great dogs walks in the immediate area down to The Saltmarshes and Porlock Weir, with more dog friendly businesses including the sister pub to The Top Ship in the village; The Bottom Ship, which also does food. Only slight issue was the wifi signal wasn't the best so was quite slow at times. However, that wasn't an issue for us as we were on a break from the real world! But if you were working online you may find it frustrating. But overall, we loved every minute of our stay at The Old Thatch, and the people of Porlock are incredibly friendly and helpful, so we would highly recommend at stay there.

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• Emma - Verified booking

  Property was overall as expected and nicely decorated.

  Generally quite clean but cutlery draw was dirty and dusty, as was much of the crockery and cutlery. Freezer draw needed defrosting and wouldn’t close. Description mentions coffee machine or coffee pods, I believe, which there wasn’t but I was quite surprised to find there wasn’t even a cafetière (first place I’ve stayed that doesn’t at least have that). The outside area is ok, possibly nicer in the full height of summer when the plant grows to conceal what’s around it - just be aware that it is in front of some old rusty garages and there is currently a full skip right next to it, so it wasn’t that pleasant. As others have mentioned, there is a lack of natural light in the living/dining area and it’s dark and the lighting is poor even in the daytime. It’s insufficient really. My father was quite comfortable in his room but we found our mattress and pillows to be dreadfully uncomfortable (hardly slept and had back ache which I’ve never had - clearly all very budget. It was a large contributor to us leaving a day early. Finally, we knew what to expect with the parking but just be aware that on a bank holiday/high season etc you would be lucky to get a parking space in the daytime, so it makes taking the car out difficult with no guarantee of being able to park when you get back. Lynton is lovely though so the area is highly recommended.

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• Juliet - Verified booking

  A lovely cottage, well decorated and furnished.

  However, the directions given were totally misleading, taking us up a lane that was incorrect, on the other side of the road, losing time in the rain. Much was missing: washing machine (though your automated instructions - for other cottages - had said to bring clothes washing soap), salad bowl, mixer, whisk, knife sharpener, saucers, jugs, soap in empty dispenser, blind at kitchen window, blind/curtain at front door. The main thing missing, despite your mention of the environment over electricity, was NO RECYCLING provision. This was disgraceful in a town where recycling exists (we saw the collectors) - only one bin for rubbish. The window in the front bedroom did not close properly. It was COLD and there were no heating facilities for wet clothes and the general storage heaters were difficult to control, despite instructions. No VACUUM CLEANER though you had said we should keep things well clean etc. So although the cottage is comfy, it is very basic and incomplete in essentials.

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• Juliet - Verified booking

  A lovely cottage, well decorated and furnished.

  However, the directions given were totally misleading, taking us up a lane that was incorrect, on the other side of the road, losing time in the rain. Much was missing: washing machine (though your automated instructions - for other cottages - had said to bring clothes washing soap), salad bowl, mixer, whisk, knife sharpener, saucers, jugs, soap in empty dispenser, blind at kitchen window, blind/curtain at front door. The main thing missing, despite your mention of the environment over electricity, was NO RECYCLING provision. This was disgraceful in a town where recycling exists (we saw the collectors) - only one bin for rubbish. The window in the front bedroom did not close properly. It was COLD and there were no heating facilities for wet clothes and the general storage heaters were difficult to control, despite instructions. No VACUUM CLEANER though you had said we should keep things well clean etc. So although the cottage is comfy, it is very basic and incomplete in essentials.

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• Alan - Verified booking

  The property was spotless and clearly had been recently updated with a new kitchen and decorating.

  Lovely linen and comfortable bed. Great position close to village and recreation field great for walking dog. Even able to park our small car outside. Only areas for improvement . TV reception pretty dire as hardly any signal, could only get a couple of channels and WiFi poor ( I know some rural areas have this issue) . Visitor information book scant . Would like to see more info and a bit friendlier for guest ( cooker instructions unhelpful as had to work it out myself. Just seemed unwelcoming and impersonal) Would have been nice to have had a few extra bits in kitchen eg bin bags, foil and a few more utensils ( all found in other Sykes cottages). Overall a lovely cottage just needs a more few welcoming touches. One final point a little mind your head sign on outside door area ( my husband who’s only 5’8” banged and cut his head several times)

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