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"The house was very clean and tidy."
However we were not pleased that the maintenance issues raised in various recent reviews had not been dealt with - in particular, there was still no blind in the bathroom, despite the owner responding to a review in July and saying they would do it immediately.
The decor was very up-to-date and fashionable, but not enough thought had gone into the way in which people would actually live in the cottage during their holiday stays. The kitchen is obviously very small, though well equipped, but there was nowhere to store our own food - even a shelf on the wall above the microwave would help with this.
The space between the bathroom wall and the outside wall is about 7ft - 7ft 6", but the ceiling slopes steeply on the outside wall side. A 5ft bed has been pushed into this area, making it difficult to access the bed from either side. My husband banged his head on the beams of the sloping ceiling and I ended up with bruised knees and feet, from getting out into a space that was so small I had to shuffle in and out sideways. Neither of us is tall, nor are we particularly fat, so I think most guests would have the same problem. There was also no bedside table or lamp on the bathroom side of the bed. A standard 4ft 6" double bed would at least allow a tiny bit more space for access and for a small bedside table.
The dining table was not practical, as it was high up, with wobbly bar stools, which were not comfortable to climb up to and kept swinging round. In order to sit close to the table, one had to risk bruised knees from swivelling the chair and banging into the table legs.
The house details mentioned the electric fuse box on the kitchen wall and said that, should the power trip, we should flip the switch back on and notify the owner about the trip. However, the fuse box was so high up that we would have been unable to reach it. There was no safe method to climb up to it (ref. wobbly bar stools mentioned above). A man came round while we were there, to read the meter. He had to leave without doing so, as the electric meter was above the fuse box and totally unreachable. Even a folding step-stool would have helped.
We did like the water heaters attached to the kitchen and bathroom taps, though they didn't supply very much hot water, before it went cold and we had to wait for it to re-heat - which made washing dishes a bit of a challenge.
Overall, although the house is pretty, it isn't very practical and we wouldn't want to stay there again.
Lastly, there was a shower of rain on our first afternoon. Water poured through the ventilation fan in the kitchen ceiling, making a large puddle. We had nothing to clear it up with and my husband had to run to the shop and buy kitchen roll to soak up the water. We then had to leave a casserole dish with paper in to catch more water. We had a lot of problems getting hold of Sykes to report this, as there was a patchy mobile phone signal, when calls were answered there was a long queue and we were cut off, then our chat messages from the Sykes website were not answered. We ended up going into the Sykes Estate Agent in Fakenham, on the Wednesday. The gentleman was very polite and kind and promised to get a message to the Sykes office in Burnham Market. Even so, we heard nothing from Sykes until the Friday morning, when we were out for the day.
Good Afternoon,
We are glad you found the cottage very clean and tidy with up to date decor and fashionable furniture. The bedroom blind is now fitted the delay was sadly due to a missing fitting kit from Velux. We also appreciate the fact you think the cottage is a pretty. Thank you
Property Owner
Reviewed by Elizabeth3.4★Sep 2024
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"A lovely little cottage, arriving in a rainstorm wasn’t fun but we found the key easily and moved in to get the kettle on."
Thank you for the biscuits and local wine. Both went down very well.
We were very impressed with the thought that had gone into furnishing the cottage, all on the theme of turquoise (sea) and sand. Even down to the little coasters, very clever of you to find those. The furniture and equipment were of very high quality, love the mugs in the kitchen and the bathroom mirror. Thank you for introducing us to Keith Nash. We so loved the painting in the sitting room that we tracked him down and bought one for ourselves.
The heavy rain did throw up one significant problem which was a flood in the kitchen - all over the floor and into the cupboard under the sink. We dried it all out but the cupboard smells very damp. We put a bowl down on the floor to catch the drips and as we had a fair amount of rain, the bowl had to stay there. The water comes in through the extractor fan. I have taken a photo to show how the pantiles are badly fitted around the extractor fan, the root of the problem. There are also laths of wood lying in the guttering over the kitchen extension and roofing felt is sticking up. I don’t know if those were intentional but we don’t have them in our gutters at home. I shall try to send the photos to Sykes
The lack of a blind in the bathroom is a real problem. I am seventy-seven and at my stage of life, you can appreciate that my ‘charms’ are not for public display.
The lack of markings on the oven was no problem, we googled the handbook and found where the dials should be set. Perhaps a copy of the relevant page in your most excellent ‘Welcome’ pack would help other guests.
We chatted to some delightful neighbours – very welcoming.
We did enjoy our stay, thank you for our few days in Docking
Thank you for your feedback, We are glad you thought it was a lovely little cottage, which was well furnished. We also appreciate you pointing out the leak, this has been now been fixed by the local roofer. We have also brought a velux blind for the bathroom and are just waiting on the correct brackets to fix it. Thank you again for your warm feedback and hope you return to Docking soon.
Property Owner
Reviewed by Carole4.4★Sep 2024
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"Nice and cosy cottage."
Has real potential but I feel there a few things that let it down. We struggled with the front door, difficult to open and stiff.
As other people have mentioned a blind on the bathroom window is a must.
Hand wash in the kitchen and bathroom is needed.
A tea towel needs to be left in the kitchen, drying pots was difficult without one.
We noticed ants on the windowsill.
The cottage next door is being renovated so there was quite a lot of noise, I understand this is beyond Skye Cottages control but it is something that will be going on for a while so thought it was worth mentioning.
Other than that a lovely cottage in a quiet village. Great having a well stocked shop a few yards down the road.
I know other people have mentioned traffic noise, it didn’t bother us but it is to be expected when stopping on a main road.
