Shropshire Self Catering cottage, Offa's Cottage, Oswestry, sleeps 6

Disappointing and not as advertised
Booked via Sykes Holiday Cottages. Unfortunately, we would not recommend this property to anyone and we actually left days before our stay was due to finish. We ignored the couple of negative reviews on this property - this turned out to be a mistake! It's a real shame as the location is lovely and the property itself was very comfortable, however we had multiple issues during our stay at the property. The property was surface clean but we found all sorts under sofa cushions and down the side of the bed. The shower in the ensuite switched from cold to scalding hot with no warning which proved to be lethal! The two downstairs smoke alarms were taken down from the ceiling and left on the windowsills with their batteries removed. The washing machine did not work at all, and the wifi was almost completely unusable and kept cutting out. We informed the owner about these issues, we were particularly concerned about the smoke alarms as we were staying with a young baby, and were told that he would bring new batteries for the smoke alarms (these didn?t materialise despite several further requests over multiple days). The owner said we could use a communal washing machine somewhere on-site but he would fix the washing machine the next day and, when that didn?t happen, that it would take him a week to find a plumber. While not ideal, we do appreciate that appliances break and at least an alternative was provided. Regarding the wifi, he told us that he?d spoken to the internet company and they?d told him the entire exchange was apparently down - he mentioned his wife had also been having issues with it and that apparently all her London-based colleagues were having internet issues too so it was a country-wide thing. He tried the shower but told us he couldn?t replicate the problem, and did offer to fix this but by this point we?d had enough of dealing with the comedy of errors! We informed Sykes of the sorry state of affairs and we left the property. If it had just been one issue, we would have been understanding as we appreciate that sometimes things do go wrong. Unfortunately though, multiple features were not working as advertised and we had a young baby with us so basics like a working shower, wifi (as there was no phone signal), a washing machine and smoke alarms were essential (not to mention working smoke alarms being a legal requirement). Sykes were sadly very unhelpful in this scenario and told us any refund would be at the owner's discretion despite him having directly broken the law as well as Sykes? own terms and conditions. They liaised with the owner to offer a partial refund which was, quite frankly, insulting and did not cover the cost of the days we did not stay, and then washed their hands of the entire business. All in all, this was a very difficult process and a highly disappointing experience which we hope never to repeat! It seems Sykes are happy to take your money and then leave you high and dry if anything should go wrong. We would strongly recommend never booking with this owner or with Sykes as this has been awful treatment from a supposedly reputable brand.
nsgethin
2022-03-28

Nice cottage, but needs attention to details
We stayed here for 2 weeks in August 2021. What we appreciated most about this property was the character and features such as the fireplaces, exposed stone walls, quarry tiles, wooden beams and the very stylish lighting feature in the back passageway. The kids loved the fact that you could do unbroken laps of the downstairs! The large dining table, cooker, American style fridge freezer, washing machine and separate tumble dryer were all great. The bedrooms were spacious, although sparsely furnished. The TV was a good size with all the FreeSat channels. The garden is lovely and we enjoyed the outdoor seating. The view at the front of the house is lovely and you can see horses grazing in the field across the road. Behind the house are stables which are busy with people from early morning. The first impression we had was that there was no welcome to the house - not a tea bag in sight! No coffee or sugar either, and no milk in the fridge. No-one came to say hello either. The house also constantly smells strongly of paraffin from the boiler and we often needed to open windows to reduce the smell. The other main issue we had here was with the plumbing... Apart from the low water pressure, the new electric shower in the upstairs ensuite was always changing temperature and often running cold for long periods. It also leaked water down through the floor into the utility room below. We contacted the owner about this and he applied sealant to the shower cubicle on the last day of our stay. We also had problems with the downstairs toilet leaking. Note that the main bathroom in this house is downstairs with a hand-held shower on a mixer tap over the bath. The only bathroom upstairs is in the second bedroom (a reconfiguration for 2021 since the Sykes description was written), which meant for us that the adults slept in the smaller double room! The shower cubicle is very small. The only room with a wardrobe is the smaller double (with airing cupboard behind). The other rooms only contain chests of drawers for storing clothes. The house is tastefully decorated with lovely lighting, good wifi, great central heating and was very clean. However, it feels tired and needs some TLC: - The bed mattresses appear to be old and you can feel the springs when you lie on them. After an uncomfortable first night I found a spare duvet in the airing cupboard which I put on the double bed in the second bedroom under the mattress protector, which improved things. All the beds really need decent mattress toppers, or replacing. - The slimline dishwasher was appreciated, however it didn't release the tablet on any of the cycles we tried and we had to open it mid-wash and release the tablet ourselves. - There is no outdoor space to dry clothes, but the boiler room was always warm and a good place to dry clothes and shoes (even though the paraffin smell was strongest in there). - Although this house sleeps 6, there is really only enough seating in the living room for 4 people. Sykes website states that there is another chair, but it wasn't there during our stay. Also the table in the kitchen only has 4 chairs. - There is no DVD player, however there is an Apple TV plugin which we managed to sync with our iPad for about half an hour before it stopped working due to poor internet connection. - There is no mobile signal at the house. - There was no non-slip bath mat. - Only 1 of the 2 ovens was working. - We were not offered any clean towels or bedding at the end of our first week's stay and had to ask for them, together with a bin bag! We liked the location of the house, which is right on the Offa's Dyke. It is quiet and peaceful and only a short drive from Oswestry, which is a lovely town, with lots of facilities. We enjoyed some lovely days out including The Countryside Experience at Park Hall, Hawkstone Follies, Chirk Castle (nearby tunnel and viaduct also worth a look), Ellesmere Lake, BeWilder Wood, Powis Castle and Erddig. We also had a great day at Barmouth Beach, and can recommend the waterfall at Pistyll Rheadr for those who like it a little wilder!
Beky_W
2022-01-22

Attention to detail maybe
As other ppl on other web pages have said the matresses are so uncomfortable and i agree the knives need sharpening. Would have been nice to have something on arrival. I think for the price you pay. We have stayed at much cheaper places and stunning cottages and they leave teabags and tea amenities cakes and eggs. Showers normally always have just little details. Maybe another sofa is needed as only 2 sofas for 6 people. Lovely cottage though but wouldnt be back
pingu29
2021-07-28

Excellent
We had an excellent stay very peaceful and relaxing definitely looking to stay again. Lots of amenities but our main reason was to fish was amazing
Elizabeth C
2021-01-19