Portland

Excellent location, lovely property which accommodated 8 adults.

Perfect dog friendly garden. Only issue was in the twin room there were problems flushing the toilet and no clothes storage space. The toilet in the ensuite of the first bedroom did not feel secure to the wall.

Sorry it's been a while since you wrote.

We found the accommodation not only cosy but hotel standard, the beds especially comfortable. The location is terrific. Guests with cars may be surprised to find that parking on the grass verge seems OK which would worry me if the weather wasn't so good. Only slight inconvenience was the lack of soap, shampoo, sufficient loo rolls, a dishcloth and spare waste sacks, given the house is for 8 potentially, made more exacerbating if guests only find this upon arrival and the local shop is shut. I did not include this last bit in my write up in the guest book as we had a terrific time in a house that punched above its weight and location was awesome, hearing the waves and the birds every morning. Such a great place to wake up to. If you do want to publish a review I've no qualms about tailoring it to the bare essentials....comfort, location etc. Also why does Northumberland have such a terrible recycling system ? We took bottles locally (opp Landing Stage) but paper, cardboard, plastic (the worst culprit) seemed uncatered for. The instructions at the house were contradictory. One said leave it all, another said take it with you. If we weren't so old and unexperimental (love new places) we'd definitely stay again. All the best Doj

This is our third visit in two and a half years to Portland for three generations of family though we have never had eight occupants.

Its' position is perfect for us, so close to the sea that it can be heard and easily accessed, minutes to seats to watch the waves apart from the obvious fabulous walks from the doorstep. The property provides plenty of bathrooms including downstairs toilet, heats up quickly, good sized bedrooms with large beds for tall people and the addition of the air fryer since our last visit in March is a plus, also the property seems to have benefitted from a deep clean since our last visit. On this occasion I had wanted to enquire about available free days either side of my booking but the phone system continually referred me to the website when I needed to speak to a person, I did have one missed phone reply but on a number which did not allow phone back, as a consequence I gave up. The property is ideally positioned for The Landing which provides great choice from breakfast to dinner and is 10 minutes walk away, together with fabulous restaurants of all levels within easy reach. However, for a property which has a claim to high standards the showers have disappointing pressure,(bearing in mind the pressure in the taps!) and the rails need raising, the dispensers have always been empty so why have them? the "welcome" pack is mean - 8 biscuits and a few milk sachets and a starter cleaning pack - for groups arriving without a plan or having arranged a grocery delivery, maybe a note in the kitchen mentioning the Co-op at Seahouses opening hours would help? We are experienced in visiting Portland and arrive with toiletries and arrange a grocery delivery. The outside areas of the property are looking tired and the bin store is decidedly suffering from the wind, maybe it is due a visit from garden maintenance? Having said all of the above Portland covers so many bases and it is unique on Harbour Road. Judy Alderson

We arrived at property at 16.

15pm as check in was at 16..00. The cleaners were still at property as we're running late. We were told to stay in the downstairs until they had finished,so we were unable to unpack. We could hear the cleaners chatting and laughing not concernedthat we were waiting to start our short break.. Eventually the cleaners left at 17.00 which meant we had been delayed by an hour of our weekend break which doesn't seem alot but when you have to leave promptly by 10.00am on the Monday. Very disappointed.

We had an amazing stay at Portland, it has everything you could possibly need.

The location is perfect for the beach and other amenities. The kitchen has everything you could need. The sofas are comfortable, and so are the beds; often, these haven't been in other properties we've stayed in. In other reviews, people said the property was tired, it was immaculate, recently decorated and well-appointed, we would definitely recommend. It was perfect for our two Labradors, who enjoyed the garden. With a beach just over the road, it made evening walks easy, and Beadnell Bay is only a short walk away. Two very happy dogs who now have the holiday blues. We will hopefully be back in the future.

Had a great time here - our second visit- as with a lot of properties more maintenance would be good.

The dishwasher filter wasn’t clean so we cleaned it - the drain cover in one of showers was dirty so we cleaned that - the washer wasn’t emptying so we had to get someone out to repair it. The property is in a great location and is a good size for our group so am sure we will be back one day but it’s the little things that matter sometimes.

The house needs some more TLC?

Looking worn and tired. Mould in the showers needs sorting out. The door from the down stairs toilet into the utility room needs looking at. The Yale lock self locked when the door shut, with the dogs locked in on the wrong side of the door. Not great! It took some getting in, via the key box key eventually. The bar b q is not fit to be used, so either take it away and remove from the listing or replace it please. We are repeat bookers as we love the house and its position, it just needs some more loving!

Loved Portland.

The standard of the accommodation is great and the location in the village is outstanding - midway between the pubs and Beadnell Bay. In addition there's a great little beach a couple of hundred metres away with a gently sloping beach leading to a natural swimming spot protected by rocks. The ground floor open plan space is ideal for a large family to gather in the evenings and the bedrooms were all clean and spacious with marvellous views. There is limited parking in the driveway, but directly across the road is a grass verge where you can leave any cars that don't fit. The kitchen had everything you needed for a week and there is plenty of fridge and freezer space for your supplies. We'll certainly look to book this property again - loved it.

Excellent property overall - just a couple of comments (1) the patio doors so not lock/close from inside and requires maintenance (2) don’t provide empty shower gel/shampoo containers in the shower rooms - either leave them full or remove

Great property for our family get together.

Had everything we needed, the only thing missing was a cheese grater. The only other issue was the limited number of toilet rolls provided. One per toilet for eight people seems a little short. The house was well proportioned with lots of space and the enclosed garden was a bonus. All the bedrooms were furnished to a good standard although the mattress in the bedroom with the balcony needs replacing.

The property’s location is very good.

