Wheatlow Brooks Barn, Stone

We had a wonderful stay at Wheatlow Brooks Barn. The barn is stunning and maintained to a high standard. It provides a welcoming cosy environment, surrounded by the country side but within short distance to surrounding towns. The host was very kind, thoughtful & attentive, ensuring we had everything we needed - as well as a little gift for our little one which she was very happy with! A perfect place for a family/ couple wanting a cosy peaceful retreat.

After driving along a considerable length of single track roads you realise why this property is described as secluded and the initial impression is fantastic. A stunning converted barn with everything you would need for an excellent break away. However looks can be deceiving. The Sykes description is contradictory as one of the numerous notes states that the property does not accept children but that it is also children friendly. Most certainly our 2 adult children found the twin room very restrictive. We had also taken a PlayStation 5 to stream movies and games in the evening but that is impossible as the WiFi does not extend the entire length of the living room and certainly not to the TV. Also we arrived as the 5th set of guests in the property to find no instructions for the hob, oven, tassimo, dishwasher and microwave. In all other properties we have stayed in information like this has always been provided. Warning bells should have rung when in our initial conversation with the host he said how upset he had been with previous visitors who had not bothered to bring the patio cushions in when it had rained. He then knocked on the door on the first night to tell us that we were not using the woodfire correctly and could he come in to sort it out. He followed this up the following day by arriving at the door with 3 pages of typed instructions on how to use said fire. Two days after we arrived home we received a message from Sykes to say that the host was claiming damages for bedding, mattress topper and hob despite the fact that he had a direct contact number to us. We had stripped the beds when we left and yes, there was a very small bloodstain on one of the sheets which had been caused when my husband cut his leg when he had walked into the corner of the bed in the dark on the last night. At the time he did not realise that his leg was bleeding. We queried the damage to the hob and were sent indistinct photos of a slight scratch on one of the hotplates and another down the control panel. For this we were billed £169 for a new hob. We honestly have no idea when and how this damage occurred as we are convinced that we left the property as we found it. We have previously always enjoyed our family breaks at numerous and varied self-catering cottages and have never had this sort of disappointing experience before. We will certainly think long and hard before booking again.