Merlin's Retreat

47 Customer Reviews

• "Ruined holiday damp and mould everywhere!"

  I rented Merlins Retreat for my pregnant daughter and young grandchildren to stay in as part of our big family get together in Tintagel. On arrival it was very strange that the heating was on at 28 degrees and the house was like an oven. The next morning my 3 year old grandson became very ill. On closer inspection of Merlins Retreat it was obvious that there is a serious damp issue in this house. There was mould on the window and window ledge of the twin room and once I moved the bedside cabinet and bed the wall and skirting were full of mould and the flooring blown with the damp in the corner . There was mould in the bathroom all over the ceiling. The conservatory was so mouldy and stunk of damp it couldn't be used and on opening the cutlery tray there was substantial mould all over it! I had to spend a morning of my holiday to bleach the mould the best I could and eventually had moved my pregnant daughter and grand son over to the other cottage we rented in the village as it was making them ill. Shame I could not upload photos on this review to show how bad it was. Will never stay in this cottage again

  Reviewed by Nigel1.9★Oct 2024

• "I had a wonderful stay in Merlin’s Retreat it is a beautiful bungalow, very quiet and spacious, everything you need for a comfortable stay."

  I would highly recommend this property. I stayed with my dog and we did some hiking along the coast past and exploring the area. Tintagel is a mystical place with lots of interesting shops. A great location to visit Bude and coastal areas, villages etc. The owner was very helpful and communicative, thank you very much for a wonderful stay.

  Many thanks Property Owner

  Reviewed by Denise5.0★Oct 2024

• "Gem of a property in a great location for exploring the local area."

  Well maintained and equipped property, will be looking to rebook when we return to the area.

  Many thanks Property Owner

  Reviewed by Phillip5.0★Jul 2024

• "Enjoyable stay, have stayed a few years ago so came back again."

  Generally in good condition, beds comfortable. Could do with a deep clean and a lick of paint just to spruce things up a little. Would stay again, great base to travel from, brilliant location. The garden is lovely to use and the conservatory/dining room is great. A good time was had by all, including our dog.

  Reviewed by Sarah3.8★Jun 2024

• "Lovely bungalow, spacious inside and out and situated in a quiet residential cul-de-sac."

  Everything I needed was there and all in great working order. Would love to stay again in the future. I rang the owner day before my arrival to ask about entry code, and was told to contact them at any time if I should need to. Very approachable and friendly.

  Many thanks for this kind feedback Property Owner

  Reviewed by Teresa5.0★May 2024

• "Couldn't fault this property."

  Very relaxing and in a great location.

  Many thanks for this kind feedback Property Owner

  Reviewed by Ian5.0★May 2024

• "I had a wonderful stay at Merlins Retreat it is such a spacious and light holiday bungalow, very quite with parking."

  Easy 5 min walk into Tintagel and the shops and just a short drive away from Bude, Wadebridge, Trebarwith Strand and Port Issac to name just a few. The owners were very helpful and easy to talk with by text when I had a few questions, thank you. I am staying again in this lovely holiday cottage this year!

  Many thanks for this kind feedback - we look forward to your return! Paul and Jenny Property Owner

  Reviewed by Denise5.0★May 2024

• "Really lovely Christmas at Merlin's retreat."

  The owners put a Christmas tree up and left us shortbread goodies. The owners were very friendly and helpful. The house is warm and spacious and good value for Cornwall. The kitchen well equipped, (and yes they did leave dish washer tablets ;) ). It was a great kitchen to prepare Christmas dinner Great location and easy walk into Tintagel. If you come out of the house, cross the road and go to the right, there is a short cut lane into the village. The garden was perfect was perfect for the dog, big, safe and secure. We would love a return visit in the summer.

  Reviewed by Wendy4.1★Dec 2023

• "The property had a very nice homely feel to it and was very comfortable."

  The garden was lovely for my dog and I had no fear of her escaping.

  Reviewed by Mary5.0★Oct 2023

• "Having stayed at Merlin's Retreat on 2 previous occasions, pre-Covid and found it to be clean and well equipped, we were looking forward to our visit."

