Staycotswold Avis 

I arranged a last-minute trip to Stow-on-the-Wold to visit family and booked the Cosy Cross Keys cottage on 4 November. However, on 7 November—nine days before my stay was due to begin—I received an email from StayCotswold informing me that my booking had been cancelled by the owner without any explanation.

After requesting clarification, I was told there had been an overlap between my reservation and the owner’s need to block the property for maintenance. When I contacted the owner directly, I was informed that the cancellation was due to Christmas decorations being installed throughout the week. I was also told that, because I had only booked a few days earlier, cancelling the reservation “wasn’t an issue.” Although the owner offered a 15% discount on alternative dates—which I appreciated—it was ultimately unhelpful, as my arrangements were already in place and the experience left me unwilling to rebook.

StayCotswold did provide five alternative property suggestions; however, three did not accept dogs, and none were located in Stow, so the options were not particularly suitable.

In addition to the cancellation issues, I discovered that a £250 security deposit had been reserved on my payment card on 10th November AFTER the booking was cancelled, which took 10 days to be released back on my card.

I also experienced problems during the initial booking process. When I first attempted to book the cottage online on the evening of 3 November, I immediately received a cancellation email despite the payment being taken. I submitted an online enquiry and waited for a response, but by midday the next day I had heard nothing. When I called StayCotswold, the representative mentioned he had seen my email that morning, which raised the question of why no one had contacted me. They proceeded to confirm the booking, and payment was processed but maybe I should have taken this as a sign that the booking was not going to be successful.

Overall, the experience was disappointing and fell well short of the communication, reliability, and professionalism I would expect.

Would 100% NOT recommend this company!!! We booked a 3 night stay with them to a property that stated it had an enclosed garden as we were taking our small dog. We arrived to find this was not the case, so we left. Contacted StayCotswolds who were totally uninterested, and frankly quite rude. Thankfully, after submitting countless emails to them, I contacted my credit card company and they reimbursed me. Rude company, never again will I book with them - be warned.

We have recently enjoyed a fabulous few days at this most stylish and exquisite property- Gislebertus House in the centre of Stow-on-the-Wold.
It has been beautifully decorated and furnished by an Interior designer, with 2 bedrooms, both with ensuite bathrooms - including bath and shower in each, also
luxurious bathrobes and towels were provided.

Although an apartment concept all on one level, it is amazingly spacious with high ceilings, very modern comfortable furnishings and thoughtful touches such as a games table and bar!
The kitchen is incredibly well equipped for any length of stay.
Everything about this property is exceedingly stunning, spotless and such a pleasure to spend time in.
We popped into the offices of StayCotwold with an enquiry and to register our delight in staying at such a gorgeous property.
It appears the the property is currently For Sale and so future bookings may or may not be forthcoming.
However, we shall stay in contact in this regard, as we would very much like to return to this beautiful place.
Judith & Geoff

I had the misfortune to stay at Cub Cottage from the 6th of October. We booked for 4 nights but left after the 3rd. The cottage needed a good clean - living room and kitchen particularly. It was impossible to set the clock on the Rangemaster, so couldn’t use main ovens. Biggest issue was the noise the radiators made through the night. So bad we couldn’t sleep. The path from “garden” area is completely overgrown and impossible to use as a shortcut to the car park.
I made Kevin (he manages some properties) and Staycotswolds aware of the issues and all they do is re-iterate that they are not authorised to make decisions regarding compensation. So, 3 weeks later I’m still waiting to be contacted by the owner.
Terrible customer service.

Having used Stay Cotswold a few times previously we rebooked a cottage we've stayed in before.
Only when trying to book local restaurants and pubs we found it was the same week as the Stow Horse Fair.
When finding this out we tried to change our booking. The customer service was terrible, there were no options to amend the booking, to change dates or anything. The staff could not care less and did not seem to think it was an issue. Their attitude was terrible. We were told theres some small print which states this, but it needs to be more obvious and as stated, we stayed before so why would we re-read all of this info.
Safe to say we will not be using them again.

Good communication from Stay Cotswolds
Beautiful Greenview Cottage in Little Barrington,
Problem with oven door not closing properly, had to prop chair against it. Power cut for whole day, no note left. Guest unable to get online to work.
Broken blind in bedroom, left on floor. No kindling or firelighters left as stated. Enjoyed stay nonetheless.

Stayed The Farmhouse, Aston Somerville, 4th August 2025.

