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.

As I said don’t spend any more of your money on this - it’s the agency’s problem to sort out. And masking the smell won’t help your case anyway.

Yes to electrics including bulb sockets, which can smell like cat wee. Also though, a gas leak can smell like this too.

Febreeze, candles, keeping internal doors closed and opening external windows etc might all help in terms of keeping the smell bearable but won’t really work effectively if the source of the smell hasn’t been eradicated. Is it obvious where the smell is coming from, is it only in certain rooms or is it literally in every room? If you can tell where it’s coming from you might be able to find the source. I have read stories about people hiding fish under carpets and inside curtain poles etc when leaving rental properties with nightmare landlords, haven’t heard of it in a holiday let before but I suppose it’s possible that something like that has happened.

If the fish through the letterbox story is true then I’m surprised it still smells now as presumably it’s been removed if it is still smelly because of that it sounds like the property needs a deep clean to remove any fishy residue. I’m surprised something like that would permeate to the entire house though. If the smell is in the drains or similar obviously it’s not something you can really remove or deal with within a holiday let and when only there a week. I agree with those saying you need to phone the holiday company again tomorrow, and keep phoning until somebody can come out to see for themselves.

Could well be rotting rodents. They create quite the fragrance. Get someone out, ASAP.

Whereabouts in Cornwall are you op?

It won't help with your complaint, but a bowl of vinegar will often reduce a smell, or a cut onion.

So sorry about your holiday.

If they refuse to visit, tell them that you have a lot of followers on social media and you are often on twitter....

Please minimise your water use when you are in the West Country.

I am tired of being told not to take a shower so Devon & Cornwall can 'save the water for the tourists'.
This is in spite of already having the highest water rates in the country as the tiny population has to subsidise tourist holiday water usage.

I seriously doubt anyone has been sticking fish through the letterbox, which wouldn't make the whole place stink, just the area by the letterbox at most.

I deal with disputes for a credit card company - we would reject this as a claim as it’s a service issue. OP you really need to raise hell with the lettings agency, I

You poor thing ,sounds awful .

And poor me - also booked with Sykes . Anyone else ?

…. am very sensitive to bad odours so really feel for you here !

We went to Cornwall in March and paid £1800 for a luxury let with a hot tub....... only the hot tub didn't work we got sent a free hamper of a bag of tea and coffee as compensation........ I really regret not being more forceful at the time.

I'd phone first thing tomorrow OP and say that it's not acceptable, it's making you feel unwell and you want it dealt with. Don't waste money on trying to solve it, it's not your issue it's theirs.

I'm based South West! Sorry for anyone caught up in Sykes! We have a local complaints page! X

Just want to echo what Badger1970 says - this is awful and it is not for you to solve it. Get them over (insist) first thing in the morning and start talking forcefully about breach of contract, and what are they going to do about it?
If you paid by credit card, you could conceivably leave and get your money back through the card company later. If you would consider camping, there are several camping equipment and hire ships in Cornwall like Devon and Cornwall Camping Hire in Launceston and Cool Canvas in Redruth, Aztec in St. Agnes and Rent a Tent, St. Ives. Good luck OP. Don't let them get away with this, its disgraceful. Be strong and let them know you will not put up with any more bs.

I'd have thought if it was something dead (fish or rodent) you'd be seeing big flies attracted to the smell. Does the property have a loft or a subfloor? I agree dodgy electrics can smell fishy, I always thought it was the old bakelite stuff. If you can air the property out then close all the doors window to see where the odour first reappears, iyswim.

Sorry OP. I hope it gets resolved for you.

The woman laughed at you when you complained!?

I agree with calling again tomorrow and giving them absolute hell.Insist someone visits the cottage and sorts it out.

i agree with threatening them that you will go public with this.

i really hope it gets sorted.

A couple of years ago We stayed in a cottage through Sykes.

I was unable to leave an honest review on their site so I tried to leave one on Tripadvisor. Whenever I tried to leave a review it linked automatically back through to Sykes. I even emailed Tripadvisor saying I wanted to be able to leave a review on their site but they had no explanation as to how it defaulted back through to the Sykes site each time.

I emailed photos to Sykes in the end. We had to go out and buy new bedding, there was a Tupperware container under the toilet because it leaked when you flushed and the whole place stank of wet dog -despite booking a pet free place. I will never book with them again.

I agree with calling again tomorrow and giving them absolute hell.Insist someone visits the cottage and sorts it out.

They are just people in an office, the office is based in Chester so tell them to get the owner/cleaner or whoever to come.

Deffo consider the electrics.

Bad reviews are the way ahead for you. In a letting contract there is normally a period of time to fix the issue. Often 24h.

Be really angry.

Do not try to mask the smell.
It’s totally unacceptable that you aren’t being taken seriously. Sounds like it could be deliberate foul play from locals priced out of the housing market. Or it could be an electrical fault. Either way it must be reported and taken seriously.
Get on the phone again. Insist that either the agency manager or the property owner comes to investigate immediately as it’s so bad you cannot stay there. Tell them that you need alternative accommodation or a full refund.
Back the call up with an honest email describing the stench and what the shopkeeper said. Also send it to the owner if you can find out who the owner is. Tell them you are going to the local press and tourist board unless they provide alternative accommodation or a full refund immediately.
I’m sure the property owner will be mortified that her cottage stinks.
Ask why the cleaners hadn't alerted the agency or owner before your arrival.

We had a terrible problem earlier this season with an ant infested holiday cottage. They were everywhere, I think they were living in the front wall of the property and they were all over everything. It was so disgusting. And on top of that the cottage itself was just really tired. I think it had probably been lovely a decade ago when the pictures were taken but it was all peeling paint and damp patches, and holes in the plaster.

The agents were fairly useless to be honest. They made token attempts to appease us - a bottle of wine, for example, but no willingness to compensate us properly. Turns out that their slice of the almost £1k we spent is fairly small and the cottage owner declined to compensate us. This was a small letting agency in the St Ives area who markets themselves on luxury/boutique properties. They were not great to deal with tbh.

Fish juices are unbelievably awful. Attracts flies too. Definitely get the agent in tomorrow

Ground coffee. Cheapest possible. Set out in bowls all over. One each room minimum. One right on top of the bed.

There is a reason drugs sellers use it. It works. Sucks up all kinds of odors. Have used it for unspeakable odors in ambulance.

Maybe look for ethical/responsible tourism in the future?