Holiday Cottage Nightmare

[AuntySandrasDauphinois]

Please can someone tell me what you would do in this situation?

We arrived at our (much anticipated) holiday cottage yesterday to find that it absolutely stinks. I have febreezed every surface so many times and it still stinks. It's worse downstairs but still absolutely awful upstairs, so bad that I struggled to get to sleep last night. We have been out all day today and just got back and honestly I want to cry. More than £1000 we've paid for the week!

I spoke to the woman in the local shop (when I was buying the febreeze!) and she told us some of the local lads had been putting fish through the letterboxes of any known holiday lets. There was nothing to suggest that's what it was but the smell is very fishy/putrid. The village doesn't feel very welcoming to visitors- she also said last year someone had the wing mirrors broken off their car outside overnight!

The Cornish cottage company have been no help whatsoever- the woman laughed down the phone and told us the fish were an urban legend. There's no way to take a photo of the smell to try to claim a reduction. I don't even know if I can last the week. Currently sat in the garden having a glass of wine but I'm dreading having to go inside.

If anyone has any suggestions bar more febreeze please please let me know. I'm trying to be lighthearted about it but I'm devastated. We drove for 6 hours to get here, I'm so exhausted with it.

You need to be firm with the company. If they dismiss you/laugh again, ask straight-faced what's funny. Point out that it doesn't matter what the smell is, it is present and it's unacceptable. Remind them that there is social media and that unless they start behaving responsibly you will be more than happy to name and shame them all over it. And take them to court for breach of contract, obviously.

Practically, I suggest coffee grounds.

check behind and under sofas and fireplaces as well as under floorboards (if any lift up) to see if anything has died. we once stayed somewhere with awful smell and found a dead mouse under a chair. I have also been told to leave out a half onion to absorb cooking smells so worth a try. Is there a caffetiere? Brewing strong coffee can also help mask smells. MOST DEFINITELY Call the company again and insist someone comes and inspects. This situation is unreasonable

We have holiday cottages and we had a terrible smell a few years ago, I gave the guests a huge refund for the days I failed to get rid of it. Can I just say, stop using fabreeze and any synthetic smells, after doing a ton of research, this makes the smell much worse. The thing that worked for us was ground up fresh coffee and put in pots around the house, it was amazing that it worked.

The solution is quite simple: remove the commercial rates relief and stipulate that all residential properties are subject to higher rate council tax if non-primary domicile.

@Lindy2 we camp. But you really don't get the escalation of this, the last three years especially, and it is really hammering locals on lower wages. We have friends, family of 4, who live in a tent during summer and a barn during winter. More friends moving onto boats; a father and son (15) sharing a cabin with no running hot water, no toilet, no shower. Sorry, but entitled tourists are the flip-side to selfish landlords.

Hope this gets soeted

Try putting some coffee in each of the rooms, it absorbs smells

Well,if it were fish through the letterbox it would be evident ,wouldn't it ? As in there would be a dead fish on the doormat .

OP I hope the agency has responded. I would not hold back and would demand compensation for your holiday.

As to all the local hate of tourists, I have some sympathy but not loads - my kids can’t afford to “buy a house” where we live either (London). There seems to be a lot of entitlement on the tourist regions of the UK. We none of us “own” the place we grew up in, much as many people would like to. I had to emigrate from my home country- I never demanded or expected that it provided me with a home and an income- this is just the reality of life. Go earn money elsewhere like the rest of us have had to.

If the letting company won’t respond send an official complaint via their website. If they still won’t respond could you put a factual review somewhere?

Get some weed. The smoke will disguise the smell, and you won’t care anyway.

Can you Google the cottage name and address to see if the owner has a website, then you can contact them direct.

Bicarbonate of soda and lemons.

But I'd have left by bow, I think.

Can u ask a neighbour to witness the smell if you can't get a company rep to visit?

Then you have independent witness. And I'd apply for a chargeback on my card. And I'd tell people not to use the company or rent that cottage

If they continue to be unhelpful you really need to name and shame them. Or at least threaten to. They have left you no option - they're behaving appallingly. They must also know about it - someone must have been in there between the last booking and yours.

I'm intrigued as to the 3% who have said YABU!

I’d tell the letting agent that you’re glad she thinks it’s funny because the place smells awful snd you want a refund.
Tell her to contact the owner about this issue as you are not prepared to continue with it as it’s ruining your holiday.
If it’s worse upstairs I’d try flushing the loo and running all the taps and shower a few times ? Sometimes smells back up in the pipes.
When you go out , close all the doors as it might help to work out where the stink is coming from. X

Vicks up the nose is good 👍 Also tissues with albos oil x

Off the point a bit but friends have a little place in France. Friends of theirs have a little place next door. We went in when they were over to open the windows to air the place out before they arrived. The place stank. It transpired that previous friends had left a rock with an oyster attached to it in the kitchen table as an ornament. Obviously, the live oyster had died and was slowly rotting! Fortunately, no flies around!
I do hope you get some compensation for your ordeal and maybe discover where the smell is coming from.

what a load of unlrelated twaddle on this thread wouldnt blame op if they didnt come back blaming her for the downfall of cornwall

Golly Girls ! I never heard about dodgy electrics causing a fishy smell!
i will definitely try to remember that!

The Cornish were happy to take top dollar for the houses, no one went in and forced them.

‘It’s an old Sicilian message’

We once returned from holiday and house smelt terribly fishy after a few days, couldn’t figure out what the problem was. Turned out DS had found a crab shell with some bones still attached and put it in a little secret pocket of DH bag. Maybe worth putting any shells etc that are in the house outside. I hope you find a resolution OP.

Omg , poor you. I’m really sensitive to smells and this would absolutely break me. ( would rather dirt/ insects etc than that!!!) I’ve no idea in this heat how you can easily clear such a stench - but could you ask a local estate agent / lettings agent/ can’t think who else to pop round to be an impartial witness to the smell ? Also I’d engage the shop woman in conversation again and record her saying about the fish. I completely get why some villagers are angry about holiday lets - but it’s your holiday and the rental peoples’ battle. If it’s happened to you highly likely also have happened to others so google ( name of accommodation & ) feedback and see / threaten to name and shame. I hope you manage to get some money back or find some alternative 💐❤️Ps probably not helpful/ practical but could you try detergent/ fabric softener wiping walls and floor incase smell has permeated the structure rather than the air?

Jesus! You're trying to control what people do with a house they bought! They can rip out what ever they like, they own the home!