The Old Dairy

An old Cornish cottage with traditional charm.

The situation of the cottage is stunningly beautiful, so close to the magnificent cliff top scenery of the coast, and it was such a joy to walk directly from the cottage. Admittedly, there are a number of dilapidated buildings on the farm, but this didn’t detract from our stay. The cottage was warm and cosy, and the owners had kindly put the heating on before our arrival. The decor is traditional, and, bearing the odd glitch, we were very comfortable. The cooker definitely works fine, and all was clean on our arrival. The approach is a farm track, but even my car loving husband said it was easily manageable! The owners are very pleasant and we would happily stay here again, especially as the charge is so reasonable.

This is an amazing historic cottage in a walking paradise.

After reading some reviews I ventured to the cottage with trepidation. The cottage is a Sykes 3 star and this is reflective of the facilities. The cottage is historic when windows were small to protect from the elements given that our stay was when there was a storm we were well protected. Walk out of the door and you get enough 4g to pick up emails and social media, if you take a walk up the lane you will see amazing sunsets over the sea. Take a walk along the coast path and the old tin mines come into view, making you feel as if you are in a Poldark set. Going back to the cottage, the cooker may be old but works really well. The towels were great and bed linen fine. The sitting room is cozy. The cottage is lovely and warm when you return from a day exploring Cornwall. If you are a person who likes modern buildings, huge windows and being in the centre of tourist Cornwall this is not the cottage for you.

We were very disappointed with this dark dingy and scruffy cottage.

It was due partly to its location, down a long unmade road, with o outside lighting at all. The house was seemingly in a scrapyard, surrounded by dilapidated, dangerous buildings, full of abandoned broken farm equipment and falling debris. These blocked the sea view. Indoors there was mould and rot in the bathroom skirting and pipework. The cooker was old and needed updating, and the hood was sticky with old grease, unpleasant to touch, and didn't work. The front door had no mat to the dirt yard, (hard to keep floor clean, just a broken brush and dustpan standing next to the open shelf cutlery area). The cottage was full of random fusty old ornaments crowding the shelves and storage areas with no other space to put things. The dark lounge had uncomfortable small sofas, and stank of mould. The towels provided had a fetid smell of mould. We didn't use them but the representative, Amber, brought some fresh ones. She also got the shaver light replaced during our holiday. Luckily we were able to go out each day on walks, and eat out sometimes, so avoiding too long in the fusty atmosphere. What a good job we had the Cornish coast to escape to. But it has detracted from our experience and I would not trust Sykes Cottages again.

The Old Dairy is in a lovely spot in terms of proximity to the coast and is very peaceful however I feel there are a number of areas to raise.

When we booked we were told that there was limited wi-fi, this was then changed later to no wifi without the offer of changing our booking or a reduction in cost. When this is put alongside the fact that there is basically no signal there either, it leave you feeling quite vulnerable. The site itself also has a lot of derelict building and materials around which are not mentioned anywhere. If my children were younger, I would have very significant reservations about their safety. There is no outside/security light when returning at night to a pitch black site. The TV is much smaller than the one in the photos and there is a great deal of clutter around the place - too many pictures and bits on window sills. There is nowhere to hang coats and nowhere to wipe dirty or wet shoes. The shower head doesn't sit properly in either of the holders in the shower. I raised the issue of my very dirty duvet and the washing machine during our stay, these were both rectified. The bed linen provided was polyester and cotton when I would always expect it to be cotton and that has always been my experience. This leaves you feeling uncomfortable at night and worse for my younger daughter for whom it caused her eczema to flare up, bleed and be very sore. I realise that it isn't a more expensive property but I don't feel it was up to the standards of other Sykes properties and would make me cautious when booking in future. The owners are clearly very nice people but perhaps need more guidance on what would be expected. Thank you.

Although a lovely setting and nice people, there were several items not working, washing machine, shaver point in bathroom, TV replaced with a small one.

I understand this was a power surge, but still not rectified during our stay, washing machine pulled out and left there throughout. Beds were very comfortable and clean. The sitting room adequate. Kitchen utensils lacking, i.e, no wooden spoons, blunt knives. The bathroom, unfortunately was quite dirty. There are corners with build up of dirt, which is quite off putting. There was no book of info, as I have experienced in other cottages, such as bus times, where to hand laundry etc. None of this was shared with us on our arrival either. There were leaflets for local attractions. Although I must note the people seemed nice and the owner offered to wash our clothes as the machine was out of order.