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"Beautiful cottage in lovely grounds."
Friendly and helpful owner onsite. All good.
Reviewed by Nicholas4.7★Sep 2024
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"Absolutely stunning!"
We spent the last week of our road trip here, showing our kids the beauty of South England and all of us just loved this place. We barly never had such welcoming and friendly hosts making you feel being friends rather than guests. Beautiful garden, well, it's more a park, with lovely designed spots. With 5 people we definitely appreciated the option to dry our laundry outside.
A lovely old house renovated in the most careful and prudent way to offer modern comfort - we'd love to come back one day!
Reviewed by Martina5.0★Jul 2024
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"Overall we had a lovely stay, though there were a few issues."
The mill is lovely, spacious and the garden is wonderful and nicely maintained- our dog enjoyed the extensive outdoor space (and pond!). The space is not fenced and is shared with two other cottages which are in close proximity, but this worked for us as our dog is very laid back!
The cottage was a bit dusty in places, and there were a few hairs in the bathroom sink and floor when we arrived, the rest of the cottage was clean, comfortably furnished, and warm.
The location is great, the mill is very peaceful but only a few minutes away from Penzance and all of the shops and services there, and is close to loads of interesting day trip locations and National Trust sites.
On our second to last day, the water went off- absolutely no fault of the owner who informed us in the evening. This did mean no toilets and no fresh drinking water, the only water we had was what was left in the hot water tank in the property which we had to use to manually fill the cistern so we could use the toilet. As we had been told of the issue late Sunday, we were also not able to buy water to use as we waited for an update.
We did reach out to Sykes to see if there were any other cottages available, should the owners not be able to resolve the issue however thankfully it was fixed by lunchtime the following day.
Although not their fault, it would have been useful to know about the issue earlier so we could have bought water or found alternative accommodation. The owner dropped off one large bottle of water the following morning of the issue and then offered us the use of the toilet in an empty holiday cottage across the courtyard after Sykes had been contacted, however it would have been better to offer this on the evening the water went out when it was clear it would not be fixed quickly, as it would have saved us an unpleasant night without any facilities!
Overall we had a good stay, however the water issue did put a damper on the last 2 days.
As exceptionally committed property owners who strive to go above and
beyond in everything that we do and who have welcomed many hundreds of
different families to stay in our home over the last seventeen years, many
of whom return year after year and have become friends, this form of
passive-aggressive feedback, left by guests who were staying for the first
time and just three nights, was completely unnecessary, but doing so in a
public forum is not only unfair – it is damaging to our reputation and our
business interests whether intentional or not.
For those interested to hear more about what happened, please read on…
Regarding the issue with the ‘mains water’, it is important to clarify that
it was not just the guests staying in the Mill who were impacted…Far from
it. At least five other properties, including our home and several farm
buildings, were also without mains water from around 7.15 pm on a Sunday
until around 1 pm the following day.
The issue was finally located to a buried mains water pipe on land not
owned by us and located approximately 2 miles from our property. Work was
still being done at 11 pm to rectify the problem, despite initially
thinking it had been resolved an hour earlier. However, due to parts
needing to be purchased the work could not recommence until the following
morning.
As soon as we became aware of the issue, at around 7 pm, we spoke directly
to the guests at the earliest opportunity. South West Water was also
notified and an investigation commenced. However, it became clear at
around 8.30 pm that the issue was due to a damaged mains water pipe buried
under private land.
Having already contacted the land owner, he attended to the issue
immediately.
We were hopeful, at this point, that the problem could be resolved that
same evening. However, as time went on and it became less likely that this
would be the case, we drove to our local town (Penzance) to purchase
several 5-litre bottles of water to give to our guests – this was just
before 11 pm.
When we returned home it appeared that the guests in the Mill had gone to
bed (there were no lights on that we could see) and therefore, we thought
it best to take the water over to them in the morning.
The following morning (at around 8 am) we spoke to the guests and gave them
the water. We also updated them on the situation (including how we'd
purchased water the previous evening but hadn't wanted to disturb them).
They gave the impression of being very understanding and extremely grateful
for the water.
