The Haven

18 Customer Reviews

• "We (6 schoolfriends) thought the property was spacious clean and tidy and we had a very good week there so much so that I might make a family booking for 2026."

  I liked the location and the fact that there are a number of walks available straight from the property without having to take a car although if you are taking small children to the beach in Polzeath you will probably need to drive there as the hill is very steep. It is a beautiful area with a number of lovely places to visit e.g. Rock, Padstow, Port Isaac and Tintagel. We did have one concern about the oil boiler in the utility room which smelt very strongly of oil despite a visit or possibly 2 from a heating engineer. You couldn’t leave dogs overnight in there.

  Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We are very happy to hear that you enjoyed your stay at The Haven, and that the property suited you well. However, we are sorry to hear that you experienced some maintenance issues regarding the boiler, your comments will be raised to our maintenance team to look into this further. We look forward to hopefully welcoming you back again next year - John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Valerie3.8★Jun 2024

• "The Haven is an absolutely fabulous house."

  Large airy rooms and full of space and character. Very good if you’re a large group. Plenty of bathrooms. Relaxing and fun. Brilliant position as well. Massive garden.

  Thank you for your kind comments, we are so pleased you enjoyed your stay and hope to welcome you back in the near future. John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Philippa5.0★Dec 2023

• "We had a nice time staying at the property."

  So pleased you enjoyed your stay. John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner Property Owner

  Reviewed by Meia5.0★Sep 2023

• "The Haven is a lovely roomy house with great views in an excellent location."

  It does lack some basic equipment: an outside shower. This is normal for Cornwall properties which we have rented over many years and does help to keep some of the sand out of the house. Curiously, there was not even a mop provided. The kitchen was very short of large serving dishes and had only just enough plates/glasses for a party of 12. The dishwasher had to work pretty hard. There seemed to be an infestation of moths - especially on the top floor which needs to be dealt with, The large tele room was great (although we had such good weather we didn't use it much!). We had an excellent week with fabulous weather and would return. I found communication with Sykes Cottages before our holiday a frustrating experience. There wasn't even an email for questions and calls were all channelled to the head office who obviously had no local knowledge. They seemed reluctant to put one in touch with anyone locally which required a lot of calls back. On arrival the information folder was so well hidden in a drawer that we tried to phone the office to find out the wifi code. We left a message that was never returned but luckily tracked it down. A slightly more personal welcome would have been nice. All the information in the folder was generic with nothing pertaining to the property we were in. In fact there was conflicting information about bin collections. I did manage to phone the local office who were efficient and helpful.

  Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused by these issues. Your comments have been passed on to the team here at John Bray Cornish Holidays and to the owner. We hope you still managed to enjoy your visit despite these issues and would love to welcome you back to North Cornwall in the future. - John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Charlotte2.8★Sep 2023

• "We had a lovely week at the Haven."

  A big airy comfortable house, beautifully situated with a big garden. There was plenty of room for our family and friends to enjoy, and the kids loved the media room. However, as previous reviews have said the house would benefit from a bit of care and attention. The house feels a little neglected which is a great shame, as it is a beautiful house. A visit from the window cleaner would be a good start, so you could really enjoy the glorious views. However, we are still hoping to return next summer as we all enjoyed the charm of this lovely Daymer Bay House.

  Thank you so much for your feedback. Our maintenance team are working with the owner to give the property what it needs. We are so glad that you enjoyed your stay and would love to welcome you back anytime in the future. - John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Sarah3.1★Aug 2023

• "The Haven is large and spacious, and at one time it was very well planned and designed."

  Do not be taken in by the glossy pictures, however: big houses like that do need a lot of regular upkeep and maintenance, which The Haven has not received. There is a lot of ingrained dirt and grease around the house, mould around the windows which hasn't been attended to, peeling wallpaper and soiled carpets and furniture. The windows haven't been cleaned for a long time - we see that another guest mentioned that in June - and my wife cleaned the lower panels of the kitchen windows herself so that we could see our grandchildren playing in the garden. Sykes Cottages are very quick to get in touch when they want something, but do not bother to reply when we have concerns - all machines and no human response: that is the problem when a company in Cheshire manages a property in Cornwall, they have no personal feeling for or knowledge of the property. We won't be using Sykes again.

