Devon Self Catering cottage, Bight Boathouse, Dartmouth, sleeps 11

Dirty. Dangerous. Dated
A mixed group of us stayed here for New Year 2021. The view is amazing. Everything else about it is awful. The experience starts from the overwhelming smell of damp that greets you as you come down the stairs. Opening the cheap 1970s patio doors, you are greeted by an interior that resembles a care home (thick, white tubular stair rails) and is dated. The carpets are threadbare and dangerous, especially on the stairs. The main living room is equally dated and the kitchen is appalling. The bar stools for the breakfast bar simply don't work; the breakfast bar is not fitted to the floor and everything appears dirty (there was a half smoked joint under the bar). Although advertised as accommodating 11 people, there is one bathroom with no shower and an awful black en suite bathroom that has a poor quality shower with a sign on the door saying "this shower may not work". The pool was dirty, with loose tiles and eroded grouting. Special mention should be made of the bedrooms. The mattresses are so thin as to be useless. The sheets are not clean, don't fit the beds and are of exceptionally poor quality - we found washing them to alleviate some of the discomfort caused by their quality. Not one person had a good night's sleep for the time we were there. On stripping the beds to leave, one of our party found glass beneath the sheet. On one day, there was a flood in the pool room - water pouring onto the electrics and causing them to short. On contacting the owner (there was no point contacting the agent, Sykes Cottages, as their customer care is non-existent), his response was that it was due to the amount of rain. The attending engineer observed that they were aware of a leak and had buckets in place to catch water in the pool-service room. All of this cost in excess of ?4,000 for a week. All of our party left before the end of the week; we simply could not tolerate it any longer. But for the company and the time of year, we would have left earlier. Even the view of the Dart doesn't compensate for how awful this place is. It needs to be gutted before being rented, or at least cleaned and the beds replaced. I would save my money and take an AirBnB in the Dart Marina.
Travelswithapud
2022-02-26

Dirty & Dangerous
Have paid ?4,000 for a week we had expected at least a basic level of cleanliness and repair. The property is run down to the point of being dangerous! Hazards are everywhere, too many to list. From the trip hazard on the threadbare spiral staircases to the rusty non functioning gym equipment and sauna. The pool has junk and broken tiles on the bottom. Sharp edges everywhere which was a serious H&S issue. Dismantled fire alarms and a CO2 alarm that kept going off. Nothing was clean, everything had a 'sticky? feel to it. The place needs gutting and renovating before allowing anyone else in. We were shocked how someone could be allowed to rent this property out in its current state. There is going to be a serious accident here unless something is done. By far the worst holiday home we have ever had the misfortune to stay at. Skyes Cottages needs to remove this listing from their website immediately until the property has undergone significant improvements
Andyegreen
2020-08-21

Spooky
We stayed here a couple of years ago. The place even then needed an upgrade. On the first day our dog fell over the balcony sustaining serious injury. My brother in law slipped on floor and needed stitches in his head. I fell by the pool and had life changing injuries to my wrist. Would love to hear from others on their experiences in this house
Barbara L
2019-10-21

Dreadful
Positives - view is stunning and there is parking on the property. Negatives - this is a tired, dated property which needs extensive renovation and a deep clean. It is not worth the money we paid. The "lavish" en-suite was dark and dingy, with dirty shower tray, two lights not working, taps awkward to turn off and a toilet which was difficult to flush. Helpfully, a bowel was at the side so you could use it to fill the toilet system with water! The en-suite bedroom was also well past its best with dated furniture, rusty rails inside wardrobes, peeling wallpaper, dismantled smoke alarm, dirty scruffy curtains hanging badly. Given that this property sleeps 10 you would expect the family bathroom to at least have a proper shower and not a hand held one over the bath. Again problems flushing the toilet. The sofas are dirty, collapsing to the sides and belong on the tip. Another smoke alarm dismantled - this is a health and safety issue and a common theme. Again bulbs need changing. Threadbare carpet on the spiral staircase so care needs to be taken when using the stairs. The patio furniture is broken. The gym equipment is rusty, parts broken and dangerous. The sauna light doesn't work or the booster on the jacuzzi. This place is an accident waiting to happen. We are awaiting Sykes' comments.
CrystalHB
2018-09-21

Hole, not bolthole.
If you would stay literally anywhere for a great view then you just may like this place. However, if you're expecting a higher end modern place to stay then forget it. I totally agree with the previous comments made by people who have stayed here, in that it's massively over-priced, badly in need of a gutting refurb, and there was so much wrong with it I'm not going to embarrass the owners by listing all its faults here. On the other hand if you want rotten patio furniture, smoke detectors broken, cracked ceilings, and an 80's decor that Delboy Trotter would turn his nose up at then look no further. Most of the gym equipment is either disfunctional or dangerous, the sauna has no lighting so be careful you don't trip into the hot coals, and if all this doesn't finish you off then the wasps nest near the overgrown plantpot terrace might. Nice view though.
Cosmopolitan679509
2018-09-14