Gullsway: Kittiwake

We had a lovely week with our two dogs, perfect location for coastal walks and just a short walk into town.

Although the cottage needs updating for the price and location it was perfect

The property itself has the most amazing views and the location is fabulous.

The appliances work and it had everything we needed. However, the property was quite dirty on arrival with crumbs on the bench seating and a huge amount of dog hair on everything, especially on the sofas. This meant we didn’t really feel comfortable putting our baby down to play on any of the floors. The dining table was also incredibly sticky (even once wiped) so not ideal.

Lovely view.

.sadly the place could do with updating fixtures and fittings the single beds were not suitable for an elderly person..as a result slept poorly. Don't think we would stay again unless the property was updated.

A photograph in the living room taken a 100 years ago shows that this was at one time the only property on the Greenaway headland.

However it is in a lovely position with the coast path at the bottom of the front lawn.. It is a perfectly clean and comfortable seaside holiday rent. The views from the dining room at the front are great. The bathroom is a little dated and the taps would benefit from replacement washers but we enjoyed our stay and hope to return.

The path to the cottage is steep, broken concrete and uneven, no hand rails, dangerous when wet.

The door to the property is shabby and not been painted for years as is the inside of the property. The bathroom felt like an outside loo, shower is over the bath and not walk in as advertised. No washing machine in the house. The cooker took over a hour to cook a few chips. Carpets and furniture are old, grubby and looks like it’s come from the tip and not been cleaned for years. I’ve taken better furniture to the tip! You stick to the dinning table, we tried to clean it but it was just as bad! The windows don’t close properly causing draughts and leaked when it rained. The overall appearance is dated, shabby, unloved needs money spending on it SOON! On a good note, it was warm, bed linen was clean and ideal for the dogs. Would I go back? No. Would I recommend it? No.

We look forward to staying here every year!

Amazing location! Stunning coastal views! We adore it! When you sit in the sun room on a clear day, it’s like looking out from a ship’s bridge over the sea. Don’t expect luxury! It’s somewhat tired but still a beautiful place to stay.

We booked this last year having visited the property when others were staying there so we have not used the web site or had help from the office to choose it.

We love the location and the view and have a reservation for it next year. We find Sykes cottages very good.

The view is what makes this property and is why we keep coming back and will continue to do so.

All the niggles are insignificant compared to the joy we have looking out of the window.

I’ve stayed at Kittiwake many times now, it’s in such an amazing position.

Ok it might not be the most modern and luxurious property but who cares when it has views like it does! Everything was good again this year and I will no doubt be booking again. The only thing I feel I should mention is the cold tap in the bathroom was dripping badly and clearly needs looking at. Also the sign in the kitchen mentions linen bags for the bedding at the end of one’s stay but there are never any to be found. Maybe update the sign.

People who are thinking of renting this property should read the reviews.

Most visitors note that the property is not spotless (and this is certainly true) but they also for the most part report having a great holiday. Yes - it really could be cleaner on entry - but then the price is not that high compared to all the modern "perfect" houses nearby - and it is in a fabulous location with brilliant views to both the sea and beach. The cleanliness aspect doesn't seem to be changing - be prepared to do a bit on entry if it matters to you - but, really, who cares? Good old Gullsway gave us just as good a holiday as ever this year. Long may its eccentricity last!! (I laughed at Jane Talbot's message about oven temperature guessing - yes - quite a challenge!!) Note to Bray/Sykes. Bolt on bin shed very hard to push in. The recycling bins have different instructions on them as to whether to bag the recycling or not. 2-3 more comfortable chairs in the sunroom to soak up the view would be appreciated!! On the plus side - one or two things needed fixing during our visit and these were attended to very quickly - thanks.

The cottage was disgrace and badly neglected.

Very shabby and desperately in need of attention. It was the worst cottage we have ever encountered by a long way. No welcome pack, no useful information e.g emergency numbers, instruction manuals for equipment, where things are - the washing machine was in a shabby wooden garage yet two, yes two, dishwashers in the kitchen! The list goes on. We are sending some very strong feedback by post as you don't answer e-mails. WE COULD NOT POSSIBLY RECOMMEND THIS COTTAGE TO ANYONE.

We absolutely love this home by the sea!

It has outstanding views and a lovely light and happy atmosphere with lots of room to relax. Loved it!! Can’t wait to visit again! It’s our ‘happy place’!

Kittiwake is in the most amazing position.

I have been staying there since 1981 or before. I certainly danced on the beach at Charles and Diana’s wedding. I don’t mind it is old fashioned. However, the Henry sucks up the Lino and my cousin had to push the Lino back into the fitting slots. Why not get a G tech. We were delayed in our arrival and didn’t notice there was an open doggie poo bag outside the French windows until the Tuesday after we arrived. Perhaps that explains the multitude of flies in the conservatory. The property needs a mop and bucket to wash the floors as a lot of bits seem to accumulate on the floors. It takes some experience to guess the oven temperatures. The shower is fine but I remember bathing my 51 year old son in that bath when he was 8. The dirty sheet, and it was the same one, on the top of thewashingmachinewasa bit off putting, I noticed on October the3rd and it was still there, when we left on the 11th. The curtain rails need replacing and so do the curtains, they were hanging off in the living room when we arrived. A bit off putting you know. I only have praise for the John Bray maintenance men. I have always found them friendly and helpful and they are great. I imagine they must feel that life ISA’s uphill battle. Well done them. Dirty sheets are a healthhazardyouknow. However the position makes up for everything. I’m now into my eighties and am sad to think that has probably been my last visit as the path has got a bit steep for me. I have many glorious memories of Kittiwake and wish the owners every good wish for the future Jane Talbot I have no objection to you publishing my comments

We have been revisiting Gullsway (in particular Kittiwake) for 30 years now as we absolutely love the location but still can’t give it a good rating on feedback as it continues to look so ‘tired’.

