Luxury holiday homes how important is cleanliness to you

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Hey lovely wise mumnetters, my friend is letting out his 5 bed luxury home with hottub. What's the most important things in
Your stay? It's high end bathrooms/ kitchen etc but what's your top priorities in rebooking or recommending to friends/ family. It's already a short walking distance to a classy gastro pub and it's not far from the sea. Please tell me what's important to you guys?

We recently stayed in an awful Airbnb billed as luxury and with a hot tub. We had no intentions of using the hot tub, which the owner seemed to think negated the issues we complained about, these were:

cleanliness, it was filthy, they expected previous tenants to clean and didn’t look like all the bedding had been changed.

mismatched cheap crockery, kitchen drawers full of odds and ends, Basically full of ‘leftover’ stuff from owners house

decorated with random stuff from charity shops, cheap weird art etc. crap furniture.

horrible patterned bedding, stick to white / neutral

be sensible with your descriptions, if you’re advertising as dog friendly/ family friendly think about whether the garden is secure, windows are childproof etc and make sure your listing cant be misinterpreted as that’s where you’ll get complaints

Yes as previously mentioned King sized or even better super king sized beds. You can’t call it luxury if you expect 2 people to sleep in a double bed.
Washing machine and dishwasher a must.

If you are wondering about cleanliness then the hot tub would worry me, how often will it be cleaned ?

It genuinely doesn't matter how high end the fittings are, if things are not scrupulously clean when I arrive (hot tub included) it would be getting 1 star from me. And I mean properly cleaned, not 'get the last group to clean before they leave' clean

True I’d expect it to be drained and refilled between guests.

When you say 'not far from the sea' do you mean a short stroll or a short drive ?

Tiled or wood floors, no carpets. Leather sofas, possibly with washable throws are better than fabric sofas which are easy to stain. Best have thoughtful extras like a torch, first aid kit, sewing kit . Also dishwasher tablets and cleaning sprays.
Prefer bath with shower but would accept shower. Quality welcome basket.
Must have very high standards Of cleaning and seals in bathrooms must be intact with no mould. Also semi hidden areas of bathroom must be cleaned eg behind basin and toilet.

Has to be clean to a very high standard.

For the luxury end, I would expect at least three bathrooms in a 5 bed, with shower cubicles not over the bath and a couple with baths too. Lounge and a separate snug room so that people don’t have to always be in the same living area.

for furnishings, high quality throughout, ample soft furnishings such as choice of duvets and pillows, extra towels, throws in the living room. Nice garden furniture with enough chairs for everyone.

Definitely cleanliness. Well equipped kitchen in the sense of no obvious things missing. Don't expect things like a blender as wouldn't be going on hols to go all out on cooking.
Decent shower but don't require a bath.
Good beds.
In the past we have stayed in places with obvious things missing- tin openers, corkscrew etc.

It HAS to be clean - properly, hygienically clean - that's a given. You will get complaints and refund requests if it isn't, and rightly so!

Along with lots of what PPs have said, a decent set of sharp knives in the kitchen seems to be something which has been lacking a couple of times when we've stayed in Airbnbs. And a decent toaster.

Clean. Comfortable bed, big as possible, as the holiday's ruined if I can't sleep. Decent shower. Properly equipped kitchen. Warm. Shampoo, conditioner and soap.

Everything said here ^

Comfortable beds and sofas. A holiday home should not appear to be furnished with whatever you got in freecycle and the bits you couldn't sell when your grandmother died.

On the flip side high end shouldn't mean you are scared to use anything in case you damage it. Comfortable and easy should be the goal.

Though I would have thought if you have described it as high end then that should be covered!

Zip and link beds so that you can set the rooms up according to the needs pf the groups booking it. Some will need to sleep 6 people in couples, others will be parents hunting for places with single beds so they don't have to make 2 of the kids share a bed.

Also, if a group comprising of less than the max that can sleep in the house don't assume where they will sleep and only make up some of the beds. Ensure your guests have a choice. This has happened to us before. Having assured the kids there were enough bedrooms for them to have s room each (very rare on our holidays, they usually all have to bunk in together) they had not made up all the beds so the kids had to share after all which I was not impressed with having paid for more bedrooms!

Enough plates and glasses etc to actually fill the dishwasher and still be able to have breakfast before it is done. Nothing worse than a place that sleeps 5 having exactly 5 sets so as soon as you eat or drink anything you have to wash up or else there won't be enough for dinner. Pans also need to be appropriately sized. If your place has 5 bedrooms and could sleep 10 people then have you got pans and dishes to cook for 10? Could you make a huge stew and 1kg of pasta? You might expect most people to eat out but not all will.

Heating you can control. Enough hot water you don't have to think about how long you spend in the shower.

Easy to use appliances and simple instructions.

Don't give a 3 page essay on how the bins work. Guests will not want to learn how your council do recycling when to be honest they probably struggle to remember what their own council does. Either have dead easy bins or just ask for clean recycling to be placed in a specific plastic bin and then separate it out in to the main bins yourself on changeover day.

If it has a hot tub don't expect guests to maintain it for you.

Don't expect them to clean everything but do ensure hoover, dustpan and brush etc are available so spills and accidents can be dealt with.

Good quality mattress with clean mattress protector.
No clutter (attracts dust)
Well stocked kitchen with clean crockery and glassware.
Hygienic bathrooms with well maintained plumbing/ boiler.
Welcome pack of wine/local cakes or biscuits/milk/decent teas/coffees
Yes, spotlessly clean.

I work in holiday property management and all of the above is a bare minimum in my experience.

TVs, DVD players etc that actually work on switch on, rather than having to spend ages tuning them in, exploring wires, etc.

