-
"Had a great stay here, everything you need for a comfy stay, there was more traffic noise than we expected but we think this was due to roadworks with 4 way traffic light control further down the road meaning locals used the road next door as a quick divert cut through to avoid the hold ups, that said we would return again in a heart beat."
The lack of wardrobe space could be an issue if you used both bedrooms for sleeping it but as it was just two of us, we rested our clothes over the spare bed. Maybe rather than a coat hook on the wall, lose a dressing table and put a free standing clothes rail in its place? but again this would not stop us coming back.
Reviewed by Joanne5.0★Sep 2024
-
"Lovely cottage which very clean on arrival and great welcome pack."
Enclosed garden huge bonus for dog. Road was busier than we expected. Left hand side of bed in main bedroom needs a new mattress, it is not just soft but not fit for purpose - weight of an adult means it bottoms out against the base. We didn't report whilst there as it was bank holiday and we didn't want our holiday disturbed by debate about it - we were able to put a child in there and swop around but other people may not have this option. A shame that the gardens were mowed for 1.5 hours on our last night when it was nice enough weather to sit out and we couldn't and that on leaving the back gate was left open so our dog nearly escaped onto the road.
Thank you for your feedback, always welcomed. We have double checked the beds and mattresses since your comments and can reassure any future guests that all is well. If we have known you felt there was an issue during your stay we would have been able to attend and review things with you. Not finding out until after you leave gives us no chance at all to help.
You are right the garden is large, we aim to mow on a Friday as we change over between guests, however occasionally if the forecast for Friday is wet we try and fit it in sooner when it is dry so things are kept neat and tidy. We always ask guests if it is convenient if they are in and are never offended if they would prefer not, it takes 40 mins to mow the lawn at this cottage we know having done it many times! We will check re the gate and dog situation but as we too all have dogs and love to have them visit the cottage it seems unlikely the gate would be left open if a dog was loose in the garden. Again many thanks for your feedback
Property Owner
Reviewed by Nigel3.4★Aug 2024
-
"A lovely feeling of a home from home, just right for our time in Shropshire."
Everything we needed and quiet. Pleasant place to relax at the return from visiting family and nearby fields to walk our dog. Easy to keep clean and tidy. We will most definitely stay again if the cottage is available.
Reviewed by Graham5.0★Jun 2024
-
"We found the front entrance door was jamming in its frame and this made it difficult to open."
The freezer draws were catching on excessive ice accumulation . The freezer needs de-frosting.
Thank you, we haven’t noticed an issue with the door at changeover or ever before, just wondering if related to the sadly ridiculously wet weather but we will have a careful look at the next opportunity.
Freezer should be checked at each changeover just wonder if door not closed properly but again we will review and check, many thanks for letting us know.
Property Owner
Reviewed by Geoff4.7★Jul 2023
-
"This property was very comfortable and pleasant to stay in."
Standards were very high. We were impressed with the welcome pack of goodies. The house was a good base for exploring the local area and there were plenty of information leaflets in the house to give us ideas. It's worth noting that you can't easily walk to the nearest village because of a lack of footpath so we found that driving everywhere was necessary. That wasn't a problem for us but it could be for some. We loved it, and would highly recommend it. Our Staffie loved his week there too!
Reviewed by John5.0★Mar 2023
-
"Lovely cottage had all the creature comforts for us humans and our dog."
Any problems easily sorted with owner. Great welcome hamper of goodies.Very clean and tidy on our arrival. Lovely area to explore.
Reviewed by Elaine5.0★Oct 2022
-
"Lovely property close to many attractions"
Reviewed by Sandra5.0★Sep 2022
-
"My review centres not so much on the property (which matched our expectations) but on the management company …."
Sykes.
In October 2020 we paid a deposit of £351.50 against a total of £929 (to include booking fees and travel insurance) for a one week stay some 9 months later. The price paid reflected the situation at the time of booking when property owners (and their letting companies) were squeezing every penny of profit due to the Covid pandemic. Fast Forward 7 months (with a very much changed situation) and the property (and it’s attached twin) had failed to attract further bookings during the school summer holiday so charges were drastically reduced in order to attract interest! Sykes were contacted (by a family member staying for the same week in the attached property) to enquire if an adjustment was possible in line with that being offered at the time. Sykes were not the least interested (other than offering a derisory £50 off a future booking!) in offering a refund so that our fees matched that offered for other ‘adjacent’ weeks.
Would we use Sykes again? - Not Likely!
Reviewed by David4.4★Aug 2022
-
"Super clean property, we've stayed in a lot of places and the level of cleanliness is superb ."
Lots of lovely little touches that make such a difference. Great location, well appointed cottage with lots of places to visit on your doorstep.
