The Reading Room

22 Customer Reviews

• "Another relaxing week in this lovely comfortable and spacious cottage."

  Set in the heart of a beautiful village it is remarkably peaceful and whether the sun shines or not (it didn't much this week sadly) it's a great well equipped place to just chill or unwind, also well situated in lovely countryside with lots to see and do within easy reach.

  Reviewed by Lorraine5.0★Sep 2025

• "This property is not only tatty with unusable perished blinds in the bedrooms, ancient crockery which was wet and dirty when we arrived , chipped furniture throughout , but it is also dirty with heavily stained carpets and furnishings, stained duvets, cobwebs and unmopped floors."

  Curtains falling off the rails too. The shower head in the upstairs shower is dirty and there is mould on the tiles and the squeegee that we were meant use. The shower itself had no heat restrictor on it and the water was scalding unless the tap was turned towards the wall as far as possible. The fan was not initially until we contacted the owner about this. There is very little ventilation in this bathroom. You get the idea that this was not a home from home. The third bedroom was not as advertised as there were two single beds in there and it was very cramped and stuffy. The property is not secure as there are only turn keys for the front and side entrance and the French doors do not lock and are unlock able at the top bolt in particular. The fridge leaked water constantly and no one came to repair it. The amount of rubbish which was left outside was unreal. Full of maggots and slugs. Disgusting. The towels left for us to use were like cardboard and we only had one tea towel and no cleaning cloths when we arrived. No rubbish bags or recycling bags or instructions were given. Despite the notes in the cottage no milk or biscuits were provided and it is clear that the notes have not been reviewed fir a long time. No heat sensor in the kitchen or smoke alarm in the lounge. Towels and crockery were replaced at our request after a day or so. The rubbish was removed after 3 days of 4 day visit. Just in time to allow us to put our own rubbish out. . This is the worst of British hospitality. Avoid.

  We’re sorry to hear your experience did not meet expectations. We take all feedback seriously and aim to provide a comfortable and welcoming stay. That said, we feel it’s important to offer context around the concerns raised and steps taken during this booking: Crockery & Towels: Although the existing items were suitable for a holiday let of this standard, we swiftly replaced all crockery and towels upon request to ensure guest comfort. Cleanliness & Maintenance: Our housekeeper attended the property and confirmed that the fridge freezer was functioning correctly. The water on the floor appeared to result from the freezer door being left open. The kitchen floor was cleaned, and additional supplies were provided on request. Outdoor Cushions & Kitchen Seating: The cushions referenced were designated for outdoor use. Nonetheless, we provided replacements and additional padding for kitchen chairs, which are standard and have not previously received complaints. Safety & Security: The property complies with local safety regulations. We are reviewing the feedback regarding detectors and locks to ensure continued compliance and peace of mind for future guests. The shower is a standard shower which operates in the usual way. Waste Disposal: Guests are asked to follow local bin collection schedules. In this case, we arranged for a local contact to assist with waste removal, despite the bins being located out of sight and not typically a concern. Throughout the stay, we responded promptly to every request, including replacing items and arranging additional support. While we welcome constructive feedback, we also strive to maintain a respectful and balanced relationship with our guests. In this instance, the volume, tone, and nature of complaints were highly unusual and not reflective of the experience shared by others. We remain committed to providing a high standard of hospitality and thank all guests who engage with us in a spirit of mutual respect and understanding. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Terase1.3★Aug 2025

• "As others have said, this is a surprisingly spacious property, which didn't feel too small with 5 adults."

  Yes a little tired around the edges, and could have been cleaner, but it made for a comfortable stay. A few niggles though. Yes you have fencing propped over the gaps in the small back yard, but you'd still need to watch your dog, as they could quite easily get out if they wanted. The single room has no window, other than a small ground level one, so is very stuffy. It was pretty warm on our stay, but would have been unbearable in the heatwave. Also it would have been nice to have been left some milk and biscuits to go with the tea bags and coffee sachets. Oh and a dishcloth would have been appreciated, we had to wipe down surfaces with toilet roll the first night! Luckily the village shop is excellent. In fact the village setting was perfect, and there's a brilliant little enclosed orchard for safe dog walks just up the road which our dog loved!

  Reviewed by Sarah3.1★Jul 2025

• "A lovely village and the Reading Room is very central."

  Garden area is small but adequate. Rooms good sized. Would have liked firmer beds but this is individual preference. No problems parking in road outside.

  Reviewed by Michael3.8★Jul 2025

• "Lovely property with plenty of space ."

  Quite well equipped and very comfortable. The village is gorgeous with a lovely pub... there are many great eateries locally ... highly recommend Dinnington Docks .

