“Never booked a cottage before, we normally use a certain budget hotel chain that allows pets, but we figured the extra price would be offset by not having to buy meals all the time.”
There were some really thoughtful touches - the welcome brownies were amazing and much appreciated, the jug of fresh milk, the tea and coffee. Can't fault the initial impression.
There are niggles, some bigger than others. I list them in no particular order to be honest and to help the owners, I am reluctant to shoot them down because they are mostly irks, and we had a great time, but they are hard to avoid.
The initial impression quickly gave way to numerous indicators of rushed or ...
There were some really thoughtful touches - the welcome brownies were amazing and much appreciated, the jug of fresh milk, the tea and coffee. Can't fault the initial impression.
There are niggles, some bigger than others. I list them in no particular order to be honest and to help the owners, I am reluctant to shoot them down because they are mostly irks, and we had a great time, but they are hard to avoid.
The initial impression quickly gave way to numerous indicators of rushed or cheap, and probably not professional, workmanship in the kitchen and bathroom. Pencil marks in various places, plastic mouldings with rough cuts, that don't line up, sealant that is clinging on for dear life to almost nothing, white tape in places, seemingly in place of actual joints. Some of the corner covering pieces seem to be blobbed on rather than actually sealed top to bottom.
There is not enough storage. We had a tall but narrow chest of draws and a single draw bedside table. There is no wardrobe, nor under bed storage and nowhere to put suitcases. There are three double-hook pegs around the room but hanging a coat on them either covers a light switch or is very near to one. Combined with the hard floor (veneer or vinyl), you wouldn't want to hang anything wet, but there is nowhere else to hang coats, not that we needed the coats we brought. Replacing the bed with a metal frame would provide much needed space for suitcases if nothing else.
There is not enough sockets and what sockets there are are not easily accessible. Luckily we brought a strip socket and used a spare socket behind the bed so we could easily plug in chargers. Bedside sockets, ideally with USB-A/C sockets as well, would be nice.
It gets hellishly hot in there. The kitchen and bathroom have translucent roofs and act like greenhouses with only a single side opening window each to a retaining wall. The front doors, whilst magnificent, are sun facing, and the blinds and thin curtains are insufficient to keep the heat out. There is a single opening window in the main room, but this opens to the owners property. The forecast was only in the 20s, luckily the nights were cool. It must have been horrific during the heatwaves. If you have a dog, you can't have the doors open unless the dog is restrained somehow, or in a crate, as the front area is not dog secure and leads to the open road.
There is not much on demand hot water, enough for a single sink, and it is extremely hot, possibly enough to scald you. The draining board is tiny, for a cottage that is fitted and stocked to cook for 2 people, there is nothing like enough draining space. Personally, I'd sacrifice some bathroom space for a bigger kitchen. The hob gets too hot to touch the control panel if using the ring nearest to you for any length of time. Concerningly, the bottom of the hob is accessible from the top draw space. Is this safe?
Though the active times for the adjacent MoD firing range (Castlemartin) are published well in advance, and it was "active" most of the time we were there, it was only 1 night we heard anything. My partner was up most of the night with a distressed dog.
It all worked well enough, but for £100+ per night in what seems like a converted garage with an extension in the owners driveway, it leaves a bit of a taste in the mouth. Overall we had a really great time, we really enjoyed being able to cook what we wanted, when we wanted and having that bit more room and privacy and there's no doubting the fantastic location to explore the area. We will definitely try a cottage (or similar) again in future.
Would we stay here again? Sadly not. The over heating when it's only forecast to be low 20s is concerning, how anybody managed in there during actual heatwave conditions is beyond us. Our dog is allowed on furniture, as is I suspect most dogs. We knew about the dogs off furniture rule but wanted to try it anyway. Ultimately we didn't feel this restriction was for us, or our dog, nor the unpredictability of the firing range.
