to ask for money off for a crap B&B stay???

[Poohbah]

I didn't get it though.....

Basically I paid £300 for a three night stay at a B&B (double room) in cornwall which was advertised as a family friendly hotel with a swimming pool and tennis courts.

The room was okay but had stained walls, a broken window, no decent view, poor products, no hair dryer, poor/non existent room service, a rickety stool which my son fell off and ended up with cut face.

The swimming pool was warm but the bottom was dirty and all the buoyancy aids were horrible and the roof leaked when it rained and there were garden snails inside the pool shed and it needed painting. The tennis courts were covered in childrens ride on toys which sounds great but the wire fencing was falling down so therefore dangerous to a four year to go near. It was all shabby and sad.

Also the owner made my son cry when he when in a room only designated for adults, although we didn't realise it as it had a billiards table in it so thought it safe for him to go there. Odd because he doesn't usually cry when told off by random others - I didn't hear what /how she told him off though. I asked for £80 off as the place was so horrible but the owners (a husband and wife) ganged up and basically barred my way out of the hotel until I paid up, stating that "This is cornwall" so what did I expect...I told them exactly what I expected but then they became quite horrible. I was there alone with my son and the place had no mobile reception so I caved in.

[cakewench]

You absolutely should review them on Trip Advisor. I see they've already got a couple of reviews along the same lines, and their responses come across as very defensive. Responses like theirs are almost as good as the poor reviews, in my opinion. :)

Do it! Think of all the people whose holidays you will be saving.

[saintlydamemrsturnip]

Yes but Lindos house isn't in Cornwall. It is location location location in Cornwall in August.

[Rockbird]

I must admit I wouldn't be mad to book with them after looking at that website. But please don't write Cornwall off because of this goonshow. We have been going for years and stay at some lovely places (although we do self catering). It'd be a shame for these eejits to put you off the whole county, you'd be missing some gorgeous places.

[Poohbah]

I have written review in Tripadvisor along the lines stated below as I do feel that if you are spending hard earned cash you should not feel ripped off and you should not be bullied when you complain. Thanks guys for your help and advice.

[TheHeathenOfSuburbia]

Ah, you don't mean room service as in food delivery? You mean as in servicing the room?!

[Merrylegs]

Arf. I love their replies to their negative reviews on TripAdvisor. Are they quite the ticket?

[sethstarkaddersmum]

it's funny isn't it, their replies make them seem mad & scary. You wouldn't take any notice of the odd bad review in amongst a bunch of good ones but they have dug themselves in deeper by being all defensive and snidey.

[LucyLouLou]

Well done Poohbah, just read your review :). That couple need to be taken down a peg or two.

[sleepypjs]

Well done Poobah - I was planning a trip to Cornwall but will steer clear of that awful B&B!

[gagamama]

It does look like a bit of a dive from the wesbite TBH, so not sure what you were expecting. But things like a broken window and dirty walls aren't acceptable and I'd definitely have asked for some money off I'd been dissatisfied. I can't quite fathom all the 5-star reviews on TripAdvisor though, mostly from people who have only ever contributed once - and two of them even had the same profile image! Hmm!

[Deliaskis]

It does look like a bit of a 'basic' place from the website to be honest. I think the stuff which you were maybe expecting too much on were:

"poor products, no hair dryer, poor/non existent room service" as this is a basic B&B then I wouldn't have expected any of those.

Also the website does say the tennis courts are used as a play area.

However, YANBU to be unhappy about actual broken things (window), unsafe things (fencing at play area) and unclean things (swimming pool).

Also, can't fathom how you paid what you did based no their pricing on the website.

Tripadvisor is the place to get your revenge.

D

[Myleetlepony]

Trip Advisor is your friend. I see they have AA * rating, so it may be worth contacting them as well. I can't find a list of what should be provided in a three star B+B, but suspec this falls short. More like two star.

[5Foot5]

Mm - lots of people setting great store by TripAdvisor here but TBH I am not sure how seriously you can take that website these days.

I gather it has been plagued with dummy reviews - either bad ones by rival establishments or fake ones by hotel management.

[moomoo1967]

Try Brend hotels - I stayed at one of their hotels in Devon but they also have hotels in Cornwall

[Myleetlepony]

I think that people do take notice of Trip Advisor, guests do comment on it so obviously read it. The B+B I sometimes run now has over 30 reviews and a perfect feedback score. However, this B+B is AA three star rated, and that counts for something. Whether or not it looks like a dive from the website, AA ratings should guarantee a certain standard, and I doubt this one does. So I would contact the AA.
("My" B+B is AA four star )
If a hotel or B+B is on Late Rooms then it's always worth leaving feedback there. If they get a bad review they contact the establishment for an explanation. As we found out when someone gave us the review they intended for the place they'd stayed at the night before they came to us.

[Starbuck999]

From the website, I'd not book. It looks a bit shabby and the rooms do look basic. It does say on the website that the tennis court is usually used as a playground.

Good on you for posting on trip advisor, I used to work int he travel industry and I can promise you LOADS of people use it as their bible when booking. Even if the owners didn't give you as discount there was no need to be rude or make you feel intimidated.

Also, go through to AA and make an official complaint about how you were dealt with.

[ElephantsAndMiasmas]

sorry but I did chuckle at: "I won't be going to cornwall again as clearly there are some fabulous places elsewhere in the country"

[Poohbah]

I see a glowing review has now been added to trip advisor

[WillYouDoTheDamnFanjo]

Inform their local tourist information centre, too. They set up hundreds of b&b stays and get to know which places turn visitors off the area that they work so hard to promote

[Ariesgirl]

Is it "This is Cornwall" as in that's why it's expensive or "This is Cornwall" as in that's why it's shit? I work in tourism in Cornwall and I know that VisitCornwall are working very hard to promote the place as a quality destination. Do they have any accreditations or membership schemes e.g. with VisitCornwall or the Cornwall Sustainable Tourism Project? If so, report them! These bodies would want to know.

I'm sorry you had this experience in Cornwall - there are thousands of wonderful places to stay and it sounds as though you were unlucky.

[Poohbah]

I think that they meant "this is cornwall" so we can charge you much more than Wales, the North/central england, London or Scotland and you have to pay for poor quality because Cornwall is so unique, so special that we can just just rip you off. Which it isn't. It annoyed me especially beacuse they weren't even cornish.

I have to say that I had a lovely meal in a lovely pub with some lovely people in that pub and visited Cothele working mill and really enjoyed those things and thought everybody else I met was really nice.

[sethstarkaddersmum]

I keep checking on Trip Advisor to see if the owners have written a mad defensive response to the OP's review yet.

[cumfy]

The positive reviews on Tripadvisor are (mainly) fake.

They don't ring true:

1. State conclusions not examples
   
2. Inflate the owners egos apropos of nothing.
   
3. Have apparently "incidental" typos inserted into otherwise coherent copy
   

This is all very common in online media.. review spam.

If you want to really f* them.......
Of course you don't, but if you did...


They haven't got a google places account

Just set up a gmail account and put in their website as yours. Then you might surprisingly find that a few friends/MNers had in fact visitted there abode and posted some negative reviews.

These "google places" come right at the top of the listings.

[HippyAngel]

I just noticed on Trip Advisor that the owner has a Triumph parked outside the B&B, and one of the glowing reviews is by "Triupmh Owner 10"

[TheHeathenOfSuburbia]

I noticed that too, HippyAngel, what are the odds, eh?!