We were a bit concerned that a property that always seemed well booked only has 5 reviews on the Staycotswold site for 2025. When you try to review on their site you realise why. Reviews are by invite only and if they think you have had any issues then you don't make the invite list! My advice is don't believe review scores on their site while they continue to adopt this dishonest practice which keeps review scores misleadingly higher. Hence this review on google and trust-pilot (where they hope nobody notices!).

Upon arrival it appeared the cottage hadn't been cleaned as there were stains on the kitchen floor, food crumbs on the work surfaces and generally a bit dusty in most rooms. We checked with the owner who assured us it had been cleaned so we just accepted we had different ideas on cleanliness and gave it a clean ourselves. This was after we had purchased our own anti-bac wipes, jay cloths and washing up sponges. There was 1 jay cloth and 1 washing up sponge provided but they were disgusting and went in the bin. The untidy utility room has cupboards jammed with items but we couldn't find any of the above.

I appreciate that Staycotswold aren't responsible for the properties but they are marketing them and should be responsible for the pictures on their website which are obviously out of date.

Starting from the outside the pictures show a nice carport and parking for 4 or 5 cars. The carport has been boarded off and used to store what i assume is the owners junk which obviously limits parking to 2 or 3 cars. The window frames are in desperate need of refurbishment and the bolts on the main doors don't match up and can't be used. It will take you a while to work out the keys as the locks are fiddly.

The pictures also fail to show-
A cluttered kitchen with hardly any space on the work surfaces, who needs 4 coffee machines especially as only 1 is usable with a couple of pods provided. The cupboards are full of items you won't need including food items obviously left by other guests, some of which are out of date.
The garden is generally untidy with the bottom part being unusable and overgrown with nettles.
The utility room is really untidy with items such as a hoover just stacked in the corner. Not sure of the point of the pool table with the ripped cloth stacked in the other corner. There isn't enough room to play and it's too heavy to carry anywhere else.
The living room is OK but could do with a new TV stand to replace the one that is falling apart.
The upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms appeared cleaner (barring the stain in the roll top bath left by the greasy head of a previous guest) but there are no dressing tables, TV's or drawers in the bedrooms. Just a wardrobe in the main bedrooms which is propped up with wooden blocks to combat the really uneven floors. There is also a tasteful elastic band holding up the shower head in the main en suite.
Plus points include lovely views from the back terrace although take sun cream as there is no shade/umbrella. Also some nice touches with flowers, alcohol and a food hamper although only use the items in the hamper or you will have to send it back or pay £50 for another one LOL.

A mug got broken in the dishwasher so we were charged £18.50 to replace it! It will look a bit out of place next to most of the other chipped mugs. A bit of a sore point seeing as we spent more than this amount on cleaning items plus our first hour cleaning the kitchen.

Unfortunately disappointed on the whole with our 4 night stay, although not all bad, it wasn't good value for the price paid.

We have stayed in cottages in the Broadway area for several years but wouldn't book with Staycotswold again. Previously we have stayed in cottages run by hotels such as The Fish and the Broadway Hotel. They are immaculate and cleaned to hotel standards. These types of rental companies bind you to the owners standards so will not always suit.

An honest review but looking forward to the usual Staycotswold defensive reply denying all of the above!

We stayed at Nepenthe in Stow on the Wold. First impressions were good, bed linen excellent quality. However in the kitchen which has a tiled floor & also living room floor which is wooden, we kept finding our footprints everywhere! There was a mat at the back door and a mat leading into the kitchen from the living room. They were both saturated with water. There was literally a trail of water carrying them outside. Where we left them to dry. There was a further large mat in the living room which was also half wet. Not sure what had gone on here, but having to mop up water off a floor is not a good start to the holiday. The recycling bin in the kitchen was full, along with one of the bedrooms that also had not had the bin emptied. Tiny garden needs some TLC, not a fan of baskets with dead foliage in them. Could not find a key to open side gate to put the recycling and bin out. However on the Thursday of our stay two people came walking up the entrance which was accessible by the side gate, to do some gardening for next door. These people obviously had a key, it would have been polite to knock on the door instead of giving us a fright through the kitchen window. Parking is a nightmare. Apart from this Stow is a lovely place.

I would not recommend Walltree House to anyone, especially dog owners. The listing was incredibly misleading and full of hidden fees. Although it clearly stated that three dogs were included in the price, we were later told they weren’t and charged an outrageous £160. This kind of pricing feels deliberately deceptive.

