TRIP ADVISOR:Sort by [ Date ] [ Rating ] English first                                     “like going into an Enid Blyton book of magic and adventure”Broad Oak strivingsunsearcher   1 contribution london30 Jul 2010 | Trip type: Couples                                                                            Any website that references Narnia, magic and most importantly wine was always going to pique our interest. If like me you ever read an Enid Blyton book and regretted not living in a place that had magic faraway trees or wishing chairs or an enchanted forest then spend some time here and regret no more!
Everything about this place is special, from the hospitality to the house to the surroundings to the little touches that Sue does. We were collected from the station, had our things brought to us at the end of our stay when we got sidetracked at the pub and were in danger of missing the train home, were asked prior to arrival what food we liked and then found our fridge fully stocked with exactly what we asked for, were given a local newspaper which Sue had circled events happening during our stay. Our room was the Princess and the Pea, a room which we found by following the trail of rose petals sprinkled from the front-door. Its bed is worth the journey on its own, but there is so much more to a stay here, for adults and kids alike. The sleeping goblin, the tree with a door built in, did I mention the bed? Yes but it is worth mentioning again. As is the wine, as is Sue’s hospitality, as is the house, as is..well just go for yourself and see!My ratings for this hotel Value Rooms Location Cleanliness Service Sleep QualityDate of stay June 2010Visit was for LeisureTravelled with With Spouse/PartnerMember since 22 July 2010Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes My ratings for this hotel Value***** Rooms***** Location***** Cleanliness***** Service***** Sleep Quality*****              Date of stay June 2010Visit was for Leisure                                               Travelled with With Spouse/Partner Member since 22 July 2010 Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes'

Half way through our 'first' season (after a gap of many years) we have now received a number of spontaneous letters and emails of thanks from those who have stayed here; we wouldn't dream of asking anyone to write such letters. I have obtained permission to use these testimonials with names substituted for initials.  

I am still unearthing them but for the present here is a small selection:-

I have started with this one (a) because it reads like the sort of review you get on Trip Advisor (although I promise it is genuine) and it probably tells you most of what you might want to know, and (b) because it was the first one I found!

  Hi Susie 
Just wanted to say thanks for a lovely few days, your Princess & the Pea room is fantastic & the food & wine you provided was excellent, ( the rose cava was a perfect choice)   it really was so nice just to get away from the stresses & strains of every day life , & Broad Oak is the place to do it. As soon as I came across your web site I knew I had found somewhere out of the ordinary, where we could recharge our batteries & I wasn’t wrong, S  loved the idea of the petals on the stairs & the goblins out side the doors, & she couldn’t believe the bed.
Everything was fresh & clean & yet relaxed & easygoing, it just felt so right, just what we both needed.  
I wish you all the best in your new adventure, you have something there that you should be very proud of, you certainly have the wow factor !
I will keep in touch as we hope to be back for a couple days in July when my daughter is in Switzerland with the Guides 
All the very best to you & your husband & thanks once again for everything.
P  

The email below was received at the time of writing July 2010 . I will gradually fill in others between these two - when I find them!

A..  the little boy was four and a half, just a perfect age to enjoy all the 'magic', The Magic Carpet Suite now having a potted tree with twinkling white fairy lights  - and other delights. We will eventually publish a new photograph to show these changes.  The friendly witch arrived by broomstick, while A... was out, to leave a present for him behind the door in the tree. She left a large beautifully polished flat stone which he could rub when making a wish - although the Friendly Witch wrote that he ought to consult his mother about the wish first. The Witch also threw in a pair of yellow shoelaces as an extra. A.... wasn't at all interested in the stone. It was the shoelaces that really grabbed him - and created something of a problem since his shoes fastened with velcro!

Dear Susan  
I am writing to thank you for your wonderful hospitality at the Magic Carpet this last weekend. We had a truly magical time, and A... is still talking about trees with doors.
 
Warm regards,
 
N..