We explained that we had been told that the work had already commenced on
fixing the water pipe and that we were hopeful that the water supply would
return to normal around midday.
At no point during this exchange did the guests appear angry or upset and
at no point did they mention any concerns. We were, therefore, astonished
when just a short while later Sykes called to say that the guests in the
Mill had complained and had asked to move properties because of the
situation with the toilets.
We explained to Sykes the lengths that we had gone to, the communication
that we had with the guests and that we were hopeful that the water supply
would be reinstated around midday.
Following our conversation with Sykes, we went back to speak to the guests
and shared that we were surprised to have received such a call as we had
only just spoken to them and they had seemed very happy with how the
situation was being managed.
As we were now aware that the guests had raised their concerns over the
toilet to Sykes (not to us directly) we happily offered them the use of the
toilet in Roskennals Granary. Our only reason for not offering this
earlier was that our minds were fully focused on fixing the damaged mains
water pipe and reinstating the water supply.
Naturally, had the guests mentioned this concern, either on the evening
before or on the following morning, it could have been arranged immediately.
At 12.56 pm a text message was sent to the guests letting them know that
the water was back to normal – the guest's reply read: “Amazing, thanks
for getting it sorted so quickly”.
Concerning the other comments that have been made…
Firstly, that our gardens and grounds are not fenced off and that they are
shared with our other holiday cottages, these being Roskennals Granary and
Ella’s Pottery.
We do not claim, nor have we ever claimed that our grounds, which extend to
more than 4.5 acres, are fenced off – our property is in a wooded valley
and half of the grounds are bordered by a stream/leat with the remainder
behind Cornish hedges.
Secondly, that “the cottage was a bit dusty in places, and there were a few
hairs in the bathroom sink and floor when we arrived”.
We allocate the full 6 hours between our 10 am departure and 4 pm arrival
time to carry out a very full and thorough changeover. We often have two
people doing the changeover in the Mill and sometimes at least 10 hours are
used - we certainly do not and never have ‘skimped’ on the time allocated
to housekeeping duties.
We pride ourselves on the cleanliness and high standards throughout all our
properties and had these ‘concerns’ actually been brought to our attention
during the guest's stay, we would have immediately taken the necessary
steps to rectify the situation. However, choosing not to mention this
matter to us, during the numerous interactions we had with the guests is,
quite frankly, baffling…
To end…Friends who own and run a very successful ski chalet business in
France once said to us, “If a problem is not important enough for a guest
to tell me when I have the opportunity to fix it, then it’s certainly not
important enough for them to tell me when I can’t do anything about it…
How true!
Property Owner
Reviewed by Alice3.8★Jul 2024
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"Roskennals Mill is a paradise to stay."
The house is ideal and the garden is stunning. We loved to stay here!
Reviewed by Aeliane5.0★Jun 2024
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"Absolutely fantastic holiday home would highly recommend staying here."
Secluded beautiful area but only a few miles from a beech.
Reviewed by Lisa5.0★Feb 2024
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"Beautifully renovated mill building converted to three bedroom accommodation."
The living area is open plan, bright and airy, Ideal for socialising as a family, and adequately equipped for a self catering holiday. The bedrooms were as described, clean and fresh. A blind over the small window in the double bed room would be a good addition but we were able to improvise satisfactorily.. The gardens are huge with a lovely little lake which, when we visited, had waterlilies in bloom and damsel flies flitting about. There are places to sit and contemplate or read or just chat. The location is down a private road near a small stream and is very peaceful. The host was very welcoming ( Cream tea! thank you!) on arrival , showed us around and was available if we needed anything but left us to ourselves otherwise which was perfect. I am sure if there had been a problem he would have been on it straight away. The location is ideal for visiting some lovely little coves for swimming or surfing or for walks along the South West Coast path. There are gardens at Trewidden and Tanglewood which are worth a visit and others which we didn't have time to get to. Mousehole is quant. The Minack isn't far but book in advance of your stay. Only had a week , had a lovely time and wish we had had longer. Thank you.
Reviewed by Sheila5.0★Jul 2023
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"We loved the location and the character of the mill, and really appreciated that it was cool in the heat."
