Devon Self Catering cottage, The Stables, Holsworthy, sleeps 4

Wouldn't stay here again
As mentioned by others, the hosts were a nice couple who kept themselves to themselves but were on hand if needed. The bottle of Prosecco and milk was a lovely touch. The pool was a godsend (as the weather wasn?t great) and we were able to use it a couple of times a day ? the fact that only one family could use it one at a time worked well. Our top tip is to take an extra set of pool towels as, even though there was an outdoor washing line, we struggled to get the towels dry. To keep using the dryer (or washing machine) at ?2 a go could add up. We found we had a lot of damp towels (including bath towels) hanging around and suspect others have found this too (as the accommodation smelt damp and we saw signs of black mould (around the table and chairs) which we took pictures of. The window panes on the external front door had severe condensation on them too and this was in the summer. The area the Stables is located is lovely and peaceful, however, as mentioned by other reviews on the Sykes site ? you need to be mindful that an apartment (the loft) sits above the stables accommodation and sadly you can hear every noise that goes on ? people moving around, snoring, going to the toilet and flushing the chain (which you could hear in the twin room) which can be disturbing during the night if someone keeps flushing the toilet throughout the night. Obviously, these things are somewhat out of the hosts control, although they confessed, they are aware of similar incidents from comments made by others who have stayed previously and they have tried to make changes to alleviate it (thicker underlay on carpets). We appreciate you don't know if someone snores or if someone needs to regularly use the bathroom at night but a note in each accommodation asking guests to be mindful and respectful of other guests staying would help. Unfortunately, our stay was made worse by the fact the noise was exceptionally bad ? guests running around above and bouncing a football ? it felt as if the ceiling was coming down on us and even when we mentioned it to the hosts and they subsequently spoke to the occupants, there was little improvement! We complained twice during our stay but felt the hosts could have done more to deal with the situation (even though we are aware they had a family emergency to deal with during our stay). It would have been nice for them to follow up with us and check if things had improved. The only time it was quiet was when the people upstairs were out! Would we stay here again? ? No ? if we had been in a hotel we would have asked to move. We even left early (by one night) as we had had enough after 6 disturbed nights of sleep ? we just kept thinking it would get better! We have stayed in numerous accommodations throughout the UK and abroad and have never wished our holiday away! Sadly, we couldn?t wait for this one to end! We reached out to the owners and Sykes to respond to our issues before posting this but neither have responded which we are disappointed about so we would definitely not rebook with either Sykes or the owners again. Sykes haven't even posted our review (which we felt was constructive) on their site which leads us to believe they pick and choose the reviews they want to advertise!
Rachel M
2021-09-19