The Old Post Office Cottage

The property is well situated for visiting much of this area of Dorset and we made the most of the various coastal areas nearby.

The setting is stunning with lots of wildlife right on the doorstep and some lovely walks. The accommodation could do with an update in some areas but was perfectly OK for a family of 5 (2 teenagers) plus Grandma for a week. We didn't recognise the issues raised by previous complaints so it is obvious some of the feedback has been taken on board and improvements made (patio, first floor shower etc). At 6ft 4 I did struggle with some of the door heights but that seems to be common in Dorset! Overall a great base for exploring stunning Dorset.

Absolutely wonderful week staying at The Old Post Office Cottage.

The place is truly magical and secluded but still easy to reach lots of excellent days out. We stayed with 4 adults and 2 young children and the size of the house was perfect. The gardens are absolutely beautiful with so much space to explore for the little ones. Thank you for such an amazing stay. We will definitely be coming back.

The house is a great size and layout and could be really amazing but it was let down by quite a few cleaning issues: The last occupants towels still hanging on the back of the bathroom door The last occupants coffee grounds still in the cafetière Light fitting hanging out of the kitchen ceiling, we found the bulbs and changed and fixed it ourselves The trampoline in the garden which excited our toddler but was broken and unuseable Thick dust in surfaces that granted you might not wipe often but was unpleasant when you found it The carpet had stains and several chairs were covered I guess to cover up other stains It was a good base for our days out but we didn’t feel like spending much time at the house outside of sleeping.

A very comfortable and private cottage in beautiful countryside.

Loads of room downstairs and lovely outlook to the garden if the weather stops you going outside. The 2-ring hob and double oven was fine for us and we did experiment with the top plates on the Aga which was fun. We wondered if large parties would manage with the hob but apart from that we found the kitchen well equipped. Lots to see in the area e.g. Etches Collection at Kimmeridge, and Kimmeridge Bay, Corfe Castle, steam railway between Swanage and Norden, RSPB reserve at Arne, Studland and Knoll Beach, ferry to Sandbanks and Bournmouth. Overall the cottage provides a very good base for exploring the lovely Isle of Purbeck.

We loved this cottage, 4 adults and 3 children and we had a wonderful stay.

My only criticism is the directions a What 3 Words location would have saved us at least an hour trying to find it with no phone signal and limited access to maps but other than that what a beautiful place. The location is perfect it’s nice and local to Wareham and the drive into Swanage wasn’t long.

Lovely position, convenient for all Purbeck attractions.

We found that the shower leaked. Initially we thought this was caused by a defective door. However this problem was overcome by lifting the door slightly once in the shower. Sadly solving the defective door did not solve the leak. If two or more showers were had in quick succession water dripped through the kitchen ceiling. This caused concern about water and electricity meeting. We alerted the house keeper to the problem, who advised us that the owner was aware of the damp stain on the ceiling. She advised us not to use the shower but to use the over bath shower. However with six people in residence this was very difficult. We found that very quick showers did not result in any drips. As a precaution we taped over the relevant light switches. The kitchen was therefore somewhat gloomy. No attempt to rectify the problem was made during our stay although we were asked if we were happy for someone to come and fix it, to which we agreed. The problem cast a damper over our stay. Finally the tin opener was rubbish. We suggest replacement as a priority. We feel we did not get value for money with a defective shower.

Lovely house with fabulous garden to explore.

Down-side was the fact upstairs was VERY cold (in mid-late May) feeling slightly damp and with no obvious means of turning on heating. Cottage manual and instructions need to be updated.

this is a wonderful cottage with a beautiful garden but the interior could do with some re decoration and some of the bedroom cupboards and drawers need replacing.

saying this we still had a great holiday and would recommend this cottage

We had a great time at The Old Post Office cottage.

A lovely cosy space which provided ample room for the family of seven. A warm aga in the kitchen was perfect and we lit the log fire in living room every evening. The grounds surrounding the house were perfect for our grandchildren to explore. Conkers galore and sweet apples from the tree. The upstairs were quite steep for our Elderly Grandma but she managed , however the shower does need attention. She & many of the group found it so stiff & difficult to turn it on & more worryingly off!! Wondered about a shower over the bath downstairs. Would be ideal. Thank you so much for fixing the back door lock so swiftly. We had a great memorable week in Dorset with so many half term halloween activities for the grandchildren. Its been a great place from which to explore. Recommend this nice quiet retreat.

The old post office is an idyllic place to stay.

