Tuesday 3 March 2015

Best Of Suffolk?

 

 
We choose the company Best of Suffolk for our little break away in February. I'd used them last year, when I went to Aldeburgh with my friend. Our cottage last year had been wonderful, decorated to a very high standard.
By choosing a company like this, you would expect high standards, that's what their reputation is built on, and you pay a premium for it, which is absolutely fine, if that's what you get.
So with high expectations I booked Pebble Beach Cottage.
 
 
The cottage easily accommodated five people, there was a large kitchen with a great farmhouse table in its centre.....and the most amazing ercol chairs! It had top spec appliances, clean and tidy. Just what you would wish for. The owners had left wine, biscuits, tea and coffee, a great welcome. There was also cleaning materials, there's nothing worse than having to go out and buy washing up liquid!
We couldn't find any mugs or cups, only wine glasses, at first I thought this might be a sign from the universe....I must only drink wine this holiday, no tea allowed ;) Anyway, we searched everywhere, eventually I went out in the rain and purchased 4 of the cheapest mugs I could find....(and Aldeburgh isn't a cheap place to purchase anything!) It was only when I rang my friend later that she asked if I'd looked in the dishwasher......er, no.....you can tell we don't own a dishwasher can't you! There they were, along with the fourth bowl, (I had in my head been working out how we were all going to eat cereal together in the morning!)
 
 
 
We went off to explore the bedrooms....a lovely king size bed, a double and single bedroom. The beds were comfy, bedding clean and ample clothes storage, I'm not sure there would be enough coat hangers for a weeks stay though, why are there never enough coat hangers?!
The cottage is in a quiet part of the town....mind you I'm not sure any part is particularly noisy, it was dark, comfortable and quiet....just what's needed to for restful sleep!
The bathroom was ok, white suite, seaside theme. The taps needed a good scrub but the toilet was nice and clean. The shower head however leaved much to be desired, it really needed replacing. It didn't work particularly well, and it was grubby. Luckily there was a constant supply of lovely hot water.
When we arrived, the cottage was cold, the heating had been left on low but a lovely touch would have been for the caretaker to have turned up the heating prior to us arriving. It took a whole day for the cottage to properly heat up.
Some other lovely touches were the White Company toiletries and the super, soft fluffy towels.
 

 

 
But what was sooooo disappointing about the cottage, was the living room. In my head I had a cosy, comfortable living room.....where we would all snuggle up around the log burner.
I couldn't have been further from the truth.....the log burner was great, but there wasn't one comfortable chair in the house! The settee was hard, very stained, luckily I'd taken my crochet blankets with me so covered it over with them. The two chairs were like they'd been pulled off a skip....now I know many a lovely thing has been pulled off a skip, but these were so hard, they really should have stayed there!
This room was in such sharp contrast with the rest of the cottage, I felt like I was in different accomodation. Student accomodation! There wasn't a decent lamp in this room either so I couldn't even make it look cosy. There were lovely curtains and cushions, sadly lost in the shabbiness of the room.
So in summary, beautiful bedrooms, a lovely large farmhouse kitchen, plenty of hot water and a great log burner. Lots of lovely welcoming touches, wine, toiletries, good supply of toilet paper....these things count! They owner was flexible with my arrival date and departure time which I was very grateful for.
 
Would I stop here again? No, not unless the owners updated the shower and invested some money and love into the living room. It cries out to be made into a comfortable, cosy place to relax in. I really do need a comfy place to sit, and I'm sure I'm not on my own!
Would I use Best of Suffolk again, well the cottage I stayed in last year was perfect, and the house my friend booked was amazing so maybe, but I would be very interested to know what their inspection process is, and how they select their properties. Also even though I've left feedback they haven't contacted me, even to say they were sorry I was disappointed, so perhaps after stay care needs some improvement?!
 
I've booked several holidays this year and I will review each place we stay, it's good to have insider knowledge on accommodation, don't you think?
Hope that's been interesting for you to read, I think I've been fair in my review, noting the positives as well as the negatives. Right I'm off in the garden....but more of that soon...
 
 
Amanda :) xxx
 
This was not a sponsored post, and I'm not in collaboration with Best of Suffolk. Words and opinions my very own!
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

26 comments:

  1. I have stayed in lots of holiday cottages, all that allow dogs, most have been fine. One or two have been outstanding and one was so dirty that when I arrived I took a look and demanded my money back. I contacted the letting company and explained the situation, the whole place had badly stained carpets and stank of urine. They found me somewhere else within the hour and I got a free upgrade and half my money back. Nevertheless I never used them again. Once bitten and all that.

