Dear holiday cottage owners

[SylHellais]

We’re in one, and I felt the need to post a note to all holiday cottage owners as the following issues appear to be inherent.

• for the love of god, just buy a whole set of matching cutlery, plates and glasses. They are not expensive and it’s massively annoying to see a cupboard full of random glasses and bits of crockery you don’t want in your own house.

• sharpen your fucking knives.

• buy a set of three non stick saucepans and two non stock frying pans, one small and one large. They don’t have to be expensive.

• when women wash their hair, they need an additional bath towel.

• a plug socket, near a mirror. Thank you please.

• bin bags. And tell guests which bin is for what.

• can you please fix all the small things like the seal around the wood burner which fills the cottage with smoke, or the pedal bin which doesn’t pedal, or the radiator which is stuck on full chat because the valve is broken, or the oven which is impossible to work out how to operate.

Your guests will thank you.

@Dogmum40

We own a lodge on a holiday park and I’m forever buying teaspoons , is there a black market for them? Do people et them ? I have absolutely no idea why happens to them but I must get through 10 - 15 a year, every year!!

Luckily everything else matches and there’s full sets of everything but as an owner the teaspoon things drives me insane 🤣

I run a community centre and our kitchens drawers have been stripped of all teaspoons (we have enough for large events) many times. Most of our cups and saucers are put back in the cupboards but the teaspoons? Whole cutlery trays full go. Who the hell needs 100 teaspoons? (Other than community centres..)

sunflower all gites we have stayed in were very bare and simple (but advertised accordingly).
no sheets or towels or toilet paper... but if that's clear from the start it's ok.

The thing that REALLY gets me in self catering cottages is not supplying any fairy liquid, sponges, salt, pepper or oil. These things cost basically nothing and it’s so annoying on holiday to have to buy a whole new pot of salt/pepper/oil/fairy liquid especially if you’re not even there for a whole week

I agree. I plan to leave all those things but some people are funny about having used foodstuffs in place and others will nick the remaining fairy liquid, thinking 'if it's included then I've paid for it, so I am taking it.'

My plan is to only leave as much as I think they will need for the duration of their stay, plus a bit extra obviously, so they don't run out, but not enough that if it gets taken I am constantly replacing it and constantly out of pocket.

how uncomfortable... I have long thick hair and I much prefer to wrap my hair in a towel and myself in a towel at the same time rather than being cold and uncomfortable.
I always use a microfibre turban.

wrt towel for hair. I take my turban towel with me. it actually stays up whilst I get ready.

I leave dishwasher tabs for the week, washing up liquid (which no one has ever nicked), washing up sponges, matches, firefighters, foil and cling film. And two toilet rolls per bathroom. I think people are a bit funny about food. I leave prepacked scones, clotted cream and jam and a bottle of wine and pint of milk, but anything that's opened somehow looks a bit icky. I also don't leave washing powder bc if people are anything Like me, they like their own brand from home.
Can't please all the people, and no one has ever complained!

@Movinghouseatlast I am not at all bitter, what a strange thing to say.
No I did not know you only had an interest mortgage, then you are right it is not income. The only people I know who have a mortgage on a holiday cottage are paying off the debt.

@Simpta okay thanks, I agree with the inland revenue. And I know there is capital gains tax when selling a property.

when women wash their hair, they need an additional bath towel.

I always pack a hair turban towel for my hair. I use one at home and always take when when going away. They are small to pack, fold really tiny Gerald but super absorbent in my experience.

I would like to see bigger towels in many holiday let's though - bath sheets not bath towels.

And pillows - two per person please.

@Dogmum40

We own a lodge on a holiday park and I’m forever buying teaspoons , is there a black market for them? Do people et them ? I have absolutely no idea why happens to them but I must get through 10 - 15 a year, every year!!

Luckily everything else matches and there’s full sets of everything but as an owner the teaspoon things drives me insane 🤣

Happens to me at home that (teaspoons disappearing). I think they get thrown into the rubbish bin along with the empty yoghurt pot!

I had no idea hair turban towels were so popular.

