"Not the luxury or isolation it makes out to be."

We recently stayed at RKB from June 5th-8th. There was myself, my 6 year old twins (one of whom is autistic), my best friend, and her dog Cadie.
It was £750 for the three nights, with a check in of 4pm and check out of 10am.

I have to say, given the sheer cost of well of £1,000 by the time we’d purchased food and bug spray (which I’m so glad we did), the stay did NOT reflect this cost at all.
Upon arrival, nearing the barn itself is a hill littered with potholes. We ended up stuck and had to reverse down this hill (with a drop on the other side) to the snake back up and avoid them.
Whoever had ‘cleaned’ the barn before our visit needs sacking. A dishwasher with dishes still in, flies EVERYWHERE in the upstairs part because the door had been left open, white dog hair all over the blue sofa, the projector screen was littered with the corpses of dead moths, flies, spiders - all would easily wipe off but apparently this is too much trouble.
The rooms downstairs are all VERY dark.
The bed in the main bedroom was squeaky and uncomfortable.
The DIY Phillips Hues lights that are everywhere are TERRIBLY installed, including hanging right by the shower in the bedroom. We refused to pay £140 to the a hot tub that took 5 hours to heat up, and we’re glad we did because it looked disgusting when we peaked under the lid.
The furniture upstairs on the decking was in vile condition, and the decking itself extremely uneven, and unsafe for young children (we banned my two from going on it). There’s also no bannisters on the stairs either.
The rural internet that is advertised as standard is NOT there, ONLY the Starlink, which David kindly gave us the password for due to my Dad having a heart attack on our first day away. However, there’s no access to their ‘rural’ internet, as advertised.
Although on 80 acres of private property, there’s a huge mobile home a few metres from the barn, which at one point sounded like it had HUGE dogs barking from it - though this may have been from elsewhere. However, on the first night a gentleman ran past us, and on the second night a couple went past on their horses, with the gentleman making a point of turning round and looking up at me on the decking. It was very bizarre and made us feel sort of uncomfortable and like we couldn’t sunbathe outside.
The state of the microwave was pitiful, and the TV only had BBC One, ITV, CBBC and a 70’s music channel.
Of an evening, the bedrooms at the of the property are dominated by the noises of birds nesting in the roof, wonderful at first but kept my kids awake in the end. And on my end of the property, I was far enough not to hear the birds, but was kept awake my the noise of mice/rats scurrying around it the walls and across the decking above me. I appreciate it’s a ‘rewilding’ project, but didn’t realise I’d be sharing my three peaceful nights away with nesting birds and noisy rodents.

The property has clearly been beautiful in its day, but it’s in dire need of a MASSIVE overhaul for the property to reflect the cost.
As a single mother that saved up a huge amount of money to go and stay in what I believe was isolated luxury in the wilderness, I’m heartbroken that I wasted my money on something that was only really worth half of the cost, if that.

Do yourself a favour, and book somewhere different if you want value for money.
I have plenty more to say, and images I’m happy to share if needs be; please contact me on Instagram (@emajconway), if you’d like to see these/know more.

"Amazing house"

Amazing house! 100000% will be back

"Time stops when you discover Red Kite Barn"

A few weeks ago, I enjoyed a magical three-day break at Red Kite Barn, Powys. My husband, the innovator and Design Engineer of The Conkers, wanted us to stay there and told me how much I would love it. Having grown up in the countryside in the middle of absolute no-where, I was a little reluctant and knew this was going to be a real ‘off the grid’ experience in a thoroughly remote location. To be honest, I was a little unsure what to expect, but had heard so many positive comments about the barn and surrounding natural beauty, I wanted to discover it for myself. Having had a busy week, I chaotically put the contents of our fridge into a bag and hoped we had enough to concoct meals for several days. The plan was to not use the car during this time . . . a goal we easily achieved.

We arrived about 10pm in the dark and had the excitement of navigating our way to the barn, following the sheep along the tracks, until we came to our destination. Anjana and David’s stylish décor welcomed us and with delight we discovered the ground floor accommodation, like children opening an advent calendar, admiring the contemporary design and particularly the free-standing bath!

After a good night’s sleep, in our dark, ensuite cocoon, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with the stable door wide open and sunlight flooding in. The Welsh landscape was calling, and we spent many happy hours exploring in different directions, looking at the breath-taking Moon and Earth Conkers, observing the pigs at ‘Hogwarts’ and enjoying the freedom of being ‘in the now’ and appreciating where we were. Drinks on the decking in the bright May sunshine was an added bonus!

Over the weekend, I needed to complete a piece of work and to my great surprise was able to have a video call and email courtesy of the superfast Wi-Fi. This was completely unexpected and enabled me to consider a longer stay at Red Kite with internet facilities allowing access into the modern world . . . if desired.

Reluctantly, we packed our bags and headed back home, reflecting on this unique experience. We had been away for a weekend, yet felt completely rejuvenated. If this is what Red Kite does to you after a weekend, how would we feel after a week?

Looking back at photos of the weekend evokes great nostalgia and we are keen to arrange another visit, for longer next time. Red Kite Barn is an experience like no other and this beautiful location, paired with stylish, comfortable accommodation allows you to unwind without realising it’s happening. David and Anjana have created an iconic haven which is a simple retreat with a modern, comfortable twist. Time stops when you discover Red Kite Barn and we will be counting the days until we can return to this blissful setting.
Thank you so much!

"Avoid"

Terrible communication, booking with them caused us no end of stress.

The accommodation was peeling and aging. Our window was taped shut and had to be held in place by a broom.