The gardens are fabulous, the cottage is comfortable, contains everything one would need, and more. We spent a lovely week, and it was hard to leave. We literally had no negative point to report.

Hi, A beautiful property full of the charm of the style and character of the English countryside.

The house is also in a beautiful old style full of history and class. It should be added that the house is large and comfortable, even if a full set of guests live in it, there is no feeling of crowding, which allows for a comfortable rest. The bright and spacious lounge is a perfect place for meetings, games and activities. In addition, it is very well equipped, you can find everything you might need. To sum up, we spent a wonderful holiday there. If someone is looking for a quiet, charming place full of character where he would like to spend a holiday with a larger group, I sincerely recommend it.

Absolutely loved your property, everything we needed for a perfect family holiday.

Well equipped kitchen, and spacious rooms for 6 adults. Clean and comfortable. Bathroom shower could do with an upgrade but still worked for us for the week. The garden is absolutely stunning. Thank you for the perfect holiday home.

A lovely cottage in a lovely setting.

It has everything you expect including the fire place, aga oven, trampoline, huge garden and animals all around. Also very well equipped and many activities all around. A shower in the downstairs bathroom and advocating for the nearby tea room to be open after 4pm would make it an absolute stunner.

Lovely cottage and we both very much enjoyed it.

The only area was the patio needs replacing as it could be trip hazzard

We arrived at the cottage at 4.

40, although it said don't arrive early we thought this acceptable. We stepped in the back door and heard the washing machine going and clearly the cleaning had not been done. Within 5 min the cleaner arrived and was very apologetic, she did not realise it was booked. Checking her phone she had received an email 3days before but had not read it. We sat in the lounge while she continued to clean, make beds etc. Her husband arrived to help. The kitchen is well equipped except it does need a sensible hob not just 2 hot plates. The Aga was not on but the cleaner did ask if we wanted it and to be fair us and others would not know how to use it. The working surface is very small. We both have food allergies so have to self cater alot so catering for 8 people would be extremely challenging. We also felt that the dishwasher was not used by many as alot of the utensils were not very clean. The downstairs bathroom certainly needs a shower as the upstairs one is quite small and a larger person would struggle. The house is very spacious and comfortable, very homely. The garden needs some work but is lovely.

The property in general and location are exceptional and we had a superb week with weather possibly bordering on too hot.

Nice walks locally, beaches and attractions made a fun filled break and when at the cottage the extensive garden kept the kids entertained. Highly recommend the Halfway Inn for service and quality food. There is a however…… The exterior is in serious need of work. Patio and furniture needs some TLC to make a comfortable and safe experience especially with younger ones. A single shower for 8 is a challenge Would we stay again? Yes Would we be disappointed to see the same condition outside? Absolutely for the price

Pleasant stay overall in comfortable property but not suitable for the disabled and this wasn't made clear in the description on the website.

You can't park near the house, the stairs are narrow and steep, and the paving of the patio is crumbling and uneven. The central heating was switched to a summer setting which we found cold and the instructions for changing it were unclear as the controls were not where they were shown in the instructions. One of the bedrooms had an unpleasant smell which was coming from the carpet such that the occupants had to keep the windows open.

The cottage was AMAZING!

The garden was over the top. The rooms were snug as a bug. The living room was the best bit because there was so much space and the kitchen was awesome because we could all sit round for breakfast and tea together. Izzy, age 7. I think that the above covers it! We had a fantastic week, the cottage was a great place for 2 families to stay, with so much to do and see near by. We would definitely recommend it!

This is a good company providing excellent service.

But after a stay boy do they hound you with marketing emails and requests (almost demands) for feedback. And they don't seem to be able to stop it even when requested to stop contacting me by phone and my unsubscribing (3 times) via their website. I consider this a major drawback. It amounts to harassment. Be warned!

The property needs to show its not a place to go if you have a disability.

Not enough mugs for tea or coffee.They had to be washed up every time .

Cleaners didn’t leave til 6.

15 first day and giving us an extra hour to leave didn’t feel acceptable. Basin plug upstairs broken so u could not keep water in. Sign outside with name would have helped and washing line and barbecue would be helpful. Empty general waste dustbins as half full. Otherwise as expected.

We had a lovely stay in the Old Post Office.