The house itself was not dog-friendly at all. There were no carpets, which meant our dogs were slipping constantly on the hard floors. This could easily lead to injury. If you’re travelling with pets, this place is absolutely unsuitable.

To top it off, the WiFi signal was extremely poor throughout the property, making it difficult to stay connected or plan activities.

Overall, a very disappointing experience. The property listing is inaccurate, the charges are unreasonable, and the house is unsafe for pets. Proceed with caution.

WOULD NOT RECOMMEND
We stayed at walltree house,
Steane NN13 5NS.
This stay was very poor starting off with the bed being broken, bathroom door trim was snapped, screws risen on floor boards, wasp nest outside bedroom window not allowing any air ventilation causing a very uncomfortable sleep the description on the house states that it is dog friendly but the garden is not enclosed and stairs have no carpet causing the dogs to slip and fall multiple times luckily no injuries were caused. Overall I’m not very happy with my stay at the walltree house and will not be visiting again.

The advert clearly stated the price included dogs however after the stay we got charged extra, I’m very disappointed with my stay at the walltree house at staycotswold.

Avoid this company if you possibly can and their properties. I booked one of their properties in April 2025 for a walking holiday called the Pool House in the Cotswolds via Airbnb.
All went smoothly at the beginning and they were very efficient. A few weeks in the owner said a neighbouring property was having a party and I might be disturbed by the noise. There is a law in England about noise after a certain time so I said fine these are the only dates I can do, I want this house, the area to go walking in and there is no other house nearby which is similar. I was then relentlessly harassed about my decision until I stopped answering their messages. Today they cancelled the booking!! Shame on the owners of the Pool House, shame on Staycotswold and shame on Airbnb!

Please everyone read the NUMEROUS one star reviews and avoid this company.

Our stay at Owls Roost in the Cotswolds, managed by StayCotswold Ltd, was extremely disappointing. On our first night, we experienced a complete power failure that lasted into the late morning. We were advised after we left the property that had it been fixed. This is a substantial property that is run off of a spare from the owners house as opposed to having its own supply.

With family arriving and a fridge full of perishable food, the lack of electricity was a major issue. We had no heating, and despite contacting the owner multiple times, we were met with no information about the cause of the failure and no clear indication of when or if it would be fixed.

StayCotswold Ltd's response was equally frustrating. Instead of providing any type of solution, they were very rude and suggested we put a log on the fire to stay warm. The property itself was nothing like the pictures—very rundown and poorly maintained. We had specifically asked about the hot tub and were assured it would be available, but it was freezing cold and unusable despite our efforts to heat it.

With no other accommodation available, we had no choice but to check out the following day, losing hundreds of pounds in the process. We intend to take legal action to recover our money, as StayCotswold Ltd has shown no responsibility for the issues we faced. The owner offered us a refund of a partial day rate which is wholly unacceptable and inadequate.

I dare say that the typical response will follow to this from StayCotswold Ltd. I’ve no intention of reading it but would highly recommend you avoid this company and any of the properties that they rent out.

Our stay at Lower Barn, Chipping Norton was excellent. Beautiful cottage very near High Street, so can walk everyone. Stylishly decorated and all furnuture to a high standard. Nice welcome pack and the People who manage the property were great. Had 2 issues that were dealt with quickly. A nice base to explore the area. Has 1 parking space which is a bit tight if the space next to it is occupied, but a small inconvenience. We spent 28 nights there and loved the Barn and the area. Stay Cotswold were very informative and helpful.

We stayed at The Court House, 3 The Square, King's Sutton, and I would strongly advise avoiding this property at all costs.

Unresolved Complaints & Dishonest Owner
When we raised multiple issues with StayCotswold, they did absolutely nothing. The owner blatantly lied and denied everything, and StayCotswold took her word over ours without question.

Swimming Pool – Misleading & Unusable
The pool was freezing—nowhere near the advertised temperature. The owner falsely claimed it was close to 80 degrees, but in reality, it felt more like 50 degrees. Even the kids were shivering. It was clear she simply didn’t want to spend money heating it properly.

Lack of Privacy & Feeling Spied On
The owner was constantly around, watching us and turning up uninvited. Her office is directly connected to the house, giving her easy access whenever she wanted, which felt intrusive and uncomfortable.

