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Review 2700: Owner, Slatters Cottage

www.slatters-cottage.co.uk

Recommended. Review by Lou Jacobs from UK

2bed/1bath cottage near Moreton-in-Marsh, Heart of England

Front of Slatters Cottage, photo by Lou Jacobs

When

13 April 2007, 1 week

Location

The cottage is located in a lovely small village in the Cotswolds in a quiet country lane which runs parallel to a main road - far enough away that you don't realise you are near a main road and you can't hear any sound of cars etc. In fact the only sounds we heard were of the nearby church, horses trotting by and the occasional baah of sheep.

The village is ideally placed for visiting the many pretty villages/towns such as Broadway, Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water. It is also no too far from Stratford-upon-Avon and a reasonable drive to Bath.

Nearby Amenities

There is a pub, the Horse and Groom, a two minute walk away which is really more of a restaurant. Lovely food - but make sure you book up in advance. There is a petrol station a little further away with a small shop for emergency items but the nearest main shops and amenities is at Moreton-in-Marsh, a town about two miles away - only a few minutes in the car. This has supermarkets for your food and other essentials, various restaurants and tea rooms, antique shops and other shops.

There are plenty of other restaurants, inns, pubs etc. in the nearby villages and towns and you won't go hungry (or thirsty!)

The House/Apartment

The cottage is semi-detached and made of Cotswolds stone. The details say it dates back to the 17th century and it certainly looks like it could have. It has one area downstairs which is separated out into kitchen, dining area and lounge. The walls are exposed stone with beams on the ceilings. It really has a cosy feel to it and has a large inglenook fireplace with a real wood stove.

It has a payphone, Hi FI, TV with Freeview, DVD and CD players (with plenty of DVDs/CDs available to choose from) so we had every convenience we required when in the cottage which was only normally first thing in the morning and in the evening as we were out touring all day.

Upstairs there are two bedrooms, one with a double bed the other with a single, and a bathroom with a shower over bath.

There is a car parking space outside the cottage. There is also a utility room attached to the cottage which has a downstairs toilet, sink and washing machine/tumble dryer.

Garden

The garden is mainly laid to lawn with shrubs round the edge. It isn't a large garden but pretty and nice enough to sit outside on the stone bench next to the stone table. There are also a couple of folding garden chairs available.

The garden isn't private i.e. it isn't walled off from the road, but as the road is so quite with only the occasional bit of traffic or walkers going by that wasn't a problem for us.

The view is also quite nice - one can see the surrounding hills which are really lovely.

Furnishings/Cleanliness/Living Areas

It looked to us as though some of the furniture was relatively new - i.e. the beds and leather sofa in the lounge area but none looked out of place in the cottage - all were "in character" with the cottage.

The whole cottage looked and felt cosy and lived in and it was really like a it had been taken out of a magazine.

There was enough seating for four people even though it only sleeps three so no problems in that area.

I have to say the cottage was very clean when we arrived and we have no complaints about this at all.

Bedrooms/Bathrooms

Although we only used the main bedroom, both bedrooms were very tastefully furnished and looked to be recently redecorated. The second bedroom had stenciled wall which we though was wallpaper when we first was it.

The bed was very comfortable and the linen was very pretty. There was enough space for hanging clothes and draw space.

The bathroom was not big, but big enough. As with the rest of the house it was very clean. Although it has a shower over the bath, the shower is not a power shower and we would have preferred a slightly more powerful shower but it was adequate.

Kitchen

The kitchen was open plan onto the dining area wit a nice view of the garden. Although not a large area it had everything one needed (apart from a dishwasher which would have been nice but there wasn't anywhere to put one) - cooker, microwave, fridge and a mini freezer under the stairs - and there was sufficient work-surface area.

There was plenty of cutlery and crockery and the owners seemed to have thought of everything that would be needed by holiday makers. Everything seemed of good quality.

Problems or Bonuses

The pictures on the website don't do the cottage justice (even though they are nice pictures)- once you get to the cottage you will realise how cosy and lived in it feels. We didn't need to use the log fire (as there was a warm weather spell when we were there) but I can imagine that on a winter's night it would be really nice sitting by the fire.

There was a good supply of literature about local attractions and maps, which was very helpful.

To be honest, we really loved the cottage and apart from the couple of very minor points noted earlier, there is nothing to fault - it really is the type of cottage you imagine being a typical country cottage.

Agency and Representatives (and price)

We booked directly with the owners via email and they were very professional, friendly and helpful. We got directions etc. sent to us about a week before the stay and a phone call once we had arrived to make sure everything was OK - a nice touch.

We paid £395 for the week (mid April) which we though was very reasonable for the standard of accommodation provided, which was very high.

Do you recommend this vacation rental to others?

We would definitely stay here again and would have no hesitation in recommending it to others.

The stairs are a little steep so if you are a little frail or perhaps have young kids you should bear that in mind. Also, as far as kids are concerned, there is no guard in front of the fire so you would need to keep an eye on them.

But otherwise, a definite recommendation.

Things to do in this area

As noted earlier, the cottage is located in a great position in that many of the Cotswolds beauty spots are nearby with others a relatively short drive away.

Lots to do in the Cotswolds whether its hiking, rummaging around shops, seeing plays or musical events - or even just chilling out!

Lots of lovely restaurants and I would definitely book early if you want a meal at the Horse and Groom.

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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