Gloucestershire Self Catering cottage, The Red Bus!, Newnham-on-Severn, sleeps 6

Terrible. Would not recommend.
We booked the bus for our family based on the photos and reviews on well known holiday website. The photos are not accurate and very misleading. The bus is not private, the hot tub is not a hot tub and the state of the inside of the bus is disgusting. We arrived late Friday evening due to traffic. The walk down the slate path and wooden steps from the car to the bus was a death trap, no lights and very slippy, but ok, were in a field on a farm. There was no hot water or upstairs lighting in the bedrooms. It was extremely dirty with general dirt and grime and mouse droppings in the bowls and downstairs bed. The shelves in the kitchen and the utensils drawer and storage pot (discovered when looking for a corkcrew as wine was needed) were so bad i washed them all before using them. The kids beds were foul (see photo of mattress when we were trying to figure out the smell). On realising how bad it was, we went to find the gentleman who welcomed us and who stated he would be around all evening if we needed anything. He had gone out. When we decided to settle as best we could for the night, we found the doors into the bus didn't close properly and that there is no way of securing the doors from the inside. They can only be locked via a padlock outside. So you can be locked in, but not lock anyone out if you are inside. As well as my own reservations about this, with 2 kids it did not bode well and none of us slept well though the kids were pleased to see the cat who came in in the middle of the night. I was not thrilled. We stayed one night and only slept in the beds due to the time of our arrival and absence of the person who welcomed us. The next morning the light showed the real state of the bus. Dirty, damp, oven didn't work properly, you couldn't cook on the very old hobs and the kettle was full of white mush that poured out when you used the hot water. Towels left a bad smell on the skin, the shower block was terrible. We tried to speak to the gentleman but he walked off saying that he has had enough of people complaining and he is only the gardener. We thankfully got moved for our holiday by the company we booked through but by doing this they closed our booking of the Red Bus and we were unable to leave a review. This is why reviews end at August 22 on the company website. Once you complain, you cannot leave a review. As experienced campers we are used to being a bit cold, damp and having to compromise on quality and cleanliness of facilities at some times, however this was the worst place we have been. I would not revisit, I would not recommend.
holliec375
2022-11-09

Quirky, fun but small and privacy issues
We booked for 5 nights in January, but stayed only for 3. The bus was a lot smaller than expected but it was cosy and quirky. The kids loved it. The hot tub is more of a giant bath as there's no jets but it was lovely to relax in in the evenings and always nice and warm thanks to George keeping the fire stoked while we were out for the day. Beds were comfy. Layout was a bit odd and with 2 small kids we had a lot of stuff so it was rather cramped. Lovely views and quite peaceful too. We didn't realise there were other places to stay right next to the bus as the photos make it look remote and alone, and on the third night some other guests arrived with a dog which kept coming into our area and Barking at us which worried the kids. People kept coming down and walking through what we thought was our private area so we couldn't just sit and relax after the third night amd didn't feel we could use the hot tub. The oven door gets stuck on the cupboard and the very old ceramic hobs didn't heat up enough to actually cook anything, and every time the oven door opened the fire alarms went off. The bus could do with some maintenance inside, there were patches that looked stained and damp in the kids bunk area and the sofa cover was full of holes. The WiFi didn't work which was fine as we didn't mind of we had that or not, but the Netflix profiles on the TV had names I won't mention as they were extremly offensive. Sadly we felt it wasn't right for us and left after 3 nights. We have been to many glamping places so are used to no mod cons but the privacy issue and the fact we couldn't cook really let this place down. The roof of the shower hut was also so low we had to squat to shower and I'm only 5ft 2! We had some great moments and of it had been totally private as we were led to believe we would have stayed the full 5 nights.
mrsflight
2022-02-01

A fun place to stay, but some cleanliness issues
To start with, this is a fun place to stay - the kids loved it, there are great views, and lots of great walks in the area. There are also friendly pets on site, and 'George' was a great help, showing us where everything was, and lighting the fire for the hot tub. It was great eating outside, and for such a small space, it's well equipped, with a microwave, cooker, oven, fridge, and sink all inside the bus. We were perfectly able to cook (simple!) meals onboard. There's a separate block next to the bus with an electric shower, which is fine. The hot tub was fun, however, it isn't really a hot tub. There are no jets (so it's just a big bath really). It's also heated by a log burner, and it takes a LONG time to warm up (and never gets 'hot'). Also, the smoke from the log burner goes straight into the bedroom window. Besides the smoke blowing into the bus, I think the main issue is as another review commented, which is that the bedding was very smelly, and the mattresses seem very old and uncomfortable - sadly that's what brings this down from a 4 or 5 star review. The other thing that brings the score down is that the toilet (unlike some of the bedrooms) has no door, no windows that open, and no extractor fan (bring some air freshener!) - this is really needed, there's just a sheer curtain, and no privacy. Overall, we'd consider staying here again, but only if the reviews reflected that the cleanliness has improved.
EonsOfZaphod
2021-08-26

Not as the pictures show!!
We booked to stay in the bus for a week, however only stayed for 2 nights. The pictures show a nice fresh, clean looking interior but it's not as it seems. The bus was dusty and dirty, especially around the mattresses. I wouldn't advise people to look under them! The bus was cold and had a damp smell. The bedding also smelt stale. We purchased some new duvets from the nearest town so we could sleep with clean bedding. It says it can sleep up to 8, there was 5 of us and we couldn't all sit and watch a dvd in the evening as the dvd player is in one of the bedrooms. 5 on the sofa is a struggle anyway. Dog hair on the carpets! You can't arrive before 6pm and have to leave by 9am so it's not as if the owners don't have time to clean it! The hot tub was also a disaster. The wood burner for it was lit when we arrived but didn't manage to heat the water before bed. We were up for 8am and got the wood burner lit and kept it going all day and by about 10pm the water was still too cold!!!!! I would not recommend this place. The picture is from when I lifted up one of the mattresses from one of the bunk beds! I wouldn't say it was covid clean!
Andrews54321
2021-08-16

Red Bus - perfectly quirky!
Very different - great fun - everything we needed - very peaceful - very relaxed - cooking sausages and marshmallows on an open fire was perfect. Great hosts - attentive but respectful and provided a lovely hamper of goodies. Lots of things to do in the area - Forest of Dean, Clearwell Caves, Puzzlewood all beautiful with steam trains, art and fresh air. We will return even though there wasn?t wifi!
clarecob
2019-10-07