Manor Farm

We had the cottage to ourselves, which was nice, and the snooker table was a hit. Everything was lovely and clean, though I did spot a few little misses, and I’m OCD. We booked at the last minute over New Year; the location was excellent, the owners were first class, and breakfast was really good. Thanks to you both for a fab break. I’m sure we’ll be back.

The bedrooms were roomy, the bedding fresh, and the towels fresh too. We could bring our elderly dog and cat, and both settled in very well. To our surprise, both fast food deliveries we ordered found the secluded place without any trouble or delay. The snooker table wasn’t on our list of requirements, but after a drink everyone turned into an expert, and it got used every evening. The house was almost always quiet, with amazing views, and worked well for us at very good value. If the issues were fixed, I’d give it five stars and come back in a heartbeat. Otherwise, I’d probably look at other places in the area first, though I wouldn’t rule out Manor Farm completely. We were six family members staying for six nights over Christmas 2022, with 14 people sitting down to Christmas Day lunch. There was a big decorated real tree in the lounge and a garland over the fireplace, plus a fake tree in the dining and games room. It gave the house a lovely Christmas feel. The complimentary single malt whiskey, bubbly, chocolates and mince pies were a lovely surprise. The house is very big, and most of the décor and condition was OK, but a few things were broken or tatty. There was quite a lot of dust and cobwebs, though it was basically clean enough. Just a few days before we arrived, we were told the upstairs plumbing problem couldn’t be fixed in time. The upstairs toilet, master bedroom en-suite and room hand basins couldn’t be used, although the bath and one basin could, which I found strange. An online review from 2021 mentioned the same issue, so it seems to have been unresolved for a while. The bottom, main oven kept switching off at high temperature and delayed our meal by over an hour. The central heating took a long time to warm the house, which was 15c when we arrived. Hot water was inadequate, leaving a few of us with cold baths or showers, and the downstairs walk-in shower room was always cold. To be fair, our host Rachel gave us a partial refund of £200 for the plumbing and other problems. A few smaller gripes: WiFi coverage was patchy, and the TV was small with a picture that was starting to fail. The back garden was quite unkempt and had no outside lights. The single light by the front door wasn’t enough for coming up the steps from the pitch-black car park.

The dogs and cat are lovely, and the woman running the place was very helpful and accommodating. We were able to check in early, which was nice. The breakfast let it down, with a burnt fried egg and burnt hash browns. There was only one very thin pillow each. The shower pressure was unpredictable too, going from lovely to freezing, then suddenly boiling hot.

Breakfast was really good and set us up for the day. It’s a nice spot on a working farm, with places to eat within walking distance and easy access to the South West Coast Path. Some things are basic, but the hosts’ enthusiasm makes up for that. A nice stopover.