“We spent a few days at Kober House over new year and had a lovely time.”
Before I list off some pros and cons of the property, I want to say we would absolutely stay again! But over the course of the few days we did spot some areas that need some improvement. I’ll start with the Pros: The house was immaculate and finished to the highest spec, beautifully decorated with a sea theme of turquoise, whites and greys. Bedding and towels (supplied) were clean, crisp and fluffy. The kitchen was well equipped with a large fridge and various utensils, as well as a dishwasher and washer/dryer. When we arrived there was a Christmas tree in the lounge which we thought was a lovely touch. We went with my three year old toddler, who was very excited to see a toy box of age appropriate toys and lots of children’s books available. Had it been the summer, my daughter would’ve taken full advantage of the summer house and mud kitchen in the garden. We were greeted with a welcome pack of mince pies, cream tea items, tea bags, coffee pods, milk and schloer, which was a wonderful touch. The lounge is well equipped with mod cons, including an xbox, streaming channels and a decent size tv, but I’ll say more about this shortly. Overall most things had been thought of and catered to. Now for the Cons: The photography of the front exterior is slightly misleading. Looking at the pics you’re led to believe it’s a large driveway, which is actually very narrow as it’s shared with the house Nextdoor, and impressions from all of us were that it was a quiet location. Whilst it wasn’t a constant flow of traffic, the road was still fairly busy as it’s the main one through the town. The check-in time for this property is 5:30pm. Not such a problem in the summer with the light evenings as it’s Cornwall and there’s an abundance of activities to keep yourself / kids / dogs happy. But 5:30pm on a dark, drizzly mid-winter afternoon, with two cars packed full of items and a very grouchy toddler is not ideal. An earlier check-in during the winter months would be far more suitable - even by an hour! Check-out time is 10am. Sounds doable. But there’s a long check-out list of things to do - make sure the rubbish is bagged up and taken out, make sure the dishwasher has been put on and emptied, make sure the house is clean and tidy, make sure beds are stripped and put in the bath with used towels, everything - including furniture - needs to be put back as you’ve found it; then after all that you have to find time to pack your things and fill your car(s). It genuinely is a military operation! A slightly later check out, or a less rigorous checklist of things to do before you vacate would be preferred - it is supposed to be a holiday after all. The stairs are very steep which isn’t ideal for children if they’re of the age where they require a stair gate. This house has been designed with families in mind, there is a nursery with a cot and a child’s bed, so an option of a stair gate would be good. The bathroom door upstairs wouldn’t lock properly. I try to keep an open mind on properties before I go on holiday, so didn’t look at reviews, but having looked at some reviews since returning home I found a review from several years back that said the lock wasn’t working then either. Not great that this hasn’t been looked at. The driveway situation is difficult. A shared driveway with the house Nextdoor and a narrow parking place for one car only meant that loading/unloading the cars was a challenge. The narrow space for the one car meant that we had to unload the car in the middle of the shared turning circle before manoeuvring the car into its space. We came in two cars and I was lucky enough to blag a parking spot over the road, so we could place the family car in the driveway, but anyone who has young children will understand you need the space for cars - especially when the house is on a main road and you can’t risk your child running out of the driveway whilst your attention is on the car. You could argue “come in one car then”, but I can’t imagine we’ll be the only guests to come in two cars. More about the lounge tv now, its a smart tv, with every streaming app you can think of. But if, like me, you’re reluctant to log in with your details, you then have a situation where you either watch Samsung TV Plus which is old repeats all day and all night, or you have to accept defeat and sit in the kitchen so you can watch standard channels. A Freeview box with some standard channels would be useful. Mullion cove is lovely and pretty, albeit very sleepy and out in a limb from all of the main Cornish towns. This is ideal for some, but something to keep in mind if you want to be in the hub. Helston was 15 minutes’ drive, St Ives was about 45 minutes’ drive, Sennen Cove was 55 minutes’ drive. Unless you stay totally local, you’re getting in your car. Please don’t get me wrong, it was a lovely house and we felt very comfortable there. We said several times that everything had been thought of. But in my view this is a summer holiday house, not a winter stay.
