Host & Stay | The Old Post Office in Docking — Guest Reviews

We had a really lovely stay at the Old Post Office in Docking over Christmas. The cottage is charming, cosy and exactly as described in the listing and photos. Despite some previous reviews suggesting the kitchen wasn’t well equipped, we found it had everything we needed for our stay, which was great.\n\nThe attic room is a lovely space, though the stairs are steep and narrow – this is clearly explained in the listing. As we stayed in December, the attic was quite cold and the heater wasn’t sufficient to fully warm the room, but extra blankets and thick pyjamas did the trick.\n\nThe main living space is perfect for switching off, with a large comfy sofa and wood burner that made evenings especially cosy. The downstairs shower opens into the kitchen/lounge area, so it just needs a bit of planning when using it.\n\nWe really enjoyed our time here with our two teenage children and had a thoroughly relaxing Christmas break. A lovely cottage and we would happily recommend it.

Perfect for couples or an older family Positive: Loved the downstairs rainfall shower and cooking facilities. Also the loved Fireplace didn’t get to use it as it didn’t get too cold Negative: Not suited to a young family as no outdoor space. The staircase to the attic room is very narrow and again not suitable for young children as it’s too narrow for a stair gate

Positive: Property is comfortable. Good location for exploring north Norfolk. Docking is a pretty village with good convenience store. Negative: It’s worth noting that access to one of the bedrooms is via a ladder style staircase and although there is 2 bathrooms there is only 1 shower which is on the ground floor off the kitchen. Pet friendly but no garden and the only external door leads directly on to the pavement/ road junction. There is constant traffic noise from early morning so not so good for light sleepers!

stayed here twice now when working in the area, good place thanks again

lads enjoyed there stay was clean and looked liked pictures. will visit again.

We had a lovely few days here over new year. Comfortable bedrooms, living room and bathrooms. The kitchen felt a little under equipped for 6 adults but was perfectly good. Great to have a wood burner and some nice touches like games provided.

Not good - will not be revisiting. Positive: Docking is a good location to explore North Norfolk although the actual location of the property was directly on a main road with lost of traffic noise from early morning to early evening. Negative: The property was presented in a disgusting condition both from a cleanliness and hygiene perspective. We had to spend over 3 hours ourselves cleaning the property to a minimum acceptable standard. Our complaint to Host & Stay was met with apologies and after submitting full details to them including many supporting photos they eventually offered an inadequate £60 refund on a cost of £656 which we received some 6 weeks later. We shall not be using this property again and the experience has damaged our view of Host & Stay and to be honest Bookings.com.

Fine, but underwhelming and not worth the money Positive: Thought it was a cosy space Negative: The main issue was that, while the property itself is nice, it felt poorly prepared, maintained and managed, which significantly affected our stay. There were simply too many issues that collectively made us feel unwelcome and uncomfortable. On arrival, there were dirty towels from previous guests, a half-full hoover and an area of junk immediately visible, with no bin bags provided. The property also had a noticeable dog smell. There were dusty surfaces and accumulated dirt, particularly on the stairs, and the front door was covered in cobwebs and looked as though it hadn’t been properly cleaned for years. There were also dirty glasses and cookware, rusty cooking utensils, broken knives, stained carpets throughout the living room and a coffee machine with dried milk still on the frothing wand. There were numerous maintenance issues too: the oven didn’t work at all, the curtain pole had fallen off and been left in the corner, the fridge catch was broken and missing its door shelf, the shower drained poorly and smelled, and the coffee table broke during our stay. There were also very limited cleaning supplies, no cloths for wiping surfaces, barely any washing-up liquid or soap, and no bin bags. For a family of four staying four nights, having only one toilet roll was also a significant inconvenience. I appreciate that some tea, coffee, toilet roll and cookies were provided after I raised the initial issues, but overall there were just too many basic things that hadn’t been properly checked, cleaned or maintained. The property has potential, but at the price we paid, I expected a much higher standard of preparation and management.

Total rip off Positive: No parking space No outside space Washed clothes no where to dry them Awful traffic noise Not enough mugs , plates , cutlery or glasses Not enough space to sit six around the table Negative: Road noise appalling

We ended up getting a refund and leaving after a short period due to plumbing issues at the property that were not able to be resolved. The property was also not consistently clean, with many stains, including food residue on the bedding.

Good location near beach about 5 miles. I booked it fairly late and the owner kindly let me book it for 4 days in the height of summer. As I was with my young grand children I would not have chose property normally as it had no garden and was on a very busy main road.However this was accurately described when booking. My main problem was the place was not particularly clean. Downstairs smelt of dog, the toilet downstairs was constantly running water. The hot water in bath was boiling and was extremely dangerous if I had taken my eyes of grand children for a second.

A lovely cottage for a Winter short stay with log burner. Negative: The shower room had a blocked plug and was unclean, when we asked if this could be sorted during our stay, We were told to try removing any hair, to boil the kettle and pour it down the drain. For the amount of money we spent staying here, things like this should be cleaned and checked before guests arrive. The property is right on the road and you can hear the traffic quite alot.

lovelly place to stay in a beautiful village. Great house inside and out. just mind any loose bricks falling down the fireplace in the middle of the night. we thought there were ghosts.

A quirky and characterful place to stay. Worth noting that the property is on a busy road and doesn’t have a garden or parking space

Lovely place. Would love to stay again. Positive: Spacious rooms Homely Comfortable beds Bathrooms were lovely Everything worked. Location WiFi good TV good Such a lovely cottage in a great location for an incredibly relaxing stay. Negative: No dishwasher (minor) No garden (minor)

Perfect experience

A mixed bag This is a lovely property let down by general maintenance. Pro’s; Plentiful hot water, very comfy beds, good quality linens and towels, quick wi-fi, well equipped kitchen, comfy seating, location to areas of interest, well stocked local shop.Con’s; Situated on a very busy road and junction, stairs to attic bedroom a lot steeper and narrower than anticipated from the description, the skylight blinds didn’t close, no locks on bathroom doors, very wobbly toilet seats and taps, kitchen window handle broken, no parking, the outside of the property was very untidy with some very big weeds and dirty windows and paintwork, the front door latch didn’t engage properly and required some attention.Also to note that was that the Rooks were nesting in the trees opposite and were very active at around 9pm and 4.30am! We appreciate that this is nature and didn’t cause us an issue but if you were trying to settle younger children it would be something to consider.

House is heautifuo but very frustrating expericne without a person to help I would not recommend Positive: House is beautiful Negative: No manual to explain anything No advice as to where to park Hearing didn’t work in some rooms and took days to get actual help even then radiator in kitchen didn’t work No explanation as to where oven turned on despite looking everywhere I could only find a button for the heat extractor No details sent on where key safe was or what it looked like - only got it because a stranger helped us stuck on the doorstep for an hour on arrival Replies from booking took too long Needs a phone number to be able to call someone immediately when there is a problem

The parking instructions were unclear. The house was on a very busy road, something we couldn’t research before. There were a number of maintenance issues and cleaning issues which despite me raising with the host through their complaint form as requested; they did nothing. Very little equipment in the kitchen. Terrible smell in the downstairs toilet due a leaking pipe. All round just really disappointing. You don’t want to turn up to a holiday let and need to clean it !

Positive: The location was great 👍

Would stay again Positive: Good location for exploring North Norfolk & the cottage was cosy Negative: Knowing where the log store was would have been helpful