Dog Friendly Cottages In Southampton

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Jason - Verified booking

  On arrival the house is impressive.

  It’s obviously spacious and well designed. However, the initial impression didn’t last long. Our excitement at arriving was massively tempered when we saw there were dead plants in plant pots in several of the bathrooms and the garden the planters were all dead. Plus the garden area was really dirty - there were cobwebs and plant waste around the garden and the patio had stains across it as well as there being food waste left on the grass. Obviously we are aware there was a drought in place but leaving entire planters with dead and dusty planters added to the unloved and shabby look of the garden area. And then there was no welcome pack at all. Not even a packet of biscuits or pint of milk. The kitchen is impressive looking, however there weren’t enough plates, cups and crockery settings for all of us, given that with a dishwasher you should have a minimum of 2 per person. Because whole drawers were given over to the owners spices and sauces and etc it felt very much as if we were in an Airbnb rather than a dedicated holiday home. All the things above made the place feel much less special and to be honest we were all pretty disappointed. However the biggest issue was the ‘fourth bedroom’. This was not actually a bedroom. It was an office with a pull out double bed which was like sleeping on a rock. The room was not furnished to be a bedroom - there was no bedroom chair, no dressing table or mirror and nowhere to put a suitcase. You couldn’t even pull the blinds down without standing on the rock hard bed. My daughter had to sleep there and even sleeping with three duvets under her we had to go and buy a mattress topper to make it a comfortable room. This is not a proper bedroom and she slept badly all week. My mother in law, who had paid for this trip as an 80th birthday treat to her family, was bitterly disappointed and felt like we’d been let down. To add insult to injury on the last three days the neighbour was having work done and the fence/gate was taken down so that our dog had to be guarded when in the garden and the noise and dust from power tools meant it was impossible to sit in the garden during the day. We loved the location and the size of the house but we did come away feeling very ripped off. When we communicated with your company initially about this booking, we were told that the owner sets the price, but I do feel that your job as agents is to mediate and to check that the house is good value. For around £600 a night for a three bed with ‘add on’ bedroom, I can tell you that this is not good value. For that rate we expected it to be slick and luxurious rather than a basic level. The fundamental principle of a good’s night sleep should be met as a minimum. When you are stretching yourself to afford something this special it is so disappointing to walk into a home that felt like it had been uninhabited and unloved for months. To then be unable to guarantee a proper bedroom for one of the party was really unacceptable.

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• Beverley - Verified booking

  A beautiful cottage, literally a couple of minute’s walk away from the forest.

  Loads of space for a large family or a friendship group. We actually spent all our time in the large conservatory and garden and only went into the front room/snug on one occasion, and the dining room a couple of times to play board games, but we were blessed with the weather and I imagine the living room with a very large wood burner would be amazing in colder months. The house was really well stocked, with everything you could possibly need for a comfortable stay; the owners even left us a bottle of fizz and a tub of choccies, which was a lovely thought. There were plenty of lovely quality toilet rolls too! I know this seems an odd thing to comment on, but so often we go to a property that has frankly cost a considerable sum, to be left with a couple of cheap rolls for the whole week! Bedding and towels were luxurious and smelled lovely and fresh and clean, and the beds and pillows were comfy. I personally didn’t like the position of the bed in the master bedroom, as one side was against the wall - fine for youngsters with sturdy bladders, but middle aged ladies such as I, who need to get up for a pee, have to either wake up the other half, or clamber over them! A minor gripe, however, and one which won’t affect the majority of people! The garden was beautiful, and our dog absolutely loved it; he particularly enjoyed having cool shady spots to lie when it got too hot, but there was plenty of sun all day. It was large and completely secure, and there were a couple of relaxing sun loungers in addition to the garden table and chairs. We loved the games area with darts, pool and air hockey; our only tiny niggle was that it wasn’t lit, so as these evenings are now drawing in quickly, we were unable to play as often as we’d like. The location is great, as mentioned previously, almost in the forest, and only 20-30mins away from beautiful beaches. The village centre is only 10 mins walk, and there is a great selection of eateries and all the usual shops you would expect/need. The Swan pub is literally across the road, and is good for drinks but many better places to eat in town (in our opinion). The owners were in contact and were very responsive, but as they had thought of absolutely everything, there was nothing that we needed. We chose this area randomly, based on the pictures of the house, and I’m really glad we did, we had a lovely stay and would definitely recommend both the location and this specific property. A lovely stay, thank you.

