Burpham Country House Hotel

We stayed at this delightfully named hotel for a couple of nights in September. It's down some very windy lanes in gorgeous countryside. We could have done with better directions than google maps gave but that's not the fault of the hotel.

Cost: The rooms cost between £75 and £135 a night, depending on when you go and what type of room you have. We stayed in one of the superior double rooms which was comfortable, clean and well stocked with biscuits and drink making supplies.

Food: Excellent! Really delicious food and great service. The food was included in the price of our break, and seemed very well priced for the quality. Some of the ingredients used are fresh from the garden which is wonderful - we had raspberry breakfast muffins with fresh raspberries one morning. They hadn't been out of the oven long and were just fantastic.

Service: The owners, Steve and Jackie, are very friendly and welcoming. We asked at reception for a jug of fresh milk for tea, and chatted to them about the local area.

Facilities: Great. Lovely ensuite room, and we played croquet on the lawn. The pre-dinner drinks room seemed very nice too.

Area: A great place to visit - especially the fairytale Arundel castle which was really interesting with fantastic grounds and lots to look at. The grounds included sculptures (as seen in the picture - right), fountains, a kitchen garden, formal areas and relaxed sections. Arundel itself is a lovely town, with a great fudge shop! We also walked some of the local footpaths along the river which was very nice.

Website: http://www.burphamcountryhouse.com/index.html

Red Doors Farm, Devon

We stayed at Red Doors Farm, near Honiton, Devon, for three nights in March. We stayed in Courtyard Cottage, a two person part-barn conversion. Red Doors has seven cottages in total. Most of this review will be general, with a specific focus on Courtyard Cottage at the end.

Price: Reasonable - however, much more expensive, about double the price of, the last self catering holiday cottage we stayed in (review here).

Service: Fine, no complaints. The emails/letters leading up to the holiday were very business like but the welcome when we arrived was very friendly and cheerful. A "welcome hamper" was put in the cottage for our arrival and milk in the fridge. Note - the welcome hamper was lovely but it was extras and luxuries, not catering supplies.

Facilities: These were excellent. The swimming pool was a good size (although we found it a little chilly - you had to keep moving to stay warm!), and we enjoyed the ping pong in the open air barn shelter. Also there was a table football which although we tried out, it was heavy and stiff - not the best! There is also a games room, with a pool table, a decent DVD library and children's play area. Although we don't have children, I'm sure this area (and the babysitting service offered) would be appreciated by those with young families. In addition, every cottage has a PS2 (games in the games room), and there are outside games (croquet and giant chess). The website gives a full list of facilities, these are just the ones we tried out. In summary - there is a lot to do, you don't need to leave the site if you don't want to!

Area: Very pretty. We walked out from the cottage one day and explored the footpaths in the local area. We were even lucky enough to see some deer, and the views from up the hills were great! We also visited Sidmouth, and took a walk along the coast. Very hilly, but again, stunning views.

Courtyard Cottage: For two people, Courtyard Cottage is wonderful. The kitchen (with aga, gas cooker and oven, fridge and dishwasher) is on the ground floor and was big and spacious. It also has a dining table.
Halfway up the stairs is the bathroom - very nice, with shower and whirlpool bath. The bath is fun, but when the bubbles are on it is a little too noisy to be as relaxing as you might hope.
Up some more stairs is the living room which is huge - sofa, large (board game sized!) coffee table, TV, PS2 and log burner (logs provided free of charge). At one end of the living room is a tiny nook (pictured - right), with windows overlooking the valley (facing the sunrise!). This space is really lovely - do take your breakfast there to enjoy the view and the sunshine.
Up a few steps from the living room, is the bedroom. With kingsize bed and it's own little ensuite toilet room, it's lovely. It also has stargazing windows in the ceiling.
The cottage also has a shared patio garden and terrace although we didn't try this out as it was chilly weather!

Other information: Lovely touches throughout including candles, flowers, binoculars (good for bird watching and stargazing) and the hamper of food! In the games room there are ready meals available (good quality with local ingredients) - which were delicious, and it was nice not to have to cook. There is an honesty box system to pay for them, and they were very reasonably priced.

