Carlton Cottage Country Retreat - Perfect for Ipswich - Aldeburgh - Southwold - Thorpeness - Sizewell B - Sizewell C - Sleeps 13

Lots of space, amazing garden, well decorated and set up

No coffee, bins outside were overflowing

We were travelling to Suffolk (Aldeburgh, Southwold and Snape) as a family of 11 members (3 children included) and so this property was ideal for location and bedrooms, which is why we chose here. The property is literally on the main road, but could easily get 4 cars on the drive outside. There were 3 toilets in total which is perfect for a large number of guests and 2 had wash facilities. All bedrooms, bar one were located upstairs and had storage facilities. There was a nice sized garden with BBQ available. Kitchen had electric oven and hob, as well as a range (we did not use). Living room had comfortable enough seating (for 8 people) with smart TV and DVD player. Free WiFi throughout the property. Keys were in a keysafe outside so easy to access and 3pm check in which worked for us. Property opposite the White Lion pub as my Google maps took me a little further up the road from the actual property.

Overall cleanliness poor - a lot of dust and also the kitchen could have done with a thorough clean, especially the cupboards and crockery - we washed every item we used. Property advertised for 13 people, however only enough cups for 8 people, not enough cutlery for everyone (had to share knives) and no can opener! Saucepans/frying pans have seen better days as had the plastic utensils which had been melted previously and still had dried food stuck to them! The beds were comfortable but the pillows were lumpy. We pushed the twin beds together to make a double, but found the beds were different heights, so made it harder. The downstairs bedroom had 3 single beds, but literally no storage (2 small drawers in a table) and a mirror (think was possibly an office previously due to the amount of sockets around the room). Upstairs single shower had fluctuating water temperatures- would be cold, to scalding hot throughout so made showering a roulette experience. Water overall in the property very very hot, so be careful!! But was good to clean the kitchen with. The kitchen had limited storage for your own shopping and had cupboard space wasted with a couple of items and the corner cupboard was completely broken and unable to open. Good size fridge freezer. Garden - overgrown and could do with some love. BBQ very dirty and needed a good clean - we did bring disposable BBQs which we ended up using due to the state of the BBQ itself. Also found a bucket with used cigarette butts in which wasn't pleasant. The boys did play on the play gym but that too could have done with a clean. There was a toy box in the dining room with toys caked in dirt and pet hair (they need either a good clean or just chucking out). The dining room also had enough chairs for 8 people only (we squeezed an extra 2 chairs in from the kitchen and also used the high chair provided). Had a large elephant in the hallway, fun but prevents shoes being tidy.

Evrything

Nothing

Comfortable rooms, plenty of parking, large garden space (including furniture, BBQ), good sized separate lounge, dining room and kitchen to spread out, easy self-checkin process, and ability to book for a single night was a plus as not always possible for large properties at weekends

Tricky to exit onto main road but not as noisy as I expected. Mobile phone dead-spot but good Wi-Fi to compensate