Name: Marsdens Cottage Holidays
Address: Marsdens Cottage Holidays The Square Braunton, Devon
Rating: 1.56

“Gone to the beach nr Brixham. June 2024...just returned from a week in this property. Found the property spotlessly clean,had all you could possibly need for cooking . The property has more room than the photos give it credit. Lovely light bright decor.Amazing walks from your doorstep,views amazing & lovely secluded bays. Would definitely return . Contact from owner before arrival ,sarah was very helpful & extremely pleasant”

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Posted 5 months ago

“Great during booking and prior to holiday date updates but dealing with my complaint has been really disappointing. I can’t stress how having exclusive use and garden access for my two dogs was a major discussion point prior to my booking. I didn’t have exclusive use and didn’t have access to the garden. No one has acknowledged I was informed otherwise and I’ve been fobbed off with the Annexe doesn’t allow dogs. This wasn’t confirmed at point of booking as the annexe wasn’t in use and I checked I had access and was blankly told I did. The property was lovely but some rooms were messy/dirty as were some of the facilities and I was told I should have dealt with this with the owner. Pay nearly £4k for a holiday where I have to arrange a cleaner…I didn’t want to complain while with my family. The property was lovely- The Albatross but Marsden/Original Cottages even lied to get my booking or don’t give damn now I’ve paid. I’m so disappointed.”

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Posted 2 years ago

“We booked Beechcroft Cottage in Dartmouth for one week in July 22, for a family holiday. We paid top price to stay at this property (£5k) during the school holidays. Please see DebR review below because it is precisely matches our experience (I wished we had seen her review before booking). So 11 months later and Marsdens, under Original Cottages, have done nothing to improve the points that were pointed out by DebR. We complained with 40+ pictures showing the appalling state of the property but got zero support from Marsdens / Original Cottages. No compensation but moreover zero action to improve standards meaning that some other poor bugger is going to have an equally bad experience in the near future (unless they read these reviews beforehand). Have previously used Marsdens and had a pleasant experience so am even more disappointed with them for not taking action to keep high standards across the properties they advertise. Will not use them again as a result of their inaction. Will go elsewhere.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

“We booked Beechcroft Cottage in Dartmouth for one week in August 21, for a family holiday. We paid top price to stay at this property (£5k) during the school holidays. There were very few photos on Marsden's website (also advertised on Blue River and Original Cottages) but a few of the photos showed a lovely lounge with a spectacular view over the Dart. This part of the description is true but this is where it ends. It is described as a beautifully presented property - this couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve never been so disappointed on entering a property that I had high expectations of having paid so much money for too. The smell of damp was overwhelming as I walked in with my family. The property is very dated - including the kitchen and all bathrooms, the furnishings and beds are old with poor fitting bedding. The house has shabby carpets and was not clean in some areas. The kitchen was well equipped… with old crockery, cutlery and cooking utensils (except for the kettle and toaster - they looked quite new). An old, huge empty fish tank stood in the lounge area…with dead insects in it plus there were a few slugs crawling across the furniture. There were issues with the TV and the wifi. The family bathroom smelled of damp, the carpet in this bathroom was wet to touch and we could not turn the taps to turn on the shower. The extractor fan in the kitchen sparked and tripped the electricity in the property, light switches didn’t function properly, missing light bulbs, dated curtains coming away from the track. The family bedroom (in the loft space) was not conducive to family needs - broken velux blinds that would not open, no curtains or blinds in the windows in the children’s sleeping area, no hot water in the bathroom on this floor either. The lower ground floor was horrendous! The smell of damp was awful, mould growing on the dartboard, visible signs of damp on the walls and furniture. The so called walk in shower has 3 steps up into it with no hand rail. Whilst showering, the water trickled from the shower area onto the steps creating a huge slip hazard. The owner’s personal belongings were still in the property including his shaving kit! It was a though he’d moved out with his clothes and just put it up for holiday rental without really spending any time or money on updating anything. Marsden’s we’re not interested in helping as this property is owner managed - not stated on the website, but in the very small print on the T & C’s that I received when it was booked and paid for! I did make contact with the cleaning company who did help to arrange a maintenance person to assist with the taps that we couldn’t turn. Numerous email exchanges with feedback to the owner were not well received. I was told there was no damp in the house, blinds were not broken, electrics were checked and fully working, there was nothing wrong with the WiFi, any fit adult could turn the taps in the family bathroom (family to me means everyone should be able to turn the taps - only my husband could do this with difficulty), the water from the walk in shower did not run down the step. I was only stating my experience of the property stating the facts. The owner clearly didn’t believe me and accused me of complaining for compensation purposes! I certainly wasn’t asking for compensation, merely giving feedback as this house could be amazing with such a beautiful view. I wouldn’t pay £1,500 for a week at this property in its current state. I’ve never felt so disappointed, ripped off and let down. We all work hard to pay for our holidays. The least I expect is a good standard throughout a rental property. For £5,000 I expected so much more - 4 or 5 star minimum. This property is poor with the exception of the view from the lounge. There are some beautiful properties next to, and nearby, Beechcroft Cottage that are advertised on Airbnb at a fraction of the price. Please don’t waste your money staying here - explore what’s on Airbnb.”