No problem not having a garden for the dogs, just a case of popping a lead on them and taking them for a wee.
Nice place to explore North Norfolk
Thank you for your feedback. We are glad you found the cottage nice an cosy. Along with it being a nice place to explore beautiful North Norfolk. We will arrange for someone to look at the stiff door and install a new blind as suggested. Sorry there should of been fresh and clean tea towels, so will look into this along with hand soaps. We are glad you had a nice time and look forward to you returning.
Property Owner
Reviewed by Robert3.1★Jul 2024
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"The furniture was well thought out for the property and the bed and bedding were excellent!"
Docking is a lovely little village, however, it is not tranquil. The traffic starts at around 5:20am and builds up to full on ridiculously busy by 6:30am - HGVs, lorries, vans and tractors with every variety of farm equipment imaginable attached!! The property has a wooden door and old wooden double glazed windows and would benefit from modern glazing for both noise and warmth, (the smaller of the two windows in the lounge is broken and can be opened from the outside). The kitchen looks very tired particularly the work surfaces and tiling as well as the oven markings on the front of the oven being barely visible. The sky light in the bathroom does not have any sort of window covering, therefore meaning that once in the shower, or using the toilet, you are fully visible from the next door property’s upstair’s window.
The cleaner needs to pay more attention to cleaning the floors and removing the cobwebs.
Thank you for your feedback and I'm glad to hear you found the property and bed are comfortable. Sorry to hear you found the traffic was a bit heavy at peak times, we have know updated the description. Thank you for pointing out the windows broken latch and this has know been mended. We will look into adding a covering to the sky light window. We will raise the cobwebs issues with the cleaning company. We look forward to seeing you again.
Property Owner
Reviewed by Davina3.1★Jun 2024
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"As a dog friendly property, I think you need to let people know that the property is not on a quiet country lane, but a very busy road."
As the only access is via the front door, there was nowhere safe to let the dog out without a lead, particularly before bed. Our dog is quite elderly but I would definitely not recommend this cottage to anyone with a young, lively dog.
Thank you for your feed back and sorry to hear you found the B road its located on was unusally busy. Sorry to hear you thought the property not suitable for your dogs but there are several places you can walk the dogs around Docking also within easy reach there are some lovely beaches and park walks and we have now added it to our description. We look forward to seeing you again
Property Owner
Reviewed by David3.1★May 2024
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"We arrived at the cottage to find weeds growing in the front doorway , the door was stuck and wouldn't open, we eventually opened it to find a pile of mail on the door mat , the cottage was freezing cold with all the heating turned off at the socket , there was no sheets on the bed , the Duvet thrown on the floor and dirty towels on the bed , in the Kitchen there was a part bottle of Wine and a Window open which wouldn't fasten , we phoned your company and a cleaner was sent out within 2 hours ."
The whole experience was just to much and didn't feel safe in a Cottage with a Window we couldn't lock , after a sleepless night , we took stock of the whole experience and decided to go home .
This can only be described as the worst holiday we have ever had .
We do feel that some form of Compensation should be coming our way .
A very upset and annoyed Glen and Lesley Wall
Thank you for feedback and raising our attention to the few issues you experinced with your stay. The weeds you saw belong to the public footpath and not on the doorway sorry about this, Sorry to hear the house was not ready for your arrival, there was some issues with communication with our cleaning company. We know make sure this has been rectified. We have also made sure all windows and doors open correctly. We look forward to seeing you again.
Property Owner
Reviewed by Glen2.5★Apr 2024
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"The property itself we thought was lovely, well decorated and furnished."
It was easy to find, access to keys etc good and in a very nice quiet village. It let itself down a little as there are no cleaning items such as a brush and dustpan or even a small vacuum cleaner.
I understand that the owner has a cleaning company in to do a clean after each let, I feel it would be to his benefit if he were to visit occasionally to check on this as it wasn't to a standard that reflected how much he apparently pays for this service.
Overall we would go back as it is a nice property in a good location.
Thank you very much for your lovely feedback and glad to hear you found our cottage was well decorated and furniched in an ideal village A brush and dustpan has been left in an easy to find location. We look forward to seeing you again.
Property Owner
Reviewed by David3.8★Mar 2024
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"I have had four cottages from you and this one was overall disappointing."
The cottage was clean and the furniture comfortable. Easy access to the very good shop was a bonus. The internet worked well as did the television. However it was disappointing on the following:
1. I do not think you can describe a cottage as suitable for dogs when the only door opened directly onto a busy road. There is no sensible area to let a dog have a dog have a quick urinate. It was certainly not a dog friendly cottage.
2. Certain basic equipment was missing e.g. a broom and a mop would have helped.
3. The kitchen was minute although workable.
4. There was some confusion over the rubbish, and I had to phone the owner for clarification. I am not sure if we did it right even then.
5. It was not particularly cold, but the heating was only just adequate.
6. The sloping ceilings were a bit of a challenge, but I suppose that reflects the age of the property.
I think my disappointment was focused by the fact that of the four cottages I have rented from you it was the dearest of the four per guest and in many respects was inferior to the previous ones, with which we have been very happy.
Thank you so much for your feedback and were glad you found our cottage clean and comfortable with good acces to the shop along with good internet and TV. Sorry to hear you thought the property not suitable for your dogs but there are several places you can walk the dogs around Docking also within easy reach there are some lovely beaches and park walks. Thank you for raising our attention about the broom and this has been put in a easy find location. The black bin for waste and the green bin for recycling have now been placed just to side of the property for future ease.I'm sorry you found the heating a little hard to adjust. We do care about all our guest and I hope to see you again in the future.
Property Owner
Reviewed by David2.8★Feb 2024
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