Park Drive Cottage - a bit of a fag
Review Submitted: September 1, 2011
Date of Stay: August 2011
The location cannot be faulted. One of several cottages on a private estate, it provides an excellent place for both 'free range children and chickens' - both can roam in safety. Just 2 miles by bike from Burnham Market, it was perfect for the cycling holiday nine of us had planned.
There were problems however. The first couple to arrive were faced with a waterfall from a gutter and a very active wasps' nest. Both of these had been reported by the previous tenants (written in the visitors' book) but caretaking staff had to be chivvied to deal with them. When the two problems were resolved, we started our holiday. There were other issues, none of them particularly serious, but all of them irritating; a filthy freezer compartment; lights not working; a patio door that could not be opened; showers that provided a dribble - though the water was plenty hot enough; an Inoperative DVD plaer, and a TV which combined very poor reception with the wrong remote.
The carpets were well past their best, and the furnishings were tired.
Eventually, when the caretaker could be located, the oven door and the faulty lights were fixed, and Craig, the hired man did his best. The owners really need to look at maintaining what is potentially a stunning property.
Brancaster Beach is well worth the £3,50 parking charge, Titchwell Bird Reserve is excellent, Holkham Hall is a fine example of how to make a country estate available to the public. The cafe at Burnham Deepdale is worth a stop each time you pass. The two restaurants we used were somewhat disappoointing, so I won't name tham.
Despite all of the above we had a wonderful week. The problems with the cottage were all easily remidiable, and had been noted by many previous tenants - perhaps the Visitors' Book is not read by the owners.
If the issues I've mentioned were dealt with, I would be happy to return.
Recommended for:
Age 55+,
Adventure Seekers,
Girls Getaway,
Sightseeing,
Families with Teenagers,
Families with Young Children
Owner's Response: Unfortunately when clients leave notes in the visitors book (rather than contacting us) we do not see it until they leave - in a busy period only several hours before the next client arrives. In the unlikely event that there should be a problem it is important to please ring the caretaker, whose number is on the arrival instructions as well as clearly displayed in the cottage, and not the booking number. In this instance as soon as the caretaker was contacted she came immediately and had everything sorted within an hour of the clients arrival.
The overlow was caused by the ballcock in the tank temporarily sticking and sending water out of the overflow pipe - a fairly regular irritation as the pipes get a little grit in them. The first person dealing with the wasps was totally inefficient but the caretaker somehow managed to find a second person straight away (local council closed its pest control department this summer so we have all been struggling)
All televisions were replaced and new aerials fitted early summer ready for switch over to digital. The engineers say the signals should then be stronger - a drawback living in this beautiful remote area is that we are not served as well as towns with TV, broadband signals etc., The DVD was working when the clients arrived.
There is a good supply of spare light bulbs in each of our cottages.
The 'patio door' referred to is not supposed to be a door. It's a bay window with a large settee in front of it in order to provide enough seating in the sitting room - there is an adjacent door which opens straight onto the terrace which works perfectly.
We decided not to fit power showers as ordinary ones are more eco friendly.
Our carpets are professionally cleaned each Spring. Sadly we have just had several wet weeks, lots of children in the cottages and no time between lets to properly treat them so we agree they were not as we would like them to look. Also no time in August to defrost the freezer between lets. This cottage had new beds, curtains, blinds and settees at the beginning of the season.
We welcome helpful feedback from our clients as we are always keen to improve the facilities offered to our customers, many of whom have been coming for some years and are already booking again for next year.
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