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    1. Ouch....that's must have been awful, we invest a lot into our holidays, not just financial but emotion as well, glad it was sorted for you. The sad thing is this could be a fantastic cottage with a bit more tlc :) xxx

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    2. My Granny lived in Southwold and the water there is the hardest I've ever seen - she used to clean her saucepans with lemon juice every time they were used. She had an aga so hot water was always plentiful but I do recall the pressure in the cold taps not being very good.
      Is the cottage owned and managed by the same people? If not then the owners might be more interested to hear your feedback - friends of mine have a cottage they've had to get a company to manage for them and they get more valuable input from the visitor book than the company.

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    3. I hadn't thought that perhaps the visitors book was the best way to communicate with the owners, much better I think...thank you :) xxx

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  2. What a shame about the living room, it all looked lovely otherwise. It made me wonder if they live there between rentals? Perhaps they sleep in the living room and have dogs, and keep the bedroom ready for guests! you never know. It would be nice if the company sent you some kind of discount voucher for the next holiday really. Funny about the dishwasher! X

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    1. I'm not sure Heather, perhaps they do use it too.....perhaps they like hard uncomfortable chairs ;) xxx

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  3. what a lovely place!...we used to always do caravan and camping as a whole family, but i now prefer a cottage home...i actually think its much nicer to be set in a village or on the coast~ caravan parks seem to have gone down hill in my own opinion and cost the same as a cottage!, also caravan parks lack homely touches and row and rows of caravans make you feel your in a housing estate a lot of the time. we have used different holiday cottage let companies to rent from , mainly its been a positive experience so far. I really would love to see suffolk and the norfolk coast for a holiday ~ i miss my childhood island too on the essex coast too!. thanks for sharing your honest and truthful post, always a delight to see your photographs too ;) x

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    1. I had great holidays in caravans when I was growing up, seemed like quite an adventure....especially making your bed out of the dining table! ;) xxx

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    2. oh yes! childhood camping and caravan holidays were wonderful memories!! i meant since having my daughter i find them a bit dull and samey...but i loved the old days of camping beds and pull up tables and a little gas stove to cook on. i remember dad forgetting the gas stove and we had fish and chips nearly every night!!!! cant beat those days ;) x

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    3. I think that's why I love camping, makeshift kitchens, eating outdoors.....and making sure your plate doesn't slide off the table, we've camped more than once on a slope! ;) xxx

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  4. What a shame the sitting room let it down. It looks as if it's the only room which hasn't been updated. I wonder if they plan to do it before the main holiday season? Not much use to you though!
    Happy gardening.
    x

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    1. I really hope they spend some attention on it, especially for all those future guests! :) xxx

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  5. So pretty =] Defiantly a place i want to go.

    emyii90.blogspot.co.uk

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  6. I have found this review so informative and useful. It always amazes me that holiday cottages and B & Bs overlook some very basic requirements. And that firms who recommend these places do not take a close look at the facilities themselves before having them on their books.

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    1. Thank you LeeAnn, I'm glad you've foud it useful.....it's a shame, all it really need is some comfy chairs and a new shower attachment! :) xxx

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  7. It sounds as though with just a few teaks they could make it really great, so I hope that they take your comments on board, it would be sad if they don't! Glad that the rest was good though. xx

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    1. Thanks Amy.....wonder if they would hire me, I'd soon have it looking fab! ;) xxx

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  8. It is so hit and miss isn't it, booking accommodation? When we went on our recent trip I spent hours and hours on the internet trawling Trip Advisor and all sorts of feedback sites before booking! I am glad I did though as our hotel was super.

    I haven't spent much time in Suffolk, but it does sound lovely.

    Helenxx

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    1. It's a bit tricky isn't it Helen, you must go to Suffolk if you get the chance, it has some lovely areas, I love the beaches in Norfolk too :) xxx

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  9. What a shame this cottage didn't meet your expectations! At this time of year you would expect it to be warm and cosy and also the dishwasher have been emptied! Sarah x

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    1. I do feel very lucky that we got away, but yes comfy chirs would be good! :) xxx

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  10. Your comment re the dishwasher made me laugh. We went to Centre Parks for a mid week break in February and that was my first experience of one. Luckily, my youngest son took over and worked it out. I had come well prepared with rubber gloves and washing up liquid ;0)
    What a shame about the sitting room in the cottage, after all that is a place the family congregate excepting the Kitchen.
    Hugs

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    1. We really should get into the 21st century! We've not actually got any room for one, oh yes I have got a dishwasher.....my hubbie! ;) xxx

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  11. We have used Best of Suffolk and we had similar problems (freezing cold cottage and some other issues) and they didn't contact us either. Am now a bit hesitant to use them again as this had happened before.

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    1. That's such a same, I think you definately pay more for these cottages so really expect everything to be top notch...hope you have better luck next time! :) xxx

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