Whitley Elm Cottages

We stayed at Bianca cottage in November 2025 while our bathroom was being renovated. The location is lovely and quiet, and there are some quality features, but the upkeep had clearly fallen short for a while. There was visible wear and poor finishing throughout, including simple fixes that seemed to have been missed between guests. Several doors wouldn't shut properly, trunking was coming away from the walls, and the oven didn't work. We'd bought food to cook, but ended up relying on sandwiches and takeaway. The hob worked, though the only frying pan had a damaged non-stick coating and didn't seem safe to use. The heating was supposedly preset, but the property never got warm and we spent much of our stay cold. We were told to switch on the hot water only when needed, which meant washing our hands in cold water through the day. The WiFi became patchy after day two and was basically unusable, so this wasn't suitable for working from home. It seemed to rely on a 4G or 5G external antenna and indoor modem, with no router, and felt cheap and unreliable. The TV and remote were dated, and the TV couldn't use Netflix or other internet services. As the cottage is advertised as dog-friendly, finding old dog treats scattered around the house was concerning, both unhygienic and potentially dangerous for dogs with intolerances. There were cigarette ends in the back garden too, which was unacceptable. The garden also drained very badly, leaving pooled water and mud everywhere, and with no mop or vacuum we couldn't keep the place clean. The washing machines and tumble dryers in the garage were constantly full of clothes left there all day, so we had to wait until we got home to do our washing, though luckily we'd brought enough clothes. It was a very disappointing stay. With proper maintenance this could be a lovely place, but as it is now, I wouldn't recommend it or return.