Review of The Barn at Daubeneys
Reviews from our community
1 review
We stayed here in the middle of March for our first visit to the area and Daubeneys cottage.
We take regular cottage holidays so are used to a vast array of locations/standards/facilities and were delighted with this cottage.
On arrival we found milk, orange juice and eggs in the fridge and there was a selection of local shortbread and flapjack on the table - a nice way to start the vacation.
The cottage is spacious and well equipped - the only thing lacking being a vacuum cleaner (I know that some people would find it strange that we vacuum on holiday!) but the owners were happy to lend us one.
The location of the cottage is superb. Across the road is the Fox and Hounds, very welcoming, allows dogs and serves standard pub grub. Within a few hundred yards in both directions you're out into the countryside and have a large range of walks on offer. We walked to The Quarryman's in Box, great food, very friendly, allowed dogs; The White Hart in Ford, also great food and allowed dogs; The Swann in Kingsdown which was a bit quiet but also allowed dogs and served good pub grub.
I saw a previous review which highlighted some issues with the accommodation and thought it may be useful to put another perspective across. So the garden is indeed shared and the owners have dogs (Thumper is a lovely old boy). There will therefore be the occasional dog mess in the garden. There is a wood burning stove that burns wood. This creates ash so you it's highly likely you'll find ash in the fireplace. There were two of us and we had plenty of crockery/cutlery and everything was in good order. The water pressure isn't great so the shower is a bit weak but we had several hot baths with no issues. You are right next to the owners but they were friendly and hospitable and asked us several times if everything was ok and if there was anything they could do. The property is glass fronted but the mesh curtains provide ample privacy.
So all in all, an extremely enjoyable stay and we will no doubt return again. So why no 5th star? This only boils down to value for money; we've been to numerous cottages and have found others of a similar standard with country views and a private garden - but as mentioned, the location really is good.
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4 reviews
3 hotel reviews
4 helpful votes
What a delightful holiday cottage!! We have done a number in the UK of rural holiday locations and this has to be up there as one of the best!! Rooms were nicely finished, with gorgeous bathroom toiletries, a really well put together welcome pack (with cute little honeys and jams and scrummy treats among other things!) One of our favourite things was how lovely and light it was - while our one year old napped we sat behind the glass basking in the sunshine reading our books. The cottage was lovely and clean....a real must when you have little one year old crawling around the floor. Very baby appropriate cottage too....good travel cot and high chair provided plus no significantly dangerous furniture for little ones to hit their heads on! All on one level too so no worries about stair gates etc! Our daughter loved Melanie and Ian's dog...she loved just to watch him out of the window, and he was super friendly!
The only things I would say would have improved our experience would have been a stronger shower (power shower head without the power!) and I would agree with the previous review on hot water...took a while to come through the taps. More than one set of crockery would have been helpful too, as we had to put the dishwasher on every day. Nothing "negative" which marred our holiday though!! Nowhere is perfect (I guess unless you are paying hundreds of pounds a night?!)
We found Melanie and Ian couldn't have been more helpful! Easy to book and pay (we paid £340 for four nights). Melanie was very kind in helping us track down a thermometer when our baby was ill while we were there, and our only contact with Ian was him popping over to give us some bread on arrival!
It was disappointing to read such a negative review on here. I honestly can't believe it is the same property they refer to!!! Not tatty or scruffy in any way, nor dirty.
Would definitely come back here again, and will definitely be telling my friends about this little country getaway, great location for exploring Bath too!
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| Bedding & mattresses | Kitchen & utensils |
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| Families with young children |
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5 reviews
6 helpful votes
We stayed here Friday March 6 – 13 2015 and were extremely disappointed by the property and more especially, by the attitude of the owners – Ian and Melanie Butterworth.
All rooms were scruffy and in need of redecoration. Furnishings tatty and tired. The whole front of the property was glass – overlooked by owners and the road so no privacy at all. Several dog turds outside bedroom French doors which were not cleared up until four days after our arrival. Windows dirty, decking by front door slippery, rickety step up to front door, front door area dirty and unfinished, log burner not cleared out from previous fire and glass door filthy, one gas burner on oven not working, bare minimum of crockery, some chipped, tin opener not working, only one saucepan had a lid. Small heated towel rail in bathroom not working and nowhere else to dry towels, bath showerhead corroded and blocked with limescale. We have submitted photographs taken at the property to illustrate some of these items.
