“My husband and I have visited Cornwall every year for the last 18 years.”
We have stayed in a variety of accommodation on each visit, so we generally have an idea of what to look for in a cottage. We were happy with the cleanliness of the cottage, however we did find that the grill pan still had fat in it and we were somewhat disappointed with the state of the outside space. There were lots of weeds (we're aware there has been a lot of rain) it was apparent that the outside areas hadn't been attended to for quite a while. The cottage is called Vi's Valley View, sadly the view was obscured as the double glazed windows in the lounge and the bedroom have blown along with two smaller windows, so looking out of them was a little dreary. In the welcome pack it stated there were dog bowls and treats in the study, neither were found. Not the end of the world I know. We had a query about the access to the outhouse where we could find fuel for the open fire, it said in the Information pack that the contact number for any queries was at the front of the Information pack, it wasn't. Thankfully I was able to find this on the email from our booking with Sykes. We made contact asking how we could access the outhouse and they got back to us 2-3 days later. In our experience the majority of holiday cottages leave a 'Welcome Pack', in these we have had items such as Milk, biscuits, and even a bottle of wine on a couple of occasions. At Vi's cottage we got a welcome pack but on opening it there was 2 dishwasher tab, 2 washing capsules, a cloth, sponge and washing up liquid. Sorry to say we were a little stunned the fact it was called a 'Welcome Pack'!! We found the bed in the main bedroom a too firm for us. On a positive note, we enjoyed our time in Cornwall. The cottage kitchen is well equipped, the lounge very comfortable, great location, good parking 'The Ship' served great food and the locals were very welcoming.
We are glad you enjoyed your time in Cornwall overall, but we apologise that our cottage was not up to standard.
We are sorry that there was no welcome pack left out for you - there should have been some tea, coffee, biscuits, and some treats/bowls for your dog. We have contacted our cleaning and management company to ensure that this doesn't happen again (likewise, to ensure the grill pan is properly cleaned/inspected). They should have left their contact details out for you, so we will also chase this (we never recommend guests contact Sykes during their stay, as this is not the quickest way to get help). We've been informed that your issue with the coalshed door was resolved and that the wood had expanded in the wet weather.
Thank you for informing us about the garden - as you rightly say, there has been a lot of rain recently and we are due a gardener to spruce the place up. We will see to this! Our back yard does not receive much sunlight, so we hope you enjoyed sitting outside the front instead.
We're sorry if the obscured windows ruined your experience - the double glazing is high on our list of renovations. Whilst our cottage is called 'valley view' (a name it was given over a century ago), the view further down the lane is less obscured by trees and houses, so I hope you were still able to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
Thank you for your honest review and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Property Owner