Website: http://www.reddoors.co.uk/index.html

Novatech

Recently we purchased a new computer and after a bit of browsing decided to go with a model from Novatech. We've used Novatech in the past and have always found them to be reasonably priced with efficient delivery. This time we were purchasing a prebuilt desktop PC.

Cost: The price was the best we found from the various suppliers we looked at. Obviously with PCs the price varies with the performance, but overall we were satisfied on both counts.

Delivery: We selected next day delivery and it arrived on the next day. However when we came to put the PC together we found that we'd been supplied with a mouse that was not compatible with the desktop (the mouse was PS/2 and we needed a USB one). After phoning up to explain our problem they offered to send us the correct mouse in the post (and we could keep the other mouse). The replacement mouse arrived the next day and works fine.

Packaging: The computer seemed to be adequately packaged, although the box design had a gramatical mistake and the mouse was packed in with an disproportionate amount of polystyrene.

Overall: We would definitely consider using Novatech again. Buying a prebuilt PC seemed to be marginally cheaper than buying the same parts and putting them together yourself.

Website - http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/

Roseblade Photography

Owen Roseblade gets top marks from us as a wedding photographer. He took fantastic shots that told the story of our wedding day beautifully, answered all our questions (before and after the day) helpfully, and didn't keep us hanging around with fixed smiles.

Cost: As anyone planning a wedding will know, getting a good photographer will cost you. Owen is an excellent photographer and as such does not come cheap. We would say, however, that it was worth it. He does do different packages to suit different budgets - depending on how much of the day you want him to capture.

Quality: The pictures are fantastic. They aren't just the traditional posed shots - Owen brings imagination and creativity to photography. He picks out what makes your day unique and brings that out in the photographs.

Service: Owen was helpful, friendly and cheerful throughout the whole process. He was cheerful and took photos without being intrusive. He captured the moment but didn't make it about the picture.

Product: As part of the package we bought we got a DVD slideshow of the photos, put to music which was lovely to show friends and family after the wedding. We also got an album which was beautifully produced and presented and a disc with all the images on so we could print our own.

Website - http://www.roseblade.com/Home.php

Youngs Suit Hire

Another highly recommended company we used for our wedding. We wanted four suits from Youngs (groom, bestman and two fathers) but when we came to order they advised us that if we ordered a fifth suit we would get the groom's suit free. What this meant in effect was that the fifth suit was free (apart from a small insurance fee - which was about £6 per suit) and that we were able to collect the suits up to ten days in advance. This in itself was worth the extra money as we were able to check the sizes and that we had what we wanted with plenty of time to make any necessary changes.

Cost: Comparable to other suit hire companies. Platinum deal was definitely worth the money.

Quality: The suits were great - they looked good, fitted well and there was a good range of colours and styles available to choose from.

Service: We used the Reading branch to place the original order and to collect three of the suits from. If not cheerful, they were helpful and polite - no complaints. We also used the Leeds and Thurrock stores, and had similar reports back.

Overall: Fine - good product, good price, good service.

Website - http://www.youngs-hire.co.uk/

Ti-Bihan

Ti-Bihan is a tiny two person gite in Brittany, France. We stayed there for one week on our honeymoon.

Cottage: The gite had everything you could need. The kitchen is modern and well stocked and the bedroom very comfortable. There is a living room with sofa, TV and dining/games table and chairs. The bathroom is also modern with a good power shower. The garden is also beautiful and is very open to the countryside. We went in August and it was fairly warm and sunny so we don't know whether it gets cold in winter - the floors are stone and it is quite open plan. However it does have a fireplace and thick curtains which would help.

Area: The gite is in a remote hamlet (Rotz) so there is plenty of open countryside around for walking. We took a GPS which helped us not to get lost but there are a lot of footpaths and walks marked by coloured signs. The nearest beach was also lovely (Penn Lann, about 30 minutes drive from the cottage) - sandy and not crowded. The nearest village is Caden (3km) and the website mentions the bakery although it was closed when we went so we can't comment on their croissants. Those from the bakery in Beganne (4.6km) were lovely though. We also visited Rochefort en Terre (12.5km) a very pretty town with lots of good souvenir shops. There are plenty of supermarkets reasonably close.

