“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”.
- Christopher, September 2023