“We thoroughly enjoyed out time at Heron Cottage.”
It was nicely appointed and both my wife and I liked the 'upside down' layout. We were there during one of the hot spells this summer and there was a nice through draft upstairs for much of the time and the downstairs stayed pretty cool except for the warmest nights. The owner, Paul, also very kindly brought us a fan which helped with the warm nights.
The let was well placed for many tourist attractions being pretty much equidistant from Norwich and Gt Yarmouth, with immediate access to boat hire and the Broads, which we took advantage of. We also spent a lot of time at the beach with plenty to go for within 10-15 minutes drive. Lots of useful information provided by the owner and a nice welcome pack of biscuits and local fresh fruit juice
On a less positive note, and this is feedback for Sykes Cottages (and other agencies) as much as anything as it applies to plenty of other cottages. Sleep hygiene is an important factor for my wife and me, as I am sure it is with many other couples, but is rarely mentioned in cottage details when booking. Things like internal and external noise, the darkness of curtains and comfort of beds are crucial factors.
I am amazed that neither letting agencies nor most hotel chains address this - Premier Inns being a notable exception!
Heron Cottage was noisy - a busy main road was close by and the noise was constant, we got used to it, but it did mean we were not able to have the bedroom windows open at night, also the stairs creaked and the bathroom light switch was very loud. My wife is a very light sleeper and even with ear plugs she could hear me going upstairs early in the morning. Also the curtains were paper thin, we ended up ordering blackout curtains which will now be a standard part of our holiday packing. This did not spoil our enjoyment of the holiday, and is definitely an issue with many other cottages and we think it is something that could easily be addressed in the booking details - we did ask if it was quiet and were told it was - it certainly isn't!!
I am a little surprised by Mark's comments with regards to the noisy road and the stairs! Usually Heron gets very positive feedback and we have quite a few regularly returning guests. Reference to 'creaking stairs' is a first as is the noisy light switch and it is unfortunate that Mark's wife is such a light sleeper. The cottage description does make it clear that there is a road nearby but it is not directly adjacent to the property and there is a substantial, high hedge which screens it.
When I met Mark he was certainly relaxed and enjoying his daily newspaper with patio doors and windows open, clearly enjoying Norfolk and that is very pleasing indeed. Property Owner
