Holiday cottage - right to feel annoyed

[Liciaflorrick]

We like lots of people have not had a holiday for 3 years. Booked a holiday cottage (through big company). Am disappointed but am not sure if I need to simply get a grip over the following. We haven’t done a cottage holiday before but even though it was £2000 for a week it was actually cheaper than our normal Haven type holiday (school hols, decent lodge etc)

• arrived and key box instructions not correct (wrong key code) meaning out of hours call to holiday company to sort- took half an hour to fix with hungry kids etc


• House was reasonably clean but not spotless, crumbs underneath sofa and dust in corners, chopping boards with crumbs on, cutlery drawer dirty. I am not a clean freak so for me to notice must in the words of my teen mean it’s quite bad.


• one toilet out of three not working (but town house so means where floor with kids bedrooms don’t have a working toilet. To be fair cottage company tried to sort this but couldn’t and it will have to wait until changeover.


• Clothes left in a drawer with unmarked tablets in one of the children bedroom’s drawers

I don’t know if it is reasonable to be irritated about these small things but have never had the dirt issue etc with other holidays mainly mobile homes etc) . I do feel let down, that having spent £2k (saved hard all year) that it isn’t perfect. Is this simply not possible within this budget?

I would expect it to be clean for sure, at any price point really but £2k isn’t exactly a bargain! Make sure you take pictures.

I wouldn't be happy at all about the cleanliness or the loo. I would push for a partial refund.

At 2k I'd want a live in cleaner included.

Sorry that your holiday house isn’t as you had hoped for.
What i would say is take photos and raise these things with the holiday company at the time and not later. If it’s not clean, ask for a cleaner to come in. If the loo’s not working, ask for a plumber to come in or money off. Did they tell you in advance?

I would also try to get a part refund. The tablets are a huge safety issue - I have younger children and what if they helped themselves to them?

I have had a similar experience with a cottage from one of the big operators - grubby not filthy and owners’ things left in house in all sorts of drawers!

Not unreasonable at all to be annoyed.

i own a holiday let and my mantra is that guests should arrive not knowing that someone left 6 hours previously. Shower drains empty, taps shined, crumbless cutlery drawers, dust free underbeds and sofas. Sometimes it's a real challenge, depending on the state the previous occupants left it (picture trash piled up on counters, nappies on the floor, grubby hand prints on all windows, stove top splattered with fat etc), but that is always the aim, and I think me and my cleaner deliver. So YANBU

£2k is a rip off. Is it a 4 or 5 bed? I am currently in 3 bed with swimming pool (private) for £1250. My friends have the 2 bed and it was £800. Popular holiday spot.

£2k just for accommodation you may as well go abroad.

And yes it should be bloody amazing given how much you paid!

I’d take photos and contact the company straight away. The tablets are completely unacceptable, safety hazard.

The cleaning doesn’t sound very thorough (probably how they didn’t notice the stuff left behind) and is worth feedback, although I have never stayed in an absolutely spotless caravan or cottage - especially this year cleaning standards just aren’t great.

Honestly the key code and the broken toilet to me fall under “shit happens”. It’s a bit irritating but unfortunately just like your house at home things occasionally break and they have tried to fix it. I don’t see how owners can prevent occasional minor maintenance issues.

I’ve never had a “perfect” holiday cottage or caravan, but I try not to let it spoil my time away.

Try to enjoy the holiday and the location you are in but I agree to taking photos and raising this through the agent for a partial refund.

It's not unreasonable to expect it to be perfect.
I have a holiday let (2 bed apartment so likely smaller than the one you're in) I manage it myself, do all the bookings via a couple of well known websites and all the cleaning. It's absolutely spotless. I mean it's not high end luxury and it's got small bedrooms but it's well equipped, absolutely spotless and in a good location in a popular seaside resort in the South West.
I charge about £100/night. It sleeps 4.
Maybe because I manage it myself I'm invested enough to clean it properly?

Definitely raise any issues while you're there not after you get home.

No, it should be clean. Especially given the pandemic, cleanliness should be a priority. I feel we've learned nothing from covid or the pandemic.

I'm reading so many of these threads, particularly about UK cottage holidays, usually booked through one of the big cottage companies.
They don’t seem to care, they get their money and and that’s all they are interested in.
I had a similar experience before the pandemic and now refuse to do UK self catering holidays, it feels like too much of a gamble.

ZenNudist you did really well. The price you paid is less than I'd expect to have paid for a 3bed with pool pre-covid in popular areas in the school holidays.

Any chance you fancy sharing details? [Grin]

Meant to add that prices seem to have hiked steeply post-covid

I would be annoyed about the cleaning and the tablets and complain about those for sure. Dirty has never been ok but post covid it’s completely unacceptable.

We’ve just come back from a smaller/cheaper holiday house and it was beautifully spotless.

I wonder if it’s someone’s normal house agree not good

I bet you had a later check in (and earlier check out) due to extra “Covid” cleaning also 🙄

Yes - I'm not someone who likes to complain, but those are significant issues.
The key box is a minor irritant, but the property not being cleaned properly and the toilet on the children's floor being out of order are both things that impact on your enjoyment of the property.
Clothes being left in a drawer albeit is something that's happened to me before and tbh didn't think it was a big deal, but the DCs finding tablets is another matter.
I'd take your photos and raise your email complaint now, bit then concentrate on enjoying your holiday.

I don’t understand why fixing the toilet has to wait for changeover. I appreciate that you still have 2 working toilets, but it was an advertised facility and not being able to use it is causing you inconvenience.
Getting the code wrong was an avoidable issue and you are right to be annoyed, but I think that being rectified within 30 minutes was quite good.

did you film and take pictures? It's not going to kill your holiday, but it is an inconvenience to have 2 instead of 3 toilets.

I would be summarising everything and asking them for a refund (cash not vouchers). And review. Do not remove the review.

But: "no holiday for 3 years" i am getting irritated by all these posts. Yes. It's been hard for all of us. Some people haven't had a holiday ever. Now you know what it feels like. Not to diminish the disappointment of the cleanliness or functioning toilet, but it has nothing to do with the length of time you had no holiday (apart from the anticipation, i guess)

Any holiday cottages I’ve been to have been spotless. There shouldn’t be crumbs on the chopping board, and the toilet should definantly be working. The previous residents should have reported this. I’m not a clean freak either, so to notice something would be major for me also.

I guess the clothes were left by the previous occupant, and the cleaner doesn’t routinely check every drawer.

Definantly ask for a refund, as it wasn’t up to standard, and compensation for time wasted in sorting these matters out.

I'd be annoyed with this too. We stay in a lot of holiday cottages and have never had any concerns over cleanliness at all. I do think COVID has screwed the holiday let market. It's completely unbalanced and I hope will right itself in a year or so. And the words quality and luxury are now used to describe any property that has grey cushions and throws and modern looking light fittings, rather than giving any idea of whether it has a high standard of furnishing, kitchen equipment, fixtures and fittings etc.

I'm in smaller property a it is spotless
the Advertised coffee pot was broke and replaced right away
the shower blocked and someone came to fix it
cheaper than yours but as it's not someone's home easier to maintajn

Any tablets left in a draw accessible to children is a safety issue and Id not be happy due to cleaning not having been done before arriving.

I would ask for an £85 refund on the basis that the house needed a clean and it wasn't completed.

I would also state that since there is supposed to be 3 working toilets and there are only 2, that a partial refund of £20 should be applied

The key lock being incorrect is a mistake that was rectified and arriving somewhere hungry is not anyone else fault so £0