Should I stay or should I go?

[stayingaliveisawayoflife]

We are staying in a barn conversion for three nights. It has cost us £500 for our stay. When we arrived I was disappointed to find bits all over the floor and loads of flies. I know that could be down to the hot weather and the windows open as well as being near farm land.

We have sole use of the conversion and have now found that the cooker doesn't work and there are dead and buzzing wasps around the lower floor. The bathrooms are clean and the bed is fairly comfy. ( I may have had a lie down to check it!)

My husband is gutted that there are problems and thinks we should leave. I hate conflict and don't think it is that bad, especially after reading threads on here!

I'd be asking for my money back. Dirty, infested with bugs, and the cooker doesn't even work? The owners are taking the piss.

You need to ring them tonight and say your leaving tomorrow
You want your money back as it’s not what the advert said and you are disappointed

If you do it when you come back, it’s too late you will get nothing

Dozy Q 0- but have you checked the cooker I switched on/that you actually know how to use it?

Bugs, part and parcel of farm life.

I would leave. If you do there will be trouble. But if you stay it will be double.

Is the oven switched on at the wall? Most holiday let’s switch the oven off when the property is not occupied and you have to switch it on yourself.

If it’s full of bugs it sounds like it hasn’t been cleaned for a while. Perhaps there was a long gap between occupants.

Flies and wasps are normal this time of year on farmland.

The cooker should work though. Have you checked the fuse box? It could have tripped out if there was a lightning storm. And is it turned on at the wall?

I’d ask about the cooker

Flies and wasps are pretty normal this time of year, especially near woodland areas.

Flies and wasps really are standard this time of the year in a barn conversion on/near farmland. It’s the reality that bucolic imaginings of the countryside doesn’t dwell on.
Re cooker...make sure the circuit is on at the mains/at the wall/try all dials as some can be complex. Then obviously contact owner as they can deal with it.

Check the clock on the oven is set. Mine won’t turn on without it being set.

The oven was turned on but all the temp dials are broken so we had to guess at the temperature!

The main bed frame is made out of wicker and literally rustled every time you breathed so I moved out into the single bed.

The flies I accept because of the farm land but there are just so many of them and as soon as you open a window for fresh air more come in!

We are putting up with it because finding somewhere else would be really difficult at such short notice and really expensive. I also hate conflict. This place doesn't have many online reviews but the guest book makes interesting reading!

OP: Should I stay or should I go?
Everyone: Either go or complain or both.
OP: I'm going to stay and not complain.

You must say something now to enable them to put right what they can.

£500 is an awful lot of money to pay for 3 nights. Especially if the accommodation is substandard anyway. Put your complaints in writing and say you reserve the right to claim against the owner afterwards.

Phone them about the cooker. You can't just guess at temperatures, that's ridiculous, and they may have a simple fix, or may not even be aware.

Complaining about bugs in a barn is silly.

Having read the visitors book lots of people have complained and nothing has happened. We will mention the cooker though but appreciate that some of the stuff cannot be changed due to location and the bed is a personal taste thing.

I really think you should inform them about the cooker straight away - doesn't matter what the guest book says. That way, if you review after you can say the cooker didn't work, owners informed at the time etc.

Did you book through a company? You should inform them also if you did.

The bed can be just personal taste and bugs are part and parcel of farm life unfortunately.

A couple of years ago we stayed in a country cottage and on arrival found that it was infested with spiders, the ones with the very small body and very long legs. Every nook and cranny had them. We made a valiant attempt to clean them up, but the kids were scared to be in the place. I gave up and booked us into a hotel in the town.

But, like you I had paid in advance so was not in a strong negotiating position. Though I did manage to get 50% back.

Leaving a comment in the guest book doesn't really help, you need to do an online review so that others can read it before they book. And if you booked though an agent, write to the agent.

The £500 you paid would comfortably pay for a new oven!

But if you don't complain then you are really saying that the £500 you paid isn't really important to you.

Take pics of the dirt, the oven, the comments in the guest book, the dead flies and wasps.
Then call and tell them you are leaving in the morning and want your money back.
Post your negative review online and the pictures you took.
Book into a local hotel, I bet there is one not too far away, look on booking.com

take photos of everything - everything little thing, including the guest book. Complain now. You've paid half a grand fgs!