@Dogmum40

We own a lodge on a holiday park and I’m forever buying teaspoons , is there a black market for them? Do people et them ? I have absolutely no idea why happens to them but I must get through 10 - 15 a year, every year!!

Luckily everything else matches and there’s full sets of everything but as an owner the teaspoon things drives me insane 🤣

Guest house owner here and the teaspoon thing is real! Forever replacing them. I like to imagine guests are buying yoghurts to eat out and need the teaspoons to eat them with.

sharpen your fucking knives

Yes! I’ve stayed in places where the butter knife was the sharpest one in the drawer. How am I meant to slice bread or chop vegetables? We aren’t all going to chop our fingers off and sue you.

@shallIswim

I leave dishwasher tabs for the week, washing up liquid (which no one has ever nicked), washing up sponges, matches, firefighters, foil and cling film. And two toilet rolls per bathroom. I think people are a bit funny about food. I leave prepacked scones, clotted cream and jam and a bottle of wine and pint of milk, but anything that's opened somehow looks a bit icky. I also don't leave washing powder bc if people are anything Like me, they like their own brand from home. Can't please all the people, and no one has ever complained!

Tell me more about the firefighters ... do you have photos? 😆

I do like a bit of washing powder left. But that is because I hardly ever use the washing machine when away, so the few times I have had to, I have had no powder. But enough for one or two washes is fine.

Also do not do what the last cottage I went to did. It was a beautiful place, very well equipped. But the washing up sponge they left was obviously used. All for what 10p for a new washing up sponge?

I think anyone who is planning to rent out a house needs to stay there for a few nights and cook. It helps make you realise what works and what does not work in your place. Because if you have a decent house and decent furniture, it is the little things that make a difference.

Personally though I am never that keen on home made cake from a cottage owner. Because I have no idea if their own kitchen is hygenic.

I love a cottage with a key safe because it means we can get there at anytime after a set time. So if we want to stop for ice cream or something else, we can be spontaneous.

We are repeat renters of a very reasonably priced cottage. Its clean and cosy and decemtly equipped. The owners arent great on leaving consumables like cleaning and washing up products, but there is matching crockery a plenty, matching glasses in various sizes including pint glasses, decent knives and a sharpener, good pans and plenty of them, instruction books and while they do make a nominal charge for towel packs theach contains 2 bath and one hand per pack ordered.

The wherabouts of this cottage are a closely guarded secret.

@Whitney168 we have the absolute best firefighters in our area . People travel for miles!

My carer was helping me sort out my old computer yesterday, under my desk he found 2 teaspoons.

He claims the dust bunnies collect them as an offering to their god(s).

I just nod and back away but if I find a nest of spoons I will let you all know.

Can I suggest you try investing in long handled teaspoons? The are just as easy to use, better for getting things out of the bottom of the jar than a desert spoon but less likely to be accidentally binned.

Holiday cottage owner here...for any feeling the complaints re knives these are brilliant

I have sympathy for both owners and renters here!

My main bugbear is snoopers who decide to have a nose around the holiday let because it looks nice. Yes, that's why we booked it, now go away!

@HighNetGirth

I have sympathy for both owners and renters here!

My main bugbear is snoopers who decide to have a nose around the holiday let because it looks nice. Yes, that's why we booked it, now go away!

Ooh yes! We rented a place in Scotland a couple of years ago which was near a footpath and people kept coming up to peer in the windows. Really rude and intrusive. One morning we were having breakfast in our pyjamas and a woman suddenly appeared with her nose right up against the window, staring in at us! I waved and shouted ‘morning!’ at her. 😀

Our sofa scatter cushions disappeared, all of them. The lovely log box went missing, as did some candle holders.

Overall though, we have not had any real damages and the place is still in great condition with everything intact.

@artquejtion

Our sofa scatter cushions disappeared, all of them. The lovely log box went missing, as did some candle holders.

Overall though, we have not had any real damages and the place is still in great condition with everything intact.

Wow I'm really shocked at that.

Although we have stolen from a holiday cottage once. We usually take essentials like a corkscrew just in case. At the end of one holiday I packed our bits, including the cork screw. Got home, put everything away only to find we already had a cork screw in the drawer! We hadn't take one that time and had accidentally nicked the one provided by the owner!