“Our first impression was that the house was spacious and clean.”
However, having looked around, there were some major issues with cleaning and maintenance. Other people’s dog poo bags were left outside by a plant pot and poo in the rear garden, which we cleaned up. The cigarette butt holder was rammed full and butts had fallen onto the ground. There were cobwebs in most rooms which had been there for some time along with higher level dust. Kitchen pans/grill tray still had fat/food residue and some plates were not clean. We had to wash before using some. One cooker top was splattered in fat. One bedroom had peanuts under the bed. Toilet brushes/holders were all filthy, one had poo in the brush. The spa bath plug was full of hair, which we had to remove for the water to drain and the same with the downstairs shower room. This shower was also mouldy/dirty and the tray moved when it was stood on - it had a mat stuck to it with sealant which looked disgusting. The shower in the en-suite to bedroom 3 had a pungent, stagnant water smell and we bought bleach to get rid of the smell which had crept into the bedroom. The upstairs en-suite shower tray was in the same condition as the downstairs shower room but also had a rusty shower pipe and rust on the door and light. We also found (as a previous review last October) the same issue with the fridge/freezer doors being joined together which made the freezer ice up and unusable. Two trays on the fridge door were cracked. The lounge door was missing its catch so could not be closed. Snug door was tricky to lock/unlock. DVD player was not connected and, when plugged in, did not work. We had to buy batteries for the remote controls which did not work/missing. When going into the back entrance, the door mat is not thick enough for its inset and is a trip hazard. None of the extractor fans work. The bedroom across the garage needs another light in the garage to illuminate the steps when leaving that bedroom. The WC upstairs has a broken tap and light fitting which is taped up. The heating control has been changed and the heating is only on for 6 hours a day being controlled by the owners phone. As we had snow one night it was cold for the 1 year old in our party so contacted the owner who said he would put it on constant, but never did. He turns the heating off in April according to the welcome book, which is outdated. On a positive note, the property is spacious and well equipped, the owner is approachable and visited before we left to hear our concerns. He has, apparently, now spoken to his cleaners and changed the broken tap. We do have photos of the issue mentioned.
I apologise if the last guests had not disposed of their bags correctly, we provide bins and trailers for them to do so. We did not see or would have done so ourselves. On the way around the house the cobwebs you pointed out were not there on your arrival. We get a lot of cobwebs as it is a very dry house. The cleaners go round with an extendable pole and remove them all every changeover. I apologise if the crockery was not checked properly or put away dirty. I have raised this with my cleaning team and it will be checked more thoroughly. All our bathrooms have the plugholes regularly cleaned and after EVERY changeover we put bleach in all the plugholes and toilets so it always smells fresh. On examination all the plugholes were clean and had no smell coming from them. Rusty shower pipe was changed. We found a few specs of mould had started in the groutwork which were sprayed with a remover and now gone The fridge and freezer doors have now been separated and open independently from each other. The broken tap was not broken but had come slightly loose which was wear and tear, 30 seconds and a wrench and you will be pleased to know it is back to its former self Heating control is brand new 3 months ago and the instruction book is detailed.
Property Owner