JESS Cotswolds Cottage & Spa

We had such a lovely stay. It felt like a home away from home. The cottage is clean, cosy and perfect for our family. The kitchen was equipped with everything that you need. The kids loved the bunk beds. The house is perfectly positioned within walking distance to all the amenities. We had a nice time using the indoor and outdoor pool. We rented a boat and had a nice paddle around the lake. We booked the soft play and it was nice to have the space all to yourself. My suggestions would be to call the activities hub before you arrive to see if you can book bikes and the boat. While the outdoor pool doesn't need booking, you have to book the indoor pool does and you can only book it the day before use. Thank you again for a lovely stay!

The cottage is very nicely furnished and decorated. The Lower Mill Estate is impressive and generally very peaceful.. However the cottage is extremely small and more suited to 4 guests than the listed 7 beds. We were 5 adults on one night and struggled with seating, crockery and cutlery etc. The bedrooms especially are ridiculously tiny with no room to move around the beds or open drawers,etc. Some of the descriptions are misleading as there is no view at all from the rear decking due to hedges and and only limited lake views from two bedrooms. Particular downsides were the filthy, greasy oven and microwave. Liam the manager came over very promptly and sorted out a cleaner for the next morning, who was appalled at its state. She did her best but said it would need a further deep clean when we left. The metal gate and barriers attached to the gable end were very loud when selfclosing. We were awoken at 5am on Saturday by walkers and at 2am on Sunday morning by a car struggling to enter. The banging of the gate continued throughout each day as people walked or drove through. The self-closing mechanism really needs to be looked at. Other issues were the hot taps which go from cold to scalding in seconds. The toilet seat in the main bathroom needs fixing. It has moved back so far you end up sitting on the rim of the toilet, not the seat. Although we love the estate and have stayed in other properties there, I am afraid we would not return to Jess Cottage.

Good points: lovely styled house, clean and tidy, decent lounge and kitchen area, good location for bikes and walking. Bad points: 1. The two main 'double' bedrooms are tiny. The 'master' bedroom is so small that they couldn't even put a bedside table next to the bed (you can barely walk around the bed in any case). Now I understand why there were no pictures of the 'master' bedroom on the listing. The second 'double' bedroom also has no space at all for a suitcase of any kind in the room. Ironically the kids bedroom is the only one with any floor space. 2. The only shower is very low. Anyone 5'8" or above needs to crouch down to get under it. Not ideal. 3. The towels provided were tiny and no real use, so you'll need to bring your own. Overall, a very mixed bag from our perspective. At £900 for four nights (off peak), it fell well short of my expectations.

Cottage facilities very good met expectations fully. En-suite bedroom very small. Insufficient bath towels for four and only one dry-up towel in kitchen.

We have just come back from 4 nights at Jess Cottage and cannot fault the property. The host was amazing, very responsive with questions and even gave me a free night of stay due to a mix up with the booking. They have thought and catered for everything such as a fully equipped kitchen, bunk beds for the kids, the small details like a variety of board games, tv in every bedroom, kayaks and so much more. I have been to the estate a few times and would not hesitate to stay at Jess Cottage again.