Below another email received July 2010

Dear Sue, 

We are back to our London busy life and we wanted to thank you for the warm welcome and for making our week end so special.

S and I loved every part of our stay and we really appreciated all the little attentions you had toward us. (I saw S checking if you left a message front of our door the last morning )

...................................................................

We will definitely see you again as we are planning to come back!

Have a lovely day!

With kindest regards,


G.B

''This room's amazing!' Lucie aged 13 about the Magic Carpet

So far no-one has written a negative letter but that has more to do with the friendly tolerant bunch of visitors we've had staying here than us achieving perfection. When school's over it isn't enough to do your very best; you have to succeed, and I have to say that sometimes we don't. How would you like to have an urge at midnight for a slice of deliciously squidgy organic bread/toast only to find you had no bread knife? Now we leave two such knives and we don't take anything from the studios. We wash up by hand. And I've noticed and begun to clean a smudgy hall mirror just prior to visitors leaving. There will have been moments during a visitors stay in the vein of,  Self to Husband:'Did you clean their bath?' 'No. Did you?' 'No. I forgot!'  Thankfully for changeovers, an Angel Cleaner takes charge of the cleaning, and us, 

To my shame I've also calculated the tariff incorrectly (euphimism for 'overcharged') to receive a return email gently pointing it out with the sign-off 'Kind Regards'  There will have been more examples of our imperfections but mercifully, (since this section has been created to encourage you to stay at Broad Oak) I have forgotten them!   

 November 2010 

.......we wanted to express our thanks, most sincerely, for making our stay with you truly magical. 
We wanted a long weekend break, to get away from the work and recharge our batteries, and after looking at all the usual B&B locations in the New Forest and being uninspired we stumbled across your website and were drawn to your fairytale themes and your passion/kindness that came across on your site. 
After booking with you we received your call to ask what type of food we liked, and even what kind of decor we’d prefer and a real sense of excitement and wonder built about what awaited us when we arrived for our break.
What awaited was a welcome more warm, a room more cosy and cupboards more full then we’d ever imagined! Your home and rooms are beautiful, the location is perfect, and your care and attention to detail for your quests is fantastic. It was like Christmas receiving goodies over the 4 days we were with you, and your home provided the perfect base for exploring the surrounding countryside. 
Like our fairy godmother we knew you were only a bell ring away if we needed you, but we were given the space and freedom to relax and enjoy our stay.
We had the most delightful time with you, the room, best bed, best food - and could have spoken to you and your husband for hours – our only regret about the stay with you was that it had to come to an end! 
Please don’t ever change Sue and we will come back again soon to lose ourselves in your magical world!
Thank you for a brilliant stay and for making our break more amazing then we could have hoped for. 
Regards 
V..... and S......

APRIL 2012  - PLEASE NOTE THAT FOR SOME TIME NOW reviews have been posted about us on on TRIPADVISOR . Given the problems we have had trying to make the New Forest Tourist Association's Website work for us, and present our singularities as we would wish, we are very grateful to TripAdvisor. - and those of you who have used it - and The Universe.

One day we will have a bad review either because we deserve it or because ....well..I live in a mild state of fear concerning the Lady who complained on Tripadvisor that she was surprised her landlady hadn't hoovered dust from the edge of a fitted carpet,. She then proceeded to knock off enough points for the property to sink like a stone. More than a year later this Landlady who had dust around her edges, still hasn't recovered her former TripAdvisor position.

  What I ask myself will I do if this dustbuster decides to stay with us? Alerted to the significance of this we have begun to look for dust around the edges of our carpets and if we see it, we nab it. But with three storeys, four flights of stairs, three staircases, (and dont ask about halls and the rooms) and us with memory cells that come and go intermittently like our cleaner, one day we'll fail the test for sure.

When that day comes I'll start to use this page again. Meanwhile we are very happy for you to read our todate 21 reviews on TripAdvisor. Just google in   TRIPADVISOR Broad Oak Brockehurst      and the reviews will appear.