Reviewed by Adam5.0★Jul 2022
-
"We were truly overwhelmed by Orchard Cottage in how nice it was in every respect."
The cottage presented a fantastic combination of charm and character with the benefit of tasteful modern quality decoration and furnishings. It is at the top of our list for places to return to.
Reviewed by Geoff5.0★Jul 2022
-
"Lovely cottage in the countryside."
Really enjoyed our stay
Reviewed by David5.0★Apr 2022
-
"Both this house and its twin are a spectacular place to spend a few days in the area."
We have not had any doubts about booking them again.
Reviewed by Pino5.0★Feb 2022
-
"Great helpful owners couldn’t do enough for us."
Two lovely cottages and we stayed in both.
Welcome pack was fantastic and our Airedale Moriarty loved his welcome pack and didn’t want to leave.
Reviewed by Susan5.0★Oct 2021
-
"The main bedroom bed mattress very saggy on left hand side"
Many thanks for your feedback which we always welcome, and thank you for the lovely comments in the visitors book, we are really pleased you had a lovely time.
You didn't mention any issues with the bed in the comments left in the cottage so we didn't have the opportunity to check the mattress during the changeover last week. We have contacted the current guest to check they are
comfortable and have no issues with the mattress, they have let us know they are very comfortable on it, but we will in any event double check at the next changeover, the mattress is only 2 years old so we are going to be a bit disappointed if it has a problem so soon.
Thank you again for your comment and we hope to see you again.
Owners.
Property Owner
Reviewed by David4.7★Oct 2021
-
"All the little touches for the dog with bowls & dog biscuits and also the hamper was much appreciated."
The enclosed garden ensured that we could relax and our Lurcher could run around mad which was great to see. Standard of equipment meant we did not need anything
We were very impressed and would visit again
Reviewed by Susan5.0★Sep 2021
-
"Just got back from a lovely week in the cottage, it was spotless and the lovely hamper that was left for us was amazing and so thoughtful."
The enclosed garden was fabulous and Bertie the dog enjoyed every moment of being teased by the rabbit under the tree haha
Reviewed by Jan4.7★Aug 2021
-
"The had a wonderful week at Orchard Cottage."
The location was perfect and the space for the dog outside was great. The house was spotless on arrival and I would heartily recommend.
Reviewed by Rachel4.7★Aug 2021
-
"Orchard cottage was exactly as described and we had a fantastic time."
Great base to explore the wider area. Owners have thought of everything and done an amazing job with this property. Loads of kitchen utensils, a maiden for drying clothes, garden is truly enclosed for dogs to run around. Negatives can only be nit picking. Bed was very soft [personal preference], need to drive everywhere as there isnt a path on the road, road is busier than expected. But I wouldn’t let any of that put people off. Very peaceful country retreat. No issue at all with WiFi/internet, free view and smart tv in case you need Netflix on rainy days. We loved our stay, thank you.
Reviewed by Anthony4.7★Jul 2021
-
"Lovely spacious cottage."
Great location. The dogs loved the very secure garden, and this meant we could let them out to run around without worrying. Very clean. Would recommend to friends and family.
Reviewed by Fiona5.0★Jul 2021
-
"The cottage was basically clean except for the sink and washing up bowl."
We did not use the bowl as we used the dishwasher as asked however, I cleaned both the sink and the bowl as I would not want it thought that we had left it like that.
Reviewed by Jandy4.4★Jun 2021
-
"We had an enjoyable stay at Orchard Cottage, the location was excellent for exploring Shropshire and the enclosed garden was great for the dog."
However it is clear that this cottage needs a little bit of love and care, birds are nesting in the roof and as such you can hear them scampering about at night, we initially thought it was mice. The Wifi is a bit of a joke really because it is shared with the Ploughman's Cottage (next door), which means that you struggle to get any reception if the other cottage is being occupied (we know this beacuse we spoke to the holidaymakers staying next door). The Sofa is really uncomfortable and after a busy day sighseeing you feel unable to relax. We have stayed at a lot of cottages and this was decidely average facilities. We did have a nice break, but the owners need to invest in this property.
We thank this guest for their feedback, which we always welcome.
We are sorry you felt that there were some issues. It is a shame you did not contact Sykes during your stay, which they conform you did not, or use the direct owner email provided within the cottage. Had you have done so we would perhaps have been able to help you during your stay. It is difficult, if not impossible to rectify any issues after guests have left and the first we know about it is in the form of an online review
To respond to the issues mentioned:
There is indeed a bird nest by the bedroom window, thank you for letting us know about it. It does at present have babies in and they probably do wake up early. We will remove this once the babies have fledged. To do so earlier would not feel right and would also be illegal.