Service: The owners also live in Rotz and are currently renovating a couple of other cottages (the hamlet only seemed to have about ten though so don't be worried about hoards of tourists!) so they were on site if we needed them. They are very friendly and helpful and happy to recommend places to visit. When emailing before the holiday they were also helpful and quick to reply.

Cost: In August a week at Ti-Bihan cost us £385. Our security deposit was about £100 and was returned in full even though we did break a glass.

Overall: This is a lovely peaceful get away cottage for a couple. If you are looking for seclusion somewhere pretty this is ideal.

Website - http://www.escapesinbrittany.com/

Longcombe Farm Holiday Cottages

We stayed at Longcombe Farm for three nights in February, in the Dovecote cottage. Longcombe Farm is made up of six holiday cottages and the owners live on site as well. Most of this review is general, with a specific section about the Dovecote at the end.

Price: Reasonable. We went in the off season (February) and only stayed for a long weekend so it cost about £168.

Service: Friendly and efficient from start to finish. Our breakage deposit was returned in full within a week of our holiday. We appreciated the thought put in - milk was put in the fridge ready for our arrival and there were tea and coffee supplies in the room.

Facilities: The swimming pool was lovely and was a good size. We would have preferred it a few degrees warmer but overall it was fine. The games room was good - we played pool (a slightly run-down looking table but fine for amateurs like us) and we enjoyed the use of the (free) video collection. We also enjoyed freeview TV in our cottage.

Area: Very pretty, although as it was February and rained a lot we didn't go for many walks and we didn't visit the beaches nearby. Two attractions we did visit and would highly recommend are Paignton Zoo and The House of Marbles.

Dovecote: Dovecote is a pretty, tasteful, two-person cottage. When we arrived we found it clean and warm. Bed - comfortable, good size and warm. Bathroom - very nice, good shower (towels provided). A few notes for anyone thinking of renting Dovecote...
1) The cooking facilities are limited - only a microwave, kettle, toaster and plug in two-ring hob. We found cooking and washing up in this tiny kitchen a bit too much effort and went for takeaway when possible.
2) The cupboard on the wall by the door in the kitchen does not have a hinged door. It isn't really a cupboard and the front is only held on by magnets so if you try to open it (as we did) it will fall off.
3) The TV does not twist round so you can watch in bed. If you try this it will fall off the wall.


Website - http://www.longcombe-cottages.co.uk/index.html

Tesco Photos

We have ordered photos from the online Tesco website twice now.

Delivery Speed - Reasonable, the photos came within two weeks.

Cost - Very good, especially if you are bulk buying. Possibly the best thing about this service.

Quality - Good, apart from some problems with how photos had been cropped (chopping the tops of heads off, etc) which can be remedied by using the green box cropping tool on the website.

Website - There are a number of points to make about the website. It works "best" on Internet Explorer (inconvenient for those of us who use other browsers). You can use it with (for example) Firefox but it makes it harder and slower to upload photos. The website helpfully places a green box outline over your photograph to show you which bits will be cropped. This is a really good tool, easy to use and saves chopping off the tops of people's heads. However, the green box only shows up if you are using Internet Explorer. We found that Internet Explorer also reloaded the page constantly, which made selecting numbers of prints, areas to be cropped etc very frustrating and turned it into a race against the webpage.

Customer Service - The second time we used the website there was a slight problem "with the payment details". We were emailed and told to call their helpline, quoting our reference number. Unfortunately the helpline is only open Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm. When we called, we got a recorded message asking us to leave our name, phone number and order number and they would call us back. It took about five and a half hours for them to call. The man who called was helpful and polite and the problem was quickly sorted out. Top marks for their customer service.

Overall: Good and bad. The price is great, very cheap even with postage but the frustration of having to use the flawed Internet Explorer definitely tarnished the whole experience. If they fixed the website so you could use it with Firefox this service would be excellent.

Website - http://www.tescophoto.com/wpp/tesco/

Four Seasons Cuisine

Four Seasons catered our wedding in August and come highly recommended. They are based in Kent but were willing to come to Surrey for it. We had about 140 guests, in a large hall and they provided a three course meal.