  Reviewed by Toni4.4★Jun 2025

• "Lovely cottage in an amazing location."

  Hinton St George is a beautiful village, with a fantastic pub and friendly local shop. The cottage is a good size and very comfortable. It’s a bit outdated and slightly shabby in some areas (eg carpets and kitchen) and could have been cleaner. Our dog was very happy in the little garden and it was easy to make it secure for her to run around. Overall it’s really good value given its size and location.

  Reviewed by Marisa4.1★May 2025

• "Lovely house, good size, central village location Good utensils etc."

  Tea & coffee great but some very soggy looking sweets in biscuit barrel Clean but toilets could do with a bleach as a little grubby looking. Couple if blinds coming away. Warm, comfortable. Only real negative is although this is dog friendly it is NOT dog safe as they can get out of back to the front & main road as no gates.!!!

  Thank you for your feedback and we hope you enjoyed your stay. There is some fencing left in the back of the property which can be used to keep the area safe for dogs. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Helen3.8★Sep 2024

• "Others have commented that this is a “tardis”, they are right."

  This is a well-appointed cottage. It is very comfortable and well equipped. Google Maps suggests it is on the same side of the road as the pub. It isn’t - you’ll need to add another 8 steps to your journey time to get there, it probably adds up to 48 steps. Overall, it exceeded my expectations (which were high). A great place to relax and sit and think or in my case just sit. Outside space is limited but not a problem on our wet week. I’d stay again.

  Reviewed by Halina5.0★Sep 2024

• "This little house is like a tardis, from the outside it hardly seems possible to fit three bedrooms a living room and large kitchen diner with a bathroom and downstairs toilet and shower."

  There isn’t a lot of space outside on the footprint of the property and we readily made the back area of the property secure so our dog couldn’t escape, but the point is this cottage is in the heart of the most beautiful village in South Somerset, just a short drive from the coast and Levels. The village has a fabulous pub just down the road and the village itself is not on any sort of rat run so no passing traffic as can be demonstrated by the cats which sunbathe unharmed in the high street! It has a lovely community run shop and I can say categorically for the time of your stay you will feel fully immersed in village life. The house feels to us anyway like a home from home. The kitchen is well equipped, the living room furniture comfortable to sink into after a days activities. It is not a showhome, but that is for us anyway what makes it homely and relaxing. We have stayed here a number of times and in many properties in the area This property is hands down the best value holiday home in the area and the location is unbeatable. The host is delightful and can readily be contacted if necessary. I would recommend a stay here without hesitation.

  Reviewed by Bridget5.0★Jul 2024

• "The cottage is set in a beautiful picturesque and friendly village, and some of the accommodation is excellent."

  However it is not at all suitable for older people with mobility problems. From the listing it was not clear that the property was set over two floors, with all bedrooms upstairs. We would not have booked it had this been clear. The cleanliness of the property was not excellent - 4 sweet wrappers on the floor in the second bedroom and lots of stains on the carpet in the lounge. The information booklet is not up to date, including Netflix code that did not work. The sofas were also very low and we found them very uncomfortable. The garden is described as being secure, but this is not the case as it is open and you are able to walk all the way round the house, so not suitable for a dog, which was a pity as this made it unusable. The flooring in the bathroom is in need of repair where the tiles are badly cracked..

  Reviewed by Christina2.8★Jun 2024

• "Property was clean and welcoming."

  Well stocked kitchen utensils, crockery and cutlery. Would have preferred top sheets and maybe a blanket as I find duvets too hot. Garden on the very small side so not really suitable for dogs, although there was plenty of walking areas nearby. Some things listed like laundry bags were not actually there so left dirty sheets and towels by the washing machine. Also check out time differs from Sykes but this wasn't a major problem. Beautiful village location and the pub food was exceptional. Would stay again

  Reviewed by Jo4.7★May 2024

• "We enjoyed our stay at the Reading Room."

  It was a lovely place to spend the week. It felt like home from home, a short distance from all the beautiful seaside villages along the coast. We would definitely book again. Thank you.

  Reviewed by Maureen4.4★May 2024

• "We liked lots of things about the property."

  It was in a beautiful village, it was near a great pub and it was warm. On the negative side we didn't feel that the owners had gone out of their way to make visitors' holidays special. The information book said, "If anything is not perfect during your stay , please let me know and I will get it sorted for you..." We politely let the owner know that there were many cleaning issues including a filthy grill pan. She kept telling us how cross she was with the cleaners, but no-one came round to sort the issues. There were many other things including a wonky bed, a bed which squeaked with every movement and a six month old copy of the Daily Mail in the local information brochures. Guests need to feel that their visit is special. We just didn't

  Thank you very much for leaving your feedback. I have spoken to my cleaning team regarding the grill pan. We hope this didn't impact your stay too much. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Ruth3.8★Jan 2023

• "This is a superb cottage in a truly delightful village."