The kitchen is well equipped. The living and dining areas are comfortable - the sofas could do with clean and spruce up. Arrived at the property not aware that the hot water had been switched off and the water was stone cold. Only found this out when we went to run a bath for the children. I’m all for energy saving but a notice (a bit more apparent than the section in the house information folder) would have been appreciated. The driveway is very small and suitable for one car only. You can park on the grass verge opposite the property, however that might get tricky in peak season as people visiting the area to walk on the beach park there too. There is a notice telling guests to ensure their vehicle parked on the drive is not obstructing the bins early on Weds morning so that they can be emptied and threatening a significant charge. We complied, only for bin not to be emptied anyway! Bedrooms well presented, however the bed in the room with the veranda was the most uncomfortable bed we have ever slept on in holiday accommodation. We reported this, but never received a response from Sykes. The shower in the room with the bath did not produce any hot water at all, so those in our party sleeping in that room had to use the shower in the twin bedroom. Toilet in same room moved when sat on. The garden is pleasant and sunny - a washing line would have been helpful and would have saved energy by not using the tumble dryer. We requested a stair gate but were told there was not one available. When we got to the property there was one in the upstairs cupboard but couldn’t be used as some of the fixings were missing. We requested that the travel cot was put up in the twin room but when we arrived we had to search and find it in a cupboard. We requested a high chair - we found that in the utility covered in dust so it needed cleaning before use. Wi-Fi was good. So overall my view is that you are paying a premium price for the location but property needs some tlc. Don’t get me wrong, our party was mainly comfortable and we had a lovely holiday but just felt the whole overall experience was a bit below par.

The showers were not particularly good.

Difficult to moderate temperature and not powerful.

Hi I emailed you on Sat and Sun to report issues and I asked for a call yesterday - I have heard nothing back.

The property is fab and a great location but there are some real issues: 1. Hole in top floor shower pipe; makes shower unusable 2. The flush in 2 of 3 middle floor bathrooms does not work - the stench was horrific 3. Cupboards in kitch are very dirty and untidy; we had to was everything before use. 4. Very difficult to lock front door and patio door. The property is not as advertised and in desperate need of some TLC. I have requested a call back and answer to emails I sent over the weekend. Thanks Claire

Fantastic house, lovely and warm, clean, plenty of utensils and crockery.

Also loads of stuff that could be used in the shed too. Wonderful stay and will come back.

The heating was off when we arrived and it was -5 outside so the first night was uncomfortable.

Also, there seems to be too few radiators in the living area to keep the room warm so we had to ask for some plug in heaters to get the house warm although Sykes were very responsive and sorted them out the following day. Also we could not get the Freeview working on any of the TVs. Apart from this we enjoyed the house and stay.

On arrival there were no spare dustbin bags, no soap, no dishwasher tabs, no scouring pads for washing up (despite the request not to use the dishwasher for glasses).

Also there were confectionery wrappers under one of the twin beds, the shower heads were filthy with grime, the mat under the window in first floor bedroom with the balcony was soaking wet, the freeview channels were unavailable and we used our own logins for cable. In addition, it was wet weather and every time the back door was opened it resulted in a pool of water on the kitchen floor. The bin store needs the upper bolt reinforced,as in strong winds it is not strong enough to prevent the doors bursting open. The access to the utility room is problematic as the lock is stiff due to the door being tight in the frame; opening the door requires some strength to pull the door towards you to ease the pressure on the yale lock to allow it to turn. The broken latch fitting on the door would suggest that this has been a long-standing issue. There are weeds growing up through the astro turf, which needs attention.

A really great property in a great location.

Lovely space and fantastic that all rooms have access to their own En-Suite. The property was let down slightly in a few areas as follows :- - on arrival there was no toilet roll in the top floor bathroom and the windowsill in that room was visibly dusty and sandy. - the welcome pack was very basic. We have stayed in a number of similar properties and have had some milk, coffee, tea, biscuits and a bottle of wine. Whilst the biscuits were nice a pint of milk and some coffee for the machines would have been welcome. - Mugs - the property is well equipped with most items - plenty of wine glasses, plates, cutlery but only 8 mugs that we were forever having to wash up. Adding another 4 or 6 mugs would make a great difference! Overall we loved the property and will certainly look at booking again as the space was great for the family, location good, views lovely and beds comfortable.

Really lovely house in a fab location - easy to walk to the wonderful beach and nearby restaurants (we particularly liked Beadnell Kitchen and The Landing).

The house was very comfortable and tastefully furnished. Our only gripe was that when we arrived at 7pm after a 7 hour journey there wasn’t a single toilet roll in the house so we had to drive straight out to the next village (Seahouses) to find some. Apparently it was an oversight (but an annoying one for us). We also encountered a leaking shower (down through the kitchen ceiling) as the sealant around the edge of the bath had perished. The rest of the house was in excellent condition. The information says parking for 2 small cars on the driveway. One of these would have to be a REALLY small car in order to fit two on the driveway!

Had a great time - love this cottage and we will definitely be back!

An excellent property perfect for the bigger family break.

We would definitely stay again. Proximity to the beach is fantastic Biggest issue is the number of people who look into the house as they walk past, I think the advertising of the holiday home on the outside promotes this. It got a bit tiresome in the end with one couple actually looking stopping and pointing things out in the house, whilst we were eating lunch.

Fantastic house, with all the amenities to make our stay comfortable and enjoyable.

The property was spotless.

It was so well equipped inside - everything you could possibly need. The shed was packed with an amazing range for an outing to the beach. We loved it.

Excellent location and very well equipped.

Perfect for all of the family from 18 months to 60+......

This is an exceptionally well furnished house with huge, comfortable beds and well stocked kitchen.

Everything needed for a great seaside holiday. We have booked this property for next year too. Loved it!