Mumsnet users share with HomeAway the strangest thing they've found or left behind in a holiday home

[EllieMumsnet]

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The chance to spend time away from home and in a new environment is a treat that many of us look forward to. Occasionally, however, we can forget to take everything back home with us once the holiday is over. HomeAway would love to hear about the strangest things that you have left behind or found from former guests in a holiday home.

Here is what HomeAway has to say: “HomeAway offers more than 2 million unique places to stay in over 190 countries around the world, from villas to cottages, from beach houses to tree houses, from mountain cabins to even castles! Over one-third of HomeAway's nearly 1.5 million online bookable listings are now instantly bookable, with no wait for confirmation. The holiday home expert’s mission is to provide families and groups of travellers with the perfect match holiday home to create unforgettable memories together. Not only do holiday homes provide excellent value for travelling families and group of friends, booking a whole house also guarantees more space and flexibility than a hotel or resorts.

Ever wondered how much your home could earn for you? HomeAway is here to help you learn what it takes to rent your home and invite travellers in for unforgettable experiences. Click here to find out more.”

Have you ever found unusual items in the fridge? Maybe you managed to leave just one shoe in the wardrobe? Or your underwear in a strange location? Perhaps you’ve even found something as random as a walking stick or a diary? Share them all on the thread below...no matter how strange!

Everyone who comments on the thread below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

A few years ago, we found a mobile phone, plugged into the mains charging, in the bedroom of a lodge we rented. Handed it in at the site reception and didn't hear any more, so assume it was claimed!

never left anything behind knowingly , but once arrived at a holiday destination to find someone had left several items of clothing under the bed , which the cleaner had obviously not bothered to check !!
when we went to Egypt i left behind snorkling kits, a summer skirt and some toiletries so we could fit souvenirs in our cases , im sure someone found some use for them though

went to a cottage in the lake district and it was perfect; other than the false teeth left in the bathroom

My dad was once on holiday in France and left a bottle of (unopened and expensive) whisky in a cupboard; he didn't realise until him and my mum were on the ferry bound for home. He called the number when he returned home but my dad's grasp of French and the holiday cottage's owner's grasp of English wasn't a good mix so the owner got a friend round to translate.

The following year my parents returned to the same cottage and the whisky was there waiting for him.

We found random socks hidden all around our holiday apartment, in the middle of the toilet roll, over a ceiling light shade, hanging in the wardrobe, in the fridge drawer, beside the spoons in the cutlery drawer, placed between the plates..
Strangely they were all clean and looked new, with none of them matching lol. The kids thought it was a weird game of hide and seek and started getting excited about finding the next one. Was very strange.

We once found a darth Vader mask in a lodge in Somerset in February.

Someone left behind some handcuffs!

I found a dead dog in the back garden of the hotel we were staying in. It looked like it had been there a little while too

i left behind an egg slicer i had won at the fair

Many years ago my Father left his spare artificial leg at our holiday cottage. It was in a cardboard box standing up in the corner of the cupboard, but I bet it was a surprise for the next visitors who peeped in the box.

I found a box of assorted bath plugs in a wardrobe in a hotel in Spain years ago, when I mentioned it to the staff they said that they were not the type or brand used in the hotel and the previous occupants of our room must have brought them with them and left them there.

erm.. false teeth we found once !! LOVELY!!

Nothing funny or exciting unfortunately but once found an one shoe under the sofa!!

just the odd magazines etc, nothing out of the ordinary x

My sons favourite dummy when we went on a cruise... oh we couldn't find it anywhere and the journey home was traumatic to say the least!!

My other half was into fishng & went away on a fishing holiday. He left a tub full of maggots in the mobile home he was staying in. Funnily enough they were never returned to us. I do hope the owner or next holidayers werent squeamish!!!! 😱

A bag full of clothes

A massive box of dresding up jewellery

Soiled underwear - what a welcome!

The strangest thing I ever found was 5 photographs of someones feet! They were polaroid photos and were clearly taken in the hotel room on the rug.....I wondered why and what for for a long time lol!
As for leaving anything in a hotel room I think the worst was leaving my glasses - I wear contacts and take them out at night and wear glasses in the evening

I once stayed at the beautiful Gleneagles Hotel. Lovely concierge man said he would come to my room and bring down my bags. When he came down, he very discreetly said 'Err, you left some personal belongings in your room. I have popped them in your bag'.
'Oh did I?' I reply 'What was it?'
He looked a bit bashful and said 'Errr, quite personal items'.
Turns out it was a bra and a g-string. Whoooops. At least they were clean.

I managed to leave all my family's shoes and coats behind when on holiday as a teenager. I somehow got all the blame for not checking the obscure cupboard where they'd be stored... sigh... luckily, we arranged for them to be posted back to us, but it wasn't cheap :S

Snail trails all over the carpet of a chalet in Brean. Disgusting

Once left a monster slanket in a cottage near Blackpool.

After a stay at a holiday park where both OH and I had remarked on the unique smell of the accommodation all week, he found some very dirty (talking toxic grade) underwear stuffed in one of the drawers...that explained a lot