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Original poster

We've gone on holiday by mistake

316 replies

couchparsnip · 08/08/2021 08:51

I feel like Withnail and I..
It's pouring with rain and we're staying on a farm in a really shoddy barn conversion. The bedroom door doesn't fit the frame so it doesn't shut.
There's no lock on the bathroom door.
The bathroom is accessed through a kid's bedroom so we have to creep through to go in the night and then wake up a grumpy teen to shower in the morning.
Shower goes intermittently cold.
Oven doesn't work and we like to cook.
The double bed was pushed against the wall so we moved it to get access both sides - and the skirting board fell off!
The TV is a wall mounted one but it's not mounted, just resting against the wall.
No bedside table, nowhere to hang clothes and nowhere to eat except on trays(which we had to buy) or an outside patio (see previous grumble about the weather).
There are several electrical violations we can spot - not least the outdoor patio light is powered by an ordinary plug set up outside and getting wetter by the second!
When I mentioned some of this to the owner he said the bathroom door lock was off because someone's kid was 'acoustic' and they had to come off.Grin
We're chalking it up to experience and reporting to the company we booked through.

Anyone had worse. Make me feel better!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
8
Runnerduck34 · 08/08/2021 13:04

Sounds a bit rubbish! Hopefully one day you will be able to.laugh it off at least the farmer is trying to sort out issues, and as you say you will be out most of the time. Was it expensive? I would be a bit more forgiving if it was cheap!

NewModelArmyMayhem18 · 08/08/2021 13:04

@JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon sounds as if you had a lucky escape there (full-blown horror movie type of scenario!).

Original poster
couchparsnip · 08/08/2021 13:07

We're on our way home. Dispute now lodged with AirBNB. We have a quarter of our money back now but hoping for more.

OP posts:
Lynnikins · 08/08/2021 13:09

Excellent. You deserve a decent holiday - you paid for one.

starfishmummy · 08/08/2021 13:12

@Ellmau

A relative lets out his house, in an area with short seasonal demand, via AirBnB. When it's let he and his DP and Dc move into a caravan in the garden.
DH and I often have conversations about this when we are watching Four in a Bed, and that the things described as B&Bs are not the same as in our childhood - where it would be something to your description with the family moving into a shed in the garden and the guests would sleep in their rooms.
RightYesButNo · 08/08/2021 13:15

I never thought “do you have the finest wines available to humanity” would be the new “cancel the cheque,” but judging by how much MN loves Withnail and I, perhaps I should have. Wine

Phyllis321 · 08/08/2021 13:17

You could shout YOU TERRIBLE C*! at the owner..?

Sorry, OP. We’re off to an Airbnb soon and it’d better be decent for the money they’ve charged.

ZeldaPrincessOfHyrule · 08/08/2021 13:20

@couchparsnip

We're on our way home. Dispute now lodged with AirBNB. We have a quarter of our money back now but hoping for more.
I hope no one's "making time" on the journey home, OP...
NoProblem123 · 08/08/2021 13:21

You need to get on the alcohol & post more photos !

Go for a boozy lunch, and tipsy walk in the rain, and then back to watch the film.
Sounds fab Grin

NewModelArmyMayhem18 · 08/08/2021 13:22

@ZeldaPrincessOfHyrule such a pity though. Will you get the opportunity to go elsewhere this summer?

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 08/08/2021 13:25

Resist the temptation to yell 'Scrubbers!' out of the window. Grin

A propos of very little, 'Getinthebackofthevan!' is one of my favourite film moments ever.

Original poster
couchparsnip · 08/08/2021 13:29

Now the radiator has exploded dirty water all over. We're off home and getting a full refund. We can cancel our leave and try to get something else.

OP posts:
allfurcoatnoknickers · 08/08/2021 13:34

@MyDogTails That happened to us in our last holiday rental! Beautiful place, immaculately kept, but it was like the owners had just walked out - there were even clothes in that wardrobe (inc a cupboard of Candy Goose coats Shock) and the kitchen cupboard was full of really posh food.

Lovely, but I was constantly a bit anxious they would walk in and kick us out.

OP: Our worst family holiday was about 20 years ago in Ibiza. My Mum told the travel agent she wanted a quiet out of the way family resort (some kind of luxe boho thing was what she was after I think) and they booked us into a raging party resort with boozy parties by the pool and dance music playing 24/7. It was AWFUL. Drunk people kept trying to get in to our apartment, and the music at the pool was deafening so we hardly went. There was also a family who used to have loud, screaming rows every day Confused.

itsadodgyholidaywithme · 08/08/2021 13:52

I've name changed for this as I've told it so many times in real life.