  Unfortunately, on arrival, we noticed a smell resembling "Tom Cats" from the bathroom, the door to the bathroom was also difficult to open once closed fully and the catch from the washing machine door was on top of the radio in the kitchen rendering it useless. There were also several other "niggling" problems As the weather was poor we spent more time than usual in the property and the smell became overpowering. we decided to cut short our stay and left on Wednesday. I notified the owner of this and also the reasons. Sykes advised us that we needed to liaise with the owner regarding the property so I sent him an email. His response was both aggressive and threatening. He accused us of causing damage to the bathroom lock by slamming the door and also causing the damp behind the bath. he did not comment on the dried blood that I found on the pillow protector when I stripped the bed prior to leaving, Sadly I cannot recommend Merlin's Retreat

  A qualified plumber inspected the property immediately afterwards and disagreed with everything stated - a handyman had to fix the doors and said they had been slammed - I was never told about any dried blood before and my cleaner never found any. This person never reported anything to me in their stay at all and their comments are not supported by the reports of the previous 6 weeks of guests before them. My cleaner reported that the coffee maker worked on the day they entered the property - but it was not working when they left! The weather was bad and they tried to get a concession back in money. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Val2.5★Sep 2023

• "We had a brilliant stay at Merlin’s Retreat in Tintagel, the accommodation was perfect and we had no problems at all."

  Because there is a dishwasher at the property it might’ve been nice to leave a few dishwasher tablets as we had to buy a box and we don’t have one at home. Small suggestion, everything else was brilliant 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

  Reviewed by Rachel5.0★Jun 2023

• "Had a great stay at merlins rerteat very comfortable and a well equipped kitchen."

  Could do with some coat hooks and as we had some lovely weather some garden chairs

  Reviewed by Malcolm Steven4.7★May 2023

• "Lovely holiday."

  Garden furniture would improve the stay. Other than that fabulous holiday

  Reviewed by Alex4.7★Aug 2021

• "The cottage was in a good location."

  All in all the cottage suited our particular holiday style and was suitable and close to all amenities. The cottage was clean and tidy . The main issues for us was that we were generally disappointed with the outside space. The external presentation was very poor with far too many weeds littering the driveway and the lawn edges. To the rear the garden was a general mess, poorly maintained. There was no outdoor seating provided apart from a well worn and weathered picnic bench style table placed near to the bins and in a spot that was out of the sun. The structure of the small height walled pathways was poorly maintained, again with weeds and many loose bricks / slates. This could be a serious trip hazard. This led us to not being able to use this aspect and was very disappointing. The beds were uncomfortable and the two singles were very cheep and well worn. The bedding left a lot to be desired. There was quite smell of cat urine in the bathroom. The service from Sykes was very good, efficient and precise, we wold book wit you again but I think this particular site needs to be advised of this situation.

  Reviewed by James2.8★Jul 2021

• "Lovely bungalow with everything that we needed."

  A mirror on the wall of a bedroom would be nice but there were mirrors to use. Shower screen leaked at times especially with four people showering. The use of the fan was a real bonus especially as it was so hot. Lovely holiday in a lovely location would recommend to others.

  Reviewed by Colin5.0★Jul 2021

• "The accommodation was excellent just 5 mins walk from Tintagel and a excellent bade to travel to all the local attractions."

  The accommodation was excellent, very spacious, clean and had all modern appliances which were handy to use. Excellent place and I would highly recommend. The owner Jenny answered all our questions and was very helpful when we spoke to her. Thank you for a wonderful stay Merlins Retreat

  Reviewed by Mark5.0★Jun 2021

• "Such a lovely bungalow, within easy reach to town and all visiting attractions."

  It was our second time here and I will be booking to go back again to the same house next year. I would recommend it very highly.

  Reviewed by Sandra5.0★May 2021

• "Very nice bungalow but let down by neglected garden and lack of instructions in relation to heating and television."

  The owners did come to the bungalow to sort these problems out straightaway however but heating system very complicated. Also the thermostat on two of the radiators didn’t work and need replacing so you couldn’t turn down radiator as required. The twins bed were very uncomfortable and you could feel the springs of the mattress. Lovely lounge, kitchen and porch bright and airy but a shame the garden hadn’t been maintained for a while.

  Reviewed by Jacqueline3.8★May 2021

• "The Bungalow had everything we needed to make our stay easy and enjoyable."

  Reviewed by Donna5.0★Oct 2020

• "Lovely"

  Reviewed by Chester5.0★Aug 2020

• "The property is clean, comfortable, has great facilities and has lovely decoration."

  The sky Q is a real bonus. The owners were in touch a couple of times to check all was ok and were at the end of a phone if needed. More comfortable, movable garden furniture would be a good addition and the pillows badly need replacing as they are all incredibly soft with feathers poking through.

  Reviewed by Louise4.4★Jul 2020

• "A great holiday bungalow."

