“Multiple PROS ..... Two major CONS (but easily fixable)”
Y Dowlod is lovely. The area is staggeringly beautiful. Many things combine to create a great cottage rental but two items almost blow the whole thing.
Here's what's good: Rhys and Gwyneth, the owners - friendly and helpful. The cottage itself - well designed, beautifully old and spotlessly clean. The kitchen - excellent and big. Comfy couch, great TV with perfect reception and good WiFi. Very well-insulated and toasty warm. Lovely bedroom and bathroom but ....
Here's what's bad: To be fair, I think it's easy for an owner of a well-booked cottage to lose track of just how awful the mattress can be. And this one is a peach - it's the worst mattress that I've ever slept on, possibly in 70 years and needs to be changed TODAY - NOW - period. It was an El Cheapo, it's thin, it's old and both of us felt the springs a lot. The bed needs a good 600 GBP online oomfy mattress from Dream or Emma or .. perhaps even better?? And (sorry guys) it needs to be changed every few years. We positively dreaded going to bed, honestly. We dug out the (2 inch thick) "mattress" from the fold-out couch and lay it ON TOP of the bed mattress and, thank heaven, it helped. It's a 1st class cottage and needs a 1st class bed to sleep on. Otherwise, we were going to buy a foam mattress pad in order to salvage our vacation.
The other problem, you ask ?? Gwyneth apologised, in advance, for the low water pressure of the shower. Sadly, we came to dread IT, as well. Rhys and Gwyneth are very green and have installed all kinds of really neat systems for saving hydro and water, etc. The bathroom has a large, nice tub but their guidebook gently asks you to save water and take a shower. We agree but the shower feels like a kid pouring water from their little watering can, down your back. It takes 15 minutes of being "sprinkled" to get the soap off and wastes a TON of water. As the water comes from a well and is on a pump, I don't know if a bigger pump is required or just a 150 GBP "power shower" would do it. In any case, it was really annoying.
We gave this place 4 stars because it is a fantastic cottage in a heavenly locale but I would not recommend it until a nice, new mattress was in place. The shower issue is simply a (real) inconvenience but, at least, was not responsible for both of us returning home with sore backs.