  Thank you for taking the time to feedback on your stay. We're very sorry that you had to experience these issues during your visit. Your comments have been passed on to the team here at John Bray Cornish Holidays as we are already in the process of conducting a review on the property for future improvements and renovations. We understand your frustrations, but we hope we can have you back with us in the future. - John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Alastair1.9★Jul 2023

• "Beautiful property and superb large landscaped gardens."

  A real throw back. Like a home from an Agatha Christie film/ novel or period drama. We had a fantastic time The space for ten people is amazing. Cutlery facilities( 3 shower rooms/ 5 bathrooms- fantastic. Great media room) Here’s the negatives. The windows do not all open and Those that do are not opening as they should. A real Safety problem. The cleanliness of the outside windows is not great. Very dirty windows. A window clean would sort. We were given fans by the excellent Haven rep, Paul- Some areas of the property are worn and in need of a bit of TLC. Cleaning inside was fair. No tennis table. Photographs need updating urgently as people book for various reasons. We took our own and returned to our own address.

  Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We are so pleased that you enjoyed your stay at The Haven and loved the gardens. We are sorry to hear that there were cleanliness and maintenance issues with the windows, our maintenance team will be looking into this, along with the other areas of concern that you have raised - John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Christopher3.8★Jun 2023

• "We had a wonderful time at The Haven."

  The house was so comfortable and spacious and we loved the garden. Our party consisted of 6 adults, 2 babies and a labrador. Everything you could think of was provided and the standard of cleanliness was very high. The separate TV room was amazing with huge TV and comfortable relaxed seating. The sitting room was tastefully furnished and decorated as were all the bedrooms. Location was perfect for us with easy walking access to Daymer Bay and Polzeath and a short drive to Rock. I would definitely recommend this property and hope to book again next year.

  Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We are pleased you enjoyed your stay at The Haven. We do hope that we get the opportunity to welcome you back to Cornwall in the future. John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Alison5.0★Jun 2023

• "The house is beautiful with spacious rooms well laid out."

  There is enough seating for everyone in the kitchen, lounge & conservatory.There are plenty of kitchen utensils etc provided & books & games for people to use. The beds are comfy & the property was clean & tidy. The decor is a little tired & could do with an update. It would be helpful to have a mirror in the double bedroom. The grounds are large & there is plenty of parking. We had two issues (no table tennis table & no BBQ) Overall a lovely place to stay.

  Thank you so much for your feedback. We are so glad that you enjoyed your stay and would love to welcome you back anytime in the future! We will speak to the owner about your suggestions - John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Donna5.0★Apr 2023

• "What a lovely house !"

  We really enjoyed our stay . The beds were very comfortable and the house so spacious and light . We would love to come back. Some more T towels would be nice but other than that it was perfect.

  Thank you so much for your feedback. We are so glad that you enjoyed your stay and would love to welcome you back anytime in the future! - John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Lisa4.7★Apr 2023

• "Beautiful house but very tired."

  It wasn’t fed through to local agent that we had booked two extra days so the beds were not made up when we arrived. The house had no mop and when a sickness bug hit our family, we really needed one. We asked the local agent who said they’re deliver one but it never came. Otherwise a great house for big gatherings in beautiful Daymer Bay.

  Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused by these issues. Your comments have been passed on to the team here at John Bray Cornish Holidays and to the owner. We hope you still managed to enjoy your visit despite these issues and would love to welcome you back to North Cornwall in the future. - John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Lucas3.1★Dec 2022

• "We would have liked a mop for the kitchen floor for any spillages etc."

  Otherwise it was extremely well-equipped and ideal for my family which included three great grandchildren. They want to return to the same property next year please.........

  Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback. It's great to hear you enjoyed your stay. Your comment was passed onto the housekeeping team at the time of leaving this feedback. We hope to invite you back to North Cornwall very soon. John Bray on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Paddy5.0★Jun 2022

• "Great place with greats views of coast and golf course."

  Easy access to the beach. Would go again.

  Thank you so much for your kind words. It's great to hear that you had such a fabulous stay at The Haven and had the perfect base to explore the local area from. - John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Chris5.0★May 2022

• "An absolutely fantastic place to stay!"

  The house is beautiful, spotlessly clean and perfectly located for walking to Damer Bay or Polzeath. We had a lovely week, thank you ever so much!

  Thank you so much for your feedback. We are so glad that you enjoyed your stay in The Haven and would love to have you back in the future. - John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Charles5.0★Apr 2022

• "We had a lovely stay and the Haven was lovely."