Only one toilet roll and bin bag supplied. Melanie was extremely rude when we asked where the spares were kept and told us in no uncertain terms that it was self catering and we should provide these ourselves. Not what we have found in other properties we have rented.
On arrival we found the boiler was not working – unable to have a bath (one of the main reasons for booking this property was that it had a bath), as only slow trickle of not very hot water from taps. Apparently the boiler had furred up with limescale, which should have been noticed by owners as this gets slowly worse over time. Did have bath one evening at owner’s house but rather embarrassing and far from ideal. The boiler was repaired on the Monday.
On our first evening we were unable to light the grill. Popped over to ask Melanie’s advice and were met with ‘Oh for goodness sake …………!’ An unbelievable attitude!
When Ian came to collect second half of the rent, we spoke to him re a discount due to problems we had experienced with boiler. He was extremely aggressive and rude. We have never been spoken to the way he spoke to us – and we were the customers!! He declined to give us a discount and said we had already been given a discount. We disagreed completely and explained we had rung Melanie to ask for a price for a week’s stay and were quoted £400 which we agreed. Ian’s reply was that ‘well the phone call was not recorded’ – he might just as well have said we were liars! He aggressively said the problems were not their fault and that we should be grateful they had allowed us to have a bath in their property – not our idea of a lovely holiday. He came over later waving a printed sheet re the property showing a price of £545 – apparently they have the property with several agencies and this was what they charge. Again reiterated we had booked direct at the quoted price of £400. Again just met with extreme rudeness from Ian.
Obviously ‘customer care’ is not in the owners’ vocabulary – they are only seem to be interested in letting their properties to make money and have no interest whatsoever in their customers.
| How easy was it to book the property? | How easy was key pickup/access to the property? |
| Overall condition of the property | Bedding & mattresses |
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Decorative state: The rooms are not scruffy and in need of redecoration (this was done six months ago and we also bought a new sofa). The pictures on the site show exactly what the property looks like. The other sofa does have a slight rub on it (no more than 25mm) and I have to commend them on their close up photography!
Glass frontage: Yes, indeed the front of the property is glass (again this can be seen on the site as can everything when booking). There are full curtains on every window. The windows are cleaned every six weeks and are not dirty. The property lies quite a way back from the village high street and the view from inside shows large lawn and fruit trees. There is a lovely small garden behind the property.
Log Burner: The log burner complaint shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how to use this sort of stove. Without a layer of ash such stoves are very hard to light and do not burn well. Even when cleaning out the stove we make sure we leave a good layer of ash so the stove works efficiently (again very good close-up picture - that’s what the inside looks like). It is cleaned and the glass will clear if the stove is operated correctly (again pictures on site show what it looks like).
Hot water: The real issue the Smiths had was when they arrived Mrs Smith wanted a bath and the water from the bath taps were running rather slowly, we didn't know (as the previous occupants didn't mention anything when they left in the morning). The boiler however was working and there was hot water. The shower was fine and so were kitchen and sink taps. Ian, had a look at them and agreed. We got a plumber in immediately. He said unfortunately especially in this village we have a high lime scale and he would go and do his best to get the part for the taps. He did mention that, in the meantime water was running but it would take more time to fill the bath. When he left Mr Smith started to complain saying we should check every detail before the next guest comes in. I explained we do but when the bath is cleaned we use the shower head above the taps to rinse the bath. He was not happy. I then suggested that his wife use our bathroom to have her bath which she did. We did everything possible to make her happy while waiting for the plumber to fix the bath taps. The plumber was unable to get the part until the Monday which he did and it was fixed.
Grill: On the same evening Mrs Smith came over and said the gas wasn't working on the grill. I was on the phone and said my husband would go over shortly; he did and it simply worked.
Towel rail: The towel radiator rail in the bathroom has a switch outside the door clearly marked "radiator". We also provide a drying rack and with underfloor heating towels dry very quickly.