  Spacious inside and out. Well equipped, great having washing machine and plastic tuppaware for youngster. Great location and parking. Clean and comfortable. Only negatives are as others have stated - 1) no welcome book with basic info, rubbish collection days etc, 2) no lids for saucepans, 3) no hair drier. This bungalow does accept dogs, and very very slight smell noticed (as a non-dog owning family) and a few hairs here and there on sofa. Assume this is also the reason that no carpets anywhere in house. But these things don’t detract from just how great the cottage is, would be lovely in warmer weather with the back garden which is a really good size too. Whole heartedly recommend.

  Reviewed by Bracken5.0★Oct 2019

• "The photos on the website do not do this property justice, far roomier and the garden is so large."

  Sadly we spent our weeks holiday sleeping on the sofas as all the matresses had the metalwork poking through, The owner needs to replace them. I read previous feedback and didnt take too much notice of the complaints about the beds but in truth they were far worse than I expected. We even tried putting a quilt from one of the single beds over the double matress but it made very little difference. The two single beds were no better. The bed problem will stop us booking this cottage again as in all other respects it was perfect.

  Reviewed by Moira3.1★Oct 2019

• "We had a lovely stay!"

  there was everything and more we could need in the bungalow. The area fantastic easy walk in to Tintagel and surrounding areas easy drive to. Only points I would like to make are that the sofas are in need of changing they were uncomfortable and dirty, plus the cushions on there were on their last legs. Also under the bed in the double room was disgusting and looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. Double bed was uncomfortable and I don’t think much of feather pillows but this is personal preference we all have different tastes. I think it would be really beneficial to the property to add hand rails or Similar by the front and back door where there are the steps, so it is more accessible for disabled. Also a hand rail in the bathroom again to make it more accessible. Lovely little touches when we arrived eg milk biscuits, tea, washing tabs etc which were hugely appreciated. Gutter leaking bad out the front right by bedroom window so had some bad nights sleep very noisy. An introduction page/pack would also be very useful to welcome guests in to the property and details in there of bins and any other useful info... just light reading welcoming guests in to the bungalow. We would definitely stay here again despite few comments.

  Reviewed by Francesca4.1★Sep 2019

• "This was our second visit to Merlin's retreat and we were not disappointed."

  Tintagel is a very special place and Merlin's retreat is the perfect base from which to explore it

  Reviewed by Val5.0★Aug 2019

• "We had a magical holiday and Merlin's Retreat met our expectations."

  Ideally situated in a quiet location and just a short walk away from Tintagel village. The property was clean, comfortable and well equipped. We were able to spend lots of time relaxing in the spacious garden, as we were lucky with the weather which was gloriously warm and sunny. We are definitely intending to return soon.

  Reviewed by Michelle5.0★Aug 2019

• "Cottage has just about everything you can think of to make the stay as pleasant as it can be."

  We found the double bed and pillows very uncomfortable but I guess you get that wherever you go if it's not your own bed. The front bedroom overlooking the road could also do with a black out blind adding to the room for those that don't like a light bedroom. There is a street light that shines right in the place to the extent we could see each others faces quite clearly when the light was turned off in the bedroom and if you got up in the night it felt like the sun was coming up even though only 2 in the morning. Was easy to find the property and the cut beside no 21 was used daily to walk the dog into Tintagel.

  Reviewed by Debbie4.1★Aug 2019

• "The cottage was very clean and finished to a high standard."

  Garden was much better than the pictures had shown and was great for the dogs The only way it could be improved would be a welcome pack giving instructions on appliances, bin collection etc. Overall we had a very pleasent stay and would have no problem booking again

  Reviewed by Mark5.0★Jun 2019

• "Ideal situation."

  We were in easy driving distance to every where and the village was only a 5 minute walk. Beautifully clean bungalow. It had everything you could possibly need. Had so many great days out but looked forward to coming home to the bungalow. It was great for my 15 month old grandson, he had a great time exploring. We cannot wait to book to come back again soon

  Reviewed by Sandra5.0★May 2019

• "Perfect location."

  We enjoyed our stay, the bungalow was clean comfortable and home from home. Will definitely return.

  Reviewed by Jackie5.0★Apr 2019

• "Fantastic cottage!"

  Best we've stayed in yet. Hope to be back in September

  Reviewed by Val5.0★Apr 2019

• "Would definitely recommend this property to anyone looking for a comfortable well designed holiday rental"

  Reviewed by Graham5.0★Mar 2019

• "Perfect little home from home."

