“A few years ago I would have rated this property as excellent.”
Unfortunately I feel it has been neglected by the owners. I did point our the state of the carpet into the main bedroom to your staff on handing back the keys as it was decidedly dirty. The floor tiles to the second bathroom are mainly cracked and broken. I feel the property needs redecorating. I felt a little disappointed with 8 Pottery it is a gorgeous place it needs a little love. As we entered the property from downstairs we were a little put off by the two large boards stored outside No 4 and the fact that the owners there had decided to discard there dirty shoes next to the board. We are dog lovers but the yappy little chap in the neighbouring apartment got a little tedious.
Dartmouth is definitely suffering due to the amount of second homes in the town we noticed a lot of the restaurants we used to frequent are gone and there are a lack of good ones. The speciality shops are slowing disappearing due to the enormous rents demanded by Dartmouth Council allowing big chains like Fat Face, Crew etc to take over. We did take a ferry trip from Dartmouth castle to Dartmouth and was bombarded by the Ferryman's opinion on how bad Dartmouth had become because of the effect the second homes are having on the town.
We visited Totnes during our stay and were truly shocked, there were numerous beggars on the main street, we actually saw one man sitting under the main archway under a slogan painted on the wall in large black letters. Again a lot of speciality shops are gone leaving shops selling cheap rubbish. We feel there is a huge drug problem in the town so we did not spend a lot of time there.
I have been coming to Dartmouth since I was a child I am afraid we have decided not to return.
We were very disappointed to read your review of 8 The Pottery and sorry that you did not contact us on arrival in order to give us the chance to try to rectify some of these issues during your stay (we can confirm, however, that the carpets are being professionally cleaned this week as a consequence of your feedback). This is a very popular property, independently rated at 4-Star Gold level by VisitEngland, and regularly receiving four or five star reviews from customers – however, we will certainly follow up your other concerns to ensure that the property continues to be well presented for our holiday guests going forward.
We were extremely surprised to receive your negative feedback about Dartmouth. The community and local businesses in Dartmouth continue to work hard to ensure that the town remains an extremely desirable place to visit and stay on holiday. Whilst some restaurants inevitably close down over time, other new ventures will open, and in our view there remains a fantastic array to choose from, including celebrity chef Mitch Tonks’ award-winning ‘Rockfish’ (family-friendly fish and chips) and elegant ‘The Seahorse’ (delicious seafood) and many, many more to suit all budgets and palates. Dartmouth still offers a wonderful array of independent art galleries as well as distinctive individual shops and boutiques alongside the larger (but still relatively small) chains such as ‘Fat Face’ and ‘Crew’ – our mostly locally-owned and managed businesses very much need customers to keep supporting them so they can indeed afford to pay their rents. It is unfortunate that you experienced just one individual ferryman’s view of the town (somewhat ironic when his own business depends equally on tourism and local businesses!) – most of us would give a much more positive view of our beautiful, historic and vibrant town in which are lucky to live and work!
Similarly, your comments about and opinions of Totnes do not tie in with our own and those of many very happy holiday guests who visit every year. Totnes is a lively and particularly friendly town, regularly featuring in ‘cool places to live’ type guides and boasting many individual cafes and restaurants which have great appeal to the thousands of visitors who flock there each year. Again, shops do come and go, as in towns across the country, but there remain numerous independent businesses, and indeed Totnes is known for resisting the influx of chains which fill other towns across the country. Sadly, drugs are a nationwide issue but South Devon is amongst one of the safest areas to live and visit, and it is hugely disappointing that you have raised the issue in this way on a property review. In summary, we are very sad to learn that you have decided not to return to Dartmouth.
If we can persuade you back at some point in the future please do contact us for suggestions of places to stay, along with ideas of where to eat and shop – we would be delighted to show you that South Devon, and specifically Dartmouth and Totnes, remains a fantastic place for a holiday or short break, all year round.
Andrew and Karen Jones (Directors)
Property Owner