  We were let down by select villages as had a big house booked with family at Kennacourt which was postponed from the pandemic. They cancelled us with 2 weeks notice and no real explanation so we had to find new accommodation. Sykes were amazing. So simple and organised. We were contacted when we arrived to check all was okay. Had a lovely family break. Thank you

  Thank you so much for your feedback. We are so glad we could help on such short notice and that you enjoyed your stay so much! We would love to welcome you back anytime in the future. - John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Sarah4.7★Feb 2022

• "We arrived in the evening and the following morning I had to go to John Bray's Rock office with some items of concern listed below and others became apparent during our stay: - Cupboard door in kitchen for waste bin was falling off its hinges."

  - Cupboard door in TV room came off in my hand as I opened it. - Light in fridge in kitchen not working correctly. - Neither of the two outside PIR sensor floodlights were working so difficult to unload car in the dark. - Internal lights in both ovens were not working. - Top floor bedroom sash window impossible to fully close so serious draught and wind noise at night. - Microwave fan catching on housing during cooling with clattering noise. - Both ovens needed a serious clean and grease could be wiped off with kitchen paper towel. - Door compartment covers in fridge in utility room were missing which reduced capacity. - Shower in ensuite on first floor was broken - subsequent visit by maintenance man confirmed the thermostat had failed. - Shower trays in ensuite and other first floor bathrooms were in an appalling state with black mould all around the bottom of the trays. The maintainance man did his best to scrub clean but these two shower trays clearly need replacing. I have photo's of these if you wish to see them. - Main bedroom mattress is stained - we did not discover this until we stripped the beds on departure. Single bedroom mattress was also stained. I have photo's to send. - Several of the cooking utensils were unusable due to the non stick coating flaking off. This is the third large family property we have rented from John Bray in the last 16 months at a cumulative cost of almost £9,000. The other property (The Old Granary, Cants Farm) was excellent and was booked twice. The Haven is in need of updating in several areas, in particular the kitchen and several of the bathrooms. I can only assume that previous hirers have not bothered to report the faults we encountered. Following my visit to the Rock office a most helpful maintenance man visited the same afternoon and repaired cupboard doors but was unable to replace the shower in our ensuite. This was a most disappointing (and expensive) experience and makes us reluctant to consider future rentals with Sykes / John Bray.

  Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused by these issues. Your comments have since been passed on to the team at John Bray Cornish Holidays and to the owner and we have used these to rectify the issues raised. We hope you still managed to enjoy your visit despite these issues and would love to welcome you back to North Cornwall in the future. - John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by James1.9★Dec 2021

• "The doors handles on the doors were a little rickety and included us getting locked into the master bedroom soon rectified with the maintenance man repairing within 24 hours."

  The beds were so comfortable, is it possible to know where they came from. A lovely stay and we would love to rebook Many thanks Ruth Brown

  Thank you for taking the time to feedback on your stay. We're very sorry that you had to experience these issues during your visit but thank you for your patience and understanding whilst we sorted them for you. Your comments have been passed on to the team at John Bray Cornish Holidays. The beds came from Furniture Village, we are so glad you enjoyed them. We hope to welcome you back to north Cornwall in the future. - John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Ruth4.7★Sep 2021

• "The house was lovely and comfortable and we liked it a lot."

  In fact we would say it was perfect for our family holiday and we would love to book it for next year. Possibly for 2 weeks if we can. The only two things I would say are about the kitchen: the kitchen utensils and crockery need a bit of an overhaul and they weren't very clean. It could do with a new set of saucepans, a new water jug for the table and some standard water glasses. There were hardly any there and the ones that were there were so fine that I couldn't give them to the children as they would break them. Also the kitchen needs a good clear out - there feels like there are lots of bits and bobs and clutter from previous stays. The kitchen didn't feel like it had been cleaned very well. Including the crockery. Apart from that, the other rooms were immaculate and we had no issues at all. It felt very comfortable and clean and we loved the way it had been decorated.

  Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused by these issues. Your comments have been passed on to the team at John Bray Cornish Holidays. We are so happy that you still managed to enjoy your visit despite these issues and would love to welcome you back to North Cornwall in the future. To book this property again, please visit our website to book online or call the number to speak to one of our team. - John Bray Cornish Holidays on behalf of the owner. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Tiffany4.4★Jul 2021

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