Chillderness Reviews 82

My partner booked this for a birthday surprise!
Definitely what we both needed as we’re both selfemployed, some time away without gadgets is needed! The location is perfect, with woodland and a flowing river!! magical vibes!!
As stated on the description “not recommended for a lowered sports car!” It’s great that this is mentioned, but this definitely needs exaggerating a little more due to the struggle getting up the lanes and the inclines. We grabbed a taxi to the shops and back as we didn’t want to use the car until we left, even the taxi driver struggled to get up and around the deep potholes without hitting his bumper on the floor.
We did get the car up to the conker eventually but with the clutch burning out, we would definitely advise to bring an off roading vehicle if visiting!

I can’t fault anything else as the little touches were brilliant. The weather also stayed dry and we had enough wood and gas to get us through the days we were there! Thank you ever so much for an amazing experience <3

We loved this property!

The location and beach views are incredible. We stayed for 5 nights and were very lucky because it was hot and sunny everyday so our days consisted mostly of packing up the beach trolley and taking the short walk to the beach.

Saundersfoot is a lovely town and had most of what we needed, for a bigger food shop there are supermarkets pretty close by.

The property itself is pretty quirky and set over 3 floors. The bedrooms are comfortable and the kitchen had everything we needed for our break. Did I mention the views?! Amazing views of the beach and sea.

Get booking!

Red Kite barn is a little slice of woodland magic. The panoramic views, the visiting wild ponies and sheep, the air and water fresher than any other. The wood burning hot tub is a must by day or night. Being off grid only adds to the spell. The walks around the estate are breath taking and if you have a day of bad weather you can get cosy in the barn around the pool table or in front of the massive pull down cinema screen. There really is something for everyone. The beds are super comfortable to boot. We will be back!

We had a WONDERFUL time at the chalet!!! It is so unique and beautifully put together, the furs give it a very cozy vibe! It was the perfect spot for us to have some seclusion surrounded by nature but also close enough that we could easily get to Chamonix (via car!) for skiing. The bathtub upstairs and the hot tub outside were an added bonus after a long day of skiing!! Definitely recommend 4WD and a car with high clearance!

Really enjoyed our stay at Llareggub, as part of Marion's 60th birthday celebrations. An unusual property on three floors. Really liked the eclectic decor. The view over Saundersfoot Beach was fantastic. Our friends are returning in April 2024!
Really handy for the Spa at St Brides Hotel, which we all experienced; loved the infinity pool.
Decent selection of places to eat nearby. Great Sunday Lunch at The Royal Oak; good seafood selection at The Stone Crab.

Our time at the chalet was absolutely amazing! It's the perfect spot for a getaway, whether you're looking for a cozy escape with your partner or a fun trip with friends. The interior design is spot-on, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.

The chalet sits up in the mountains, and from the cleared area near the old ski slope, you get this breathtaking most beautiful panorama of snow-covered landscapes. It's like a dream. My friends kept asking if the pictures of the views and landscapes were ACTUALLY taken by me as they seemed too beautiful to be real ^^

Surrounded by nature, the chalet felt like our own private retreat in the heart of the French Alps. If you're seeking a place that combines comfort, stunning views, and a touch of mountain magic, this chalet ticks all the boxes.

We want to specially thank George who assisted us day and night during our stay and helped us with everything we needed. He's extremely experienced and knows the surrounding well, which you will notice right away.

From start to finish, this trip has been brilliant.

Firstly the chalet is amazing, the attention to detail is impressive, from the designer light fittings to the kitchen pots and pans, everything has been thought of. Location of the chalet is lovely and remote and just what we wanted.

Secondly, and arguably more important, was the brilliant experience we had with the staff. Very fast communication, we always felt like our questions and queries were taken care of. We were hosted by George who was a lovely person and very attentive. He’s a super interesting person to speak to, with a wealth of knowledge about the environment and the animals. He very kindly offered to show our son how to stalk Deer and rabbits… he was very happy with that!

Overall - I would highly recommend this chalet and we are very grateful that the team helped us celebrate Christmas.

There are some houses that are a little bit lovely, there are some that are pretty darn gorgeous, and then there are one or two that are the bee's knees. Llareggub is the bee's knees and the kipper's knickers! We loved everything about it; the mesmerising views (from indoors and out), the fun and stylish decor, the comfortable living spaces, the enormous beds, and the warm and welcoming character. We all enjoyed our stay enormously, as did our accompanying pooches. Can't wait to go back again!