We went on holiday a couple of years ago, booked a house that looked fab on the inside.
Got there and it was in an unfinished housing estate(Celtic tiger remnant) and when we woke up on the first morning the Gardai were raiding the house next door😂 the house was dirty, garden was unusable and there were no roads into the estate, it was a building site.

Following year we stayed in a mobile home the opposite end of the country.
It was older than I am, the beds were almost on the floor, the beds and bedding were damp and smelly. The shower didn't work properly, the kettle, toaster and cooker didn't work, the heating was gas and also not working, and there was a huge tree overhanging the bedroom. It rained all week and the noise of the drips from the tree was outrageous. Grin

Insert1x20p · 08/08/2021 14:16

DH and I booked a charming cottage for Christmas one year- allegedly child friendly. Turned out that the staircases were steep open tread ( practically ladders) and there was a huge double facing open fire with no guard- I had to get my MIL to bring me her dog show pens to barricade everything. Only 2 rings on the hob worked and the oven didn’t go above 160 so Christmas dinner for 12 was tricky, especially given the lack of crockery. Fuses tripped constantly. Garden was a marsh and access was via duckboards over a drive that looked like a tough mudder course. Ds had jet lag, I had morning sickness and it rained a lot.

Another time a bunch of us ( all
In twenties) booked a french chateau. My best friend and I ended up in a bedroom in ‘the tower’ which had no electricity and they didn’t provide any torches or anything ( pre torches on phones). We spent a lot of time stumbling around in the dark and having to just pee outside in the night as no bathroom in the tower and the main house was quite a trek.

MoreCraicPlease · 08/08/2021 14:40

I have noticed in general that Irish holiday lets are much more variable than those elsewhere. @itsadodgyholidaywithme

They're either brilliant - a fantastic old cottage in the West stands out with an awesome glass box extension - or a bit ropey. It's weird as I've mostly had decent experiences with Irish hotels.

Plumtree391 · 08/08/2021 14:52

You can dine out on this holiday experience for years!

Suzy39 · 08/08/2021 14:59

We stayed in an Air B & B last week that had a 'shower' which actually was an attachment over a bath under a sloped roof and was fixed at about 2.5m. Perfect for hobbits or toddlers. I had to flush the dead flies and woodlice down the plug before we stepped in and the tub was covered in a film of dirt. The garden was also covered in dog shit and at the bottom was someone's rubbish (old footspa, car parts, usual junk).

I went back to the reviews and only one comment remotely mentioned the 'attention to detail' the property was in need of. I can only assume the others had either really low standards or had stayed and been paid for a review.

The price was double what we would usually have paid too.

newnortherner111 · 08/08/2021 15:07

I demand for to have some booze!

(should have been said by the OP)

Puzzledandpissedoff · 08/08/2021 15:07

... booked a french chateau. My best friend and I ended up in a bedroom in ‘the tower’ which had no electricity

What IS it about the French and electricity?? It's like those hotel corridor timed lights - or worse still the toilet ones - which go out after about 15 seconds and leave you staggering along/peeing on your foot

I know electricity used to be very expensive there (not sure if it still is) but you'd think a hotel could afford lighting, or at least extend the seconds to a minute or so

SallyCinnamon3009 · 08/08/2021 15:07

@thebabessavedme

You need to ask The Farmer! But not if you are from london.

Fuck the wellingtons and sink a few large gins, bound to make you feel better.

You need the finest wines available to humanity
birdglasspen · 08/08/2021 15:11

Outdoor electric sockets do not look like indoor ones! They have proper covers to stop rain etc they are totally different, that outdoor light is horrendous!

itsadodgyholidaywithme · 08/08/2021 15:23

@MoreCraicPlease I couldn't agree more! It's either a palace or a dump😂😂 I'm a dab hand at finding the dumps🤦🏻‍♀️
I've never had a bad experience with a hotel here though thankfully.

CopperLily · 08/08/2021 16:53

Could be worse, you could be staying at Southport Pontins! The TripAdvisor reviews are an entertaining read, it's a filthy shithole with frequent brawls according to the reviews...

Sirzy · 08/08/2021 18:14

@CopperLily

Could be worse, you could be staying at Southport Pontins! The TripAdvisor reviews are an entertaining read, it's a filthy shithole with frequent brawls according to the reviews...
Every other week liverpool echo print an article from someone shocked they had a shit time