“It is a large, beautiful house in a great location with a lovely garden.”
We rented it because some of us had been here three years ago and really liked it. At that time, the maximum capacity of the house was 10 people, and there were nine of us on that occasion. Now they have increased the capacity to 12 people, and that's where the problems begin.
On our previous stay, we were a group of friends. This time, two organisers came with a group of 10 other people on a retreat trip. As soon as we arrived, we found that the two extra places they had supposedly added were what they call "guest beds", which are actually folding beds with a terrible bed base and a mattress that is barely 5 cm thick. We immediately contacted the owner, and his only response was that no one had complained before, and basically that was what there was. He had an arrogant attitude and no intention of helping or looking for alternative solutions. The two people in our group who had to make do with these beds were the smallest, and even then one of them had to throw the mattress on the floor and end up sleeping there, because it was impossible with the base. These beds are NOT suitable for adults, and I doubt that even a child could sleep comfortably on them.
The house lacks proper maintenance. The mattress in room 2 is also in poor condition (it sags on one side). The blinds on several of the windows are broken. The room on the ground floor smells very damp and it is difficult to breathe in it, especially with a stuffy nose from a cold, as was the case with the people who slept there. When we arrived, the rubbish bin was overflowing, presumably because the previous tenants did not take care of it and neither did the person in charge of cleaning. The cleanliness, by the way, leaves a lot to be desired and there are quite a few cobwebs in the corners and windows. The toaster and dishwasher do not work properly, and despite the signs explaining how to use them, it is difficult to do so.
For all the above reasons, although it is a beautiful house with a lot of potential, we cannot recommend it.
Hi, thanks for your feedback, it's unfortunate you experienced the house in this way, the window cleaner visited the following week and a deep clean was scheduled along with a rubbish pick up by our licensed carrier. We do have multiple outside bins, however some guests produce much more waste than others and it can be sometimes unexpected, please accept apologies this wasn't dealt with sooner, usually the cleaners will report this situation back to the house manager on change over if they see this, they are not licensed to carry waste away themselves. Guests unfortunately keep switching off the extractor fan in the downstairs en-suite and not opening windows, causing ventilation issues when moisture is left to sit in these rooms. Any mould is cleaned up regularly and moisture absorbers are in place also. The dishwasher and toaster, as you describe do work, the instruction on which programme to use on the dishwasher is the best programme based on experience, and the tip on which side to use first on the 4 slice toaster is a helpful hint, as I know it has confused some people in the past who tried the other side first.
A couple of the window blinds that had previously been repaired are on the list for exchange after the busy summer season when we have time in between bookings to deal with some maintenance. Unfortunately we have had some heavy handed guests not being respectful with fixtures and fittings that have caused some niggles, breakages and losses for the house, these things do happen in a holiday rental house when people are there for a few days only sadly.
Regarding the guest beds, they were clearly described as such on the advertising and pictures clearly show the kind of frame they have etc. It seems unfortunate that the organisers who booked the house either did not read this aspect properly, or ignored the details. Most larger groups that utilise these beds when running retreats etc will price the rooms accordingly, and this 'family' loft room is usually made cheaper than the others to the individual booking their room on the trip because of the aspect of 4 sharing, 2 in a double bed and 2 on guest beds. Up to this point we have not charged extra for putting up the extra beds. We need to advertise as sleeping 12 because otherwise the house will not come up to anyone searching for the possibility of 10-12 if we list as 10. However from now on we will be charging extra £50 locally to cover the extra costs involved in making them up and laundry change over, so anyone booking will be very clear they are extra foldable beds that can be in place or not. I hope this will then be clear for any organisers of retreats, who then have responsibility to make sure their guests make informed choices in future and manage expectations.
Property Owner
