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

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
2021-08-27

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
2021-08-17

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
2019-10-08