Cost: We looked at a few catering companies and were horrified at how much they charge for sit down meals (buffets being only slightly more reasonable). We were given estimates between £4500 and £7500 for 140 guests having a three course sit down meal. We even found that some companies will charge you separately for food, linen, crockery, cutlery and the (compulsory) washing up of the crockery and cutlery (and not including drinks). However, Four Seasons charged just over £3500 all-inclusive. We bought our own drinks (wine, champagne, pimms and soft) and they were not only happy to serve and prepare them (for example buying and chopping the fruit for the pimms) but also they do not charge corkage. Overall - very reasonable.

Service: The service was wonderful. From the first contact they were helpful and courteous, assigning one person to take us the whole way through the process. They were professional and honest about what was possible with the venue facilities. On the day Andrew (who had looked after the whole thing) acted as master of ceremonies. As with many weddings we were running a bit late but he didn't make us feel at all rushed to "get on with it". The serving staff on the day were cheerful and friendly which always helps you to relax and enjoy a meal.

Quality: The food was delicious. We chose a smoked salmon starter, then lamb cutlets (which came with mash and vegetables) and then chocolate cheesecake for dessert. It was all hot, speedy to arrive and good quality (tender meat, well cooked but not overdone vegetables etc). We had told Four Seasons about a week or two in advance the special dietary needs of our guests and they catered to all of them with no problems at all. They also offered a childrens menu (chicken goujons and chips) which we offered to the parents before the wedding so they could choose what their children might like best.

Other information: Overall, a fantastic company, very helpful and excellent service. One other point to note is that they usually provide table linen but as they came so far for our wedding asked us to order our own in (that way they could leave as soon as they were finished, without having to strip the tables bare). They took the cost of us hiring this off our bill. This actually worked really well for us as it gave us more freedom in how the venue would look. (We went for coloured table cloths - supplied by Coloured Linen Hire, reviewed below).

Website - http://www.fourseasonscuisine.co.uk/

Edugames

We've been making games for several years now and this website sells lots of useful game making components. We have always found the counters and dice to be reasonably priced, of good quality, and delivery promptly. Moreover, the woman who runs Edugames is very good at answering questions by email.

Link: http://www.edugames.co.uk/

Ascot Florists by Christianne

Another company we used for our wedding, this florist supplied the bouquets, buttonholes and corsages for the wedding party and also some arrangements for the reception venue.

Service: We went in on a number of occasions to arrange or change certain details and each time the service was helpful and courteous. The bouquets arrived well on time as did all the table arrangements.

Products: The flowers were beautifully arranged and of a very high quality. They all looked very fresh and lasted well. One of the table arrangements we gave to an elderly relative who told us it lasted two weeks after the wedding.

Cost: We set out our budget for each item and by that the florist decided how much to put in of each kind of flower so we stayed on budget. However, flowers are expensive, especially if you want to go for lilies and roses. To make it cheaper you can ask the florist to fill out the arrangements with things like carnations and greenery.

Overall: Very good service, beautiful flowers, not cheap but well worth it.

Website - Ascot Flowers

Coloured Linen Hire

One of the trickiest things to find for our wedding was round coloured table cloths - this company was the only one I found with large enough round table cloths (our tables were 5' diameter and we wanted blue cloths).

Price - Very comparable to other linen hire companies, and includes all laundry charges. Delivery is free on orders over £250 but under £30 otherwise.

Quality - The table cloths and napkins were all good quality (thick linen), and were uncreased and clean when they arrived.

Delivery and collection - Prompt - no problems at all. You do need someone to be there to sign for the cloths.

Choice - They have 27 different linen colours in lots of sizes and they seem to have plenty of each item.

Service - Both the people I spoke to on the phone were very friendly and helpful and they were willing to send out swatch cards to show us the colour before we placed our order.

Overall: This is the only company we found that provides this service and they are very good.

Website - Coloured Linen Hire

SAYNOTO0870.COM

A very useful web page for all consumers living in the UK. Many companies use premium rate help lines, but also have 'normal' landline phone numbers that go to the same place. On this site you can search for a company or phone number to see if there is a cheaper alternative available.

