“We could not have wished for a more fabulous stay with countryholidayhouse! In the up run to our stay in the beautiful Skyfall, Sarah could not have been more attentive to our needs when we made last minute changes to our booking. Upon arrival, the house was beautifully prepared for us being completely spotless, the hot tub preheated and the beds were of the standard of a 5* hotel! The house itself could not be more perfect for a big group to stay in and it never ever felt like a squeeze. Stunning facilities and a feeling of being completely remote despite being so near to the town centre of bath. Transport to and from the town centre was very easy and we never struggled to find Ubers that would roughly cost £7 to get to town. After an extensive search of both Bath and Bristol, this was bar far the best value property we could find. When we arrived we were expecting there to be a catch but we never found one. The house is just as amazing as it looks in the photos and the price is simply unbelievable. Could not recommend more highly as a weekend for a group of young professionals, we left London at 6 and were in the hot tub by 8 :) We celebrated two birthdays whilst there and we couldn't think of a better place to celebrate. Thanks so much for making this possible!”
“We could not have wished for a more fabulous stay with countryholidayhouse! In the up run to our stay in the beautiful Skyfall, Sarah could not have been more attentive to our needs when we made last minute changes to our booking. Upon arrival, the house was beautifully prepared for us being completely spotless, the hot tub preheated and the beds were of the standard of a 5* hotel! The house itself could not be more perfect for a big group to stay in and it never ever felt like a squeeze. Stunning facilities and a feeling of being completely remote despite being so near to the town centre of bath. Transport to and from the town centre was very easy and we never struggled to find Ubers that would roughly cost £7 to get to town. After an extensive search of both Bath and Bristol, this was bar far the best value property we could find. When we arrived we were expecting there to be a catch but we never found one. The house is just as amazing as it looks in the photos and the price is simply unbelievable. Could not recommend more highly as a weekend for a group of young professionals, we left London at 6 and were in the hot tub by 8 :) We celebrated two birthdays whilst there and we couldn't think of a better place to celebrate. Thanks so much for making this possible!”
“Canford Dairy - he house certainly did not disappoint and was a perfect base for our family for the 5 days. We all had a fabulous time and would recommend the venue to our friends, so thank you.”
“Beautiful Compton Nest was the ideal venue for our annual gathering of four generations - new-borns to 90. The bedrooms are all beautiful and so comfortable and the kitchen is well-equipped and welcoming. A totally peaceful location yet just a couple of miles from the town of Shaftesbury. Throw in a hot tub for good measure and things don't get much better!”
“Peacful family week-end at Starfall
We were a family group of 17 with 3 dogs and an age range of 80 to 2 years old, meeting to celebrate our Golden Wedding Anniversary. If you are looking for manicured lawns, pristine flower beds and a country manor stay then perhaps look at other options but for our family Starfall was ideal. The house is an old stone farm house full of character with a comfortable lounge large enough for the family to watch a late night film together and cosy enough in which to spend a quiet hour during the day. The rest of the house has bedrooms and bathrooms.The barn extension gives the extra room required for the whole group to dine together plus the well equipped kitchen, utility room and a ground floor bedroom with bath and a wet room with shower. The hot tub just outside is an added bonus and was well used by our family. Lucky with the fine weather we spent a lot of time outside where there is ample seating to eat or just to relax and chill in the peaceful surroundings watching the more energetic play table tennis or football in the provided goal. There is also ample room to set up a Badminton net and fold-up tennis which we took with us as well as a paddling pool for our younger family members .The large BBQ worked well. There are public footpaths easily accessible for exercising the dogs. We walked down to the rather pleasant village with its riverside park but the walk back up was a challenge! We had a couple of concerns due to our inexperience of the hot tub and dishwasher but Sarah responded quickly to our e-mails with advice and the situations were resolved. If you don't wish to use your cars, as we didn't, it is possible to get 5 cars parked safely off the road. Tesco will also deliver a food shop to the property which we took advantage of. Our family enjoyed the week-end so much they want to make it an annual event and our 2 year old great grandson wants to go back to Nanny and Gramps's other house! Recommended for its peaceful situation in the beautiful countryside.”
“We had a fantastic stay at Canford Dairy. A well appointed and equipped house with an awesome swimming pool.
Great weather, great company and a great location for a team event.
would recommend.”
“We had a fantastic stay at Canford Dairy. A well appointed and equipped house with an awesome swimming pool.
Great weather, great company and a great location for a team event.
would recommend.”
“A group of us stayed at Skyfall (Starfall) for a weekend in June 2019.
