Cloam Cottage, Port Isaac

This cottage has been badly neglected by its owners Lots of broken items. Also the noise and smells from the more extractor fan is unbearable. They want £1300 a week in August 2024! Do yourself a favour and find somewhere else until the owner sorts this out.

On entering the cottage it was clear someone had been to clean due to wet floors, however the cottage was in need of a good clean, kitchen, light switches and the tv remote was especially grotty. The freezer door was broken and hanging on, a few minutes after entering the property two members of staff knocked the door and entered to see if housekeeping had been. They took photos of the broken freezer door and said they would sort this. Despite us just doing a shop which included some frozen foods, no repairs was undertaken whilst we were at the cottage and we couldn’t store further frozen foods during our stay. The vent across the round was so loud and several nights went on until 11.30pm, this was highlighted in the booking, but this went on for much longer than expected. The bins scenario was poorly communicated, no extra liners provided or outside seagull proof bags provided. We had to take our rubbish home to dispose of. The accommodation to the right of the cottage was housing several younger people during the week, 1st through to 4th night they were so loud after midnight, drunk in the roads, shouting and on the second night climbing up into the bedroom windows from the outside, it totally ruined our stay. They kept the children awake 4 nights running. My husband 3 times went out and asked them to calm down. I feel seriously saddened about our stay here. So much so we cut our weeks holiday short and left on Wednesday.

The cottage is centrally located in Port Isaac, beds & bathrooms were clean & comfortable, good quality linen and nearby parking space was invaluable, but this is where the positives end. We initially reviewed the cottage in May 2022, however according to recent reviews and despite raising these issues with John Bray, the owners and cleaners have failed to resolve any of them and the property is sadly very neglected, needs a complete refurbishment. All reviews mention windows & doors covered in grime & although a window cleaner was arranged for the end of our weeks stay, we had to clean them ourselves and buy the basics to do so. Surely a regular window cleaner wouldn't be out of the question. We also witnessed the cleaners sharing, what appeared to be discarded bottles of wine and used cleaning products between them in the car park. So don't expect any products such as toilet rolls to cleaning fluids. We found many discarded items including a pair of shoes etc under the sofa and dirty tissues under the bed. John Brays offered a re clean but the 4/5 day delay meant we did this ourselves, recent reviews state similar. With the exception of the washer dryer, the rest of the appliances, utensils, hinges, crockery, furniture and soft furnishings were either rusty, mouldy, chipped, broken or dirty. The owner did arrange for a new cooker as the old one was rusty and dangerous. However the fridge was ancient, needed defrosting, had broken shelves, kitchen cupboards needed attention and recent reviews suggest these issues remain. The broadband did not work for the full week & we had to raise a repair with the supplier. Whilst we appreciate this is a rural area, other properties had functioning wifi If these issues were addressed, new appliances installed, the property inspected and cleaned to an acceptable standard and the cottage could be nice for future clients.

The cottage is centrally located in Port Isaac, beds & bathrooms were clean & comfortable, good quality linen and nearby parking space was invaluable. The cottage is lovely but was sadly neglected and had it been the odd issue we would have ignored this. We did however find the staff at John Bray to be extremely professional, helpful & responsive Other reviews from March mention windows & doors covered in grime & we could not see anything out of the windows or doors & although a window cleaner was arranged, the delay meant we had to clean them ourselves. It would be hoped that the window cleaner is now a regular arrangement We also found many items including a pair of shoes under the sofa and dirty tissues under the bed With the exception of the washer dryer, the rest of the appliances, utensils and crockery were either rusty, mouldy or broken. The owner & agency did however arrange for the cooker to be replaced, wine glasses, arranged a re clean but as these things understandably take time to arrange, the 4/5 day delay meant we did them ourselves The broadband did not work for the full week & we had to raise a repair with the supplier. Whilst we appreciate this is a rural area, other properties had functioning wifi Hopefully these issues will be addressed for future clients, new appliances installed, the property inspected and cleaned to an acceptable standard and the cottage could be amazing