Michael - verified booking

"We enjoyed our stay here. Very good location etc. Very peaceful and rural setting, there are some small farm animals (Ducks, Chickens, oh and a Cockerel which serves as natures alarm clock - not an issue to us, but some will moan about it no doubt!)In fairness we both came to the conclusion the cottage received the minimum of attention to maintain the 4 stars. Can't comment on the owners as we never saw or heard from them, which we thought strange as they lived on site?When we arrived there was a broken vase on the living room table with a note from the previous occupant who had broken it which Made us wonder if anyone had actually cleaned in between stays, add to that every drawer in the bedroom had bits of screwed up receipt in them from other occupants shopping trips etc.All in all this is a good place to stay, it seemed a bit tired to us, but with a little bit of tlc it could be excellent.Midway between Southport and Ormskirk, and having good links to public transport in both towns, there is plenty to do, Liverpool is a 25 min train journey from Ormskirk, which has a free park and ride at the station, only £5 return, there is lots to do.Bottom line we enjoyed our stay, and would Tay again, but as the cottage is at the moment it wouldn't be our first choice."

Mr DeanMrs Sey - verified booking

"The description on Sykes website was accurate and pictures were true to what we found when we arrived at the house. The kitchen was particularly well stocked with utensils and crockery. The house owners made good efforts to liaise with us prior to arrival, at arrival -checking all was as we wanted (by text) and were available by text for any queries during our stay. There was a dvd player that was easy to operate. The totally enclosed rear garden made it safe for our medium sized dog to spend some time safely outside without incident or concerns. There are good golf courses nearby or within 1 hours drive and some good dog walks and dog friendly cafes too. I would have no hesitation in staying at this property again and would recommend to others looking to stay in that locality. A peaceful, relaxing break for family including our medium sized dog.We stayed over the Christmas week to visit family and the Christmas decorations and welcome pack were really lovely and very much appreciated. There is off street parking right at the front door and the back garden is very private and fully enclosed so no problems letting our dog out. There's a great dog walk adjacent to the Royal Birkdale golf club only a few minutes drive away."

Kathy - verified booking

"If I needed to be in Hale for any reason in the future, I'd definitely stay here again. The owners live very near, and are absolutely lovely people. The house was very clean and tidy, and the garden is large, fully enclosed (great if you have a dog!) and lovely. As far as areas for improvement, I just have a few comments: 1. less perfumed spray throughout the house - it was overpowering - ESPECIALLY on the bed (I think the bedding was sprayed, and it was way too strong for me). 2. The house was lovely and warm, but the master bedroom is quite cold (not surprising for a 300 year old cottage!). I'd recommend having some extra heavy blankets available, rather than just the one, very thin one in the closet. Luckily, I wasn't using the 2nd bedroom, so I was able to use one of the duvets in that room on my bed. 3. Having a cafetiere available for people who like "real coffee" would be great. They're small, cheap, and would be a welcome addition. ;-)Other than those three, minor things, it was a truly lovely cottage and a good experience. Kudos to the owners!"

Janet - verified booking

"Shamrock Cottage was a perfect location for us as we were touring the North West area. The cottage was very clean and feeding the ducks and hens at the kitchen door every day was a joy.However,there was no power to the dishwasher and the WiFi router would not connect to the web (and this was important to us).The shower was lethal (either boiled alive or frozen). And, this is the only cottage we have ever stayed at where there was absolutely nothing left as a welcome, not even a pint of milk.It just felt like the owner/manager whilst prepared to keep the cottage clean was not prepared to go any further.It's a great shame as the building itself is very pretty, but with weed filled hanging basket and pots at the front door, it was made to look dismal."

Jean - verified booking

"It was a lovely quiet spot, we did know that the bathroom was on a different floor than the bedroom but realised it was more of a problem than we expected. The equipment was on the whole very good but we bought extra cups, those there were not very good. The sitting room was very attractive and there was a good tv. It was almost the only cottage we had ever stayed in where there was not a welcome pack, apart from a few cartons of artificial milk! Entries in the visitor did say thank-you for the chocolates, wine and eggs so we did wonder what we had done! The caretaker was very welcoming. WE were not able to access the Wi-Fi as promised."