Braeside Garden Cottages

It's a cute place, but it needs serious work and a proper clean. The room had a hard bed that left my back sore, black stuff came out when we flushed the toilet, and the shower grout needs cleaning. The driveway is narrow, with branches sticking out. We weren't given arrival instructions. Luckily there was a reception, though the woman didn't come out to welcome us. We arrived half an hour early just to look around, and she said she still had a few things to do and that we'd get a text at 2 pm. That message still didn't explain what we needed to do.

It was cold and dark inside when we got there around 5 pm on a cold day, which wasn't a welcoming first impression. We also never saw the owners, either when we arrived or when we left, and couldn't find the advertised DVD player. The cottage itself was clean and nicely decorated, but several cupboards were coming off their hinges and some light bulbs didn't work. There weren't many kitchen utensils, and no sponge for wiping the sink. Little things, but easy to sort out and they would have made the stay nicer.

The path to the cottage was uneven and dangerous, and the overgrown garden meant we couldn't get the car onto the property. We had to carry our cases to the unit. Inside, the shower was mouldy, the kitchen sink was dirty, the toaster was full of crumbs, and the advertised toiletries weren't there. It wasn't cleaned to the stated standard and certainly didn't feel like a four star property. It wasn't as advertised, and I wouldn't recommend it.

They cancelled by email, without calling, just four hours before check in. The reason was that they had overbooked, despite having only two cottages. My booking had been confirmed and paid in full two weeks earlier. I was already on the way for my birthday weekend. I couldn't find suitable accommodation, so I had to cancel the whole trip. Booking.com offered a refund, but that didn't cover the time I'd taken off work, travel costs, or payments for restaurant and attraction bookings. It was upsetting to lose the chance to celebrate a special occasion. Beware.