16 Bolt Head

Small point: could not get the radio to work.

The new ornaments are not to our taste but never mind! I hope the property gets a good clean at the end and beginning of the season. Otherwise, it works very well for us!

Winkle Cottage is a lovely setting.

Parking for no16 is for a small city car. We arrived in our BMW estate and parked it in any vacant space as it was a nightmare trying to park it on the slope as it sloped lengthways aswell as widthways which made it hard to get out as the door wouldn't stay open due to the angle of the slope. Luckily there wasn't many people staying at Bolt Head the week we were there so had a few spaces to use. The lanes leading down to North and South sands are narrow but manageable. Shame that South sands has no parking...not good if you have paddle boards or surf boards to use. We parked and used North sands but it got very busy. Winkle Cottage itself is lovely but needs a little maintenance doing. The spot lights in the lounge flickered so sat with lamps on. Some were loose in the ceiling and need sorting. Some guests have burnt the frying pans and need replacing.....we found some cobwebs around the cottage but mainly it was a dust issue in the double bedroom...the skirting boards beside the bedside tables was bad and the lampshade on main light needed dusting aswell as the same lampshade in the twin room. Apart from those little niggles the cleanliness was great. Sofas could do with updating....not over comfortable.

The property was as it looked online however it was not clean at all.

We had driven almost 10 hours to get to the house and upon arrival realised we would need to spend out first hour on holiday cleaning the house. All of the freezer drawers were filled with crumbs, there were balls of hair everywhere behind the doors and generally I just dont feel it had been properly cleaned. I reported this to the Syke Cottages however never received any response. The pillows in the bedrooms desperately need replaced too - I am not 100% sure they still constitute as pillows anymore they are so slim. They also dont provide the bare minimum toiletries most people have become used to having when renting something like this. Just a simple shampoo and conditioner is all most people expect but there is nothing at all. The above sounds terrible, and we actually had a really nice time and the house was generally fine but I would rather give an honest opinion so you know to bring your own pillow, and hopefully so the agent who is letting this house can sort out their cleaning team.

We enjoyed out repeat stay here as always and appreciated the card, gift and refund for coming a day late so the moths could be dealt with!

It is a comfortable place with enough room for all of us. We again enjoyed the new smart TV! The main issue is the lack of recycling facilities. Bolt Head Ltd said this was because the council insisted on everyone having four bins. So I have written to the council asking if they could change this to allow a sensible number of bins for the complex. Otherwise, I had to take our recycling to the recycling litter bins at the beach. I also spent some time liaising with Alan Sykes trying to get the EV chargers to work which eventually we did!

Really enjoyed our stay, very comfortable for 4 adults although the single beds are a little on the soft side.

The parking space however is ridiculous and I am surprised if you have not had complaints regarding damage to vehicles. The description of this parking space in the property description glosses over how bad it actually is. It is a narrow space with a wall one one side and if you choose to drive into the space as you reverse your front wheels are off the ground therefore u have very little control to avoid the wall.

There were no trash bags, The single beds were too soft causing back pain.

The heater in the living room was not working. The shower head tubes in both showers leaked. The first two days there was not twenty four hour hot water as promised by Sykes. Black mould growing in the en suite shower. The location was amazing with lovely views and access to South Sands.

16 Bolt Head (Winkle Cottage) is in an excellent location, only 100 yards or so from the beach at South Sands, a slightly longer walk uphill to Overbeck Gardens (beautiful) and on the doorstep of the westward coastal path.

The roads accessing this property are very narrow, steep and winding. This entails much jousting with oncoming traffic and pedestrians. Needless to say once the car was parked, that’s where it stayed. If you don’t wish to cook then South Sands beach has the South Sands Hotel, Harbour Beach Club Hotel (both pricey) and Bo’s Beach café (better value). A further pleasant walk to North Sands beach will get you to The Winking Prawn which is well worth visiting for food or coffee. We preferred this. Salcombe itself is a brisk 35 minute walk away. Within the complex there is a lovely viewing point with a seat only 30 yards from the house. The property is good holiday accommodation and I would certainly use it again simply for the location. The kitchen is well stocked with utensils, the lounge/dining area was comfortable as were the bedrooms. The en-suite is large and very convenient, while the bathroom felt a little cramped, but adequate. The outdoor area is located in a courtyard (with some greenery), but is not secluded. There is a footpath at the end of the patio area which other residents use to access the rear car park. Storage space in the main bedroom is good, though a few more hangers would not go amiss. In the second bedroom it is inadequate for two adults but is probably enough for two children. In the third bedroom – what storage? The worst part of the experience was the “allocated” parking space. The description warns that it is sloping back to front but what it doesn’t say is that it also slopes down very much at one front corner i.e. tilted (which makes parking trickier) and the bay is very narrow with a low wall on one side. Had there been a vehicle in bay 17 then I would not have been able to exit the car once parked. Also my wing mirrors would have fouled the wall had I not spotted this and closed them before entering the bay. The only solution is to find a parking slot for an empty property and hope no-one else turns up. I have few other adverse comments, none of which spoiled our stay. I imagine that the owners are aware that there are problems with the extractor fans, because these were turned off at the isolating switches. The ensuite fan doesn’t function when the isolator is turned on, while turning on the bathroom fan results in a terrible smell akin to that of a refuse vehicle – only ten times worse. The owners need to sort out who is responsible for emptying the vacuum cleaner. Like good clients we cleaned the property at the end of our stay, as requested. The vacuum cleaner (a good one) was very ineffective and smelled. On opening it I discovered that the bag hadn’t been emptied for months, possibly years. It was so full it looked pregnant. There were no replacements bags so I proceeded to empty it through the tiny hole. This took a good 30 minutes because in addition to much dust, the contents were mainly hair and fibres, all of which had to be pulled out. The cleaner worked well after this attention. Owners please note – reduced rental for me next time!! Finally, the instructions, while comprehensive and clear are somewhat out of date. For example, clients are asked to strip beds and to place bedding and towels in the red bag provided and also (elsewhere in the instructions) in the black bags provided. There were no bags provided. We just bunged them in the bath! I had better re-emphasize “It is a good place to stay”.

