Blue Harbour Cottage, Torquay

I like to think my reviews are balanced and offer constructive criticism so here goes. Let’s start with the positives. The location is absolutely spot on, five minutes walk to the harbour, shops, pubs and cafes everything is in easy reach. The shower and bath are wonderful and so is the bed in the main bedroom. I can’t comment on the second bed as we didn’t use it. The cottage has everything and possibly more than you will need. Now the not so good. You will need to consider the cost of parking when you are budgeting as no street parking. This cost is an extra £45 for eight days but that does include most of the car parks up and down the coast. The cottage itself is nothing like the photos (hence the title of my review). It is in desperate need of a compete overall. The wooden painted floors must have looked good at one point but now just look a little grimy. The stairs are the same so don’t walk about in socks on them as my wife slipped twice. If you have mobility issues the stairs are not good. The settee in the lounge is old and uncomfortable and looks dirty and so do the cushions (see photos) in fact the whole cottage feels a little dirty not unclean just a little attention to detail needed. The outside court yard could do with a tidy up, the old rusty garden furniture has seen better days and is uncomfortable. The courtyard is also the access for next door cottage so you have people walking past you at random intervals-not for me sorry I like my privacy and this meant we spent less time out there. The cottage also sits behind a restaurant and you can smell the food cooking which is not really the most relaxing thing. The photo of the cottage led me to believe that it was in a prominent seafront position which it is not but I should have researched this for more. The entrance hall, the bathroom floor and drainer have been done in this strange pebbles and grout and again it might have looked good once but now just looks dirty. The cottage is old so there is a bit of a damp smell which is understandable however the diffusers and candles all over the house are empty and just collecting dust so why not either fill them up or get rid. That brings me to other things that need removing. In the cupboards there is food from previous guests (I’m presuming). We found half a jar of lemon curd, sachets of dips from takeaway’s, opened mayonnaise and jars of spices opened and the list goes on. Now I am not going to eat this as for one I don’t know when it was opened let alone by who so just bin it. There is plenty of cleaning products which is great but I know that you should not be writing on sprays that it’s ‘anti bacterial spray’ this is surely against COSHH regulations. Let’s finish on a positive. The weather was fantastic and at home we usually have a fan but the cottage didn’t have any. We contacted Peter the owner who promptly provided us with two desk fans which were very welcome. Would we go again no but don’t let me stop you. Two stars are for location, bed and shower.

The location is fab within walking distance of the harbour & all local amenities, but far enough away to be quiet. The beds are also so so comfy for a great nights sleep. However the cottage could really do with a refurb, as the pictures are incredibly misleading. The inside needs some TLC the sofa in the lounge was incredibly uncomfortable & has a random wooden bit in the middle that juts up which we all hurt ourselves on. my son ended up with a particularly nasty bruise on his shin. The room could also do with coat of paint as there are dirty marks all over the walls The bathroom whilst clean, when trying to have a shower the shower. curtain constantly sticks to you...needs a shower door The kitchen....the utensil draw only opens part way as it hits the handle of another cupboard. The draining board wow just wow it’s basically a piece of cobbled pavement stuck to the side..,it doesn’t drain water just floods round the side & behind it causing a musty damp smell & is so small It’s holds about 4 small plates & some cutlery. Also parking in the welcome pack it still states you can buy a weekly permit for the local car park...you can’t you can only get annual ones. We downloaded an app in the end & paid on a daily basis averaged about £9,70 per day. The garden is not private & guests for the neighbouring cottage have to walk through your terrace to get to their front door... Overall the cottage was a base for the evening but lacked home comforts

Advert was total fabrication,. cottage very grimy. We had to clean it ourselves. Overgrown garden. Cramped cottage. Substandard sofa,even the dog wudnt sit on it. No reply from owner. Very unprofessional

Cottage overlooking a restaurant. cooking smells every evening. Dishes being clanked.No garden only shared courtyard.overgrown shrubs.tatty mouldy garden benches. Not suitable for people with mobility issues.The most uncomfortable sofa EVER. Had wooden posts inside it.Every time you sat on it you would hurt yourself.No privacy what so ever with the next cottage .Left holiday 3 days early it was that unsuitable .