We found the bed was uncomfortable as it was very firm and the lack of a blind/curtains in the small window in the main bedroom meant we were woken with the sun every morning until we improvised some cardboard to cover it. We enjoyed being able to use the garden but whilst it was great to have the picnic benches in different spots we really missed having some comfortable chairs or loungers. The cream tea on arrival was a nice touch but we were surprised that there were no tea bags/coffee and it would have been good to have spare toilet roll and some handwash or soap in the property. The owners were very friendly and welcoming.
Thank you for your feedback – it is always welcome.
However, we were extremely surprised to hear that you found the bed uncomfortable…We can honestly say that you are the first guests to have ever commented on this! In fact, a great many of our guests tell us how much they appreciate both the comfort and quality of the mattress, which is a Vi-Spring.
Regarding the garden furniture…Our grounds, which extend to around 5 acres, make it rather difficult to position ‘loungers’ or ‘steamers’. However, the overwhelming majority of our guests seem to appreciate the benches that we provide, which we try to position to maximise the peaceful tranquillity of Roskennals.
We are pleased that you enjoyed your homemade cream tea, and we provide milk, jam, cream and tea bags to accompany this.
Regarding hand-soap: In our experience, we have found that ‘post Covid’ many of our guests would rather supply their own.
With regard to toilet rolls…Whilst we do provide toilet rolls for each of the two bathrooms upon arrival, as a provider of a 'self-catering' holiday, most guests appreciate that they will need to buy their own should they need to (along with other supplies such as tea and coffee). However, if the two of you needed another toilet roll, then I would have been more than happy to have obliged - you only needed to ask!
Property Owner
Reviewed by Sophie3.8★Jul 2022
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"SMASHING with very approchable ,helpfull and cheerfull owners."
Reviewed by David5.0★Mar 2022
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"We loved our time in Roskennals."
The Mill is well situated, comfortable and sits in lovely surroundings. Our party of four all know Cornwall well but not this area especially. We had a great time in unseasonable warmth but the usual Cornish Mizzle. The owners were welcoming and we can definitely see a return visit coming.
Reviewed by Andrew5.0★Nov 2021
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"Fabulous 2 weeks - idyllic oasis was a perfect base for exploring West Cornwall."
Reviewed by Liubov5.0★Jul 2021
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"The Mill is beautiful, clean and comfortable."
Very well equipped with everything you can think of. The beds are very comfortable with quality bed linen. The weather during our stay was not the best but the cottage was warm and cozy. Our 2 spaniels loved the gorgeous gardens, especially the stream, they had such a good time jumping in and splashing about. Most of the pubs and restaurants are dog friendly and we had no problems eating out. Verity met us on our arrival to explain everything and we were greeted with a lovely cream tea with freshly made scones and a bottle of wine, a lovely touch and very well received after a long day. We had a lovely stay and would definitely stay again, thank you Verity and Matt, we hope to see you again soon.
Reviewed by Isobel5.0★Jul 2021
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"Roskennels Mill was an incredible stay."
My wife and I chose to have it as a place for us and our family to stay either side of our wedding and it was a lovely venue with fantastic grounds. Matt and Verity are fantastic hosts and helped make sure we had a fantastic stay there!
Reviewed by Matthew5.0★Jun 2021
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"Lovely, very comfortable, very relaxing setting in beautiful surroundings."
Very welcoming hosts Matt and Verity.
Exceptionally clean with good Covid-19 practices in place.
Thoroughly recommend and would/hope to stay again!
Reviewed by Elizabeth5.0★Oct 2020
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"Very impressed with all aspects."
The size of the well kept grass area was very large and great for the dogs, especially as the stream running along the border of the property was very clear and easy for them to access. The appliances were high quality and everything worked as it should. The owners were friendly and helpful. The Covid-19 precautions were very good.
Reviewed by Tony5.0★Sep 2020
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"We had a lovely holiday at Roskennals Mill, so peaceful."
The garden is great if you are taking dogs plenty of room for them to run around.
Sennen and Hayle beaches are superb.
Reviewed by Philip4.4★Sep 2020
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