The house is beautiful and in beautiful gardens. The interior is in need of some TLC being a little stained/shabby in some areas, but the house still has a lot of charm and a homely feel. We appreciated the wide choice of classics (think it must be the collection of someone who read English lit at university!) and the monopoly. I’d certainly like to return, with one caveat - probably without my husband because the door frames are so low! He is 6”4 and kept cracking his head on them - at 5”9 I could just comfortably pass under them. The kitchen ceiling is very low too. Also, I’d recommend putting thicker curtains in two of the bedrooms (the twin and one of the doubles). The very thin/light curtains in there at the moment make it harder to get the children to sleep in the summer. It was very helpful to have a washing machine and separate dryer and the house was very well equipped - no need to bring bin liners, dishwasher tablets, toilet roll etc - everything was available.

The house is nice but in need of some refurbishing.

Especially the seats. Only the long couch and one other seat were without stains. On the pictures it looks really luxury but it turned out a bit different. You can see the house is decorated with love but it is impossible to keep everything clean, so don't expect that. The sanitary was clean though and the beds were comfortable. One mentioned it before and indeed every room has its own smell. Especially the double room and the Chinese room. There were smell plugs in different places but they made it only worse. We removed them as soon as discovered. We thought the smell coming from the old chests. I was not overwhelming but we couldn't get it out of the rooms. The garden is big (must be nice in summer) and you can walk from the house to Creech Barrow Hill for a great view as well as to the Purbeck Hills. You can find a hiking map in the house. After all we had a great two weeks but didn't feel completely comfortable in de house and we think the price was a bit too high for what we got... Annoying also that if you can't book two full weeks because one already booked the night Friday-Saturday, Sykes makes you pay for that night as well. Seems double income to me...

The most wonderful home in a beautiful setting!

Cooking on the aga was a new experience for me, but very easy. I wondered whether the place would be too cold as I went in early Autumn, but the central heating, aga and log burner ensured the whole place was toasty warm!

This was our second visit to the same cottage and the 6th time we have booked with Sykes.

We have always found Sykes cottages deliver great holidays and we would definitely book with them again.

The Old Post Office is full of character and country charm, it has plenty of room inside and a huge garden outside with plenty of chairs and tables on the patio The house was very clean and there was a lovely welcome hamper provided.

The kitchen is well equipped and the Aga was interesting, there's a conventional oven too. Nice to have a large dining table to gather round. The Wi-Fi is OK for a rural area but don't expect to stream a movie on Netflix though. The best thing about The Old Post Office is it's location, just 10 minutes drive from Wareham with it's lovely quayside, shops, pubs and restaurants; 20 minutes from the beautiful beaches of Studland. The Isle of Purbeck has much to offer and this is a great base to explore from.

The Old Post Office is idyllic.

Great welcome pack of tea, coffee and sugar and a packet of biscuits, as well as basic cleaning things to get you started, along with toilet rolls, really thoughtful. Gardens are lovely and there is a trampoline. There isn't a BBQ so we brought a cadac. Beautiful area and a great location for visiting Dorset. Go right and go to Tynham deserted Village, from there walk 1mile to wharbarrow Bay, its beautiful and not crowded, this was our best day on a beach.

Very relaxing break in a lovely cottage with amazing garden.

If I was to give one negative it would be the price seemed disproportionately high. Everything else was perfect

We spent Christmas with the family.

There was a nice Christmas tree in the big lounge and a bottle of Prosecco in the fridge. The kitchen was very well stocked. The downstairs had a nice ambience. There were 8 of us including 2 children and we had a lot of room. There were lots of books and toys for the children. The cottage is lovely but in need of some tlc, especially the bathrooms. The garden is huge and must be lovely in the summer. A very enjoyable stay.

The instructions for arrival were slightly incorrect in that it states you need to turn right into West Lane but West Lane actually takes you towards Wareham and is on the opposite side of the road to the road you actually need to take!

We therefore went down the road the satnav was taking us down and finally found the house down there. The house is lovely, if not somewhat tired and in need of some TLC at the front of the property. It is probably the best stocked place we have ever been to in terms of there being little things like salt, pepper, oil etc to be getting on with, along with washing up liquid, hand soaps, cloths, loads of cleaning products, teas, coffees, hot chocolates etc, all of which I had already ordered in my online shopping as we've never stayed anywhere that had anything when we arrived. They had kindly left a lovely bunch of flowers, a basket of biscuits, tea and coffee as well as a 2 pint of milk and bottle of prosecco and 2 bottles of water in the fridge - a really lovely touch after such a long drive. The house itself was lovely, the kids all loved their bedrooms from the youngest who loved the themed bed covers, to the middle who loved the girly twin bedroom, to the teenager who bagged the other double bed! Our bedroom had an overwhelming musty smell to it when we arrived - I notice someone else's comments say this - but I found a plug in air freshener downstairs which I plugged into the room and opened the windows each day to get rid of the smell - my clothes and hair smelt of it each morning after sleeping there. The house was in a perfect area for exploring, the weather was ok at the start of the week but got worse towards the end, we didn't let this stop us - there is a huge selection of umbrellas and torches at the property so going out in the rain or coming back at night (it's pitch black!) wasn't a problem. We visited Lulworth Castle, Corfe Castle, Swanage Steam Railway, Kimmeridge Bay where we saw lovely fossils in the huge rocks, on a rainy day we spent the whole day at the Tank Museum which was fantastic, had a walk down to the beautiful Durdle Door, dinner in Wareham twice - the Old Granary - but get there early as it gets packed - great at welcoming children - did a walk round the walled walk in Wareham and visited the churches - all in all a great 5 days spent in Dorset.

