“. It was disappointing to arrive at 5pm (which is a very late check-in time) to find the house hadn't been cleaned. We then tried calling the numbers on our booking form - one of which was out of order and the other was to a lady who no longer serviced the house”
. We had to search for another number to contact somebody and then arrange for a cleaner to come urgently. This meant we could not unpack or go shopping, as had been planned. We were told to go out for a meal and charge this to Northumberland Coast and Country Cottages, which was helpful. However, we then had to use the Sunday morning to go shopping and felt we had lost a night and morning of our holiday time. The cleaners did a good job of making the beds and bathrooms clean and tidy, but the general cleanliness of the house was below standard. There was dust under beds, on the stairs, old socks and cloths behind bedside cabinets and furniture. The dishwasher needed a deep clean as the dishes smelled terrible so we had to handwash all of the dishes (which for 10 people was a lot of work). There were baby cots/highchairs/potties all over the house, with nowhere to store them out of the way. The wardrobes in the master bedroom were filled with boxes and bags so there was very little room to hang clothes, and most of the wardrobes in the bedrooms didn't have hangers so clothes had to folded and put wherever there was space. The outside area was full of cobwebs and the artificial grass had debris all over it - which considering this is the first impression of the house was really disappointing. We ended up sweeping and cleaning and hoovering so that the house was clean for our guests who we had invited to share the time with us. I am still waiting for the reimbursement of our meal and the housekeeping bond, so will need to take time today to contact the company again, as I would have thought this would have been dealt with by now. Overall, I have paid nearly £3,500 for a week that did not meet my expectations at all. A very disappointed customer.
We were informed that cleaning that day was running behind due to staff shortage. We apologise for this. We have consequently discussed the issues raised and have been assured this will not be case going forward. Our agents also advised that a £150 refund was made to compensate for the cleaning issues and the inconvenience experienced.
Property Owner
