to be pissed off with "technology" in holiday cottage?

[KingsleyShacklebolt]

Having a week's break in a recently renovated holiday cottage in Yorkshire. The heating is controller by some fancy circular dial thing which on googling is apparently a Google Nest. There is no user manual or instructions on how to use this in the accommodation. The temperature on the thermostat rather than being set to a constant 19/20 fluctuates between 9, 13, 22 and 17. Randomly. Just tried to turn it up as we were chilly - locked with a PIN.

Upstairs, the shower is controlled with a similar digital thing which looks very swish but again, no instruction manual and having a shower involves pressing randomly until it switches on.

So. AIBU to think that if you are charging people to stay in a property, you either install a very simple way of controlling heating/shower etc, OR you leave very comprehensive, idiot-proof instructions? Judging by comments in the visitors' book, others have had the same issues.

Annoying.

Totally agree. Holiday cottage appliances need to be idiot proof.

How ridiculous and frustrating.

Makes you think that they do this so you can’t use the heating or the electric too much therefore costing them less! I would be contacting them and telling them that it’s cold and you need heat!

Message them. And message them every time you come across another issue. It’s not acceptable to have no control over heating etc

Nest is set by an app - message the owner and ask them to change it. We have nest and it’s brilliant but harder to have in a holiday home!

Is there a google device thing like an Alexa? If there is I assume you'll be able to ask it to turn the temp up? We have hive and Alexa, we ask Alexa to ask hive to boost the heating, if that's any help!

It just appears to be style over substance - we have the simplest thermostat ever at home with up down arrows and a set button.

Why install something you control with an app, in a house you don't live in? Owner says just adjust the heating by turning the dial. But she can clearly see what we have the heating set to.

I'm by no means a technophobe but I really think it's unnecessary. No instructions for oven or dishwasher either, but luckily they're just the same as the ones we have at home.

You are reminding me of my last hotel stay. Somehow my attempts to cool down the room actual made it hotter. I awoke in the night drenched in sweat. As I tried to fight the ridiculously confusing controller a panic attack started to rise as I tried to fix it without waking anyone else. I took to trying to look it up online to find an instruction manual. It took about 20 minutes to find something close enough to the model to be useful. In my case it was some crazy low-end thing with awful controls that I eventually figured out if you let it turn off the cold air for even a second, it instantly started blowing in the 43 degree air from outside.