Rural Retreats Holidays

Have been using Rural Retreats for many years as the standard of properties are a high standard. If you have problems during your stay there is always someone to contact who will be on hand to help out. Have recently visited Suffolk and stayed in a beautiful cottage in amazing grounds and even had a swimming pool.

A mesmerising property. Isolated, surrounded by wildlife & a high spec cottage.

Stayed at Seven stones cottage at the lizard lighthouse, fantastic location, property very nice inside big. Nice and clean, welcome hamper brilliant. Let down by customer service calling for key code to gain access, house keeper never answers or returns messages for any of our queries. Information at lodge not great or very helpful. There are instruction manuals on a lot of the appliances but nothing for the towel rail which meant the heat was crazy hot like a sauna in one bathroom and we couldn't turn it down no matter what buttons we pressed on it. Solution is leave the bathroom door open.But had we wanted to fit a new shower head and rail the instructions were there for that :)Tv remote control didn't work and tv couldn't be manually controlled no physical buttons on it, rang rural retreats left message, no response rang them during the day they said they would get an all in one remote, house keeper bought it next day handed package for me to setup, after she left I opened it and of course no batteries grr. so another night without tv. Rang rural retreats again left message no response phoned again !after in the day they said they would sort it out. I asked if the house keeper could actually set up and configure the new remote they said they would , but next day house keeper came with yet another remote wrapped in box and a set of triple a batteries and I had to unpack it and read how to configure it and set it up. Not happy with this service 2 days without tv. Had the house keeper did more than just collect the remote from argos and hand it to me like a parcel courier delivering a parcel it could have been solved quicker.Plenty of spare light bulbs in the property with all kinds of bulbs, there is probably one for the light house!. but no batteries for remotes etc.There is no broadband / internet provided at the property the web site and welcome letter give you the impression it is, but it isn't very good and it's best endeavours. The truth is they don't provide any internet access/ no wifi.You need to use your mobile phone and data plan if you can get a signal, which is tough but there are some locations in the property where you can get it on vodafone. That should be made clearer as I was looking for a wifi hotspot and password in the welcome pack.The property inside and out is in good condition, the downstairs bedroom has some paint peeling on the wall but everywhere else is good.These are minor gripes really though, it is fantastic place to stay and lizard point is just a stones throw away from the lighthouse and has amazing views, have breakfast at the cafe over looking the sea it's fantastic.Oh one thing beaware of the yellow and red sweets in the saucer in the kitchen, they are not sweets they are ear phones!! Which I think are used not sure I nearly ate some as they are close to the welcome hamper. They need to label this.There are earphones in each of the bedrooms which are on each pillowed wrapped.

If you book a cottage with this company. Check all the details that are important for your stay around the facilities available before booking. Information in website not complete, plus no indications or transparent warnings about for example poor or no phone reception. Company does not take ownership nor help resolve issues unless you contact MD. Polite but poor customer service.Used to provide excellent service

A cautionary tale.In mid-2018 my family booked a large 6-bedroom self-catering property to enable all 15 of us to enjoy a week’s holiday in Norfolk in May 2020. We paid the deposit of £1,061 and were looking forward to our break together.Late this year (2019) and by sheer chance we discovered that the property was in fact on the market and alarm bells started to ring. We contacted Rural Retreats who admitted they knew the property was for sale but advised us the owners were simply “getting a feel for the market”. Shortly after we received advice that only holidays up until January 2020 could definitely be honoured and others later in the year would only be honoured if the property remained unsold.In October we were advised that the property had in fact been sold and our holiday booking was no longer valid. Our deposit was returned and we were effectively told “hard luck”.Further discussion with the company revealed that Rural Retreats have varying contract periods with property owners and although unable to comment on this particular property, contracts can often be terminated by owners with a 3 - 6 months notice period.I find it unacceptable that Rural Retreats can offer properties for rent and accept firm bookings including deposits without making it perfectly clear to customers that the booking contract isn't really worth the paper it's written on.The whole episode has caused a lot of anxiety, extra work and above all significant extra expenditure as a result of having to book alternative accommodation at relatively short notice. Had we been aware of the validity of the contract" between ourselves and Rural Retreats we would undoubtedly have made alternative arrangements far earlier.Rural Retreats produce a wonderful glossy brochure suggesting a premium service but our experience suggests otherwise. Our extended family certainly won't be using this company again."

Vanguard cottage is just fabulous, the cottage was pristine and we had a lovely welcome hamper. The location is just great if you want to get away from the crowds or just simply recharge.

Third time I’ve booked a holiday property via Rural Retreats. Simple booking pages with clear descriptions and accurate photos of property. Easy to make deposit payment and timely reminder when remaining balance due. Simple to ask questions about property or arrangements. Swift response when I’d mentioned a requirement on booking form. Very easy to book with and good contact with individual property housekeeper over key collection, arrival and departure arrangements, and the very good quality welcome hamper.

Fabulous! We stayed at Cedar Tree Shepherds hut last week for 4 nights and we loved it! Beautiful location and well situated for great pubs and lovely walks, including the one we did to the Bombay Sapphire distillery!The hut was immaculate and the hamper was lovely including a very nice bottle of wine! The family who own the farm were really friendly and the highlight for me was being lucky enough to watch the cow's being milked and to learn lots about dairy cattle, they were so gorgeous!Also we had gorgeous Jasper the horse happily grazing in the field in front of us. Came home feeling thoroughly relaxed.Will definitely return!

Had a wonderful week here at the beginning of January, with a large group of thirteen. Wonderful location and beautiful views. Lots of walking done, there is also a Sulpture Park and GoApe near by.Great fireplace, comfy cinema room, big kitchen with all the equipment needed.Would be great to visit in summer to take advantage of the outside space and swimming pool. Highly recommended.