“Clean and well-presented but much smaller than expected, essentially a compact bedsit/annex attached to the owners’ home.”
While listed as “dog-friendly”, the rule that dogs cannot be left in the property is not stated on the Sykes listing. I was not aware, as I must have missed this in the email sent two weeks before, but I was informed and verbally reminded during the stay. This was difficult in hot weather, when it would have been safer and kinder to leave my dog indoors in front of a fan than take him out.
The garden is shared and overlooked, and gardening work made me feel like I couldn’t comfortably sit outside, on a hot morning, I simply stayed indoors. Overall, it felt more like staying with someone rather than in a private cottage, which can be difficult given the shared drive and close proximity. Fine as a short-term base, but it would have been disappointing as a main holiday.
Dear Donna
Thank you for your recent feedback concerning The Little White Cottage. I'm sorry that you are clearly unhappy regarding your stay.
You raise several points which I would like to respond to in the order they have been raised:
1. The Little White Cottage is described on the Sykes website as follows:
"traditional cottage is attached to the owners' home in a delightful forest setting".
The cottage is not large (hence the name) but is most definitely NOT a bedsit, and has all the necessary amenities for most guests to enjoy a very pleasant stay, as underlined by the fact we recently achieved a "perfect score" award, thanks to the number of 100% ratings received from our customers.
2. Sykes Cottages, as a company, have several rules which cover ALL their dog-friendly cottages, one of which is that dogs should not be left in the property whilst the owner is not present. This is outlined to guests in a welcoming Email sent, by Sykes, around two weeks before the start of the intended break. We normally also remind guests of the rule when they arrive at the property to avoid any misunderstandings. The rule is there to protect both property owners, guests and the animals themselves. Any animal, no matter how well behaved, could become ill whilst alone in the property with unintended consequences for everyone concerned. Additionally, the distress of being left alone in a strange location can lead to unexpected and unusual behaviour or even destructiveness. It is unfair to expect that a property owner can just pick up the pieces and resolve any issues arising from ignoring this rule.
3. Our listing for the cottage indicates that the outside space is shared with the next property. We did undertake some gardening whilst you were in residence, although not in the immediate area around the cottage. Our aim is that all our guests enjoy a relaxing stay with us and, whilst the need to keep the property and grounds nice means that we do have to undertake regular work on site, we do try to keep this at minimal levels whilst guests are in the property, indeed several of our reviews from both this cottage and the Old Barn mention the total privacy extended to guests.
As mentioned previously, we're sorry if you were unhappy with the situation but hope the above clarifies matters for you.
Best wishes
Trish & Dave
Property Owner
