Priory Bay Escapes - Matahari

The view Comfy beds Great shower Beautifully clean (although I could smell dogs) Local pub Walk to Tenby

No local info so took us a while to get our bearings Position of hot tub didn’t feel private so didn’t use during stay

The views at the Matahari were spectacular. Situated in the village of Penally with access to the bottom end of North beach, which is dog friendly, around the corner from the local pub and Tenby a 7 mins drive away. We loved the accommodation as a base to travel to places like Manorbier, Saundersfoot and Lydstep. Matahari has two lovely bedrooms, the master bedroom with a super king bed. The kitchen was fully equipped, the dining room and living room had everything you needed. Another main feature was the hot tub in the garden.

The steps going down to the property were a little steep but manageable. You need to be able to walk up a steep hill to get back to property.

Very clean. Very high class facilities. Beautiful view.

The very steep staircase to get access from outside to property Needed a larger table and umbrella outside so we could eat out.

The location was amazing, the views were exceptional. Use of the hot tub was a plus and the enclosed garden fantastic if you bring a dog. The owners were responsive and friendly. The decor and facilities were modern. Staff very flexible and understanding, brought more towels and bedding when there was some miscommunication about the number of beds required. A bottle of Cava, Welsh cakes and a small milk left on arrival. A few cleaning supplies, rolls of toilet roll and 4x coffee pods to use as well as some toiletries. Easy parking alongside hedgerow. Although there are a few properties on site it felt somewhat private. There needs to be a screen between this apartment and the one next door however. It appears there used to be one but it hasn’t been fixed.

As we arrived we were informed that the cleaners had not turned up that morning and unfortunately this was very evident within the property. Initially the apartment appeared clean (surfaces, floors, sinks) but when using the facilities there was old food on chopping boards, black mould in both the milk and water canisters on the coffee machine, glasses still dirty and wet in cupboards. The first thing I had to do on arrival was clean the toilet as there were faeces marks with bleach just put on top. Washing machine also very mouldy in the drawer. There was also a bag left of used toilet roll that appeared to be what was used to wipe down surfaces, which was left on top of washing machine. On the Booking.com listing, ironing facilities and an iron were also stated as available. When we could not locate this we were informed there was no iron available in any of the properties however, I have also noted that this is stated on the listing for the other properties. The owner stated this is now rectified. As we had a lot of clothing (stayed 5 nights) and items like denim, linen etc. the steamer offered was not sufficient. We ended up buying our own £30 iron and leaving it there for the next guests as we have no need for it at home. Had I have known I would have brought a travel iron I already own. This is the first holiday apartment I have ever stayed in that did not offer an iron and I’ve stayed in a lot, both UK and abroad. Lastly, the garden was quite unkempt with lots of brambles, weeds, cobwebs (appreciate there is wildlife, but on items such as the bench and seating area it would have been nice to have these cleared) and we unfortunately could not use the garden cushions as they were wet and smelled damp inside the container. This was a bit of a let down as we were looking forward to sitting outside.