"Enormous, yet cosy"

The property is enormous, and very well finished. Lots of things to do inside and out. We found a ping pong table in the garage and promptly set it up in the conservatory. There was even a 1/4 size violin which my daughter used to practice. The specification is great, comfy beds, amazing sofas, wood burner, fire fit. Full 4G coverage, and fast free wifi.

We spent the days doing coastal walks, and to the local towns. I cannot recommend the property enough, and I cannot wait to go back. My only complaint is that 3 nights is not enough to see everything around.

"Stunning location in wonderful house"

We stayed at Llareggub in Saundersfoot. This is a picture postcard location in a house that is both quirky, original and full of designer touches. Set on the hill overlooking the harbour, the view from the lounge is stunning and mesmorising. We were more than happy to spend time in the house, which really benefits from a well equipped kitchen with so many utensils and high quality Miele ovens. Walking down to the harbour each morning was a treat, as were the days out to Tenby and Narbeth - great for food lovers. The owners clearly have an eye for design with some clever and innovative ideas which we really appreciated. There are some exceptional areas, such as the en-suite bathroom which would easily grace the covers of any design magazine. Having read a previous review highlighting a damp issue, I contacted the owners before booking to see if this had been resolved. We were assured it was resolved before Christmas and, true to word, there were no issues whatsoever. We would definitely recommend.

"Moon Conker Stay"

I booked this stay as a surprise for my girlfriend’s 30th birthday and it will definitely be one to remember, perhaps not for all of the right reasons. After reading many glowing reviews about the moon conker, we were sure that this was going to be the romantic and relaxing getaway we were after. Prior to arrival I received a message stating that there will be no running water for the shower or drinking water due to frozen pipes. We camp often, love the outdoors and are not afraid of a bit of mud, so we didn’t think it would have much of a impact to our stay. Approaching the estate the roads were very icy and covered in snow; we were unable to get our car up the hill on to the estate itself, so had to park at the side of the road. As we were unpacking our car we briefly met the hosts who informed us that we had about a 1 mile and a half walk to the moon conker. Although this was a long walk with all our belongings in the dark we did not mind it, however we wanted to make future guests aware that this is a possibility in the winter months. The hosts also told us to be careful of the steps around the Moonconker as they were a little slippy due to the ice. We had hiking boots on but we feel there is a difference between being careful and the steps being unsafe for use, with us slipping and falling many times over the weekend. So much so that my girlfriend spent time melting and clearing the steps to make it safer for us. The Moonconker itself is an unique accommodation, however we found the bed was not a "hotel quality mattress" as advertised and in actual fact is soft play modules velcroed together which came apart during the night. Due to the cold weather we had to rely on the wood burner; we were disappointed on arrival to find wet kindling and wood and had to clean out the ash tray ourselves as it was full. Once we got the wood burner going we did find it heated up the conker very well however, even having to open the door at night time to cool us down.

We were informed that even though the shower pipes had frozen, the baths were still operable, which we thought was great, as we needed a welcomed wash after a long day hiking and a 5 hour car drive. However, we did not expect it would take over 6 hours to heat up half of one of the baths with lukewarm water (and that was with pans of water also on the fire pit and the gas stove!) As this was our only form of a wash during our stay, we did unfortunately leave feeling a bit grubby and the Scandi-style baths experience was not the relaxing experience we were after! It was also a shame that our area was not completely secluded, with people walking past the road above; however we understand that this could be more private in the summer when there are leaves on the surrounding trees. Again, due to the frozen pipes, we were advised to wash the utensils in the nearby river. We felt that this was unhygienic, especially as some of the kitchen utensils were already dirty. With it being -5 as well, the washing up liquid and hand soap was frozen and therefore couldn’t be used.

As previously mentioned we are seasoned campers but we even found the toilet inaccessible to use at night time, the steps up from the river bank again were thick with snow with only a piece of rope tied to trees for guidance and support. We found it hard to find the toilet on the first night in the dark even with a torch. A word of warning there is a small ladder to climb up to the toilet and if you are vegan like ourselves there are a couple of animal skulls as decorations to accompany you while you do your business.

We do not want this review to sound terrible, and although it was not the relaxing weekend we were after, we did enjoy ourselves and laughed through the bad bits; however we want future guests to book the Moon Conker being fully aware of what their stay will look like. The estate itself is extremely peaceful and magical, especially in the snow! The Moon Conker also hosts beautiful clear skies and amazing star gazing, which is one of the reasons I booked it! A pair of star gazing suitable chairs would be a nice touch, rather than having to use the plastic garden ones. And now we know that you offer an eco-friendly off grid experience, as it does not really suggest the level of this in your AirBnB description. However, for the price you pay, we would expect some personal touches and some elements of luxury such as the bed being made as a bare minimum.

"Red kite Barn and Childerness Estate is…"

Red kite Barn and Childerness Estate is one of the most amazing places to stay.
The Barn is super comfortable and spacious , open plan with windows to the most beautiful scenery. The barn is well stocked with everything you may need, from logs, to literature and if your a keen cook, then you will love cooking here ! A fabulous screen protector that comes down from the ceiling and a great section of movies . A remote setting so peaceful, your worries just melt away.
The surrounding estates is full of walks and wildlife, shopping, eating and more walks a short drive . cant wait to go back !

"Stayed in the moon conker had a great…"

Stayed in the moon conker had a great time
Outside kitchen was really lovely space. Loved being outdoors
We’ve also stayed in earth conker had a lovely outside bath . We will be back…

"Me and my girlfriend will never forget…"

Me and my girlfriend will never forget this experience, was amazing to get off the grid for a couple days and just enjoy each other’s company and the wildlife.