Sweet Briars

We had a lovely family stay at Sweet Briars.

The cottage had everything we needed and the garden was a big hit with the kids.

Our party of 6 adults and 2 children had an excellent stay at Sweet Briars.

The property is comfortable and well equipped. The owner arranged excellent discounts on the ferry fares. We walked directly from the property to St Catherine’s Down and along the coastal path. We’d taken torches and high vis jackets to walk (5 mins) to the nearby pub after dark: no pavements, no street lights. And the Chale Green Country Stores has closed. If you’re coming from Newport and you reach the Scout Hall in Chale, as we did, you’ve gone too far. We needed to contact the owner several times (and he responded quickly) as there was no handbook. This will be replaced. The garden is amazing and I’d love to return, if only to enjoy the garden in warmer weather.

We really enjoyed our stay.

The property is well equipped with a lovely garden. Everything we hoped for. Perfect for our family visit. And access to reduced ferry tickets through the owner. Excellent. Thank you.

A really lovely cosy cottage which was well equipped.

However, the star of the show was the garden - sunny, secluded and mature with lots of hiding places which were great for hide and seek!

We had a lovely week at sweet briars.

I visited with my parents and my grandchildren who loved the garden. We all found it to be clean homely and very comfortable. It was well located and easy to drive to lots of places. The owner could provide a welcome pack and more information about the house and its facilities but other than that it was great.

Really good relaxing week with a good base to travel around the island.

Good walks on the coastal paths 10 minutes away. Property is well maintained and had everything we needed. Ferry discount is a lot more than 25%. The owner got us nearly 60% discount return based on ferry online prices which is a huge bonus. The property is extremely quiet which is nice if you are a bird watcher but also is a few hundred yards to a very good local inn if you want good food. All in all we would recommend the property.

Lovely cottage, beautiful gardens and well equipped.

Stunning views and great location for a short walk to our favourite Island pub! Will definitely stay here again :-)

Thankyou for a lovely stay.

We loved the peaceful house and the beautiful garden.

This was a clean and comfortable house to stay in with a wonderful large peaceful garden full of unexpected nooks and crannies.

Everything we needed was there and we were nicely placed to visit the island. A large cooking apple tree was a bonus and meant we could make Blackberry and apple crumbles galore with the the windfalls and blackberries from the hedgerows. Would go again...

A beautiful, good size and well equipped house in a great location.

We had a wonderful few days sharing time with family round the great size dining table and in the local pub which is within a very short walk.

It is an excellent well appointed and interesting house.

The garden is superb and the only thing our grandchildren found missing was a dinosaur.

Very nice property and well equipped .

Responses to questions from the owners were excellent. Well positioned for exploring the IOW. Only negative was the cleanliness could be better. One bedside locker was covered in dust, bathroom mould and plant runners growing through lounge window frame. We would happily stay here again.

It was difficult to get hold of you on the phone following the booking confirmation.

We had some questions about the property. You ignored our e mail asking the same questions and the owner ignore our letter sent to the property. The propertywas ok and the location was excellent, the best thing about it was the garden. The household rubbish remained at the property for the whole time we were there causing a fly problem. When we arrived both the bins were overflowing and there were other bags placed by the sides. We had nowhere to put our refuse. The double beds were small and uncomfortable and the edges of the mattresses sank when you got in. The decisdion to withdraw the BBQ and towels at short notice was just a money saving ploy on behalf of the owner, using Covid 19 as the excuse. Notice of the fact that the dog had to stay in the scullery or the garden all the time or we had to book him into a kennels was given 72 hours before we arrived. The table in the garden was not large enough to seat six let alone eight and there were only four upright chairs. Luckily we had enquired about chairs and as the answere was ambiguous, we brought two camping chairs which enabled us to eat outside. We bought a new BBQ and brought this with us. The kitchen was easy to prepare meals in and everything worked. The washing and drying facilities in the laundry room also functioned but we discovered a massive build up of fluff in the dryer filter( which had clearly never been emptied) This was a fire waiting to happen. There was nothing in the publicity to suggest that you had to duck under every doorway or which there were many. If this property is to be advertised for 8 people then it needs to be stocked and furnished for 8 .Althought there were leaflets about the local area, there was no information about where the nearest shop was etc.Only a brief mention about a pub a short walk up the road. We have stayed at many properties on the IOW and this one failed to meet our expectations.

