Reviewed by
Sara
27th June 2026
Hi,
We have recently come back from our holiday at Duck View Cottage, and we were disappointed with the overall property, and felt as though it lacked a lot of care, thought and attention. You rated the property 4/5 stars, however the whole party agreed that it was incredibly generous, and we would personally award it 3/5 at best!
In this curRead morerent climate, saving for holidays is hard, and many families are restricted to only one a year due to the cost of living crisis (some not at all). So to work so hard to save for the holiday, it was disappointing that the owners didn't take due care in ensuring the property was up to scratch and gave the guests the experience the online description gave.
Firstly, the description states there is a rear garden, however this is not accurate, it's a horrible, unkept, weed covered, unsafe area that cannot be used for anything! The rear garden looks abandoned, with weeds completely overtaking the space. The only outdoor eating space is in the front garden, but this is less than ideal as you then have to cross the road, over the drive and to the garden with all of your food, cutlery, drinks etc. as well as with small children and pets. It makes no logical sense at all. The kitchen is at the rear of the property, so eating outside on the rear would be much more fitting.
In the rear garden the hose was just left in the pathway, but there was no where to tidy it away, so it was a real tripping hazard for our 4 year old - no consideration of safety. It really was an issue as it meant that my daughter could not go outside without supervision, something that could have easily been resolved in the owners had put a hook up in place so it could be tidied.
There was also a mop that had been left outside full of water for so long that it had started growing life, and it smelt absolutely horrendous. It was incredibly unfair to leave that for the guests to handle. There was also some half eaten corn on the cob left rotting on the floor, old dirty carrier bags, and other bits of litter. It was unsanitary and with the hot weather smelt foul and attracted a lot of flies. I have photographs of all of the above as evidence.
The utensils in the kitchen were rusty and unsafe to use, again I have photographs of this.
The sink in the downstairs toilet was slow draining and smelt rancid.
The pillows in the beds have seen much better days. They are really uncomfortable and we all complained with neck ache from them.
There were loads of previous guests belongings left everywhere; have eaten food in the cupboards, toothbrush boxes in the bathroom, half used shampoo bottles, opened packets of biscuits etc. It felt very untidy and also like we were squatting in someone's home rather than a highly priced holiday lodge.
Also, there was a lot of dog hair; I appreciate it is a dog friendly cottage, but it felt as though the place had only been surface cleaned. We put our hands down the side of the sofa to fetch the remote and it was full of dog hair and the blanket on the back of the sofa was full of dog hair, just to name a few places.
Lastly there were no milk in the fridge - I wholeheartedly appreciate this isn't a mandatory requirement, but if you are leaving teabags and coffee, why not milk? After a 5 hour drive to then have to walk to Sainsbury's, a 1 pint of milk in the fridge would have gone a long way.
Having said all of this, the location is perfect, and the cottage does have potential to be an incredibly beautiful and dreamy holiday destination. All of the above issues are not costly to remedy, but do have a significant impact on the property, and do tarnish it. It's a shame that less thought has gone into the place.
If you would like the photos which evidence my points, please let me know the appropriate email address and I can send them over.
With all of the above, I do feel as though we were overcharged for the property. The value should be reconsidered, the description also corrected, along with the review rating so other guests do not experience the same disappointment.
I look forward to hearing your response.
Thanks
Sara Hide