Little Mistletoe

The location is magnificent, and there are lovely walks nearby, plus a good selection of games. That's about all we liked. If you're happy camping or glamping, this might suit you, but anyone wanting a functional, well-kept place should save their time and money. We can't understand all the five-star reviews for Little Mistletoe. Maybe people feel sorry for the owner and don't want to offend. We give high ratings when a place is good and low ones when it's bad. This only avoids one star because of where it is. The bed was among the hardest and most uncomfortable we've slept on. The tiny TV is in the bedroom, so you have to lie on the bed to watch it, and the wooden plank headboard makes sitting up uncomfortable. A comfortable pull-out futon in the bedroom would make more sense. There's little room for food in the tiny worktop fridge-freezer, just enough for a couple of drinks and a day's food. They could remove one of the old uncomfortable chairs by the entrance and put in a standard side fridge with a small freezer compartment. There's no oven, only a weak little microwave, and no oven gloves. A combination oven and microwave could go where the fridge is now. There are no cupboards or hanging space, only a chest of drawers in the bathroom. A freestanding wardrobe and some hangers would help. There's no first-aid kit, as we found out the hard way. Surely that's illegal in the UK? There wasn't a hairdryer either, until the owner left one outside for us. It should just be in the chalet. The place is very poorly maintained. The bathroom floor has cracked ceramic tiles with sharp edges, so we were afraid to walk barefoot. The shower had only two settings, hot or scalding, and the cold feed seemed to be missing. The plastic skirting around the front of the shower tray was cracked and hanging off. The gutter over the main entrance hangs down so rain gives you a cold shower as you walk in. The electrics were a mess, with extension leads plugged into double sockets. Nearly all the cutlery, crockery and glasses needed washing before use, and there was no draining board. The bathroom tap leaked constantly. There was no electric kettle, despite the description saying there would be one. Instead there was a dangerous hob-top kettle. Its spout lever, directly under the handle, got red hot while in use. Someone, presumably the owner, had wrapped masking tape around it, but that didn't work. You had to hold a full kettle of boiling water using a tea towel, which wasn't provided. We might have put up with all that, but we left after two nights of our four-night stay because of a horrible smell of death in the corner by the hob and microwave. It seemed something had died under the floorboards or perhaps behind the wall. Flies came in from outside as soon as we opened a window, and the smell made us gag when cooking. The owner's cleaning gear was kept in that same corner, so she must have known. When I complained, she denied it, saying the boiler had been serviced on the day we arrived and the boiler man hadn't complained. The boiler was presumably in that corner. We doubt other complaints would have been taken any more seriously, though in her reply to our email she did apologise that we didn't feel the place was up to scratch. The owner should do what the handbook says they don't do: stay in the holiday let for a few nights at least once a year, without cheating. Then ask themselves what's worth improving, whether it's safe and legal, and whether they'd be happy paying to stay there, and why if not. In retrospect, this place only deserves one star.

Clean, nice, and well located, with lovely owners. Probably the best place to stay in Kent!

A nice little cottage to stay in, surrounded by beautiful nature.

Nicely done up, but not very functional. It feels like glamping.