Stephen - verified booking

"This cottage is in a stunning location and has the potential to be gorgeous but it needs some serious TLC to make it liveable and family friendly. We chose this cottage specifically for it's privacy, location and from the pictures family friendly with bunk beds, decking, gardens and a lake to suit our 3 year old boy and 6 year old girl. Unfortunately due to motorway traffic we arrived fairly late via a trip to the supermarket so decided to get some dinner on for the kids, chicken nuggets and chips. The oven, grill pans, kitchen utensils, boards and kitchen units were all in a pretty grimy and sticky state. After a good clean we put the dinner in put the oven timer on and proceeded to unpack. Some minutes later the smoke alarm started beeping, although the timer was still running the meal was burnt to a crisp. Fortunately we had a pasta bake which we put in the oven setting our own timer this time. 10 mins into a 30mins cook time off goes the smoke alarm again. This time the whole plastic container had melted into the food. Meal number 2 ruined. This is when we realised there was something fundamentally wrong with the oven. New pasta bake this time in the microwave, there is only one place for this microwave, in a skip. Apart from being dirty, the interior lining was coming away. Having no choice we risked it, but realised we would be eating out or takeaways for the rest of the week and a lot of food would be returning to Cumbria with us. Many other things could be improved on too. The light in the fridge did'nt work, the seals on the freezer were mouldy , the tv remote did'nt work, the clock needed a new battery, the settees were old and battered but hidden with throws and cushions, one of which had a big cigarette burn in it, only 3 chairs at the table (4 in the photo). The shower is over the bath, but there is no bathmat, our little boy had a real tumble as the bath became slippy The ladder for the upper bunk bed comes up right beneath the light fitting, numerous times our girl caught her head on it. As a suggestion some lower level stickers could be put on the doors to the decking our little boy ran headlong into the closed doors twice. The outside decking had nettles and brambles sticking through it, not family friendly and unfortunately the smell that can only be described as festival toilets detracted us from spending any time sat outside. The garden although beautiful is fairly overgrown with nettles in places, has broken seats and benches in it and the lake as it is manmade and had no natural water supply was continually covered in a layer of green slime. Fortunately as Cornwall is so beautiful and the weather was stunning the only real time we spent in the cottage was breakfast and lateish evening. We as a couple and now as a family have booked with you before and this is the first time I have had to write anything negative. But I would like to warn people with a young family of the potential pitfalls of staying at this cottage."

Luke - verified booking

"Beautiful surroundings and very very rural location. Very peaceful and scenic. However, these positives are overshadowed by a number of issues. Firstly, and most importantly, the cleanliness of the cottage was appalling. The kitchen surfaces were sticky, we had to give the kitchen a good clean ourselves on arrival. The extractor fan didn't work and hasn't worked for years according to previous reviews. The owners being aware of this, as it is stated on a tatty bit of paper with the words sorry written next to it. The oven needs condemning as it cremated any food you put in it, there is obviously a fault with it and set of the fire alarm. The lighting is very poor so you are unable to see what you are cooking. This cottage will suite people who want a very rural location and are happy to eat out every night. We were annoyed as we had paid more to stop in this cottage then the previous cottage we had stayed in the week before, which had every thing we needed including a washing machine. The religious artifacts were also very over bearing and we felt were inappropriate. We went with our dog who we clean up after, however we kept finding the owners dog poo all over the lawn. The pond is mainly for the ducks and we were welcomed with an offensive smell each morning. We wished we had read the reviews of this property more thoroughly before we visited to have avoided disappointment. It could be a very lovely cottage if the owners put some time and effort into it and it felt more cared for."

IRJ - verified booking

"Great property in a very good location, It is a very nice property that most of us can only dream about owning, but does require a little tlc here and there, but nothing to spoil your stay, we enjoyed all the wildlife and fed them daily the two hens even knocked on the door to be fed, although the pub is around a mile away after walking there & back we did consider that due to having to walk on the road it was not generally safe to do so, and for anybody that does book ignore the directions given simply go by the Rod & Line pub on Church street follow the road (beware of on coming traffic some parts are very narrow!) through the "Tunnel " of trees till you see a sign Tideford Cross go a little further on & on your left is a detached property and on your right you will have a side junction straight after the junction you will see a red shuttered door (in the description it says garage!) this is where you will turn in follow the unmade track to the lodge"

Laura - verified booking

"Unfortunately first impressions let this property down. The holiday park itself is in need of tlc and is a little run down. The swimming pools were a bonus. Valley lodge could be greatly improved with a bit of care to the outside - fixing the lodge number for starters. When venturing in we found a few left over wrappers, sweets in a cupboard and a flannel from previous occupants. However the crockery was all clean as were the beds and the bathrooms. I was disappointed there was no soap within the property and luckily I’d brought my own washing up liquid. The master bed was rock hard and had the noisiest springs which didn’t make for a restful night. There was also no information whatsoever within the property regarding the site; such as swimming pool openings, or about the property - bins etc. Overall we had a good holiday and enjoyed our stay but first impressions were underwhelming and could easily be improved."

Ray - verified booking

"The Lodge was in good shape generally - one or two small repairs required and some general maintenance. Well equipped and nicely clean. Good communication with the owner and general manager. Nice to have a running stream immediately outside.On the downside, the mattress on the double bed was of low quality and too hard. It was not a comfortable sleep and by the third night we were contemplating sleeping on the sofas. I have said 'yes' I would stay there again, but only if the mattress was replaced with a much improved version. The site was curious. It seemed to be a mixture of residential and holiday accommodation which dragged down the look. It all looked tired and in need of a good spruce up. The Lodge served our purpose for a short stay, and with a replaced double mattress we would return for other short trips that we need to make to that region."