Apple Tree Cottage

Beautiful old, thatched cottage in a gorgeous part of the world. However, too many other existing and previously reported significant problems mean we would not recommend staying here its up for sale so the owners are clearly not investing for commercial rental. The hot tub wasnt clean and so unsafe and the owner hadn't provided the products to remedy it so we stopped using it. All the cottage information made it clear you must test after every use and adjust the water, so they know this is important but arent putting measures in place to keep it safe. Both upstairs showers were broken so six of us had to use one shower downstairs with low water pressure. Its not five star in appearance. Probably a lovely family home once but for commercial rental, it needs a more neutral decor. One bedroom still has seemingly a childs name decal on the wall. Some areas are a bit mouldy, the downstairs bedroom smells musty. Theres a mish mash of old furniture, the sofa in the kitchen feels like it will soon sag right to the floor. The owner, via Sykes, reassured us in advance all the issues we were concerned about had been fixed and we were told to contact the owner during our stay if we needed anything. The emergency contacts in the welcome booklet have been cut out, which is a very poor experience. Ironically, all the rules and threats of being charged if you dont look after the place are still in tact. When we did get hold of the owner via Sykes there was some confusion over who is responsible and we got passed around. They were apologetic and said they werent local so couldnt come and help with the hot tub. They promised a plumber who didnt arrive until Weds, after calling on Sunday. He said the showers were an ongoing issue and let slip the family lived on the same plot of land. All in all, too many faults, completely missold as a five star property and customer experience dire. Apologetic texts and offers of a discount which didnt materialise dont make up for everything else.

This is the worst holiday house I have ever, ever stayed in. House has walls with holes in, mould and dirty everywhere, cobwebs, downstairs toilet is not screwed to the floor so moves and could crush a child. Main shower room out of action as screen door broken, shower broken in second bathroom. Garden really overgrown with weeds everywhere. Mattresses filthy with horrendous stains. Blinds don't work in the bedrooms. Hot tub broken with mechanism lying on the floor and a note how heavy the lid is and it needs two people to lift my husband hurt his back manually lifting the lid from the floor back up. Needs maintenance and TLC in every single room. Incredibly unloved holiday house and photos are so misleading. If I could have given this zero stars I would. We were due to stay for a week but left after 3 days. I cannot stress enough do not book this holiday, it absolutely spoiled what should have been a lovely family week, we were gutted.

The hearings did not work on the first day the house was freezing even after asked to turn the heatings on. The second day they went on from 5 till 10 however did not warm the house enough for anyone to be able to sleep comfortably. In the downstairs room, we did not have a heating therefore the room stayed freezing 247 as well as the front room upstairs the heating didnt turn on at all. Over the place is cute and wouldve been fully satisfied if we werent freezing.

Lovely cottage enjoyed hot tub and grateful fire was made up. Just missing a few tricks which would make it more 5 like having larger towels and king size beds in larger rooms. Aga took ages to cook anything but could have been user error!

Amazing. Lovely people looking forward to staying again.

Beautiful cottage. Wonderful stay. Location was great for sightseeing and relaxing.

Apple Tree Cottage is an attractive Grade 2 listed farmhouse in a peaceful location just outside the lovely village of Tarrant Monkton. It is well equipped with everything we needed to cater for our family gathering of up to 11 on one night. Despite some reviews to the contrary, we found the house clean and tidy when we arrived. The garden is mainly a large lawn, good for the children, with benches and tables for eating outside and our competitive card games. The kitchen is central to a family gathering and this one was ideal for family meals and we soon got used to using the Aga oven. At least two of us did!! We were lucky with the weather, enabling us to stroll through the village to the Langton Arms and spend time in their large garden. They have a good selection of beers etc. Be aware though that it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The restaurant is excellent though a little pricey, but worth it for good food and friendly service. The friendly owners Martin & Sam made themselves know to us and being nearby were available should there have been any problems. Overall, this was a great place to stay, if you enjoy peace and quiet, with a friendly pub nearby and plenty of walks to explore the countryside.

It is with considerable disappointment that I write this review as previous five star bookings via Sykes have always been up to scratch and as described! Alas, this one was not! The house itself from the outside looks beautiful and is in a lovely area with a very nice nearby pub. However, the description on the Sykes website is not remotely like the house or its garden. The garden website pictures show a well manicured lawn and trimmed plant life in reality it is overgrown with many weeds and thorns keep an eye on your little ones! There is also a hidden cesspit which our little ones found on day one with rods exposed. Wasn't long before we got the 'wiff' of the contents. It was not adequately protected and children could have fallen through the wooden slats. We had to overturn one of the garden benches to cover it. Also had a visit from cesspit emptiers during the week Owner did apologise for this. Outside garden furniture was very rusty and unwelcoming wouldn't want to sit on them for long. Inside the house oh my goodness where do I start? The Aga we weren't bothered about waiting for it to warm up well one of the ovens anyway the bottom one never got to any reasonable temperature useless and filthy! Along with some of the frying pans disgusting! The kitchen tap wobbly and rotting in its wooden work surface. Kitchen equipment lordy, lordy so much of it cupboards were over full less is more in these circumstances and everything was so dirty had to wash it before using it. No suitable tumblers for children only lots of glasses which the younger children dropped so dangerous! Tumble Dryer yes it did explain in the welcome book how to work this faulty piece of equipment definitely not a child lock though just faulty! Cycle programme did not work either took all evening to dry a few towels. Downstairs loo wobbled when you sat on it and not because any of us were overweight! Beds awful mattresses were awful had to find some spare quilts to pad two of them out. Light fittings throughout the house were shoddy in some cases broken and hanging off and that's in addition to the drawers that had detachable handles ones that just come off in your hands when you try to open the drawers in other words broken! Hanging bathroom light that had been tied up so that any short person could not reach it particularly a joke in the middle of the night when you are trying to find it to turn it on so you can see where the loo is. Shower water regulator was without the required attachment to turn it from hot to cold didn't find this out until I had burnt myself trying to figure out how what was missing! And the heated water three showers and a bit of washing up and the tank was empty did not get any more hot water until much later in the afternoon. Good job we were out all day! We also noticed rat droppings around the edge of a loft hatch downstairs that had fallen onto the floor overnight. Toilets did not flush very well. The dishwasher worked well very clean just a shame you had to use a knife to prise it open to get the crockery in and out! The pictures on the website show a lovely house with considerable brightness inside lovely bright rooms this is not the case the rooms are all dark and dismal. Must have used good quality lighting when photographs were taken. We did manage to get 'Netflix' to work on the TV! Kids were happy with that. What a dreadful shame this property could have been beautiful but has been left to deteriorate and is not maintained as you would expect for a five star 'Sykes' rated property! You could see its potential and what could have been! I shall be very wary in future when judging a property by its photographs and minimal reviews