Cleanliness ultra important, not just “looking” clean but properly clean. At our last stay, the shower drained really slowly and was smelly - we opened the outflow and it was stuffed with filth, hairs, etc. It makes you wonder what else wasn’t properly cleaned/maintained.

Decent appliances rather than cheap, I.e. vacuum, toaster, kettle, microwave, etc. Lots of owners put in top quality cookers etc but everything else is bargain basement!

Check lights work, so many places have blown bulbs!

Apart from being spotless, I want it to be as comfortable as my home, otherwise what’s the point. So all the crockery, cutlery, utensils etc you’d use if you were at home, decent bed linen, extra blankets if it’s cold, comfortable furniture, decent appliances, TV’s, Wi-Fi, easy to use heating, cleaning materials etc.

I want somewhere with a pub and a shop within walking distances and hopefully, restaurants.

Space for everyone to sit at the table and eat together

matching crockery & glasses

serving dishes

sharp knives

proper pans not random left over ones

Good showers with plenty of hot water and high pressure. Spotlessly clean - you really notice every speck of mould or limescale when you’re standing in the shower!
Nespresso machine.
Huge fluffy bath sheets.
American fridge.
Plenty of space for clothes and plenty of coat hangers.
Umbrellas and wellies.

All of this!!

Decent beds and bed linen

proper blinds or curtains so I’m not woken at 6am - this happened to us in a £4k a week house

decent tv

huge towels

wifi

parking

at least 3 bathrooms, walk in showers

not overlooked

spotlessly clean

no rude instructions and I won’t be stripping beds either

Quality kitchen items if it's high end. I don't mean branded or expensive - just a knife that will actually cut bread, or a chopping board thats not been abused for 10 years. Frying pans not from the pound shop.

Cleanliness is my main concern

I am a sucker for a nice 5* staycation, amd we do it a lot to get away.

To claim to be a five star, I would expect it to be spotlessly clean. High quality bed linen and giant fluffy bathtowels. Reasonably well stocked dry goods pantry and the offer to have food of my choice in the fridge for breakfast (within reason and from a list provided, though negotiation is fine, say for dietary/religious/cultural reasons). The ability to have a Waitrose shop of my choice delivered on the day, though this would be at my expense, not the owner’s). Comfortable, high end furnishings, tastefully done. A log burner with a supply of logs. One four star once left us a full English cream tea, set out just before we arrived which was lovely! Powerful, separate shower (cannot stress that enough). Guest information pack with suggestions of what to do in the local area, and contact details for restaurants, takeouts and things like cinemas etc. Finally a great location and quirks. Quirks make it from a 4 to a 5 imo. Maybe it’s a well-stocked reading nook in a bay window over a beautiful courtyard. Maybe it’s a hidden pizza oven in the treehouse. Maybe it’s a ‘secret corridor’ through the house (all of these are real life examples btw). Something that makes the place extra-special so you always remember it.

Firstly your friend needs to work out which market they are targeting as that will influence what is important. A property that size is ideal for large/ extended family breaks or hen/ stag parties.

I've stayed as a hen at a "rural luxury" large property. There were 10 of us in all. The hot tub was very popular with us, also plastic glasses for outside/ hot tub use (especially for the hen/stag market). Plenty of parking was available and was needed as the guests were all geographically spread out so only the bride/ sister of the bride and mother of the bride could share a lift. If the property is rural clear instructions/ what 3 words/ accurate location information is really helpful. Generally for hen/ stags they are likely to want to be near pubs/ activity centres. Have ample parking or be close to or have good links to public transport. Local taxi services are also really helpful and if the property relys on very small taxi firms that are likely to stop running at 8.30pm/ only run Friday and Saturday nights and have to be pre-booked weeks in advance then alternative taxi firms or notice that this is the case would be great. Beds and bathrooms are another consideration, twin beds are great in places that cater to hen and stag parties (Not all guests at hen/ stag parties know each other really well and be comfortable bed sharing). Plenty of bathrooms - 10 women getting ready is a long process.

If your property has neighbours, its probably not a good idea to market to the hen/ stag market as they are generally loud/ early hours affairs (we were still drinking in the hot tub at 3am) and neighbours will complain.

I've also gone on extended family breaks (Me, DH and DD, DM and DDad, DB, SIL and DNs). Parking once again is important to us, we generally bring 3 cars. Extended family breaks are generally going to have more than 1 set of adults staying so more than 1 "double" room is required. There is also likely to be children so twin rooms/ rooms that can be double or twin. More than 1 bathroom and 1 downstairs toilet.

In terms of what attracts me and my priorities, I only book places with at least king size beds. Off street parking and if staying with extended family in a large place i expect there to be ample parking - it just isnt fair to neighbours to bring 3 cars and take up all the limited on street parking, A dishwasher and ample kitchen to cook meals for the amount of people staying. A large place should have more than 1 tray, 1 frying pan, 1 saucepan etc for cooking. Plenty of glasses/ cutlery. On that note I don't want a kitchen of cast offs and what was obviously great granny's old oven dishes. If it is marketed as luxury then I want to see matching crockery that is well looked after (not full of chips/ a combination of 2 not quite matching but close enough sets). I personally like either a double size shower or an over bath shower - I don't want to be cramped in a tiny box shower. Heating that works/ heats the place to a decent standard. I have a toddler so if catering for children then high chairs, stair gates and travel cots are much appreciated. A decent information book that is up to date with local recommendations is a firm favourite.

A massive deal breaker for me and will lead to me leaving a negative review for: I DO NOT WANT a long list of jobs I have to do before check out that really should be done by the cleaner (and I have paid a cleaning fee for them) at the end of the stay. I am on holiday, I can strip beds and take duvet covers off quilts, hoover behind and under furniture, mop floors, defrost and clean out the fridge and dust at home for FREE.