Swanage was as lovely as ever. Locaon of property was very convenient for the town and Durlston country park.

The house is set in a beautiful location, but the property itself is very basic with no WiFi and very few TV channels. We paid an additional premium for bed linen during our two week stay, this was not refreshed during our visit and a waterproof mattress protector was not provided - when you advertise yourself as "child friendly" and clearly have children staying, this would be prudent - regardless, we took our own waterproof protector with us. Our son had an accident on the last evening of our stay, we removed the wet sheets and were disgusted by the state of the mattress underneath the cotton mattress protector, it had clearly been soiled on many an occasion prior to our visit as there were many visible dried stains present. We disinfected the mattress and left the wet sheets for housekeeping to deal with as we were departing that morning. The first that we were aware of any problem was when our £300 security deposit had been cashed with no explanation from the owners. We had to email to ask what the issue was and were told, rather rudely, that the issue was with a "foul smelling and badly stained mattress" and that if steam cleaning did not remove the stains then the mattress would have to be replaced at our cost. We immediately pointed out that the mattress was clearly stained prior to our visit (photographic evidence sent from the owner to us at our request backed this up), we stated that we would contribute to the cost of the steam cleaning (despite the old stains) but we were not prepared to replace the mattress. The communication with the owner was never forthcoming and it was always at our chasing before we were given an update on the status of the cleaning, despite assurances from the owner that she would keep us informed. We were eventually refunded a portion of our security deposit after the cleaning of the mattress - again, without any prior communication - but no receipt was sent so we don't actually know if we paid for the full cost of the steam cleaning or indeed more! The communication from the owner was highly unprofessional and at times nothing short of rude! The whole saga put a real dampener on what was otherwise a lovely family holiday.

4, The Downs was a great centre for a week's holiday. The house was well furnished and extremely comfortable. There was plenty of living space for 4 people, but 5 around the dining table may have been a bit of a squeeze. The views from the lounge and Master bedroom were amazing! The location was perfect as it was a very short walk to the beach, the pier, restaurants, crabbing, arcades and just about everything you want to do at a British seaside holiday. My only complaint was with the television, which was faulty before we arrived, was not repaired prior to or during our stay.

Our second visit to The Downs. House is central for everything so no need for a car. It is comfortable and cosy and well equiped with lovely views over the Bay and just across the road from the Downs with a lovely coastal walk up to Durlston Country Park. Only about 300 yards to the sea front. Thoroughly recommended..