To not clean cottage before we leave?

[Tocleanornottoclean2]

We are staying in a self catering cottage which was a bit of a disappointment on first inspection, it's OK but not as clean as it should be. Not dirty dirty but there are a lot of things that don't really meet my expectations when you've paid good money for a place.

Usually when we leave we strip beds, take bins out, hoover, clean all surfaces in kitchen/bathroom and make sure everything is washed up and back in its place. However, would I be unreasonable to not strip beds or wash up all the breakfast stuff (there's a dishwasher, washing up is a ballache). I meant leaving the dishwasher running, not leaving dirty dishes! Will still hoover and make sure it's left tidy.

What do you think?

Just do what is in the contract. Some places will keep your deposit if you don't do certain cleaning tasks. If you're doing them just to
Be nice but your experience has been poor then don't bother

Check the small print. Do what needs to be done then provide constructive feedback and an honest review.

No deposit or list of tasks here.

Then why are you getting the hoover out?!

I never strip beds and always leave the dishwasher running. Never Hoover.

I'm paying a cleaning fee. I refuse to do that job for them.

We always empty the bins but only strip the beds if asked. We make sure all the washing up is done. As for cleaning, I don’t do that at home so I’m not going to do it in a holiday cottage.

If I am paying a cleaning fee I leave the place tidy, run the dishwasher and wipe down the counters, that's about it.

I don’t strip beds unless we have to like we did after Covid lockdown. We usually leave dishwasher on, I wouldn’t dream of leaving dirty plates lying around. I do empty bins, but my other family members leave them. I hope you give a review on the cleanliness, if the owners are using a company to do it, then you need to let them know. Personally if it wasn’t clean when we arrived, we would be straight onto someone.

YANBU to not do a load of unnecessary things, whether or not you're happy with how the cottage was when you arrived.

Leave the place tidy, dishwasher running and put the rubbish out, but I don't understand why you'd hoover, strip beds or do a full kitchen and bathroom clean.

It's cleaned by the cleaners between guests, why do their job for them and then probably complain that it wasn't a holiday because you chose to do some unnecessary cleaning.

I always leave the dishwasher going, only strip the beds if asked, and it wouldn’t even occur to me to hoover unless we had spilt something or walked sand in.

Thanks all!

It's not unclean enough to ask someone to do something, it's just not up to the standard I expect. It's stuff you might leave in your own house but not someone else's!

Empty bins, wipe crumbs etc off kitchen surfaces and leave dishwasher running - nothing other than that however spotless, or not, a place is when we arrive. There’s always a cleaning fee involved so I’m not doing half the cleaning myself!

Yep, as long as dishes are in a running dishwasher, rubbish in bins and you've done a cursory wipe down, that's fine.

Why are you hoovering? That's not part of the deal! Tidy up and run the dishwasher, maybe strip the beds if that was specifically requested in advance, but you don't need to hoover. It's bad enough trying to be packed and out by 10.

I put towels in bath, sweep up obvious mess or hoover if quicker, take out rubbish, wipe down surfaces, including the loo because my boys might have missed the aim! I only strip beds if asked as it's often a rush in the morning.

I'd probably use the dishwasher if there was one and leave it in there on a wash

I always strip beds, wipe down kitchen and bathroom surfaces, check toilets are clean, sweep through any hard surfaces , empty bins into one bin bag and bung any dishes in the dishwasher. I don’t vacuum though.

We don't go above and beyond what the owner asks us to do upon leaving. In the cottage we stayed in this year, we just got rid of the rubbish, loaded the dishwasher, and wiped down. They weren't good at getting rid of some of the dog hair as we had spotted it when we arrived (and we had a dog too) so we had left it exactly as they had left it for us when we arrived.

I’d never hoover, just sweep up any obvious ‘bits’, strip beds and leave it tidy, washing up done or in the dishwasher, but that’s it. When you’re required to be out by 10 am, there’s plenty of time for whoever they’re paying to do the rest.

I used to clean self-catering chalets.
Tbh we always preferred it for guests to leave the bed sheets on the bed rather than strip them - this made it much easier for us to spot any stains which might need extra cleaning.
turning the dishwasher on is fine.
emptying the contents of all the (landfill) bins into one black bag is fine - but please don't put recycling in there too.
feel free to leave the toilet bowl, bathroom sink and shower clean/ free of hair!

I’ve never done any clean up over and above putting the inside bin into the outside bin and probably leaving the dishwasher on. I’ve never stayed in a place where anything has been asked of me and I’ve stayed in around 20-30 holiday cottages (if not more) over the last 20 years.

Leave the dishwasher running, quick wipe and sweep of anything obvious. 3 mins tops. I don't mind stripping beds but take the point that cleaning staff may not find it helpful.

I never strip beds unless explicitly asked; many places prefer you not to anyway.
I always take the bins out, wipe obvious spills/crumbs off the surfaces and put the dishwasher on, but nothing more. Doesn't matter how clean or otherwise the place was; they always change a cleaning fee, so I don't see why paying guests should do it.
In your shoes I'd do the same as I always do and write a factual review.

I wouldn’t do any of that anyway. I leave things tidy, dishwasher on & towels in the bath. I would never strip a bed

We always strip beds and fold duvet on the bed as a way to check we haven’t left anything behind (teddy or favourite sock at the bottom of bed). Clean surfaces, empty bins and pit dishwasher on. We tend to hoover during the week and would do it if we’d left a mess.