Unprofessional & Rude Behaviour
There were multiple issues with her attitude, but one standout moment was on our final evening when she knocked on our door at 8pm—just to ask us to move the bins to the front of the property! Completely unnecessary and unprofessional.

Giving StayCotswold a well-deserved 1-star for failing to address our concerns and siding with a dishonest owner. Unfortunately, I would never book through this company again.

We had a large family gathering in early January which included a 2 year old, a 11 month old and a six month old.

The heating in he property broke meaning we had to abandon our weekend after one night.

The owner provided a full refund their end as did Airbnb, however, staycotswolds would not release their fee.

Speaking with the owner and Airbnb management, all were of the agreement that we should receive a full refund from all parties and were surprised staycotwolds were doing this considering the conditions we faced.

Reading online reviews from others who have experienced a similar poor experience, staycotswolds have provided appalling responses. I should have done my research before booking. Avoid.

I am just really disappointed with the situation.

We booked our weekend away through Airbnb, StayCotswold was the host. They are an agency, their properties are all individually managed.

We were unfortunate to experience an issue with the oil at our property. This left us without central heating and hot water on the coldest night of the year. With three children aged between 6 months and 2 years old, we were forced to abandon our weekend.

We didn’t receive the ‘family friendly’ property StayCotswold had sold us, and we thought a refund would be easy enough to retrieve. We were surprised that we were only offered a partial refund, about 60%. We explained that we had spent a lot of money on things we didn’t get to enjoy. They had no sympathy for that or the situation we had with our babies.

Our property manager confirmed that he refunded us in full, and once that was brought to StayCotswold attention they said it was Airbnb’s fees that were missing. We got in touch with Airbnb who clarified the breakdown in costs. They agreed that we should get a full refund and paid their share like the property manager did. They said that we would need to get back in touch with StayCotswold for the hundreds of pounds missing as part of their agency fees. Airbnb were apologetic and sympathetic of our situation.

We went back to them one more time and again we weren’t given straight answers. We tried being direct, but they did everything to avoid answering why they had provided £0 in refund while both the property manager and Airbnb accepted accountability and refunded us in full. They admitted their responsibility in advertising and marketing the property, but we were sold something we didn’t receive. They were no less accountable than the other parties, but they are certainly less respectable.

I wish I’d read reviews on Trustpilot before booking with them, as there are many similar examples. I’m sure they will respond with a rude reply trying to blame us for misunderstanding, as they do with all negative comments. Their messaging is intentionally deceitful, aiming to avoid admitting that they are a company who don’t value customer service. They are solely interested in taking and keeping your money.

Archway Cottage - the décor is stunning, and the property is immaculately clean. With everything you need for a relaxing stay, this beautiful cottage exceeded our expectations. The perfect blend of character and comfort, personal touches, well-equipped kitchen, beautiful! Archway Cottage is a must-visit destination for a peaceful retreat. Easy booking and excellent communication before and during our stay “We will be back!”

My experience with StayCotswold was unfortunately quite disappointing. I booked and put down a deposit for the Ivycroft Cottage for my wedding day, after waiting a few months for the dates to be released. On Christmas Eve, I received an email saying that the Ivycroft Cottage is no longer available!!! It is frustrating to find this out the day before Christmas Day and 6 months before my wedding when there is now not many places left to book!! They were very apologetic but gave me no reasoning as to why it’s no longer available, and the other property’s they offered were nowhere near the original accommodation and weren't suitable choices. I’ve now got to pay for a really expensive accommodation elsewhere. This is disappointing when the whole point of a deposit is to secure your place. The customer service was great but this is not good enough.

It seems the stellar reputation stay cotswolds once had is a thing of the past.

Post office cottage was filthy and had hazardous black mould present and untreated.

When we contacted Stay Cotswolds, they denied any responsibility, claiming they were merely an "agent" and that our contract was directly with the property owner. The owner, in turn, refused to provide us with any refund or even an apology, despite us leaving the property.

We have notified the local parish council and trading standards and we will continue to pursue our money back by any means necessary.

Stay Cotswolds has demonstrated a complete lack of care for guest safety and comfort, and the property owner seems uninterested in addressing serious health concerns. Both parties have shirked their responsibilities, and we have been left without a refund for a property that was unfit for purpose.

I am deeply disappointed by the way this situation has been handled and would strongly advise anyone considering renting through Stay Cotswolds to think twice. The lack of accountability and concern for guest welfare is unacceptable. The negative reviews speak for themselves. Glorified Airbnb without the customer care.