Holiday disaster

[Citygirl007]

We booked a last minute holiday in UK for £450 a night for three nights. Arranged via agent, owner is abroad, property managed by agent. We had three young kids with us. Property was a victorian house.
We arrived just as cold spell hit a few days ago.
On arrival the temperature was 12 degrees and heating turned to that temperature.
managed to get heating as far as 16 degrees for the first night and it was still that temperature on first morning. To be clear, the radiators were fully working once we turned them on and heating was on non-stop. Problem we think was that property wasn't heated for a while and it took ages to warm.
Spent all first day dealing with the issues (there were few others, loo not flushimg etc).
By evening of second night, the house was at 20.5 degrees so decided to stay.
In the morning, upstairs is lovely warm, downstairs back to freezing. The massive extension has only underfloor heating so back to 16 degrees.
Kids in coats etc.
So we left 24 hrs early after spending most of the time there dealing with issues.
I obviously have documented all this via emails.
Just about to write a complaint.
AIBU -we should have sucked it up?

We have stayed in lots of period properties and never had any issue like this 🙈

We had planned trip to museum x 2 and a trip to pub for lunch. Neither was possible as had to field nerous calls repeating the same and quite frankly couldnface taking shower in such freezing time.
We then spent long time looking at alternative accommodation, waiting for housekeeper to turn up to check heating and then maintenance man tk turn at 6pm.

Exactly that. Leave it too cold and gets ages to het back to normal temperature. We even put fireplace on to keep warm!

My house doesn't hold any heat. It won't get much above 15 even if the heating has been on all day, and the boiler works fine. Although, I'm not charging anyone to stay there and I wouldn't because of things like this!

Renting hoyels is not possible for us unfortunately due to size of family, needing a garden with trampoline due special needs and need to have kitchen to cook same food as at home.
I might consider HMRC call in the future.

But that's where we differ. I would not see 450 a night as taking a chance. I would fully expect it to be warm enough at that price. If they can't guarantee the warmth in the winter then they shouldn't be charging those kind of prices.

Stayed in victorian house last winter at £200 night and it wasn't luxurious but was warm and cosy.
Like I said, we have stayed in maybe 20 airbnb/cottages in last 3-4 years. Never had problem.

Oh I agree, it shouldn't be taking a chance. And as I said, maybe I am over-cautious. But I personally would be careful about booking a victorian (so not well insulated) place in winter (so not a time when it is busy/there will be people in regularly) at the last-minute, when people in the party have an issue with cold. At the very least I would be in touch before booking, asking what the heating is like, for those very reasons.

But I can see that I am in a minority. Maybe I have just had more bad experiences than other people in holiday lets!

Ah, I see the Mumsnet competitive under-heaters have arrived. They're like the competitive under-eaters, except instead of professing that their family would all be full to bursting if they had more one quarter of a small pizza and that one portion of fish and chips is easily enough for four people, they like to pipe up to announce that they'd be absolutely boiling and feeling ill if the temperature crept into double figures.

16C is not a warm indoor temperature. It's the legal minimum workplace temperature in the UK and one at which most employees would be uncomfortably cold. Most offices keep the temperature at around 21C. If you are comfortable sitting in a t-shirt at 16C, you are the unusual one here and being cold at 16C indoors doesn't indicate a lack of iron.

The Gro Egg is designed for you to be able to tell what a safe temperature is for a baby while they are sleeping overnight - a 'safe' temperature' doesn't necessarily mean it's a comfortable one, and typically people need warmer temperatures during the day than they do when they're sleeping in bed, for obvious reasons. "Well, it wouldn't kill a sleeping baby" is a very low bar to set for the comfort of a holiday property.

Where I am it’s -18 outside so used to the cold, and 21 inside. We’re not in t-shirts either.

If it was 16 degrees in schools or at work they would close. If you’d get too hot you should perhaps go and see a doctor. How do you survive summer.

Sorry what's this about trampolines?

You couldn't go out and leave it for housekeeper to sort out with maintenance guy? A trampoline in winter, was it not colder outside than in?

OP: holiday house not warm enough
Mumsnet : You need to make an appointment with your GP.

Booked a week prior to arrival

So regardless of what they keep it at when empty, there was plenty of time to get someone in to ramp up the heating in time for your arrival - which for £450 a night is the very least I'd expect

Sounds like pure greed on the part of the owner and I'd certainly want a full refund

😂

funny that, I grew up in proper winter, with proper snow. I don't normally feel cold but yup, it did feel cold in that house.

I suspect housekeeper either forgot to do it or was told firmly not to do it.
Husband is policeman and good at reading people. He thought she seemed sheepish, hence why we needed to be there. To speak to human and also to back up the claim we will submit.
Also to keep her reporting real condition, not imaginary one.

what do the recent reviews say?
and reviews from this time last year?

Clearly you don't have adhd child who has to trampoline in winter and all year around.
You do get hot bouncing on it for an hour.
Nothing tk do with state of the house inside

Op, we go to a holiday home up here in Scotland a few times a year. When we went one January when the weather was as cold as it is at the moment, the owner texted me to say she'd put the heating on full blast, and the log burner just needed a match to start it, so that we would be cosy straight away.

That's what you should expect from a holiday home.

I'd complain.

All reviews talk about space (big etc). All from summers only

so not a single review outside of summer for this year or last year? how many reviews does the place have??

3 on cottages whatnot,
3 on airbnb

Yep. I have seen posts of people saying they are sweltering at 12°C 😂

I imagine that poster writing her comment with the head tilt and tinkly laugh, asking are you getting enough iron?

you took a risk! very very few reviews and not a single one for any month outside of summer and you book for Jan.

that was brave for a family break in Jan

I booked through a legit company. Don't necessarily follows lack of reviews = bad accommodation.

They manage it. Agency got goid reviews

it is not inevitable but certainly adds an element of risk when it has
not recently opened

but to have been operating for many months and only have three on air bnb the last one being from 8 months ago in summer… I wouldn’t have taken the risk but each to their own