  Lovely location in Tintagel. We managed to see Lands End, Bodmin Jail and Poldark County Charlestown. Shame the castle was closed but itt gives us an excuse to come back again

  Reviewed by Katie5.0★Mar 2019

• "We left feedback for the owner to say that there was a loose paving slab on the sten in the rear garden, the oven handle was loose and the gutter adj to the garage appeared blocked as over flowed with water when it rained."

  Reviewed by Francis5.0★Nov 2018

• "The bungalow was perfect."

  .. well equipped, clean, modern and in a great location for walking to the local facilities. We would definitely rebook for our annual pilgrimage!

  Reviewed by Sarah5.0★Oct 2018

• "Lovely modern clean bungalow altho' wouldn't recommend for disabled as no handrails, & also a grab handle needed on bath/shower wall."

  loose slates on low wall in garden, but, overall a lovely holiday, bungalow in a quiet fairly residential road. Nice garden for dog, ours loved it. only drawback is finding nearest large supermarket Bude J. Sainsbury closest, or so we found. There is a Tesco at Launceston. Weather was good to us 28th Sept. to 12th October. Ufortunately the Castle was closed for necessary maintenance, and little bus for bringing us back up verysteep hill from beach, was not running, eek! If National Trust members, Merlin's Retreat doesn't have many N.T. properties nearbye, south of county is better, about an hour's run.

  Reviewed by Barry5.0★Sep 2018

• "We had a brilliant holiday - we stayed in the same bungalow last year and it was just as good"

  Reviewed by Kathleen5.0★Sep 2018

• "We loved our stay in Merlins Retreat and really couldn’t ask for anything more from a holiday let."

  Not only was it extremely clean and comfortable but also a perfect base to explore North Cornwall. Sky Q in every room was a bonus particularly for those less than sunny days as were the numerous board games in the conservatory. The large kitchen is well equipped and includes use of a washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher. The bathroom has a lovely big power shower, my 14year old son had more showers here than he ever has at home just because it was so nice. All in all a great home from home that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to anybody.

  Reviewed by Julie5.0★Aug 2018

• "Description of view from garden was greatly exaggerated!"

  Unable to use the advertised Sky Q system to its full potential as the PIN number was withheld. 4 blown bulbs throughout the property where reported and it was suggested we replaced them and we would be reimbursed which we found disappointing.No information on how to use the appliances etc within the bungalow. For example we could not put the recycling out as we had no idea when the collection day was!

  Reviewed by Julie4.1★Aug 2018

• "The cottage has everything you could want and was clean but the double bed matress has seen better days and is uncomfortable."

  plus the bin in the garden was full of rubbish and was infested with maggots was unsure if bins on street belonged to property .mid week had a large amount of ants appear from floor rear of telly in living room having said the property is very quiet on a night and as a good sealed in garden and just a 5mins walk into the village

  Reviewed by Michelle4.4★Jul 2018

• "Dirty scatter cushions had a footprint on and drink marks also thick dust on skirting boards, ceiling fan and radiators, cob webs on pictures and light fittings, sofa covers filthy and got no life left in the cushions so very uncomfortable to sit on, rubbish bin in garden not been emptied so we had nowhere to put our bin bag, old dog poo in garden, no chairs to sit in garden, I’m disabled and found this upsetting, outside light didn’t work, wasn’t greeted on arrival or departure, very overlooked at all angles by neighbours so no privacy."

  ..the list goes on and on.

  Reviewed by Carey2.2★Jul 2018

• "Bungalow was ideal a short walk into tintagle and a secure garden perfect for the dog"

  Reviewed by Michelle5.0★Jun 2018

• "Yes on the paperwork for our initial booking and the final paperwork it's listed ."

  ( Conservatory with lovely views.) We found this to be inaccurate as the only views from the conservatory were the rear garden surrounded by an high fence , not what we would call lovely views just a rear garden. Apart from this we had an enjoyable holiday

  Reviewed by Brian4.7★Jun 2018

• "Excellently situated for Tintagel castle and many lovely walks."

  Most places were dog friendly which is a good thing.

  Reviewed by Sally4.7★Mar 2018

• "Brilliant base for visiting surrounding area - really lovely cottage & very well equipped Very quiet location- perfect getaway We had a great time!"

  Reviewed by Kathleen5.0★Sep 2017

• "Clean and tidy bungalow."

  Walking distance to town and local attractions. Sky TV and games were a nice touch incase of rainy days. Milk and biscuits left for us were appreciated. Difficult to fault.

  Reviewed by Shirley5.0★Mar 2017

• "This was the best holiday place, we used as a house, when we bought our business in Cornwall."

  ..

  Reviewed by Deborah5.0★Jan 2017

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