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• Debra - Verified booking

  Great location for exploring the New Forest, Stonehenge, Winchester and close enough for a day trip to the Isle of Wight.

  There’s a handy Nisa supermarket within easy walking distance. Plenty of parking space for 2 cars and a camper van. Great sized house for 5 adults and 3 teenagers (who appreciated the upstairs games room), while downstairs there were comfortable sofas and large dining table with plenty of space for everyone to sit. Storage options were good in each room (although no wardrobe in the downstairs bedroom) and the shoe area in the entrance porch was handy, as was the large double hall cupboard which had plenty of hanging space for coats. The kitchen was a lovely size and it was great to have extra space at the small table and breakfast bar and the double oven was fab for cooking for eight people. The house file contained very clear information with lots of suggestions for the area and the keys were very clearly labelled. Great outdoor seating and some garden games which got used between the showers! There was also a BBQ but sadly the weather wasn’t nice enough to make use of this. Niggles: The tap on the kitchen sink had to be turned on very carefully otherwise you got soaked each time you used it. A washing up bowl would also be useful. Kettle needs to be descaled. It would be helpful to have a selection of larger sized saucepans when cooking for eight people. The downstairs bedroom door sticks and can be difficult to open. The toilet seat in the upstairs family bathroom was broken and the holder for the shower head would not fix in position and just slid back down the pole. The mattress in the upstairs ensuite bedroom was hard and uncomfortable and one bedside lamp could not be used: it was not near a plug and the lead was not long enough to reach one. Missing a lock on the downstairs toilet (door through to the utility room). Overall, despite the above niggles, we were very happy with our stay and would still rate it 4 stars.

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• Suzanne - Verified booking

  The parkdean resort was amazing.

  The location, facilities and entertainment were great for a family holiday. We ate on site a couple of time and used the passes to access the pool and clubhouse I. The evening and both adults and children enjoyed it thoroughly. However, the caravan was not uo to the same standard as we expected from such a great site. The interior was dated, there were lots of unnecessary items in the caravan that couldn't be used such as lamps situated where there were no plug sockets. There was a lack of plug in general which meant that you couldn't watch TV at the same time as having a lamp on. The kitchen was very basic. The grill wouldn't stay on and to use it, you would have to keep the gas knob pressed in. There was only one shelf in the oven, which meant that cooking for 5 people was tricky. From staying in other caravans there seemed a lack of storage space in bedrooms. We also couldn't seem to find any instructions on how the heating worked. When we arrived the shower was on and the bathroom floor was flooded, I believe there had been a problem with the water on site before we arrived so assumed that when the cleaners were in they forgot to turn off the shower. The light switch in the bathroom was also too short. This meant that 2 of the 3 children couldn't use the bathroom at night as they couldn't reach the pull cord. It was also very hard to shut the double bedroom door, which meant waking the children up eheb the adults went to bed. I think it would also be worth mentioning that, as you are surrounded by established trees that it is quite a common noise to hear acorns falling onto the roof. This wasn't a problem but 2 of the children were a bit scared of the noise on the first night.

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• Salina - Verified booking

  We had issues with boiler throughout stay.

  had to reset it several times a day to get any heating. this really needs looking at by the owner and its not acceptable for guests to have to keep faffing about with it as constant faults flashing throughout the day. there were pots left in dishwasher many of which were still dirty we found slugs in kitchen every morning- i know its an old house but some copper tape around kitchen side door would stop that. there were rats in the garden ( around the side)- we opened the kitchen side door near utility and we saw two in what looked like the old coal shed- you need to put something down to get rid of those. filthy stained bath upstairs which was unusable- no one wanted to sit in it. the slope down from gate to conservatory covered in slime so one elderly person in the group slipped quite badly walking down it the shower room downstairs basically flooded whenever anyone used the shower- needs a longer shower screen or some kind of run off point. trying to get in and out off the main road was a challenge in the cars. sorry all so negative but for what we paid we expected a better maintained holiday house- all the ones we've rented from Sykes in the past have been perfect. sadly not this one.

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