Powells Cottage Holidays Reviews 

Scarborough house is a lovely property with a great position. The website was very accurate except it doesn't say the property has 2 steps to front door, then a small lobby and 4 more steps into the property.

This was my first time booking with Powell’s, but it has been a positive experience. Excellent and timely communication about all aspects of the holiday cottage ahead of the arrival date. Nothing went wrong, so I have no experience of how they handle problems, but they seem well organised so I would expect they would deal with any issues professionally.

Lovely flat in central location of Tenby, ideal for shops, restaurants and bars. Lovely views of sea from bay window which was relaxing. The flat is located on 6 flights of stairs and 3 at front door not recommended for people with disability issues. Flat had everything you needed in way of utensils etc. Plenty of information from Powell’s regarding arrival/ departure and flat.

We were falsely accused of over occupying, recieving a text message, answerphone message and email asking us to visit their office. When challenged they were slow to apologise which really ruined our holiday. We have stayed in that particular cottage for 5 years running, we will not be returning there.

Rented 14 Strandways Saundersfoot for one week.

Property has spectacular sea views (20 yards from beach and centrally located on the Main Street with easy access to shops/cafes etc). These properties always rent well.

However jointly Powell’s and the owner need to improve the apartment considerably.

A. Kitchen has no freezer (the alleged ‘freezer’ on the website is the ice box in the fridge), no dish washer, no washing machine. The pine units and the cooker are museum pieces. The balcony door lock is very tempremental- mostly it failed to turn and lock. I did ask about it but Powells response was to try to give me the owner’s telephone number. No - you are the management company - send someone out to look at it.
B. The ceilings are covered In polystyrene tiles - I assume this doesn’t technically break the law but it is a well known fire risk.
C. The cleaning/preparation of the property is below standard. One of the kitchen cupboards was full of half used food stuffs e.g. ketchup bottles - surely in the current Covid situation nothing should be left. The wardrobe is half full with ‘stuff’ belonging to the owner - it needs a thorough clear-out. The bed is only half made - you have to put on the duvet cover yourself.
D. There is no information book with important details specific to the apartment. There are some details in a photo frame e.g. the hot water pressure is low - it can’t be fixed. I eventually found a credit card sized card with the WiFi password down the back of a cupboard.
E. Powells cannot be contacted ‘out of hours’ if there are urgent questions - on ‘changeover day’ that is unforgivable. They had also switched off the phone line by 5pm when they were supposed to be open until 6pm. Their online ‘chat’ is generic information - not specific to the apartment.

I have stayed in the building before - it is a fabulous location. Many of the apartments have been significantly up-graded - this one hasn’t. They have only just installed WiFi - initially the owner refused. As a management company Powells have installed many on-line ‘services’ - some are helpful. However it doesn’t replace old fashioned customer service - that aspect has deteriorated.

From the start of booking our holiday to eventually going ,powells cottages kept us informed all the way ,i would reccommend anyone thinking of booking with them do not hesitate ,you are in good hands

Great selection of rental properties with good details, pictures and accurate location information. Booking was straight forward and their information was very clear. The details were found to be entirely accurate when we arrived at the property. The property was cleaned to a high standard, well equipped and with good instructions. It was clear that bedding and towels were new, as well as some kitchen equipment.
Would definetly recommend. We are already using them again as we booked again for next year!

My husband and I spent 2 weeks in The Boathouse in Saundersfoot at the beginning of June. Communication from Powells was brilliant from first booking. The Boathouse is a beautiful getaway. The photographs on Powell's site were a promise, and it delivers! The house was spotlessly clean, comfortable and very well equipped. Everything was top quality. The owners are genuinely lovely people who played a huge part in ensuring our holiday was memorable. We had an amazing break in a beautiful house, in a stunning location, made perfect by the owners hospitality. We will most definitely book again in the future.

****AVOID****Beware of this company, we booked our one and only annual holiday with them for the May Half Term, we arrived at 11pm at night due to the extreme traffic... after driving for 7 hours with 2 x young children and a dog we arrived to find somebody in the cottage we rented.. the property had been let out. It should have been taken off the website but Powells aloud us to book it... we had to return home and our holiday was ruined. Powells could not provide alternative accommodation. Very upset children. I'm still in shock that this actually happened. We have still not yet received a formal apology ****AVOID****

Stayed at The Retreat Saundersfoot, were told due to enhanced cleaning required for covid we could not check in until 7pm which was not an issue. Arrived very tired after a 5 hour journey ready for bed. On arrival the place looked nice and layout was good. Woke early next day and jumped in shower, water would not drain and upon inspection found both showers badly blocked with hair and scum which must have been there a very long time. Spent 30 minutes unblocking both showers, a disgusting job which made me heave. Had breakfast and sat with a coffee. That day we found a dirty tissue behind sofa cushions, someone’s cap and then a dirty sock! Lots of cobwebs, dishes had dried on food stains and rusty saucepans. Advertised with a dishwasher but it showed that it needed rinse aid and salt and non was left (left with three tablets) All in all very concerned about cleanliness given Covid. I emailed Powell’s the morning after we arrived (Sunday) and today Friday still no response. Very worrying given they advised enhanced cleaning for Covid, really need to review cleaning, furthermore bin men were arriving Monday and you are required to use red and blue fabric bags or blue rubbish bags and none were left, I texted contact number to be told she had not worked for Powell’s for some time. Check out details say leave rubbish out and use clear bags provided for leaving bedlinen and towels ready for washing and again no bags left Do not feel it was value for money as we paid a lot of money for not a very clean property.

