Scottish Borders Self Catering cottage, Groom's Cottage, Chirnside, sleeps 4

Didn't live up to expectations
When I booked Grooms cottage, the pictures made it look like a quaint cozy cottage with a vintage feel. Unfortunately the reality was quite different. The cottage is listed as pet friendly, and I maybe should have taken heed of that as when we opened the cottage door a strong smell of dog hit us! We immediately purchased fabreeze, as the smell was making my partner feel quite ill. But maybe if we had dogs we wouldn't have minded. The cottage was clean and tidy, but the towels provided were stained and had long hairs on them. They were also very small. We went out and purchased a large bath towel each. The bed was an odd set up, with being two singles pushed together, the mattresses in all the beds were so hard. After a week sleeping there, both our backs were in agony. The bathrooms were clean, and the shower pressure was good. However all the hot water taps need warning labels on them, as the hot water goes straight from cold to scalding. I scalded my hand on the first day. If you had children, it would have been extremely dangerous. The kitchen was well equipped, the dishwasher and washer/dryer worked very well. But the oven was another story, looked quite old and the hobs either did not get hot enough to even warm the food or went so hot all the food was burnt! The hot tap again was scalding, and the taps were badly cracked and flaking. There is a piece of wood that runs under the kitchen cabinets, which on our first day fell down on my foot bruising it. I had only touched the dishwasher and it fell down. Plenty of plates, cups and bowls are provided which is nice. The living room was comfortable, very small television and set far away from the sofa so I struggled to see. Also be warned that there are dogs on the site, and pets are allowed to stay there as we were woken a few times in the night by dogs barking which unfortunately ruined the lovely peaceful countryside. The owner was very friendly which is a huge plus, and the cottage has so much potential but needs modernising. We enjoyed our week away, but would not return to this holiday cottage.
Fiona254
2016-09-02

The surroundings and cottage were lovely, and the owner was friendly and very helpful. Many thanks for our enjoyable stay, we would definitely recommend this cottage to others.
Mrs Latuskie
2016-06-07

Very cosy cottage in a lovely location.
Mrs Lough
2016-02-25

The location of Grooms cottage was in a lovely quiet area beside a beautiful courtyard. The grounds were superb with a Tarzan swing, two beautiful giraffe sculptures and other activities for children. It was very safe for us to let the dogs out without worrying if they would run into a road.
Mrs Cairns
2015-06-07

The location was superb. The silence, and the sky at night contributed to a spectacularly relaxing break. An ideal base for splendid deserted beaches. The dog enjoyed it too!
Mrs Temperley
2015-04-24