Chalet F’Net

Hard to put this one into words. We needed a base for a photographic and product testing trip to the Alps and stumbled on one of AirBnB’s hidden gems. High up above St Gervais Les Bains, Anjana has created the perfect hideaway, wonderful decor and ambience, and as with the very best chalets, it’s the personal touch that makes Chalet Le F’Net so special: I’ve stayed a few times in the Elysian Collection in Zermatt, renowned as the best in the world, and there it’s the staff that make the difference. Here, at F’Net, among the perfect decor, rustic charm and the splendid isolation, it’s George, the host, who upgrades the experience from a lovely chalet to something rather special. Living next door and always on hand, with an easy going charm, nothing is too much bother, accommodating but never intrusive, providing great breakfasts, packed lunches and dinners, and ferrying us up and down the track to the car park twice a day in the Polaris AWD, nothing was too much bother. Bravo.

see 'Red Kite Estate Llanbadarn Fawr trip advice' for my photos

My Initial impressions of Anjana were very good. She was very friendly and communicative. The day we wanted was already booked. It was the only day we could stay and were very grateful that she managed to persuade another guest to change their date.

We were unsure from the photos if the Conker was metal or plastic. It is plastic, very photogenic and made us smile.

We were disappointment that there was an unexpected fence on the bath wall and there was rust in the bath. This could have been avoided if the pictures had been updated.

The description had mentioned a hotel quality bed, the padding was quite luxurious and comfy but the gaps in the bed effected our sleep.

The inside of the Conker is very photogenic and I thought the room would be more hotel like and glamorous. That was not a problem. There was more wear and tear than expected. It was a cosy and fun place to stay.

There was a leak in the roof of the conker, it did not effect our stay.

The location is beautiful. We loved the conker. The owners have obviously invested a lot of money and love.

The welcome material had asked for our feedback. I was very grateful that Anjana had fixed the dates for us to stay and had provided this unique experience. I wrote to just to let her know her problems. Her reply was thanks and that see had ordered an engineer to fix the problem. I was very surprised that she did even ask how the leak affected us, or show more concern that we slept badly. Especially as all her other messages had been so engaging. I phoned again 10 days later to ask her to remove the misleading photos and put up new ones before writing my review but she seemed reluctant. I was also unhappy she did not show more concern for the problems we experienced now that she had time to check the property.

15/11/23 Anjana has sent me photos of theThe Conker with its shell totally replaced and the bath has updated. I have asked Anjana to remove the old photos from her website to prevent guests from getting different expectations.

I would recommend this place, and even more so if a solution to the gaps in the bed has been added. It was a WOW experience and our best wild camping stay.

13 Feb 2024

Website still does not show photos of setup up I experienced 5 months ago or of the new one.

I asked in September 2023 that the website be updated to reflect the current state of the place. Anjana replied

"Due to our remote and wild location we are not always able to take the most scenic and up to date pictures and load them in real time"

The photos were already at least a year old, 2022, when she wrote that.

I wrote a negative review. She promised the place would have a complete overhaul and new photos would be up within 6 weeks

Over eight weeks later and no update. I lowered my rating of the place. Ananja silently removed her promise from the review and wrote

"You seem to be blaming us for your choice of holiday down to our photos . We don’t advertise this as a glamorous bathing experience at all. That is the Moon Conker. This is wild glamping."

The Moon Conker and Earth Conker are both marketed the same on the website, both are the same price. and both are advertised as Glamping (Glamorous Camping).

The website content has not been updated to clarify this distinction and prevent future guests being disappointed. The website shows blankets, games, and furniture not present at the conker making it appear more glamorous. And personally I think the Earth conker has a more glamorous looking photo of a bath.

On Nov 15, Ananja sent me photos of them having installed a new Conker Shell and bath. And asked if I would up my Trustpilot rating. She said she wanted to wait for professional photos before updating the website. I gave them 5 stars because they had fixed the major problems and there was a lot to like about the place.

However, I am now changing it to 1 because promises were not kept. There is no reason to not keep the photos updated. No concern was shown that there was a leak during my stay or the bed was uncomfortable. No effort was made to update the website to avoid others thinking that the experience is 'Glamorous Camping' instead of 'Wild Camping' offered. The place was below standard during my stay, so much that the place needed an overhaul.

see 'Red Kite Estate Llanbadarn Fawr trip advice' for my photos

Red Kite Dragons Egg. Would NOT recommend. I didnt want to have to leave a public review and I normally wouldn't but on this occasion I feel that it is necessary. Me and my boyfriend stayed in the Dragons Egg around 3 weeks ago. After our stay we had an email asking to get in touch with any problems rather than leaving a public review. Whilst there we did have issues, which were quite significant. I responded to the email only to have no one reply to us.