The wifi, provided for leisure purposes, has been checked. It is running at just over the speed that we might expect for the area. Interestingly during lockdown we had key workers living in both cottages simultaneously conducting Teams meetings etc without any problems at all. The cottage is however in a rural area and as a result does not have the option of the superfast options available in more urban areas which is perhaps what this guest is used to.
We are delighted that this guest spent time exploring the many things to see and do in the beautiful county that Shropshire is. We are sorry he found the sofa not to his liking. We spent time ensuring there is a variety of seating available, a two seat leather sofa that is approximately two years old and also individual arm chairs one of which is a bit higher as some of our guests are a little older and may prefer this. Ultimately comfort is a personal preference but there were only 2 guests in this party so they did have alternative seating options for both of them if the sofa was not to their liking.
This cottage has been renovated throughout just over 2 years ago. It has had a good quality new kitchen, bathroom, carpets, flooring, furnishings and soft furnishing throughout at significant cost and been independently assessed by Sykes as being of four tick standard the definition of which is ‘excellent standard throughout’. Therefore to state that the property is in need of love, care and investment is we feel unfair and certainly at odds with the previous reviews available for this property and its sister property ref no 974261 next door. We hope any potential guests will read these and take them into account when considering whether to book with us.
Many thanks
Orchard Cottage Owner
Property Owner
Reviewed by Neill3.1★May 2021
-
"We had a fantastic week in this lovely well appointed cottage."
Everything was spotlessly clean and comfortable. With the main gate closed the garden was totally enclosed for our dog Barkley to run around the large garden. This was our first visit to Shropshire and the cottage was well located for visiting the area. It felt like a home from home.
Reviewed by Gary5.0★Apr 2021
-
"Super cottage in great location, exceptionally clean, comfortable and well equipped."
Plenty to see and do within a 30 minute radius, including Hawkstone Park Follies for an unusual (and fairly strenuous) day out, and the serenity of the lovely Hodnet Hall Gardens (Sunday, Wednesday & Bank hols only.)
Hawkstone Hall Golf Club seems to be the nearest for food and drink - Lyle's Bar (and outdoor terrace) welcomes non-members, whilst a large Co-op in Wem is the nearest supermarket - both are around a 6-7 minute drive away.
Only downside is the rather patchy WiFi, that tends to come and go. All in all a very pleasant stay, thoroughly recommended.
Reviewed by Andrew4.7★Apr 2021
-
"It was a lovely cottage and a good base for exploring Shropshire."
Reviewed by Yvonne5.0★Sep 2020
-
"Beautifully decorated house!"
Cleaned to a very high standard.
Would definitely stay again
Reviewed by Clare4.7★Aug 2020
-
"This is the second time we have stayed at Orchard cottage."
We had such a lovely time the first time we came back with our family and rented both Orchard and Ploughmans cottage.
Both cottages have every thing you need .
Cleanliness exceptional.
Reviewed by Julie5.0★Jul 2020
-
"The cottage was fantastic, a real home from home."
We loved the log burning fire in the living room and the extra touches like the welcome basket and treats for the dogs. Would not hesitate to recommend this property!
Reviewed by Ellie5.0★Dec 2019
-
"Gem of a cottage where the owners have thought of everything."
Good location great base for visiting surrounding area. So comfortable with log burner, superb beds and kitchen so well appointed. Secure garden which was great for the dog. Every detail to ensure the comfort and enjoyment of guests was provided even down to dog towels, dog treats and fantastic welcome basket . Hard to beat.
Reviewed by Elizabeth5.0★Nov 2019
-
"Clean, comfortable cottage we would definitely come back again"
Reviewed by Lynn5.0★Oct 2019
-
"Orchard cottage was very comfortable, very clean and well equipped."
The garden was amazing, one of the reasons we chose to stay here was that the garden was described as enclosed for our dog. It was very safe as a hedge and fence secured it. She loved being outside, lots of grass to smell and eat! The furnishings were gorgeous and we hope to book both cottages with family in the future
Reviewed by Leonardo5.0★Oct 2019
-
"Orchard cottage is absolutely amazing and has been done out to a very high standard."
The owners have obviously thought about everything, the hamper left for us and the bits left for our dog were lovely touches. The surrounding areas are beautiful and we will not hesitate in booking again in the very near future.
Reviewed by Laura5.0★Aug 2019
-
"Cottage was completely dog friendly with its large, secure garden."
Cottage had everything we needed. Clean and spacious. A real home from home. Only thing we couldn't find was a visitor's book to leave comments. We'd book again.
Reviewed by Mark5.0★Jul 2019
-
There are no reviews featuring this term
Show all reviews