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Bolthole Retreats is a boutique holiday letting agency specialising in unique and remarkable holiday homes throughout the Cotswolds, Forest of Dean and Herefordshire in the UK.
Reviews 378
Mrs Wendy Garrett
Oct 07,2024Absolutely loved the stay at HillView. All the little details were thought of. Loved the hot tub. Highly recommended.
Steve Addison
Oct 01,2024Located in a beautiful Cotswold village. A delight to return to each evening after a days exploring. The cottage is well presented, clean and beautifully decorated. A thoughtful welcome pack and lovely garden which would be great to sit in on warm days.
Mr Andrew Seale
Sep 30,2024Wonderful stay on the Cotswolds perfect for old college friends reunion
Mrs P
Sep 29,2024Excellent position - only minutes walk to the village centre. Beds lovely and comfy and kitchen well stocked with kitcheney bits. Ensuite great for my elderly father however I found the temperature of the water either scalding or cold. Possibly I wasn't hitting the right spot! Other shower and bathroom downstairs which is a bit of a pain, but not a reason to not use this house. Lovely lounge and nice outdoor area.
rebecca winship
Sep 27,2024Well presented and clean cottage in a lovely setting close to Winchcombe. Surrounded by beautiful countryside and walks, the cottage is a perfect place to stay.
Julie King
Sep 24,2024While the village and local pub were highlights, the accommodation itself fell short in several areas. Positives: • Location: The cottage is in a lovely village with a great pub nearby, offering good food, local ale, and friendly service. • Kitchen: Well-equipped and decent, making it functional for meal preparation. Negatives: • General Condition: The cottage is clean but tired in places, with draughty windows and a need for a fresh coat of paint. • Comfort: The accommodation is not the most functional or comfortable, with issues like a small living room, squashed furniture, and an overall lack of comfort. • Bedrooms: • First-floor bedrooms have wardrobes filled with household items, making it difficult to hang clothes. • The bed placement next to a noisy airing cupboard is problematic for light sleepers. • The top-floor bedroom is not very functional and might serve better as a luxurious bathroom. • Bathroom: Small, not ideal for more than two people. Issues include mould around the shower screen, a small shower head, and a slow-filling bath. The space is not very relaxing or functional. • Other Issues: • No pillow protectors, which is off-putting. • No logs provided for the fire. • The information guide is falling apart, with minimal details about the area. Overall Impression: Despite enjoying the area, the cottage itself didn’t meet our expectations, especially when compared to other accommodations in a similar price range. While it served its purpose, we wouldn’t particularly recommend it for others.
Jane Eden
Sep 21,2024The cottage was well equipped and clean .loved having an outside sitting area although disappointed about the amount of weeds in the gravel.
Patrice Gale
Sep 21,2024Lovely midweek break. Upper Court Lodge at Kentchurch was absolutely beautiful and comfortable. A superbly renovated home with everything that was needed for our stay. The grounds and gardens of Kentchurch are truly amazing, it was great to have all that just outside the lodge. There are some good walks and good pubs in the area as well, lots to see so we would definitely like go back for another visit.
Mr Ramsey
Sep 20,2024Overall, disappointing for the money. 3 nights at £500 I expected a better experience in terms of:- kitchen equipment eg a washing up kit and tongs/non stick frying pan/potato masher, working fixtures and fittings including lamps, finesse of interior decor - less black mould and bubbling paintwork, broken window clasps or windows that don’t open and broken glass, door knobs that stay on the door, wifi that works as advertised, and overall better presentment. Felt like a commercial venture and not an actual home like an Airbnb. Why have a dishwasher and no washing machine? Check in at 4 and out at 10 is a little mean/outdated now. Poor, could have done way better, sorry!
Alex Worthington
Sep 20,2024A most beautiful cottage finished & decorated to a very high standard. We had good weather so really appreciated the various rear garden seating options. Ebrington is a very quiet village with a gorgeous friendly pub which serves delicious food. We are definitely returning to this perfect cottage next spring.
Cheryl Phillips
Sep 20,2024I used Bolthole Retreats to find a large house in the Cotswolds for a holiday with my family this summer. There were a number of problems with the house including a broken fridge and no pool heating amongst other issues which the hosts did not remedy. I was asked to review my stay by Bolthole Retreats, so I gave a truthful review which on the whole was negative as I didn’t want other people to rent this property and have the same experience. For the cost of the rental (nearly £12000 for the week) we experienced a very poor service. My review has never been published. I wrote to Bolthole retreats to ask why and received no reply. It seems obvious to me that the company did not want the only review for the property to be a negative one. It rather negates the whole point of people reviewing properties if they are going to cherry pick only the reviews they wish to be seen. As a result I would not use this company again as I would not be able to trust the quality of the properties which they offer nor that the reviews are a fair representation of peoples’ experiences. In response to your response I would like to say that the pool heating didn’t work throughout our stay despite me reporting this to the owner on the second day. Irrespective of whether I reported issues (for instance the lack of vacuum cleaner, and basic cleaning tools, a washing line or airers to dry washing) these are basics that should be supplied in a house of this quality. Further, although I was compensated for the loss of much of our food as the fridge was broken, the owner subsequently stated that the fridge was in full working order. It clearly wasn’t and did affect our stay negatively. She also did not respond to my complaint that the pool area was full of weeds and the fact that there were only 4 sun loungers and two chairs around the pool. For a house that sleeps 10, this is insufficient. I stand by my original review that certain aspects of this rental are not up to scratch. Regarding where the review is published I find your reply disingenuous. It was an email from Bolthole Retreats requesting a review which I replied to, irrespective of the company managing it. Further, there is a statement against this listing (Highgate House) on Bolthole Retreats website which invites people to be the first to review it. I have, yet you choose to not publish it. It’s clear why you wouldn’t want to, so I continue to advise caution when considering properties you offer as the bad reviews are simply not published.
