Dog Friendly Cottages New Forest

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Kirsty - Verified booking

  We literally wanted for nothing.

  I'm used to having to pay extra for more firewood but we had a whole woodstore to help ourselves too, plus firelighters and kindling. The heated floor was lovely and so easy to use - although don't turn it down in winter! It does take a long time to heat up. The kitchen was well equipped with clever cupboard space - I would have needed a stool to reach the top shelves if my partner wasn't taller than me. We were greeted with biscuits, coffee and fresh whole milk. The bathroom was clean and comfortable, the heated towel rail next to the toilet is a nice touch. The shower was strong and the bath a great size. The place was easy to find with the instructions, but perhaps co-ordinates would be useful for sat nav users instead of the post code. The big windows and glass doors allowed for a lovely amount of light and with windows only on one side of the property it was perfectly private. East lodge does sit next to the road, so those who are sensitive to occasional traffic noise might prefer its sister property, West Lodge - but we weren't bothered by the occasional fast car. Didn't use the washing machine. Dishwasher was efficient and quiet. WiFi was impeccable - we streamed a lot of programmes and movies using our own device on the TV and it didn't need to buffer once. Laura was lovely too and incredibly helpful in response to all my questions - Thanks again, Laura! I've never stayed in a property that was this perfect - and I'm not exaggerating, I'm quite hard to impress. Highly recommend and will be back!

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• Graham - Verified booking

  Good points and some not so good points for us.

  First the good points: The cottage was very clean, the huge bed was very comfortable, the cooking equipment and tableware was of high quality, it has a lovely bathroom with a wide deep bath and excellent shower over, a lovely bbq was supplied along with tools, some nice scones, jam, cream and milk welcomed us, the cottage has excellent wifi, the owners contacted us during our stay to see if we’d settled in. Now the not so good points: It wasn’t made clear in the listing that West Park was out of bounds to cottage guests, tv was small and didn’t work initially although this was rectified quickly, the couch was sagging and not comfortable, there were lots of cupboards but not much space to put our food as they were mostly holding cookware etc., there wasn’t much in the way of cleaning products we could have done with some toilet cleaner, the road at the side was noisy with traffic, the surrounding roads were narrow with no pavements so dangerous for walkers, the road in Fordingbridge was closed necessitating a huge detour (this obviously wasn’t the fault of the owners though but it did detract from our holiday), the nearest pub was shut (but again not the fault of the owners). I think we chose a bad week to stay. Conclusion We enjoyed a restful break in a reasonably comfortable quirky cottage but due to the things we’ve listed we probably won’t return.

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• Anita - Verified booking

  The East Lodge is a good bolt hole for exploring Hampshire.

  Overall the lodge was nice and the goodies and the things for the dogs were very good. Great to find a place where the dogs are welcome. The extendable gate for securing-off the garden was ideal!! There are a few improvements which may make the stay even more comfortable: 1. No access to mobile network until further into the village, is inconvenient as unfortunately in this day and age it is considered a necessary utility. Whilst there is Wifi, the connection is not good enough to stream on all devices and it is not a secure network connection. Not much the owner can do about this, except mention it in the description. 2. Fridge was missing a shelf in the door which limited the space, especially for tall cartons, like milk cartons. 3. Additional cups and mugs plus other cutlery. 4. Additional smaller towels in the bathroom. 5. The sash windows couldn’t get to open top half maybe they do, but didn’t want to force (we noticed they did open on West Lodge). So we were very apprehensive as to leaving the window open either at night or when not in the bedroom. 5. Very noisy and busy road. Lots of through traffic especially during the week.

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• Ben - Verified booking

  This is a fantastic property, full of history and such an amazing modernization of a gatehouse.

  Is easy to forget you are staying somewhere and every evening feels like your coming home. I have never used a real fire before and was so looking forward to this and it did not disappoint. With the under floor heating it is not actually needed, rooms are so lovely and cozy. Outside area will be great in warmer times, I used it on the warmer days I was there. So much to do close to property and local town offers plenty of shopping and city is amazing with much history. Whether you just want to stay and never go anywhere or go everywhere this is perfect. A nice touch to have so much info on the place and the surrounding area, and nice supplies on arrival. Was also lovely touch for the owner to introduce themselves and make sure you have everything you need and have a phone to contact them if you need anything. They also have a service of a breakfast hamper if you are interested, or you can go to shops and sort out your own. This is a hard place not to return to, next time I may stay in the other lodge as they have subtle differences. Thanks for an amazing holiday!!!

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• Victoria - Verified booking

  We had the loveliest short break in this beautiful little lodge.

  When we arrived it was spotlessly clean, warm and comfortable and there were lots of lovely touches like the doggy hamper, bottle of milk in the fridge, shortbread, flowers etc. It felt like the owners had thought of everything and the additional fencing provided to keep the garden enclosed and secure for dogs was particularly appreciated as it gave us great piece of mind. The lodges are beautifully situated on the edge of gorgeous Rockbourne village and is within easy reach of both the New Forest and the Cranbourne Chase AONB. We were blessed with glorious Autumn weather and enjoyed visits with our dogs to Old Wardour Castle, the Forest, Exbury Gardens and the coast at Highcliffe. The Rose and Thistle pub at the other end of the village is worth a visit too-very welcoming and the food was delicious. Just don't try to walk there once it is dark as cars drive very fast through the village and the road is unlit. We loved our very relaxing stay at East Lodge and really hope to return in the near future.

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