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Review 4289: Cotswolds Holiday Cottages, Hookes House

www.cotswoldholidaycottages.com

Recommended
Review by Sharonov from US

2bed/2bath apartment in Chipping Campden, Heart of England

When

September 18, 2009, 7 Days

Location

Hookes House is in the center of Chipping Campden. The bus stops right in front. The view from the front window is the town parking lot, which is not all that nice, but otherwise the location was perfect. The website does show this view so the tenant is not surprised. The back view is a bit nicer as it shows a little garden.

Nearby Amenities

Hookes House is on the High Street, and everything is within a few hundred meters. Restaurants, coffee shops, post office, two grocery stores, pubs, little shops -- all are virtually downstairs. This was important to us because we didn't have a car. Also the main Cotswolds walking path (the Monarch's Trail) begins just a couple of buildings away.

The House/Apartment

This property is in a very, very old building; however, it has been modernized completely so you have the benefits of both -- ambiance and sense of history combined with convenience and comfort. We had a little washer and dryer (SO important!), modern kitchen with dishwasher (again, very small), and modern bathrooms.

I think it may be noisy in the summer, being on the main street across from the parking lot, but it was fine for us in late September. It gets cold at night in Britain in the fall and so we would close the windows at night and didn't hear a thing.

Hookes House is a two-story apartment above a store (Malverns Strollers) and we felt as if we were the only humans in the building. It takes up the second and third (top) floor and we were not aware of anyone on either side. The second bedroom and bath are a floor above the great room/smaller bedroom/bath with tub. The second bedroom is outstanding! If two couples were to come here they would be apt to fight over the top bedroom, except that the lower bedroom faces the rear and is therefore quieter.

Garden

The outside sitting area is OK but no great shakes. We never sat there. It's kind of private but the sitting area for the next rental is rather close.

Furnishings/Cleanliness/Living Areas

The furniture was comfortable. Old, but not tatty. It was all quite clean. We loved that there were two sofas (one larger than the other) so we each had somewhere to sit. Four would have made it crowded, but doable.

Bedrooms/Bathrooms

The beds were fine. Bathroom info is above.

Kitchen

I did enjoy cooking, though everything was pretty small. We felt we needed a few more dishtowels and a hot-pad, but bought a set at the pound store when we visited Stratford (a short bus ride away).

Problems or Bonuses

I had been looking forward to unpacking for the week, but found that there was no place to store clothes. There are some very low built-ins, but it would have been too hard to keep bending over to find clothing. The upstairs bedroom has a built-in closet that's about two feet high, and I did hang a few tops, but the bottom sux inches dragged on the floor. This would make it hard for two couples. I'd recommend the place for either one couple or a family.

Agency and Representatives (and price)

We were treated very well by Mr. Lear. I communicated with him several times both before and after we arrived and he was quite responsive. Our cost was £385 for the week. This was a collar season price, being September 18-25. For some reason I've seen it at a higher price on other websites. When the dollar was stronger last March I sent him a check, which turned out to be quite a savings for us as the dollar/pound went from $1.45 to $1.65.

Do you recommend this vacation rental to others?

I would definitely stay here again and recommend it to others, especially if they don't have a car. For people who want extreme peace and quiet and more of a country atmosphere, this may not be the perfect place. If they have a car and want more of that peaceful type rental, there are several we saw in Chipping Campden and one in the village of Ilmington that we saw (Sansomes Cottage, maybe)that would be better. But for the price, this rental was absolutely wonderful and we loved our week there.

Things to do in this area

We loved the Red Lion Pub for lunches, 8 Bells and Canaletto for dinners. But we were here mainly for the walks, as the Cotswolds are known for positively glorious walking.

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

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