We arrived at Smugglers Cottage on the 29th August, Sandersfoot South Wales to be told the cottage would be ready at 7.00pm because of Covid and the cleaning required.

At 7.00pm we entered the property to find the hob with a large crack across the right-hand side, the fridge was rusty, the kettle was faulty, Cobwebs everywhere, the smell of mould in the cottage was so strong our clothes were smelling of it. Both settees, caked in mould and on the skirting, the window shelf was dirty. The hinge on the cabinet was broken and mould on the same door. The coffee table hinge broken, blinds faulty. The first bedroom, two hangers only, one for a skirt and one for a shirt and trousers.

We then went into the bathroom to find no toilet rolls, holder broken, rusty dusty towell rail, window jammed open, later the cottage chilled. The shower tapes leaked, the cold tap in the sink was in fact the hot tap and the rusty bathroom cabinet needed replacing. The main bedroom had cupboards either side and the hinge was broken on one of them. We found the washing machine area, the laundry room and the freezer was rusty and the interior was filthy. The spin dryer was noisy.
Out into the yard where the concrete floor was caked in dirt, the garden furniture was damp and filthy. Something that should have been skipped just like many of the items we had inspected. In fact there would be almost nothing in the cottage that should really have been there.
The down pipe outside was not connected from the roof to the wall.
It was getting chilly so let's look at the welcome folder. Not a thing filled in, no contact numbers or how to work anything so no heating. This was a bank holiday so noone to contact until Tuesday.
We did arrange a visit from Powell's on the Tuesday who had previously informed us there was no where else they could put us.

Why not a hotel at their cost? We were then offered £200 as compensation and a clean of the cottage but hang on a minute, we thought that had already been done? How do you clean rust and mould and rectify the other problems with just a clean?

Come the Wednesday we were walking in the rain because we could stand it no longer in the cottage after discovering no hot water. We reported this and were told the owner was in a meeting. Well that was helpful wasn't it.

We went back and I went to wash up only to turn the tap on but could not turn the water off for over 90 minutes. We tried and tried and that was the last straw. We handed the keys in and set off to go home. Holiday nightmare over.

It was nice of you to give us a full refund but the damage to our week of enjoyment was already done as soon as we set foot in that cottage that obviously was never checked by Powell's.
It cost us £961 and that is the standard we were given.
I'm self employed so lost a weeks work for this disaster.
We had to throw away all the food and some holiday clothes because we could not wash out the mould smell and our dogs breathing has got worse since. Been to the vets and had to buy aerodawg to open her airways at a cost of £78
We are asking for Compensation to cover the cost of a holiday caravan for the end of October, beginning of November. Is that too much to ask? It's a cheaper time of year so are we being greedy? The response so far has been excuses about their workload. Not good enough. We were sold a pig in a poke.

Powell's showed a photo of this cottage from years ago which is false advertising so would I trust them again when this cottage was not checked for suitability, it was not habitable, and no effort to call a plumber or book us into a hotel to complete our holiday with our grandchildren? Trading standards will be our next move so it's lucky we took a video of this awful cottage.

Not particularly happy with the rental property in Saundersfoot - the hot water boiler was not working when we took possession yet we were told property had been cleaned that day . The out of hours call out details were incomplete . Needless to say boiler tripped again - so I suspect the fault was known but yet ignored until flagged by occupants .

Quality of furniture ( a chair broke ) and bedding not good , not enough china for a party of four , no mirrors and no chopping board ( we had to purchase ) and south facing windows could not be opened due to faults or screwed shut . Making the property unbearably stuffy . Moreover the cosy garden space was originally for off today car parking , and as such was cramped , dark , and unsuitable

Obviously the owners of property needs to take a good look at themselves - it is for sale and therefore no money is spent on upkeep. If the property had a review I would put all of this on there . However Powell’s need to accept some responsibility for acting as an agent for a property that is substandard at best .

Excellent service. Started out as a family business and it shows through its personal service, courtesy and close attention. You will find a huge range of properties here suiting all requirements and you are sure to find a cottage to your taste.

Brilliant
I have used these a few times to book trips away - mainly in wales.
Properties are fantastic
Would recommend!