The house is quite nice, though there are a few niggles which would be easy to fix such as no locks on the bathroom doors and visible wires in the overhead light above the dining table. There was plenty of hot water in the bathrooms, the beds were very comfortable and the garden lovely. We had problems with a kitchen tap that did not work, patio door that did not open and hot tub not prepared for us despite booking and paying for it.
I am appalled at the customer service. Sarah Campos-Martyn doubted that I could tell whether water came out of a tap, and denied that the door could be broken. It turned out that the tap had been turned off by a plumber as it had been dripping and was awaiting repair – Sarah said sorry that she thought it had been fixed so I wonder why she doubted me if she knew there was an issue. Someone came to check the tap (and turned it on for us!) and tried the door with a key but could not open it – Sarah never apologised for the broken door. She also denied that we had booked and paid for the hot tub and as I did not have the email trail with me, I was unable to prove it until after the holiday.
I emailed (twice) as soon as I returned proving that I had booked the hot tub and giving bank details for the return of the hot tub payment and security deposit. I received no reply. I chased the payment at 30 days (when the security deposit was due) by email and text and again at 36 & 37 days. I finally had a reply and deposit refund at 38 days with the apology that she had moved house and had only just got Wi-Fi. She did not address or even mention the hot tub issue. I wonder how it is possible to run a holiday property business for 30+ days with no internet; I expect she managed to reply to enquiries for new bookings during that time.
I have emailed and texted again and I am still waiting for a response and refund for the hot tub.”
“Our stay at the old Manor was excellent. The house was a good space for a group of 17 and had great character. There was plenty of room for us all with space to spare. The surrounding area is lovely and garden provided a great place for us all to hang out and relax. The owner Sarah was easy to get hold of and quick to reply to my emails. I would recommend the old manor for all groups regardless of size and age range.”
“I stayed at The Old Manor with a large group of my friends in aid of the completion of our ALevel examinations in August 2018. The house was absolutely beautiful, oozing with character and comfort complemented by the serene grounds surrounding it and the modern touch of the hot tub. Sarah, the owner, was lovely, and was merely a phone call away if we had any problems (which we didn’t). I would recommend this property to all ages, wishing to escape from the hustle and bustle of every day life.”
“The reviews below are very confusing. We stayed at the Old Manor last week to celebrate leaving school and had a great week away. The house was clean and exactly like the pictures which is rare to find. Sarah was very friendly and attentive with our questions. Would definitely recommend this house for anyone considering some time away with friends and family in a quiet environment”
“We stayed at The Old Manor, Almer for one week in July 2018 - our experience dealing with the owner caused a huge amount of stress before, during and after what was supposed to be a relaxing holiday.
1. 2 days before our arrival, and before the arrival of our 16 guests, the owner sent us an email to say that they had had to move all the beds from the top floor to the middle floor due to fire regulations - when I called to request compensation, she put the phone down. This caused a considerable amount of stress for my wife and I on what was supposed to be a week of holiday and celebration. I understand wanting to comply with regulations but to inform by email and not pick up the phone given the implications for our stay is just bad management.
2. On arrival, there was a large bin full of rubbish and maggots - and a Johnsons cleaners bag of bed linen outside on the path
3. The cleaner we booked with the owner to arrive on the Monday did not turn up so we had to spend time changing the beds and cleaning the property after the weekend when we were supposed to be spending time with family. When the cleaners did turn up on the last day, they told us that no-one had tried to contact them to arrange the Monday visit and would have been available if asked - we had to clean the place ourselves which was a huge inconvenience and spoiled a day of the holiday.
We were also unable to find the vacuum cleaner which we were trying to find only because the cleaners had not turned up on the Monday - we found one vacuum cleaner which overheated - the cleaner told us that it was older than than the 6 weeks the owner told us and the cleaner had to get her own when she arrived at the end of our week.
4. We passed on feedback on the property by email during the week Including utensils and cooking we thought the kitchen should be equipped with - and told the owner that the toilet seat in the master bedroom en-suite was broken - this was not fixed during the week.
5. On every email sent to the owner, I asked the owner to keep my wife copied as we were were both involved in the organisation of the holiday - not once was this done as requested
6. My wife advised that kitchen knives were not sharp - the owner s aid that the knives are not sharp for health and safety reasons and people normally bring their own!?
7. When the cleaners arrived on the last day, my wife made coffee for them and passed on the feedback about the house - a guy arrived some time later to accuse my wife of being rude to the cleaners which the cleaners, when we asked them, told was not the case”
