We are a group of nine ex-university friends who meet every year in different locations around the UK and Europe and have done so for the last 35 years. This year, we stayed in the Cotswolds in the picturesque village of Barnsley. Barnsley cottage was very well suited to our group, as many of the beds could be made into twins, and there was plenty of space for all of us in the kitchen and lounge. There were three bathrooms with showers, two en-suite and one main bathroom, which also had a bath. There was also a downstairs cloakroom. The kitchen was very well appointed with everything, pots, pans, and utensils you could possibly need, though it is in need of a bit of a refresh. The lounge is spacious and comfortable with a lovely wood-burning stove. The garden is super, very pretty, with lots of furniture and a few BBQ's, two coal and one gas, and a great fire pit for sitting out in the evening, which we did. The cottage is located in the heart of the village, only 1 min walk to the excellent Village Pub, where we had dinner on Saturday, and a few drinks on Sunday. There are also plenty of walks straight from the cottage into the beautiful Cotswold countryside and the nearby villages of Bibury, Winson, Ablington, and Ampney Crucis. Annabel, the host, was very helpful and responded to messages very quickly.

Annabel was extremely attentive and helpful. The twin room accommodation in the loft was really not suitable for 2 tall adults as you had to stoop quite low to get out of the room without hitting your head on the low beams! However we did enjoy our stay and the cottage had everything we needed I would describe it as homely and well lived in.

Beds and bedding excellent and bathrooms worked well - water hot and showers good. Kitchen was equipped very well although it sometimes took time to find a utensil as there were so many items in drawers and cupboards. Our party prefer a minimally furnished cottage which is therefore cleaner.

Looking to stay in your grandmother’s cluttered, dusty house full of unnecessary tchotchkes and trinkets? Well, this is the place. While the owner is delightful, she frets over the unnecessary instead of what a true renter would focus on...like cleaning the filthy bathroom toilets and floors, or providing clear shelf space for guests to place items on. Sorry, but I don’t need rattling old tea plates in the bedroom, perfume diffusers turned to alcohol, etc., cluttering every possible space. Further, the owner’s personal items should be locked and stored not left out as if she quickly exited her live-in home to make a quick buck on a renter. The website photos are beyond deceiving. This Cotswold cottage could overall be a good rental, but before it’s ‘let’ it’s in need of a proper cleaning and a good painting of walls/floorboards (and steam clean the now blackened cream-colored stairway carpet). Being an innkeeper or a professional leasing agent requires skill and knowledge, not just a makeshift ad on a website for “Luxury accommodations” of which it clearly is not! It needs a rescue plan that begins with garbage bag to toss all the allergy-inducing junk. The only positive is the garden which of course can’t be used in the off-season. The high quality white sheets on the beds was stunning surprise and a good start. Now perhaps the owner might go from there...