Clearly it gets booked all year round, so people (as do we) compromise comfort / cleanliness, for the superb views but it’s disappointing that the owners don’t care for the property as you’d expect, to invest in it as it richly deserves

We had another great week staying at Gullsway/Kittiwake, combined with the Annexe and September Tide.

See review from last year for detail. As long as you don't expect modern over-shiny perfection, this is a very comfortable, well-provisioned, house in an excellent location - a real Cornish holiday house - great views and easy access to Polzeath beach. Open the easy-sliding windows in the sun room and you're almost out there in it...! ---- A few notes for the owner / Brays / Sykes - the black kettle was a bit temperamental on its base - you had to turn it to make connection, and it got worse during the holiday - maybe replace? - still no "house guide" - is it the policy to put all needed information in the emails? - but it's not there either yet. For example, is there a bin collection day? Where is the bin store? - it was a wet week (!) - a fair stream comes down the path ending in a very boggy patch at the top of the lawn - could drainage be improved to prevent this? It was hard not to make a muddy mess coming and going.

perfect location and a lovely property

Thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

It would be useful to have simple instructions on setting up and using the electric hob, grill and the ovens. Shower head needs a clean or replacement and the hook on the back of the bathroom door is working loose. Some information about the local shops would be good. Trebethrick General Stores are now open and 10 minutes walk via the road or 20 minutes along the coast and up through the lanes. They have excellent pastries as well as a small range of frozen meals. A free John Bray map of the area would be great too!

The property had been redecorated and we thought that it was nice.

It was clean and warm, and we had a lovely holiday. We would like to rebook again for next year.

A great place to stay with such glorious views.

The accommodation was clean and beds and chairs comfortable. The kitchen was stocked with many utensils. We liked the number of seating available too. The only criticism is that the road to reach the property was unpaved and our hybrid car got damaged because of it. Any chance of it being paved in the future?

The seascape and location was excellent.

The property itself was unclean, i.e. all floors, stain marks on the furniture in the lounge so I didn’t use that room. I hovered, moped floors and disinfected all surfaces. Dog paw prints on glass windows and window ledge in 2 rooms. Clean bedding was provided. The whole property despite showing as one in the photos when booking is in fact 3 properties. I complained and this was resolved satisfactorily and timely. The price reflects the aging property and contents. As said the location is excellent and ideal for coastal path walks or water activities. John Bray was also very helpful.

Having been in many properties in the Trebetherick/Polzeath area over the years, we booked Gullsway Kittiwake (and the Annexe) with some trepidation as the customer reviews were poor.

However, we found a solid traditional Cornish holiday house with plenty of quirks, not a boring modern designer home as so many of the properties here are becoming, with fantastic views of Polzeath beach and the panorama from Stepper Point to Pentire Head. Everything about the house was functional - and it would work well for a larger party with the other properties (we had the Annexe too - so eight of us): two dishwashers, plentiful tableware and cooking gear (more than in any other house we've been in), comfortable beds, varied living spaces. The house is fully double-glazed and hence warm as toast, even in February. The wifi seemed fine to us, and we streamed movies in the evening - despite the listing saying this wouldn't work. So - a great week!! We do have some feedback, mainly for Sykes/Brays, that would have made our stay that little bit easier: - There was no information posted about rubbish - where were the bins? is there recycling? what day is the collection? Your emails indicated that this would be posted, but wasn't. - There was no information about the laundry room. - There was no red laundry bag in the property for the end of the stay - or at least we couldn't find it - we added ours to the Annexe's red bag. - The property is heated by a large number of electric heaters. There was no guide on using them or setting them - and so they were on much more than necessary, wasting the Owner's electricity. - The fridge was a bit grubby on arrival - it could do with a really thorough clean of e.g. the glass shelves which had accumulated some dirt at the edges. As one of our party said - it's fine when it's your own dirt, but not when it's someone else's! Not a big thing - but it just does set a tone on arrival. (By the way - despite many reviews here, we found the property to be otherwise quite clean enough.) - The sun room is obviously the gem of the house, with its brilliant views - some more comfortable chairs in here would really be great. Generally - Gullsway is an unusual/quirky house, and a fuller introduction to in one of those typical "house folders" would have been useful, to give us the missing information. I thought that was standard practice for a letting agent - but didn't find one there.

Sadly this house is in need of some tlc.

It's filthy! We did complain on arrival of the funky smell and layer of filth/dust in every room. The agent was quick to send cleaners for another clean which left a much nicer smell of cleaning products. But the house remained filthy, hairs and clumps of dust are everywhere. It made for a very uncomfortable stay but the views are incredible!

Perfect position for walks and handy for surfing.

A perfect place to sit and look at the view if older.. maybe a bit of a refurbish might be a good idea. Oven a bit iffy. I certainly bathed my 8 year old son in that bath in1981 and he is 48 now and possibly when he was even younger. We had a very enjoyable holiday

Kittiwake provided EVERYTHING that I look for in a self catering holiday.

The property might be a tad faded, in some peoples eyes, but for me this makes for a more relaxed stay. It was extremely well equipped, the views stunning, wonderful walks from the cottage and facilities close at hand in the village.

Standards have slipped.

Saved by the view