The Old Post Office was a wonderful home from home with a charming yesteryear feel about it.

We enjoyed sitting in the large garden, surrounded by wonderful trees, including a horse chestnut; our daughter loved collecting conkers. It was great for children with lots of toys and a large area by the French doors that our daughter could play in. The children's bedroom was lovely with Paddington duvets, toys and a couple of story books. The garden was securely fenced. Beyond the cot/highchair/stair gate, there were also little steps in the bathrooms for children to stand on and plastic cutlery/plates etc. The kitchen was really well equipped so we could actually self-cater. There were even things like a garlic press, apple corer and things for baking. We found the Aga ovens a bit tricky but we just used the electric oven instead. We would've liked some bigger cereal bowls but this is just us being picky! The living room was very comfortable with a nice selection of pictures and plates on the wall and looks to read. The duvets were too hot for our liking but this is a very personal preference. Perhaps thinner duvets could be available? I thought the larger double room was a little musty but my husband didn't notice, again, it probably depends how sensitive you are to these things. The shower was hot with a reasonable flow but a bit on the small side. All in all we had a very enjoyable stay and were sad to leave.

We loved the house.

It was full of character and we would like to know its history. We were fascinated by all the books and bits and pieces and teddy bears left around. The garden is beautiful - ideal for teddy bear hunts with the children. Our only quibble was the feather pillows and cushions which caused problems with allergies. There are lots of things to do in the vicinity and we had a really enjoyable holiday.

Beautiful house with an incredible garden which our 5 year old had wonderful adventures in.

The house is lovely and well stocked. It is in a great location within easy access to Corfe Castle, Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove as well as many others. Can't wait to go back again :)

The cottage was perfect for our family Christmas holiday - three generations getting together to celebrate.

As it was a soggy December, the children could not take advantage of the large garden, but the cottage is just a short drive from the coast, with a choice of sandy beaches at Swanage and Worbarrow, fossil hunting at Kimmeridge, and skimming stones at Lulworth! The cottage itself is very generously equipped, with comfortable beds, loads of books, games and maps, and a big choice of kitchen equipment - it felt like home from home. The Aga seemed to be a bit daunting at first, but cooked the Christmas turkey to perfection - we didn't use the conventional electric oven at all. The secret, we discovered, was to set the hot plate and oven temperatures first thing in the morning, then it was ready to use at any time of the day - more information about settings for Aga novices would have been helpful. The brand new wide-screen TV needs adjusting, as the BBC channels keep pixelating - I rang the caretaker to advise her of this, and I am sure it will be sorted out quickly. Mobile phone reception (vodaphone) was a bit patchy, and the wifi connection a little slow perhaps, but we were on holiday with no urgent need for fast connections. When we arrived we found a lovely gift of chocolates, and a vase of flowers - thoughtful touches. Not to forget the beautifully decorated Christmas tree - thank you! Would definitely recommend the cottage to any family wanting to stay in this lovely area.

Great location, quiet but only a short drive to the majority of local attractions. Garden perfect for relaxing in especially with the good weather. Would definitely consider again when looking for a larger property. Stayed June 2018

We had an absolutely tremendous week at the Old Post Office Cottage, an absolute peach of a holiday cottage. We felt very honoured to be entrusted with this clearly much-loved house, and felt utterly at home. The cottage has such a lovely atmosphere, set off by the interesting furniture, books, pictures and excellent selection of cookware! Thank goodness for sharp knives and decent pans.... and great selection of things to keep small children amused. And what a garden! And the location! What I would give to own a house like this. I can't say enough good things about it, and about the great experience we've had with Dream Cottages, and the caretakers of the cottage. I except we will be booking with you again very soon. Thank you. Stayed July 2018