Ivythorpe Coach House

The bedroom views were stunning, and having two ensuite bathrooms was handy. But the double bed was terribly uncomfortable, with the mattress sunken on the left and clearly needing replacement. The sofabed downstairs was uncomfortable too. When we set it up on the second night, we found a large, old urine stain at the bottom of the mattress, along with a foul smell. We found that disgusting, and it made us think the bedding wasn’t changed often. There’s also no downstairs toilet, which is a problem for anyone sleeping on the sofabed. Freshford is a beautiful village, and Ivythorpe Coach House is in a lovely scenic spot away from the busy town centre. It seems like it could be an ideal family cottage for a short break. We found it easily, but parking was difficult. A car was already parked by another building next to the Coach House, so we struggled to reverse our larger car onto the drive and had to pull in instead. Another car arrived that evening and made it harder still. None of this was shown in the photos. We’d have been more understanding if we’d been told. Downstairs, there’s a lovely living space with lots of natural light, but both sofas were tired and very uncomfortable. The kitchen is basic, and things you’d need, such as oven gloves, weren’t provided. There was old water in the kettle, and we had to wash some cutlery before using it. The welcome basket was a thoughtful touch, but ants were nearby when we arrived, so we had to throw some of its contents away. We found ants on the work surfaces near the sugar, on the table, and by the stairs several times. We think the nest might be there. It was stressful for us, as my husband has OCD and really dislikes ants, especially so many of them. At about 8pm, just as we were about to serve dinner, the owner knocked on the door. She lives opposite, something we hadn’t been told before arriving. Introducing yourself is pleasant, but not everyone wants an interruption, and since it was self check-in, we’d assumed we wouldn’t be disturbed. When we reported the ants, the owner seemed dismissive, and we felt she thought we were making it up. Before 8am on Saturday, she also messaged my husband on Booking.com about what we were expected to do before leaving the next morning. We found that unprofessional and intrusive, and it affected our enjoyment and peace during the holiday. The cottage may have been held to higher standards some years ago, but that doesn’t seem to be the case now. For our two-night stay, we definitely didn’t feel it was worth over £500. When we return to Bath, we’ll look for somewhere else to stay, which is a shame given how lovely Freshford is.