Crockery: The property sleeps 4 and has enough crockery, glasses, pans etc. for 8. This is checked every week and we have replacements in storage. When the Smiths left we did find a bowl and plate with chips and we replaced them.
Dog mess: Dog faeces is checked every day and removed. I obviously didn't pick this one up in time.
Shower head: It is de-scaled regularly and works properly. There is also a main large over-bath shower head which functions very well indeed; it too is cleaned regularly.
East wall: The wall by the door looks patchy because we had heavy rain. Some of the wall was wet and some dry. I apologise that our wall gets wet when it rains.
Pricing: The Smiths booked directly so I gave them a discount. A deposit for the week of £200 with a balance to pay on arrival. Ian went over on Monday evening and Mrs Smith refused to pay. Ian suggested that if they really were that unhappy then they should look elsewhere. I even checked out other accommodation for them if they decided to go. Eventually Mr Smith came over to the our house with a cheque dated 2018. Ian then had to go back and get them to change the date.
Other guests: As you can see from other reviews customer care is very much part of our business and we have regulars returning time and time again. Our guest books in each cottage (which the Smiths would have seen in the Shippon) are full of praise and thanks. We have a 90% occupancy rate throughout the year. The couple from Winkleigh who stayed the following week loved it and said they couldn't fault it – I received a lovely card and flowers from them and they are coming back next year. We have people in at the moment and again really loving it.
Welcome pack: The Smiths fail to mention that guests also receive a welcome pack of organic bread, eggs, jam, butter, milk, orange juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar etc.. Guests are also provided with Elemis spa bath products and flowers; professionally laundered sheets and white fluffy towels. We supply one toilet roll, one bin liner and one kitchen roll as well as a new sponge, cloth and 3 dish tabs. Mr Smith wanted a full supply of toilet paper. This is a self-catering property where, unlike most such properties in the country, we provide a lot more than is required. We are not a hotel but offer good, very clean accommodation at a reasonable rate for those who wish to take advantage of a lovely location with the freedom of catering for themselves.
1 review A lovely sunny cottage in the grounds of the owner's home. Very comfy with nice luxury touches. It's was sunny all the time we were there, so nice and cosy, even with no heating on in October! Only drawback was not great access for those with a disability, as a decking area at entrance with one wonky step to help get up. I managed as had PA with me. Didn't spoil holiday and Melanie, Ian and Thumper very welcoming without being intrusive.
| How easy was it to book the property? | How helpful were the directions to the property? |
| How easy was key pickup/access to the property? | Overall condition of the property |
| Bedding & mattresses | Kitchen & utensils |
| Bathroom cleanliness | Other facilities & amenities |
| Service |
| Friends getaway | Families with young children |
| People with pets |
- Was the property as advertised?
- Would you recommend the location of this property?
- Was it a good value for the price paid?
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2 reviews
Just spent a lovely relaxing weekend at Daubeneys . Our cottage was fab a beautiful converted barn, which had everything we needed and more.
Melaine and her husband couldn't be more accommodating and our dogs loved it too, can't recommend it enough.
Thank you for a lovely chilled weekend
2 reviews
3 helpful votes
We have just come back from spending the weekend at this barn, all I can say it that it is wonderful. It was a surprise weekend away for my Dad's 70th birthday, I didn't want to stay in a hotel as it's so in-personal. This barn is very cosy with everything you could wish for. The extra touches ie bread., milk, eggs, biscuits that Melanie left was lovely. It's only 7 miles away from Bath which was great and there's a pub across the road that does great food. Thank-you for a lovely weekend and we will be back xx
| How easy was it to book the property? | How helpful were the directions to the property? |
| How easy was key pickup/access to the property? | Overall condition of the property |
| Bedding & mattresses | Kitchen & utensils |
| Bathroom cleanliness | Other facilities & amenities |
| Service |
| Friends getaway | People with disabilities |
| Older travelers | Families with young children |
| People with pets |
- Was the property as advertised?
- Would you recommend the location of this property?
- Was it a good value for the price paid?
- Did the property offer wi-fi/internet access?
| Value | Rooms |
| Location | Cleanliness |
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