Just finished our 2nd visit in 2 years and another great holiday.

This is a comfortable property and we have enjoyed staying here over the years.

We liked the new TV and watched lots of Wimbledon! Thanks for replacing the kettle and tea strainer so quickly. We will be back!

Nice location - shame we couldn’t see the sea!

Facilities and furnishings pretty basic Very rainy when we stayed - not much to do in the house eg only one tv which was very old and limited channels (none in bedroom) no media entertainment for kids, a simple board game. Heating and hot water didn’t work - no information folder about how to get it to work - so we went without for 2 days! Coast and country acted pretty quickly when we did contact them- so better after that. Shame there was only one double bed. Parking space on a hill not accessible for a big car so luckily we used next doors:) All in all it was ok and in the summer a great location near to the beach.

We have stayed in the house several times as it is pleasant and in a good spot (nostalgic for us) but the same problems persist.

There is a problem with hot water, not hot in the morning and having to rely on the booster. Certainly insufficient hot water when 5 people stay. The bedding is tired and thread bare and needs replacing. Oven utensils need replacing. This time all the upstairs lights fused and the fuse box was not apparent. The parking space is unusable due to the severe slope. We will not stay in the property again until the issues have been corrected. On the plus side, the property was cleaner than in the past and C&C staff were courteous and helpful.

The holiday property was outstanding but the parking slot for no16 let the property down as I couldn’t get my car on the space.

It would help if it was made clear how difficult a road it is to Bolthead.

Also the parking space is appalling the camber on the space is so severe that it is very difficult to park . We were very fortunate that the neighbouring property had two spaces and let us use one of theirs. When someone has a large car trying to get in the space the camber causes your car to go on three wheels., which was dangerous and worrying.

Much better to be able to speak to the Salcombe team instead of a call centre somewhere else.

Appreciated quick response of a plumber to sort out the dishwasher and shower. Generally clean but the carpet was full of sand.

The house is large, bright and well appointed, bathrooms are a very good standard.

A downside was the night storage heaters which aren’t easy to understand so the house was cold on occasions. There didn’t appear to be any instructions. The allocated parking space for 16 was impossible to use for our car which is low to the ground. It is constructed on such an angle and a dip that we scraped the front of the car. Luckily the apartment complex wasn’t busy so we used someone else’s space and left a note. The house is a brisk 45 minutes walk from Salcombe up and down some very steep hills which was fine for us but not suitable if you’re unable to do this. It’s very well positioned for the lovely coastal path walks, again very hilly. Ps, although mentioned in previous reviews, there is still no bottle opener/corkscrew

The cottage was very comfortable, well furnished and attractive paintings and ornaments .

It was in a good location with parking.The only thing missing was a corkscrew and instructions on the night storage heaters.

Overall standard of accommodation and excellent location.

Very quiet and peaceful with easy access to coastal path and beaches

A very comfortable house with excellent facilities.

As in previous years, a very enjoyable stay.

We were concerned to find the property had been booked for our usual dates (which are earlier than the ones we booked this year) before we even arrived for our holiday this year.

Lovely very well appointed

A lovely property! We loved our stay.

Nice spacious and clean property. The parking lot allocated is on a steep slope and adjacent to a wall. It is physically impossible for a SUV to fit in the space. I just used another space without any problems. Building work is ongoing on a property nearby whilst there is planning application pending for an adjacent propert. With this in mind and the renovation of a hotel at South Sands in 2016 I expect a lot of construction traffic on the narrow roads next year.

Excellent location, comfortable and well-equipped property overlooking South Sands and situated on the South-West Coast Path. Just a minor niggle - information on the water hearing and other facilities could have been presented more accessibly to avoid a trawl through files and manuals.

We will certainly be staying here again,it was just perfect ,everything we needed to make it a perfect holiday.

Ideal location, spacious apartment - no complaints at all. Would have been Excellent with a slight Tech upgrade (eg Broadband, an HDMI/USB input on the TV, remote for the DVD player)!

Accommodation exceeded expectations

Very disappointed with the parking very steep and limited area to open doors.

What a fabulous apartment and location location location Wow !

We have not visited yet so cannot comment.

Oh this property was a real find and it feels like a second home - only wish it was! It is just below our friends family home and we have the perfect family holidays there.