Large family friendly holiday home in the Cotswolds - Willows House

We had a lovely stay at Willows House, it is situated in a beautiful village close to Stow on the wold and offered easy access to all areas that we planned to visit. The area was quiet and peaceful, a great place to escape the hustle and bustle. The kitchen was very well equipped and offered a large sociable space for our family to gather. One downside of the property is the general upkeep throughout, the bathrooms in particular are showing signs of wear and tear. Perhaps the general maintenance will be addressed through the winter. In addition, we noticed several cobwebs and dust about the house when we arrived, particularly noticeable on the lovely light fittings, this may have been due to the house being vacant for a while perhaps? Overall this did not negatively affect our stay, but some of the ‘wow’ factor was lost. We would stay at Willows house again and are keen to visit in the summer when we would then be able to enjoy the large garden too.

The house is functional and should be a beautiful property. However the house is in desperate need of lots of refurbishment and many areas need addressing, to make the house match its description and online photos. When contacting the owners regarding the many areas of concern, we received a long list of excuses and told property is due some work. But they was happy to charge us full price knowing the house wasn’t as advertised. Such a shame as we stayed there 6 years ago and it used to lovely. It’s clear it’s under new management who do not care about customer service and standards in the same way. I wouldn’t recommend this priority if you’re expecting a luxury finish. It is however in a great location.

Willows house is pleasant but it needs a bit of attention. We could only find one set of TV controls and were unable to work one of the 2 TVs at all. The Wifi was variable throughout the house. Parking was good as was the location for exploring. The living rooms and bedrooms were comfortable and the bathrooms good. However the twin bed room, for adults sharing, as in our case, had no where to put a case or clothes, no hooks, mirror or waste bin. We feel that this could be easily solved as there is room for a small chest of drawers. The fridge door was not attached to its outer door and was rather grubby and for some reason the cupboard housing the washing machine could not be shut and stood wide open. The solution would be to remove the doors altogether. The house needs paint on some walls and especially on places like the banisters which felt rather sticky and the lovely big windows in the kitchen could do with a clean too. However we enjoyed our stay and when I contacted the cleaning company for help finding the spare keys and over entry times, they were very helpful. I would love feedback from the owners telling us that they have made these relatively small improvements to what is essentially a nice house.

Perfect location, close to Stow on the Wold, with lots of walks and pubs nearby. Very spacious with big bedrooms and living areas. The management company were responsive and helpful when the hot water went down. Would recommend to a big group looking to explore the Cotswolds!

Perfect location, great house and space for gathering. However, quality of finishing left a little to be desired - patio doors were temperamental to open and some of the kitchen finishing was a little off e.g fridge door frame wasn’t attached to fridge. However, this didn’t impact our stay and was a beautiful setting for our family as a base for getting married in the Cotswolds. Thank you!

We had a lovely stay at Willow’s house with family at the end of July. The house itself was spacious and was well equipped with necessary amenities. The house is located in the lovely Lower Swell which although very quite is close enough to visit the other nearby villages should you wish to. Stay Cotswolds were fantastic at providing us with directions and communicated with us regularly prior and during our stay. Unfortunately however, the house is beginning to look a bit tired and is much need of some TLC. The furniture is becoming tatty and uncomfortable, particularly the sofas and chairs. Our main issue was the overgrown garden. The garden was the main attraction for us when initially booking Willow’s house as it looked ideal for our toddler to run around, however the patio area and wall were crumbling causing lots of trip hazards (our grandparents also found this difficult) and the lawn area itself was COVERED in nettles and in some parts dog poo, resulting in us hardly using the area despite the lovely weather. We also struggled to get the smart TVs working and queried this with the property managers, however apart from one initial reply we struggled to contact them and gave up after several phone calls. I truly believe that Willows house could be a fantastic stay with just a little more love and care.

Such a shame a lovely house like this is not cared for, the house is cleaned on the surface but look deeper and it’s not good. Sticky cupboards, crumbs in drawers, shower heads need cleaning, utility room is a dumping ground for things not in use, but not tidy. Cupboards with unopened mail just thrown in. The garden needs maintaining- not just the grass cutting. Outside furniture needs cushions now it’s summer. There is more but I will finish on a positive, we really had a lovely time.

The house was lovely looking and in a great location, just down the road from Stow and Burford not too far either. Although the house was lovely looking it needed a little TLC in places. We were only there for one full day, two nights but still used the showers and bathrooms. The water pressure was poor so showering was interesting, running round to get wet. Beds were comfy and bedrooms nicely decorated. Sound of the cupboards could do with shelving and organising if staying longer. Kitchen was large and well equipped although possibly a larger fridge/freezer would have been good for a longer stay and freezer needed defrosting, only one drawer opened and that one was in poor condition. The large doors out to the garden were nice but a bit difficult to unlock. Sitting areas were nice and comfy. There was a children’s toy cupboard but a little of them were missing bits. Utility/boot room was handy but cupboard just seemed to house broken or not working items, vacuum and iron. Found a spare working iron. Garden was nice and big but a bit overgrown and beds could to with tending. Overall nice for our short stay but would need some extra work if staying longer. We cant really comment on customer service, except that we had required emails regarding our stay and payments etc.

A charming and cosy house comfortably fitting our group of 8 (although the twin room beds seemed only really suitable for children, and we ended up using the spare sofabed downstairs). We had a few teething problems with the heating/water but the team were fast to get in touch with guidance (turns out minimal interference was the best policy). Otherwise everything was great, lovley quiet location but within easy (if steep) stroll from bustling Stow with all its facilities. Lots of nice walks in the area, great local pub, handy ice cream vending machines up the road, all in an ideal spot for relaxing and/or exploring the lovely Cotswolds.

Willows house is a beautiful large property in a great location. The open plan kitchen/ sitting area worked so well for our group of 6 friends. The logs left for the fire were much appreciated in January. We had a minor issue on arrival which we were able to resolve following a prompt call back from the management team. The beds were all comfortable and the bathrooms modern and very clean. We enjoyed the close proximity to Stow and walked there and back for some shopping and an excellent pub lunch at the Bell.

On the whole a good experience, however one of our party was uncomfortable in the downstairs bedroom due to excessive noise from the boiler, which we were unable to switch off overnight!

We had a lovely say at Willows House. It is a spacious 4/5 bedroom property well located for exploring the Cotswolds. The property is showing some signs of wear and tear (some stains on the upstairs carpets and the bathrooms are looking a bit tired) but is on the whole very pleasant and well equipped. The major criticism is the water pressure at the kitchen taps and in the bathrooms which is mentioned in other reviews.

The house was really comfortable for our family (me + husband, 3 yo, 5 yo, grandma + grandpa). It was spacious, the kitchen was organized well and the garden is beautiful (though watch out for the nettles and thistles!) The town is exactly what you'd hope for in the Cotswolds, and great proximity to Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water, and more. Our main complain is that we were surprised that it was missing some basics, like there was no shampoo/conditioner, one roll of TP per bathroom, and one roll of paper towels.