“My husband and I arrived at ‘shire cottage’, on the 6th October for a 3 night break.”
On arrival In the village we were very pleased that we had chosen such a pretty location, unfortunately we cannot say the same for the property we had booked. We were first struck by the condition of the outside decking, dirty, unswept covered in moss and looked as thought it had not been maintained or cleaned for some time. Entered the property and could instantly detect the smell of damp. Also noticed how dirty and grubby the sofa and armchair was., the arms were pitted with black dirt and the seat area was badly stained. Main bedroom floors looked dirty and noticed the divan bed base looked dirty and had no valance sheet, although did have on advertised pictures. Entered shower room, there was a dirty mop and bucket left under shower head on equally dirty floor. The grout on the floor and walls in some places was black ( the owner confirmed this when I complained as being the builders fault when he installed the tiles, and not used the correct grout and was never able to get it looking clean) there was also limescale stains on floor ., the owner also stated that this was due to the problem with the tiles and has not had time to rectify this and ‘it is what it is ‘, his words. The other bathroom had a bubbling effect behind the door and paint was peeling, which was why we could smell damp throughout the property as this was quite a large area of damp. The owner agreed, once again in his words, “that the wall in the bathroom is blown”, but we are making it clean and tidy till we get there, along with the maintenance of the shower, which are on our list for a maintenance period.. these issues should surely be addressed before allowing visitors or at least make visitors aware so that they can make their own decisions as to whether they stay there or not. The smell made us feel really sick, we did not use the bathrooms at all. The toaster was rusty snd stained., whilst I understand that this is a minor issue to some people .. how can’t you put bread into a toaster that is rusty and unclean, he said he can’t be expected to swap a toaster after every visitor and the reason it was rusty was because of the sea salt in the air caused things to rust ., twenty minutes from the coast in an enclosed building?The beams, ceilings, blinds and cooker hood were covered in cobwebs. We only stayed one night and left as soon as we possibly could, we stayed a total of 14 hours. We would have left immediately had we not travelled over 3 hours to get there. We had trouble contacting anyone as the internet would not work in property ., we tried to boost router but did not help.. We did not get a response until the morning, where I was advised that he would appoint his cleaner to return to re-clean, these problems could not have be remedied in this way as he had already confirmed that he needed time to arrange a maintenance slot to rectify issues. As we had not slept or showered we decided to leave and were on our way home. We contacted Sykes numerous times on our way home they advised us that could not help at all with complaint they would pass on our complaints and pictures to owners. When I contacted them again after receiving no response they sent me a copy of correspondence that the owner had sent Sykes stating that he would not be refunding and payments as he deemed our complaints to be frivolous .. the issues I’d raised were going to be dealt with when he could fit in maintenance and that he thought they only reason I had complained was because I wasn’t happy with the area. Absolute disgrace. What a complete and utter waste of money and time.
Dear Janette
Thank you for all the effort you put into this review. To be clear I am not a 'he' but a 'she'. I am so sorry you have had this experience and that I could not agree with you on this matter. knowing the property, the cleaner and your refusal to allowing us to try and resolve your issues.
The property does not and never has felt or smelled of damp, this has never been mentioned or noticed previously or since, the cleaner got there within an hour and agreed there was a smell which she informed me was what was left from the previous guests who had left an overpowering smell of fish and chips which the cleaner thought she had got rid of but apparently not, this is your only real issue that I can see, although I am confused how it could last this long, as I am writing this I am also checking what cleaning products the cleaner used.
To address your comments
The chair/sofa - there is a mark on one arm of the chair (the photo sent is not the sofa) and some signs of wear along one arm but the chair fabric does not have dirty spots its a multitone fabric with a dark thread used which can clearly be seen from the herringbone repeat pattern. The sofa is cream and would clearly show any marks, which there were none.
The bed base colour - the bed base is a champagne in colour with lovely gold handles on the drawers, not dirty and yes the valance wasn't on.
Wood effect laminate flooring - the bedroom floor was very expensive wood effect laminate flooring and very easy to clean but always looks like wood with all its variations of colour, knots and even fake scratches. I have always been very proud of how real it looks, I suppose I maybe should put a note in the folder to say its an effect not dirt.
Shower/bathroom floor - I am unsure why the mop bucket was in the shower room and agree as you noticed from my response to Sykes we have had an annoying time trying to remove grout from black tiles initially then limescale, I can though confirm the tiles are clean but in a couple of places at the bottom of the wall the sealant needs replacing.
Marks on the top of the toaster - there is a very small bit of rust along the top, which tbh we missed as it isn't that old and the rest of the chrome and cream is in perfect condition.
Access to the internet - the cottages has access to wifi the code is in the folder and on the router itself.
Maintenance now all done - We have now worked through the maintenance needed, we have dealt with the small leak in the bathroom and the bit of blown plater, re sealed the shower room, again attempted to remove the limescale, removed the mark from the chair arm. I am just ordering a new toaster, as there is a tiny bit of rust, thank you for pointing it out.
Again I am sorry you didn't find the cottage suitable for your requirements and didn't allow us to resolve these issues as I am sure you would have enjoyed the rest of your stay if you had.
Property Owner
