“The cottage was in a great location, within walking distance of the beach and the local shop.”
The property had pretty much everything we needed for our stay. To us, a washing machine/washing line are needed when you have kids and dogs, which were just a couple of the facilities provided.
The down side of the property however was it's size. The bedrooms are compact, and the kitchen was tiny. The cooker was literally inches from the sink, which meant you had to be very careful if the cooker was on and you needed to use the sink. The washing up bowl nearly got melted several times. The mattress on the double bed is probably the most uncomfortable I've ever slept on. It was far too soft, you just sank into it. I do understand that something like that is personal choice, and as we have a firm mattress at home, we weren't used to it. It's just unfortunate that we don't like very soft mattresses. The living space needs to be improved. I personally don't think there is any need for 3 sofas. The 3rd "leather" sofa by the dining table isn't really needed, especially given there are only 4 people able to sleep there. Maybe an improvement on the old, dated current dining table/chairs would be better use of the space, or maybe some kind of storage, given there isn't much anywhere else. The garden area was compact, but was sufficient for a week stay. The hose was a great addition to wash everywhere down after a trip to the beach, and the outdoor seating- although we didn't use it- is a great addition too.
The biggest issue we had unfortunately was cleanliness. I have taken pictures and if needed I can forward them to be looked at. The problem mostly was the floors. They were very dusty/fluffy especially around the edges/skirting. It was like the middle/main bits were hoovered/brushed, but the outer bits were just left. As we have a dog, I'm very aware that fur is a big issue, so we brushed everywhere through in the living area every day, including the floor mats. We did find a lot of what looked like white dog hair on the mats and on the sofas. Whilst I'm aware dog hair gets everywhere, it just didn't look like a great deal of attention was paid to cleaning up properly. One of the throws provided I noticed was also dirty on arrival. It looked like it had been used but not washed, just put back in the basket. I made sure all 3 were washed and dried on the day we left to make sure they were clean for the next guest. On leaving the property we brushed through but could not mop the floor due to not being a mop. The only thing we could find that resembled one was in the cleaning cupboard and was quite frankly "disgusting". It was covered in dirt/dust/fluff and was not in the best condition (again, I have a photo of this). The shower curtain was another issue, with the hemline at the bottom being black with mould. (Again I have a photo) I would like to think due to hygiene reasons that a shower curtain would be changed/washed for new guests, however this doesn't seem the case.
The tiles around the bath looked like they could also do with a good clean, as the grout looked mouldy in places and particularly dirty.
The kitchen sink was also lacking in attention to cleaning. I had to give it a thorough clean before I could really use it, along with the dish drainer. The dish drainer had clearly not been cleaned for a while as it had black slime/mould on it, which doesn't make a good place for clean dishes to drain.
Overall, I was extremely disappointed with the cleanliness of the property. It was as though no real cleaning actually got done. Whilst I understand that guests are relied on to keep the property clean, some people are obviously not as bothered as others. Plus it seems attention to detail and standards are quite low, given that the property was as dirty as it was.
Julie thank you for your feedback, I have highlighted all of your comments regarding the cleaning of the property to the manager of the cleaning company we use on a weekly basis.
The property is cleaned after every stay by the cleaning company including the shower curtains which are cleaned on a weekly basis, however they will be replaced.
We try to ensure that any issues with cleaning can be resolved quickly and efficiently by having the Duty manager's contact number of the cleaning company in the property which kept on the fridge in the kitchen, we encourage people to use this number if not satisfied with the cleanliness of the property on arrival.
You mention there is no washing machine or washing line in the property and we have both.
I am sorry our property did not meet your expectations, once again the comments have been highlighted to the cleaning company we use.
Property Owner
