“Poplar Cottage is a very pretty, charming cottage which is one street away from the harbour.”
It made for a great location for Port Isaac itself.
We booked Poplar Cottage, on the understanding that there was parking for one car. We weren’t aware, until receiving the check in details, that the car would be parked a few streets away, at the top of a very steep hill. Whilst the parking is very secure, it isn’t suitably located for those with mobility issues - as you cannot get close enough to on/off load items. We recommend packing light, and taking a case with wheels. This wouldn’t be an issue normally, but one of us was sporting a fractured knee and had we known in advance we may have opted to stay elsewhere. An improvement in clarity of description is needed.
Having read the previous reviews, we contacted Sykes to establish if the points noted in the most recent reviews had been addressed. Having been assured that the heating was working and breakages replaced, we felt reassured.
Unfortunately, on arrival this wasn’t the case - and we had to reach out to the local agent for assistance with the heating downstairs. This was needed as it was November and wet. The maintenance engineer tried their best, but could not get the Economy 7 heater to work. They returned 24 hours later with electric heaters.
The house book which I understand usually has instructions has been removed due to COVID-19 protocols. Rather bizarre given that there are novels in the house to read. To help guests with their stay I would recommend these are reinstated in some form, even an online link to it would be better than nothing. This would’ve helped given the heating isn’t the typical gas boiler system most commonly found in homes.
We love a fire in the autumn, and given the heating wasn’t working downstairs, we resorted to using the log burner. However, there were no fireside tools to assist us and as we couldn’t park close to the house so we had to carry logs and kindling from the local store, as nothing is provided. If a log burner is available, suitable fireside tools should be available and I suggest these are put in place to aid guests.
The house itself was very clean, but it is clear that the property has received heavy use over time and therefore some of the soft furnishings are now very grubby, and have definitely seen better days. The carpet down stairs is also very dirty and definitely needs a clean or replacement. However, I should stress the bedrooms, bathroom and the kitchen are spotless.
In summary, I would say that we enjoyed our stay at Poplar Cottage but there are a few minor tweaks to make this a better stay for guests - particularly around clarity of check in (WiFi code provided was incorrect), instructions for the home and cleaning of soft furnishings. In addition, there is no welcome pack such as small amount of tea, coffee or sugar compared to other rental properties in this price bracket, a few small touches may have been nice.
