“We were seeking a suitably large property with en suite bedrooms for a "house party" for a 70th birthday for a week.”
Without doubt we were lucky to fin Hilltop. It met all our requirements and more! Catering for 8 can be fun at home but away in a different kitchen can prove tricky for menu planning and serving - especially when doing 4 courses most nights with all the accoutrements. Everything went well and over the course of the week, we managed to make use of pretty well all the kitchen dishes etc! All of which were spotlessly clean. Great to once again cook with an Aga as well.
It was all very evident that the owners had not only put a lot of thought into the set up of the property but also in the provision of equipment etc right down to the selection of the loo rolls! The welcome pack was another point of thoughtfulness and careful choices.
We note that the owners in their notes on the cottage made the point that they would welcome any suggestions for improvements and thus we have one or two ideas for their consideration.
We were confused as to waste disposal in that the guidance said the local council would separate materials from collection. For simple folk like s, it might help to say that all waste goes in the black bag [what was the white bag for?] and materials that are recycled here [state which - glass, paper but what of plastic can be just loosely placed in the big bin . That is if that is the correct procedure. We took the papers home and dropped off most of the bottles at a recycling point. I mention this not in anyway to suggest it was a problem but only because the owners clearly support best practice etc.
As regards serving dishes - the one item we really missed was a sauceboat. I hasten to add, we managed Ok without one by making good use of the large greenish jug! The one other comment, which is probably more a reflection of our age is the lack of cups and saucers and wonder if perhaps a set of 4 would not go amiss - for those like us who prefer such. Speaking of which, we were surprised to see a set of 8 demi-tasse cups and would have used them for coffee but could not find their saucers!
We were the hosts for the week and can say all our guests thought the house was super though some found the lounge a bit cold in mid/late afternoon - they could have light the fire! We could not understand why those using bedrooms 2 and 3 found them a bit on the cold side - especially given what we think were temperature controls in a panel for both those rooms. I am sure they probably could not work out how to use them effectively! Albeit noting that very small point, I would reiterate how very highly everyone thought of the cottage and that they all enjoyed their stay, which obviously had a lot to do with "Hilltop".
It would also be remiss of me, not t mention about car parking and how clever of the owners to know of the space up the road to park a fourth car. - A very nice walk back to the cottage!
Overall, super!
Hi David, Thanks for the lovely comments and glad you and your guests had a good stay. We'll take onboard your comments, make the instructions for disposal of waste clearer and look to get some saucers! The heating is on a timer and when it' is cold can be extended or set to continuous to make sure the house stays warm all the time. I'll check the instructions to make sure this is clear for everyone too. You can let us know what you think next time you come! Alison and Gary
Property Owner