  The Reading Room is very comfortable, very well equipped with absolutley everything you may require for your stay. Large living room with comfortable seating, large screen intelligent TV, good wi-fi and nice gas effect wood burner. The kitchen is big with a 6 seater table in it, fully equipped with a range style cooker, beautiful crockery and even a Roberts radio. There are two bathrooms in the property that compliment the 3 large bedrooms. Linen and towels that are provided are again of high quality. The village of Hinton St George is a delight to stay in with all the locals we met being extremely helpful and polite. The village pub is amazing, the Lord Poulet Arms, where we ate there 3 times (the Sunday lunch was probably the best I have ever had anywhere in the world) The village shop is run by the village for the village and again is very special. My wife and I could not recommend both the Reading Room and village highly enough, both are 5 Star +. Book in for a week you will not regret it for a second. Big thank you to both the owners and Sykes.

  Reviewed by John5.0★Oct 2022

• "The Reading room is lovely and well, placed for going to new places."

  The furniture in the lounge should be moved when hoovering as we felt more comfortable with the sofa in a slightly different place and when we moved it there was quite a pile of dead flies and spiders underneath and caught up in the bottom of the floor length curtains. The toilet seat in the downstairs washroom needs to be replaced or repaired as it rocks when you sit down and is quite disconcerting. We did leave a note about the recycling, we feel that it could be better organised as we were unsure what went in what bin and what , in fact, could actually be recycled. We are fortunate enough to live in an area where 95% of items can be recycled and they all go in the same container!. We are a bit spoilt really! Overall the Reading Room is a delightful place to stay and the people of the village are remarkably friendly to visitors.

  Reviewed by David4.4★Oct 2022

• "Sorry such a late review."

  We had a fantastic time at the reading room. What a lovely property and a beautiful area. Sophie is a lovely host and very accommodating. We thoroughly recommend this property. Tracey & Simon

  Reviewed by Tracey5.0★Sep 2022

• "Excellent cottage very comfortable and peaceful a beautiful village lovely walks with our dog who throughly enjoyed it too only complaint was the bed was a bit soft otherwise it is the best accommodation we have stayed in kitchin well equipped everything you need definitely recommend and will return."

  Reviewed by Janine5.0★Sep 2022

• "We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and loved The Reading Room."

  It was a great size for two couples and a 13 year old. It was very well appointed with everything you could possibly need. The sitting room was very comfortable and our daughter enjoyed the big comfy armchair. The kitchen was an excellent size to cook and eat in. Very sociable. In the very hot weather we were able to get a lovely through breeze with lots of windows to open. We felt safe having the front door open when we were sitting around downstairs as well. The villagers were very friendly and appear to look after each other. The village shop provided lots of basics and treats for our stay. We ordered a newspaper and fresh croissants every day. The only excitement was the morning when sheep were found wondering through the village! We enjoyed evening walks around the village, everyone said hello. The gardener came during our stay and made the garden look very smart. It was very peaceful and we weren’t woken by noise on the street or from the pub. Very relaxing. We’d thoroughly recommend the property.

  Reviewed by Gillian4.4★Aug 2022

• "The cottage is high-level in almost all facilities and the village and surroundings are beautiful, we enjoyed it very much."

  One point to mention is that the cottage has three beds, this doesn’t work for a family of 5 and we had to improvise an extra bed. With one extra single bed, the cottage would be perfect for 5 as well as 3-4, which it is now.

  Reviewed by Ed4.4★Jul 2022

• "The cottage was very comfortable and clean,a real home from home,my only criticism would be the outside space which was in a poor condition and not inviting to sit out which we would have liked,with a bit of tidying up it could be a lovely little court yard area."

  Reviewed by Barbara4.7★Apr 2022

• "Beautiful home which is much larger than expected."

  Super clean and had all of the essentials that needed. The beds were very comfortable as were the sofa's and the circular chair was a favourite for all of us. Wonderful village setting with very lovely residents, and the hosts were very friendly when we met them. Would definitely recommend and we would hope to be back in the future!

  Reviewed by Victoria5.0★Mar 2022

• "Superb, well equipped cottage in a beautiful, friendly village."

  Every effort has been made to make a stay here enjoyable. Spotlessly clean and comfortable. There is a super gastro pub closeby that is well worth a visit, excellent food and service and a warm welcome is given to all. Lovely village shop which sells a good range of local and organic products. All in all a very relaxing stay.

  Reviewed by Lorraine5.0★Feb 2022

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