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Posted 3 years ago

“Fraudsters. Refusing to communicate, ignoring cancellation request, withholding payment, stealing damage deposit, nothing but extortion. BAD BAD BAD don't go near any of these companies, they're skinning their clients and customers alive while they still can.”

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Posted 4 years ago

“Please don't believe a word they say. We had a booking for 20th of April via this company also trading as: Original Cottages Discovery Holiday Homes Cornish Holidays Their behaviour during Covid was nothing short of illegal. -We contacted them early April to assess the booking situation (no reply) -We emailed and left vm (no reply) -They cut of the phones and blocked us on facebook and sent us an email saying they wefe busy and would get back to everyone!!! -Our booking date comes and goes.... NO REPLY!! -AFTER our booking date they replied to say they had cancelled the booking, but we couldnt get a refund only a TRANSFER (which by the way THE PRICE HAD GONE UP!) - emiled us again to say NO refunds at all -EMAILED us again and stated if we did not pay the balance we were liable for it! Still not had a refund it is 20th of JUNE. It is now the law to give a full refund due to COVID -they know this but they are still trying to trick people onto vouchers or re booking for the future when they are not liable by law to refund. We get a phone call today to say they will refund us but THEY ARE KEEPING £100 as we cancelled the booking!! We didn't they did!! They would have got the staff furlow pay, and the grants, as would the letting owners , plus they are likely to have a bumper year ahead with brute staying home, so there is no reason to keep our money for a service they did not provide and are obliged by law to refund in full. Please please heed these genuine warnings and book with a reputable company or even air bnb who issued full and immediate refunds in March!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Please don't believe a word they say. We had a booking for 20th of April via this company also trading as: Original Cottages Discovery Holiday Homes Cornish Holidays Their behaviour during Covid was nothing short of illegal. -We contacted them early April to assess the booking situation (no reply) -We emailed and left vm (no reply) -They cut of the phones and blocked us on facebook and sent us an email saying they wefe busy and would get back to everyone!!! -Our booking date comes and goes.... NO REPLY!! -AFTER our booking date they replied to say they had cancelled the booking, but we couldnt get a refund only a TRANSFER (which by the way THE PRICE HAD GONE UP!) - emiled us again to say NO refunds at all -EMAILED us again and stated if we did not pay the balance we were liable for it! Still not had a refund it is 20th of JUNE. It is now the law to give a full refund due to COVID -they know this but they are still trying to trick people onto vouchers or re booking for the future when they are not liable by law to refund. We get a phone call today to say they will refund us but THEY ARE KEEPING £100 as we cancelled the booking!! We didn't they did!! They would have got the staff furlow pay, and the grants, as would the letting owners , plus they are likely to have a bumper year ahead with brute staying home, so there is no reason to keep our money for a service they did not provide and are obliged by law to refund in full. Please please heed these genuine warnings and book with a reputable company or even air bnb who issued full and immediate refunds in March!!!”

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Posted 4 years ago

“Marsdens Devon Cottages - you should be ashamed of yourselves. Making money out of covid 19! Not only are you refusing refunds after cancelling on us, you also want to charge extra for rearranging our holiday even though that's the only option available.”

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Posted 4 years ago

“You never know how good a company is until things don't go as planned and you see how they react... Had to cancel our booking due to an I'll dog (who has since past away) but Marsden Cottages could not have been less sympathetic about the situation if they had tried. Every person we spoke to was unhelpful and more than one of them lied. Saying that they would call back but never did and saying things that weren't true. During the booking the people we spoke to seemed helpful and friendly but as soon as we had to cancel their attitudes changed and didn't want to help. Will never look to book through again....”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Marsdens Cottage Holidays Reviews