Alcombe House, Minehead

Great size, great location. Nice building. Just unfortunate that the boiler for hot water wasn't working during our stay and had only 3 showers with hot water between 9 people.

It should be made clear there is no downstairs toilet. Also getting a hot shower was very hit and miss. However all bedrooms had an ensuite and there was plenty of room in the dining room and lounge and the kitchen was well equipped.

Beautiful house spotlessly clean each room has its own bathroom Perfect for ... Beautiful house spotlessly clean each room has its own bathroom Perfect for large party 2 ovens and 2 microwaves Walkable in Minehead town and beach Fish and chips and Indian takeaway close by

Overall good Our bathroom had low pressure so showers and baths were rubbish Double beds are actually 4ft small doubles. Pool table unplayable as locking pins dont work.

Overall we had a fantastic weekend reunion with old friends in this very characterful old hotel. The beds were all comfortable and water was always hot which is definitely a bonus and theres plenty of room for everyone to eat and socialise together. The only negatives were the bathroom in room 4 which had a soaking wet wall and a broken heater, so it was always cold, plus the wooden spoons in the utensil drawer were all covered in bluegreen furry mould when we arrived. There were also a couple of old beer cans under the furniture in the living room but no big deal.

We had a great time in this beautiful property, the accommodation was lovely and the amenities were really close by. The property was easy to find and the location was great. loved it

Really great hse ideal for large parties as has 8 good sized bedrooms Perhaps ... Really great hse ideal for large parties as has 8 good sized bedrooms Perhaps a few more Pyrex and oven dishes if you plan to use kitchen but ovens really efficient Overall a great hse for relaxing Thank you

We had a gathering of 12 family and had a lovely time at the property. Very clean and all the rooms are bigger than they look in the photos! The only problem we encountered was with the showers, the showers in room 1 and 2 worked fine but the others all had temperature problems and a few had pressure problems as well. This could have possibly been fixed if we had asked which we didn't and we managed through. Otherwise a lovely stay!

House was clean although due to it being an old hotel every door had a fire door. One of the doors broke and the box at the top came off the wall, with nails sticking it which scratched one of the adults face.

We had a lovely stay. We couldnt find any information on what to do with recycling & rubbish and the bins outside were full so we left it in the kitchen. We also stripped the bedding even though we had no instructions to do so. The house was perfect for a family get together. We enjoyed visiting the beach & Dunster Castle and grounds all very close. The welcome pack referred to the original hotel information which meant we were a little unsure about the leaving arrangements.

Lovely house perfect for a great weekend with friends plenty of room bedrooms ... Lovely house perfect for a great weekend with friends plenty of room bedrooms were comfortable kitchen facilities great thoroughly enjoyed our stay there would recommend for large groups

Good points We all slept very well, the beds were very comfortable and all the rooms and bathrooms were all a very good size, it made room allocations very easy. All rooms clean and well presented. Well stocked kitchen everything was brand new and it was well equipped including kids meal things, we were impressed with the range of cups, glasses and plates. However, the plates were not great quality and we found left marks after using with cutlery. Also we tried to find out from Sykes what we could expect to find in the kitchen but they were not much help at all. Therefore, we unnecessarily packed pots, cooking utensils, even a blender as well as plastic plates, cups and cutlery because of the lack of information we did not want to risk not having what we needed for the duration of the stay. good location to shops very helpful that the property is well located with access to 3 major super markets, very handy and a definite plus. The games room was a real hit. The multiple functional table provided hours of entertainment and was a great addition to the property. Also good that there was TV in there although upon arrival was not set up. Great size and very spacious living room especially for the kids to play, we were able to set up the babies play pen and it was very thoughtful that a baby gate was provided although we didn't have need to use it. However, for the open fire I would suggest an enclosureguard around the fire place, we had curious babies who often wondered up to it so we had to use one of the tables to separate them from it. Very happy with the parking we were able to get all 5 cars in Thank you for the beautifully decorated Christmas tree We also appreciated the very helpful and useful 2nd cooking area outside the games from, essential with a big family and lots of things to cook for Christmas. Bad pointsthings to improve We appreciated the history of the house I read in the welcome pack that it was built in 1780 and can also appreciate the cost of maintaining such a building but there are still some things that I believe can be improved. Some were quite frustrating and I would suggest they are looked into sooner rather than later. Firstly there was no ground floor WC I noted the cloakroom on the first floor but it was packed full of stuff and not useable, this meant that if you had go to the loo the only option was in your room, very difficult especially if you are on the upper floors. The fact that there is a cloakroom available it should be made accessible. Upon arrival it was not obvious at least not to me and my husband about how to gain entry into the house. There was no clear instruction in the email which contained the code and it frustrated me that I had to call the helpline in order to get information. We travelled from East London and it was a 4.5 hour drive with a 6 month baby, the last thing I wanted to do was to spend an extra half and hour trying to figure out how to get into the house. Clearer instructions should have been provided, even as simple as, key pad for entry is located on the right hand side of the door. As we received a code and the email made mention of keys, we assumed we were looking for a lock box that contained the front door key. I did not appreciate the extra effort after such a long journey. Extreme problems with the internet, it was very helpful that the information was clearly provided about the WiFi but it only worked well on our phones and tablets. It very much needs a boost as it was not able to carry the TV in living room and basement. although the TV was fine in room 4. I can appreciate that there were a number of devices connected at the same time which may have contributed to the problem, but this should have been expected and anticipated. The fact that the house can take up to 16 people and has three TVs, the necessary adjustments should be made to ensure better internet connection. As guests we should not need to compromise on this. The biggest issue we had however, was with the hot water, some rooms were worse than others, for example my cousin and his wife in room 6 complained of no water and had to use the facilitates in the neighbouring room which had no problems. We should have been told about the tank and how it work, you cannot assume that we would know and again as guests this is not something we should have compromise on or worry about. Thank you for providing the brand new travel cots as we requested, they were very easy to set up and very helpful that a protector and sheets were provided, however, mattresses were the wrong size and were too big for the actual cot. We were able to use them regardless but it meant that my child slept on a slight angel which was of course was not ideal. You'll need to change this asap for the correct size. We loved room 1, especially the extra big bathroom, however, it had two major issues, firstly the bathroom is big but has insufficient heating for the size, so despite having a heated towel rail it was not enough to heat the room to a comfortable level. I would suggest adding an extra heater, the one I had in room 4 was very good. The second issue with this room was the heating in the bedroom. It cut off, the heater did look old so it may be it died, thankfully we used the portable heater in the living room, which was fine. However, guests should not to deal with problems with such basic needs such as heat and water. As mentioned above the kitchen was well stocked and had a lovely new fridge, however, for a house that size with that many people 1 is simply not enough, you need additional one, even if it is not as big I would suggest an extra one. I had to report that we had issues doors not closing properly and some jamming. In room 8 my cousin was trapped in the walk in closet for over an hour, we were all down stairs and didn't hear his cries for help and he didn't have his phone with him, so he had to break the glass to get out. The other door that jammed was the bathroom in room 3, luckily no one was in it at the time. Initial instructions should have been provided to explain how to use the fireplace and portable heater you cannot assume everyone knows how to do this.