“We found your description of the cottage location very misleading.”
Your whole description conjurs up an atmosphere of an idyllic, peaceful countryside setting, with phrases such as 'Set the heart of the village Conservation Area.' 'On a summer evening enjoy sitting and relaxing in the garden enjoying the summer sun.' 'The lovely Wey Valley Walks pass right by the back gate at the old stone bridge across the trout river, In the village, the pretty medieval church is well worth a visit, nestled in a dip next to the manor house.' There is no mention in your detailed description of the main busy road at the back of the propery which can be clearly heard especially in the bedroom, with the traffic waking us up early in the morning. The cars are clearly visible from the sitting room window, as they pass just outside.The village is simply an area of Weymouth with the walk into town involving walking along a busy road. We would not have rented this propery had we been given a more honest description of the location.
Of lesser importance but still worth commenting on: you mention that the cottage is attached to the owners' house but we were surprised that we were next to their kitchen and could hear them from our sitting room. On our arrival the owner and guests were having a 'get together' in the kitchen, right next door to the entrance to our cottage and were clearly visible through the window. This was off putting as we hunted for the key to our property-everyone looking at us through the window! We would also point out that describing the main door to the cottage as 'red' in an attempt to help us identify it, is unhelpful as the door to the owner's cottage and back gate (leading straight on to the road!) are also red.
This is the first time we have rented through Dream Cottages and wonder if your information and descriptions are verified by members of your company. We would welcome a response from you.
- Mrs Glason, August 2019
We are disappointed that you didn’t enjoy your stay. However, we too hope that the road works are completed soon, because it is true that some extra cars were diverting along our narrow Lane during your visit, despite the signs telling them not to. We also apologise that we had staying a group of 5 friends from the Cancer Research institutes in London, who were doing their annual volunteering at the not-for-profit Littlebredy Walled Gardens over the weekend, although they were gone by Sunday morning. Perhaps they were startled by you unexpectedly opening the red wicket Tradesmen’s door in the stone boundary wall rather than the red door shown in the cottage photos and described in the access letter.
However, all the items you queried in our property description are true statements. For example, the village Conservation Area document says that our building, together with the adjacent Church and Manor House, ‘is the heart of the village’. The 13th century Church is painted a pretty blue inside, it’s well worth a visit. There are about 3 acres of private grounds to choose from when sitting in the sun, next to the river if you wish. The Wey Valley Walks have their green signpost opposite our back gates, which are adjacent to the stone bridge. We are surrounded by meadows, for several miles in some directions, so are puzzled that you imply we are urban. Regarding the half-hour walk into town and the beach, the narrow road along the RSPB Lake shore and then past the tennis courts and on through the Memorial Gardens is hardly a busy main road, despite some cars and cycles. In future, we will try to help our guests better, by improving our welcome guide regarding details of access and the location of the keys and we will review the property details too.
Owner relations