Great location and lovely cottage

The room with the extension can be cold, and damp is visible when cold and wet outside.

Think this is in the extension bit, but the rest of of the accommodation is excellent!

We had a great holiday at Sweet Briars .

It was a very good location with good local walks and interesting places within easy reach . The house was clean and comfortable . The garden is beautiful and private. It was easy to contact the owners and communication was good . However ,there were a few things not working in the house . The dishwasher was broken.We could get it to clean by not using the soap dispenser , but leaving the soap on top of the cutlery basket . Looking at reviews , this was mentioned in May , but not dealt with! The coffee machine did not work.This meant 5 adults taking in turns to share a one pot cafetierre. We could not get the record player to work. We did not find the house dog friendly as dog was confined to small utility room which unsettled her. We also have not stayed in a holiday house without a welcome pack before as another reviewer mentioned. I have listed the above as they do need to be dealt with , but it did not spoil our time there.

Lovely holiday cottage which accommodated 2 families easily Didn’t find parking a problem Garden is absolutely stunning and children loved playing in it for hours We are a tall family so a few bumps on heads on doorways Windows are low down (and not lockable) which was a bit of a concern for our 3 year old Overall beautiful cottage and we had a fantastic stay

Cottage really difficult to find as when approaching from Chale Street sign is not visible, when approached in other direction house sign is virtually covered by ( beautiful) flowers .

Looking at the main picture on the website of Sweet Briars I wrongly thought the sea could be seen from the cottage , think this was possibly an aerial picture. Nevertheless was good to lie in bed and observe the farmers and their cattle in the fields.. First time I have ever been to a self catering accommodation and not been welcomed by a small pack of essentials for arrival. Not ready impressed with list of don’t s in information leaflet in cottage. Beautiful gardens, lovingly tendered with a resident partridge visiting daily. Busy road with no pavement outside I would be nervous visiting with young children . Owner friendly when I phoned for information.

This is the first place visited with no welcome pack not even a teaspoon of milk no book telling you when to put bins out there was a mobile fish & chip van at village shop one night handy to know we found out when we passed it one good thing pub only 5mins walk food very good would not class as dog friendly confining to small room.

Loved the cottage and garden.

The dishwasher didn’t seem to be working properly as the cover for the dishwasher tablet was broke. It was a shame there was no garden furniture or slide as mentioned. The main problem we felt was the driveway which was mentioned as steep and it was a challenge so therefore I think it should be mentioned in the property details so people are aware.

A wonderful spot close to the sea and surrounded by beautiful countryside.

Clean and comfortable cottage

The cottage was lovely and the facilities were excellent.

There were however aspects of the property which we could have done with knowing about beforehand. These are not criticisms, they are part of the charm of the place, but we could have done with knowing about them. First, the drive up to the cottage is very steep and comes off a bend in the road, so it is always necessary to have a person guide a car our. There is a mirror opposite the driveway, but it cannot be seen at night. Second, the ceilings in the cottage are very low, and there is always a step down into a room. This means that tall people are likely to bang their heads on the lintels of the doors. All in all, we had a lovely time at Sweet Briars,and would thoroughly recommend it to others.

The cottage was lovely and the garden was excellent!

Lovely place to stay for a family.

Difficulty in reversing off sloping drive - on bend.

Kitchen needs to be near dining room.

What a wonderful cottage.

Brilliant location, fabulous cottage. Holiday was perfect, would recommend it to anyone who was visiting the island