Reliability - Every number we have tried from the 'main database' has proved successful, but we have our doubts about many entries in the 'unverified numbers database'. We have found a cheaper alternative for most companies we have needed to phone up.

Cost - Free.

Scope - Covers many 0800, 0808, 0844, 0845, 0870 and 0871 numbers.

Overall: Since it costs nothing to look up the phone number and it can provide huge savings in phone bills we would highly recommend giving this site a go.

Website - SayNoTo0870.com.

Townends

Although they were helpful when showing us around houses, Townends were extremely impersonal as soon as we'd paid our deposit. Between us, we have had two contracts with Townends, and their customer service has been appalling both times.

The first problem, which has affected everyone we know who has used them, is that they share your details with other Townends branches. This wouldn't be a problem, except that they do this even if you specifically ask them not to (and tick a box stating that you wouldn't like to hear from other branches). It is very annoying to have three or four conversations where someone is trying to book a time for you to see houses in an area you don't want to live. Often they phone you even after you've found a house (from Townends).

On one occasion our bank transferred our rent a day late (something which most banks say they may do in their small print), and Townends insisted on us paying a fine of an amount which they made up!

On another occasion the landlord did not send back the deposit for well over three months, and Townends refused to do anything about it, stating that once the letting time ends it is up to you to get your money returned.

Before you even obtain a contract it is necessary to pay them to "professionally" prepare a contract. This takes an inordinate length of time, and what comes back looks like a generic contract with the names and addresses changed. However, their contracts are also riddled with spelling and typing mistakes. One such mistake was (or presumably still is) "...upon the determination of the tenancy." which should have read "...upon the termination of the tenancy." Clearly this dramatically changes the meaning of the sentence. Another sentence, in bold and in a section entitled "IMPORTANT", refers to the "Citizens Advise Bureau". We enquired about them correcting these mistakes, and were told that we would have to pay for them to be professionally rewritten, and that it would take a long time.

We have found Townends extremely slow to pay money back, but very quick to raise fines.

We have also had contracts with different estate agents that were fine (for example Runnymede Residential Letting Services).

Dreams

Our initial impressions of Dreams were good. We were served quickly and courteously while in the shop, and found a bed we liked fairly quickly. However the bed slats arrived damaged, and so we were forced to use Dreams' helpline.

The process of getting replacement slats was long and difficult. They did not arrive on the day specified, which is particularly annoying since they can only deliver during work hours. When they did turn up the replacements were the wrong size.

We were forced back to the helpline, and were given a new date when new slats (third set) would be delivered. These did not turn up on the given day, so we phoned up again. We were given a new delivery date, and this time they did arrive on the right day.

Product - Good quality, comfortable mattress. Solid and nice looking bed frame, once we got decent slats. It was ok to put together.

Price - Very good, partly because we bought ex-display models.

Service - Great in the shop, terrible once we'd paid and left.

Overall: The complete bed was therefore half a month later than advertised, we had to wait for deliveries on five days (only three of which they delivered on), and we had to spend a long time on the phone to Dreams. We were given no compensation for our troubles.

The Morlan Hotel - Aberporth

We had a lovely stay in a little seaside hotel run by two of the friendliest people you're likely to meet. Graham and Annette were only too happy to provide us with anything we wanted from extra tea and coffee supplies to advice about the local area (and life in general!)

Room - En suite with four poster bed. Plenty of storage space, TV and sofa.

Food - Excellent food in very generous portions. There is also the option of having smaller 'take-away' meals brought up to the rooms, which were also very good.

Location - Very close to the beach, which is sandy and generally not too crowded. The view from the room was of the town. Very good for rambling, and a short car journey from such local attractions as the New Quay Honey Farm (which we found very interesting).

Service - Although the service was very friendly and personal, it can be slow in the restaurant at times because there are only two members of staff.

Cost - Very reasonable at £70 per night for bed and breakfast. Dinner is extra but well worth it.

Overall - We would definitely consider going back again, and would especially recommend a visit to those who haven't seen the area.

Website - The Morlan Hotel.