Geraldine Dougherty
Sep 17,2024Farthingdales is in an ideal location, near the beautiful church and just off the bustling main street with shops, cafes and pubs a plenty. The property is ideal in every way, couldn't fault it and would definitely go back. We had such a great time. We went to other Cotswold villages, but were glad we chose to stay in Burford. Everybody friendly too and great food with lots of choice. Burford itself is on a busy road, but being in a side road, we didn't notice it at all. So full of history and don't forget to wander down the side roads.
Conor McClafferty
Sep 17,2024Absolutely disgusting customer service. Booked to stay in one of their retreats. Completed the guest information for them to cancel a month and a half later leaving me in the lurch for trying to organise something else. Very bad customer service.
Alistair McCloud
Sep 16,2024We would strongly recommend that you do not make a booking with Bolthole Retreats. We booked a property back in July and whilst the house was in a perfect location it is very tired and in need of some redecoration. The house was very unclean on our arrival and Bolthole are of the view that it is acceptable for human hair to be left in the bedroom wardrobe and stuck to the internal doors. Plus food debris left on the work surface and dirty cupboards, cutlery, crockery, towels, grubby walls & paintwork and fifthly windows. Bolthole feel it was OK to not use up-to-date photographs of the property in their advertisement as it was not in the same condition or decorated to the same standard as advertised. They say that some of the rooms had been redecorated immediately prior to our arrival! They will tell you they are available to talk to you Monday to Friday (between 9am to 5pm) and the housekeeper is available 24/7 outside of this time. That was not the case for us and we did not receive a return phone call until the following day – by which time we had spent the evening before cleaning the property ourselves. We've noted that since our stay in July, other guests have posted reviews referring to noise of major external building works being undertaken on the property next door. Bolthole have denied knowledge that these were going on but we raised the issue with them back in July so there were on notice of same back then. Their answer to this is that as per the booking T&C’s they cannot be responsible for noise or disturbance which comes from beyond the boundaries of the Property, or which is beyond the Owner's control. But they fail to mention they were aware of the issue prior to the guests arriving after us, which we suggest shows a total lack of courtesy towards those subsequent visitors. Bolthole have tried to fob us off with a derisory offer to which reflects approx. 5% of the total cost we paid for our rental. But they were quick enough to take our money at the time of booking. They say they have acted fairly & reasonably to our complaint and have told us the matter is closed as far as they are concerned. We have never encountered such poor customer service before and would urge anyone who is thinking of booking with Bolthole to think twice before doing so. In our experience there are far better and more professionally run holiday companies than them. Mr A McCloud, North Yorkshire
Mr Christopher Wilkinson
Sep 13,2024I booked a property for myself and other family members to attend a family wedding. Unfortunately a primary wedding guest is seriously ill and the wedding has been brought forward by several weeks so the property is no longer required for the dates booked. Despite advising the company of the extenuating circumstances it has refused to refund the cost of the accommodation, nor shown any compassion or exercised any discretion.
Rhian
Sep 12,2024I wouldn't recommend staying at Arrow Lodge. We had no hot water for showers, the shower controls were mislabeled, and the property smelled damp. Although the company claimed they sent a plumber, an estate keeper from Ragley Hall explained that the shower was mislabeled, but the hot water issue persisted. We stayed only two nights and checked out early. As mentioned in previous reviews, the company's responses are often unprofessional and blame the customers, which only worsens their reputation. I advise against staying here, as the poor conditions and lack of customer service ruined our stay. Edit* Other complaints about the shower are on the Airbnb page for this property. Also, no professional visited the property to check the shower during my stay only an estate keeper from Ragley Hall? I would NEVER use this company again.
Steve Watson
Sep 10,2024Bolthole no responsive to issues after the stay. Many issues with the Landers non resolved
Mr. John Walker
Sep 09,2024Arrival and departure procedures were easy and stress-free. The House generally was clean, comfortable and well-appointed, especially the kitchen. Outside, the views were fantastic and Summer furniture excellent (including a gas-fired BBQ and hot tub). The enclosed garden was large and safe.
geoff barber
Sep 09,2024Had a wonderful stay at the shepherd hut Betty. Amazingly presented in immaculate condition without losing any of the charm. The situation is remote but still with in striking distance of a couple of pubs. If you want somewhere to recharge your batteries then this is the place.
Burlington House, Lypiatt Rd, GL502SY, Cheltenham, GB
http://boltholeretreats.co.uk
Sally Erickson
Oct 08,2024Absolutely beautiful property, plenty of room, quality finishes, lovely location - exactly as pictured. We would love to return next time our plans take us to the Cotswolds. Highly recommend Sage Cottage.