Lovely cottage and garden, great for families holidaying together. Only couple of negatives, small double bed in downstairs bedroom, 4foot bed really not comfortable for two adults which meant one of our family had to sleep on sofa bed in snug, not ideal. Broken door on tumble dryer which had to be wedged shut before it would work, just replace it!!

As our party consisted of three adult couples our main criteria for booking this cottage was the 3 double, ensuite rooms as described on your website. The three bedrooms on the first floor were OK however the downstairs bedrooms was described as 1 x Groundfloor double, Ground floor family room with 1 x double, 1 x twin and shower room with shower, WC and hand basin. In reality the 'family' room did not have 1x double or 1x twin but a sofa bed not made up and another sofa sofa bed? with insufficient room to put either of these up. As a result of this one couple did not have an ensuite room as expected. Regarding the description for 'Fuel, power and starter pack inc. in rent', no starter pack was provided. Additionally the property was not as clean as we would have expected especially at this time of Covid19 conditions. In particular a number of cooking pans and trays were found in the cupboards in a used but unwashed state. One thing to note regarding the hot tub, the steps for the hot tub are unstable and extremely slippery due to plastic, gripless material. One of our party did actually fall when getting out. The outside space and the location was very nice and the local pub and butchery was great. We trust that your room description will be reviewed to avoid future disappointments and the owners advised of our comments.

Amazing place, lovely owner and beautiful area.

Lovely place. Excellent location.

The overall appearance of the cottage was good, nice secluded garden and lovely hot tub, the house is beautiful. There were adequate white goods for a comfortable stay and it was clean and has lots of bathrooms, lots of cutlery, plates, baking trays etc. A few basics for cooking in the cupboard which was good. Sam and Martin text me on the night before and were very approachable if you need anything. However the bad points The AGA converted to electric was a real pain to use as the only form of cooking Apart from microwave and bbq. The radio didn't work and there was poor tech facilities, if you are going and expecting to dance around the kitchen with your kids take a bluetooth speaker, I wish we had. The TV is not a smart TV so no logging into Amazon Prime or Netflix, maybe we could have used a laptop and an hdmi cable if I knew I would have taken ours. No recycle bin available. Draw handles falling off drawers, broken windows etc. a little shabby for a five star. We did enjoy the hot tub and as the weather was so hot the week we went, we took a paddling pool for the kiddos and used the hose to fillup. There were no kitchen scales and Sam and Martin were quick to supply some which was fab. The local area was very nice and can recommend the Indian restaurant turned takeaway in Blandford next to The Crown Hotel. Overall a good stay.

Weve just had a fabulous weekend at Apple Tree Cottage . The house is very cosy and well presented. We made use of the log burner and all loved the hot tub . The Monkton Arms is also worth a visit for its amazing food . We look forward to visiting again in the future .

The cottage was well kept, very spacious and easy to get around, this was especially important as we had a disabled guest in a wheelchair, this posed no problem and the downstairs toilet was accessible in the wheelchair.

We booked Apple Tree cottage as a group of friends for a weekend escape and it was absolutely perfect. Very clean, comfy beds, a log burner ready to use with what turned out to be enough fuel for the whole wintery weekend. The owner is on hand to answer any queries. Hot tub was fab and there is a lovely pub within short walking distance. Definitely recommend.

Lovely cottage in a peaceful location. Owner was very helpful throughout our stay. Only a short walk to the local pub with a great childrens play garden.

Location and picturesque cottages, which has all amenities required for a relaxing break

It was a beautiful cottage in a lovely English village. Everything was lovely but being such an old property there were many cobwebs and spiders. However it was very comfortable and the garden was superb with a lovely big hot tub. We really did have a fantastic weekend thank you.

It was a beautiful house in the country side. The owners live close to the house and where very helpful. We loved staying there and would highly recommend this house.

Lovely house and lovely location, we had a fantastic weekend. Thank you!

Owners very helpful, flexible and responsive, great outdoor space

This cottage was incredible and perfect for a weekend away with a large group. The photos on the website were incredibly accurate and the owner of the cottage was incredibly friendly and useful. Not too far away from the coast or other areas in Dorset Poole, Swanage, Wareham where there were activities during the day. The cooking facilities were excellent and easy to use. The hot tub was great, although would probably need to be cleaned more regularly if staying for a long period of time. I would definitely recommend this cottage and would stay again.