JOIVY Contemporary Cottage with Free Parking

The location of Orwell Cottage couldn’t be more perfect. There are many great restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries and coffee shops right in the neighborhood. The Haymarket bus, train, tram hub is a five minute walk and getting to the city historic center is a doable walk. The Victorian elements of the cottage are unique and undeniable. When this unit was first rented it would be five star for any guest. This rental is showing quite a bit of wear which diminishes the experience. I will only comment about three specifics. The bathroom sink is essentially none functional for a man shaving. The water is very low pressure and it’s either boiling hot or cold. If you don’t need use for the sink it’s fine. There are stained louvered doors for the bedroom closet. I’ve had them and know they are difficult to keep clean. These were quite dirty. Seeing these one can’t help wonder how thoroughly the rest of the place is cleaned. The unit shares a wall with another residential space. I could hear conversation from there so they certainly hear guests at this cottage. The bottom line is that for all the charm and convenience of Orwell Cottage I would not stay there again.

Advertised as a luxury stay, which it looked like, online. I asked if I could book 5 days but only the full 7-day week was available, which stretched the budget. Check-in seamless. However, a few things suggested less care than expected: notably, the house manual instructions were for an entirely different hob (which took a couple of days to resolve and resulted in not being able to fulfill/cook for my anniversary obligations...). Similarly disappointing was the house manual referring to the fridge freezer, but the (clearly, recently replaced) fridge had no ice compartment. I wasn't expecting a full-on freezer but I don't think I've ever stayed anywhere you couldn't make a decent G&T... Annoying faults like the bedroom main light & electric blind not working, bathroom hook & toilet-roll screws being loose and irreparable without tools, and a fierce toilet flush that was, well, unpleasant - these didn't help. However, a nice aspect, (very) warm atmosphere, excellent welcome pack (thank you!) and parking space were all much appreciated. Basically, the promised premium experience ultimately became a pretty reasonable one.