The first night that we stayed, we were incredibly unfortunate with the weather and experienced heavy rain throughout most of the evening. We slept really quite poor because the accommodation was leaking throughout the whole night. In the email I attached a photo which showed the bed we were staying in with large wet patches all over it. Most of the night it meant that both of us were forced to be pushed to one side of the bed which already appeared smaller than a double and the dripping kept us awake for most of the night. The bedding was wet and we had to hang this out to dry for the rest of the day in the hope that we may have a dry bed for the second night there. Whilst I know the weather was exceptionally bad, I had hoped that the accommodation would be able to withstand the rain at least...

We also noticed the sheets perhaps were a little dirty, mainly the bottom sheet that had some stains and also didn’t smell fresh at all.

The second issue that we had was that the lights to the toilet did not work. This meant that as the night drew in, we were actually stumbling around using the torches on our phone and making our way together as a pair every time we needed to use the facilities. The ground was wet from the rain and the steep hill being lit only using the torches on our phone made for a challenging experience to the toilet. It was incredibly unsafe and whilst the weather did not help, this does need to be addressed. It was not a nice experience at all.

I would not have described the accommodation as glamping at all. Everything there was incredibly tired. It was not up to standard for the £150 a night that we paid. To be unable to sleep in a dry bed is unacceptable. Poor lighting is a health and safety risk too. This may have been beautiful when it was first open but it is far from the 'Glamping' experience it is advertised as.

The location was beautiful but I absolutely would not recommend staying here to anyone.

The booking was under Taylor Barnes as I am unable to reply directly to this email.

To begin, the location is stunning, the constant sound of the stream bubbling by and sitting by an open fire is awesome.
However, I had a nasty fall during our stay, the pathway to the toilet is slippery and dangerous !!
There HAD been a bridge/walkway from the main pod to the toilet, but this was broken and all that had been done was a piece of wood nailed across the opening. On reading the visitors book, this was reported to them in October 2022 - Nearly a YEAR ago.....nothing has been done.
There were 2 of us staying at the dragons egg....there was one mug....there were no torches supplied ....
These things should be basic checks before your customers come to stay.
I have made numerous attempts to e-mail the company, using 3 different addresses supplied on the website, all e-mails bounced back undeliverable as 'rejected'.
My husband rang and EVENTUALLY spoke to (we assume) the owner who was rude and less than helpful. She reluctantly gave a further e-mail address after blaming our servers etc....2 e-mails have been sent to this address and although they have not bounced back, have not been responded to.
I had offered to supply photographs of my injuries to show the severity of the dangerous pathway, I even advised that we had created an alternative pathway for safety, where it was etc....nothing !
The shower tray has tilted the wrong way, the water pools in the wrong area rather than draining away and as this is all on a wooden base, could rot making the shower collapse .......I imagine if someone was using the shower at the time, the owners may then be forced to take notice ???
We made the absolute most of our stay, the time alone in beautiful surroundings was precious. We went and bought 2 x chairs so we could move around the camp. Luckily we had taken mugs and a torch.
Childerness are happy to put a hefty price tag on their property without a care for the customers safety or ANY aftercare at all.
I have tried to raise these concerns with the company, but they will not engage in any correspondence at all.
My advice would be to avoid at all costs, it is just dangerous.

An absolutely beautiful location. Very private and peaceful. The outside kitchen and pizza oven were a great touch. The outside moon baths were amazing. Anjana was a friendly and responsive host. The downloadable guide was a great and helpful addition, such a good idea

I stayed at the Red Kite Barn from the 12th to the 16th June with my mum who is in her eighties. The peace and tranquillity was amazing and we both thoroughly relaxed and in particular I really benefited from a complete digital detox. It was wonderful to wake at dawn snd sit outside watching the sun climb over the mountains.
But it has to be said that the steep gravel slope to get to the property is really not okay unless you have a 4wd. Each time we tackled it I worried that our Prius wouldn’t make it.
Inside I personally really liked the Moroccan decor having had a great holiday in Marrakech recently but mum found it gloomy and dark. In fact the barn was very poorly lit, the staircase being steep and very dark with no handrail.
And the cleaning was not top notch, but I wasn’t too bothered.
So, maybe not a top of the market luxury stay but for rural tranquility, unbeatable.

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! 100000% will be back

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!

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.

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.

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.