Disappointed

[Frostytiger87]

Has anyone arrived at a holiday cottage & been totally disappointed with standard ?
We’ve just arrived as we walked in there’s a musty smell , sat on the sofa which has seen better days & sunk into it , the dining chairs are the same
Beds are like sleeping on a board & we have a wet room that resembles a communal shower room
We paid a lot of money the whole place meds doing up , I’m not sure that I can stay here a week I didn’t sleep a wink last night the mattress slaughtered my back

Where is it OP? Can you not view it as more of a base and get out and enjoy the local area? Looking quickly at the weather for London (where I am); south west and north west England the weather looks pretty great in all of those locations so enjoy your holiday !

Yes, we arrived at one once which looked great in photos, and turned out to be on a grotty estate, with no curtains in the ground floor bathroom and nowhere to dry laundry.

We left early.

Sorry, OP.

Your right gluggle jug I should think of it as a base but the place is dire , I’m trying to stick it out until Friday . I was going to do a small wash yesterday but couldn’t believe the filth of the washing machine , we also seem to have quite a few wood lice scurrying around Im not sure if this is normal in the county but the house does have a lot of wood maybe there’s a bit of damp somewhere

If it smells musty and has wildlife it's bound to have some damp but isn't that usual with old cottages? We stayed in one years ago and the owners had tried to cover up the smell with air fresheners which almost killed me off as I have asthma.

Could you get a mattress topper to help you through the week abs like the PP said, just use it as a base.

I'd be leaving a review at the end though if you can. The one we stayed in was put up for sale shortly after.

I've had two really bad experiences one in Ireland and one in Slovenia but England we have been ok.
The last one was a bit grubby on the closer
Inspection but the bathrooms and kitchen were ok and bed comfy.

Complain

The moldy washing machine is a disgrace.

Thankyou for your replies , We’re going home today & I will be speaking to the owner he lives next door to where we are staying .
A mattress topper sounds a good idea but I don’t want to spend more money . I agree that insects are normal in any house hold but we’ve stayed in the country many times & I’ve never noticed them . There’s mould around the tiling in the shower room I think that it’s unacceptable if I owned a holiday let I’d make sure that it was spotless & clean . I’ve had to descale the kettle myself as it was thick with scale it makes me feel sick , teaspoons that are stained .
The washing machine was the last straw it’s absolutely disgusting .

This is a lesson learnt for us I’d advise people to be careful when booking holiday let’s & don’t go by reviews alone as sometimes these are not accurate to what you get

That sounds awful, and you’ve made a good decision. Did you book on your card? You might be able to argue for a refund if it’s not what was advertised.

Also we have a woodlouse (cheeselog) problem in our house. Tend to see a couple most days. Bit worried about damp now!

Contact the booking agent while you are there and tell them your concerns.
Take photographs.
We had one cottage that turned out to be small for even two people and didn’t have a proper kitchen - there was no room for a worktop. We were there in August and had to have the central heating on 24/7.
On the other hand, our last rental turned out to be luxurious. But we had paid a lot more money than usual for it.
I hope you get some money back.

Thanks mdh2020, I have taken photos , holiday let’s this year arenot cheap . I will contact the booking agent , I have high standards with hygiene especially with times at the moment
We have never stayed in a place like this before it’s filth

Stained teaspoons, the mould and the washer aren't acceptable. I hope you get some money back.

I used a CAB template for a letter a few years ago in a similar situation and got some money back.

To date, we've been very happy with the cottages we booked, all have met or exceeded expectations. We were a bit disappointed with the view from the latest one - they omitted the ugly car park from the photos, but otherwise it was spot on.

Not saying you didn't. but I do A LOT of research before booking and won't consider anywhere that doesn't have multiple good reviews. One bad review will be enough to put me off, unless it's something I don't care about or they're clearly being petty. I pay particular attention to comments re cleanliness & quality of furnishings.

Definitely complain & leave a review as it least it might help someone else.

Not saying you didn't. but I do A LOT of research before booking and won't consider anywhere that doesn't have multiple good reviews. One bad review will be enough to put me off, unless it's something I don't care about or they're clearly being petty. I pay particular attention to comments re cleanliness & quality of furnishings

We do a mix of cottages and camping holidays. I'm pretty much like this as well. Usually book months in advance and read a lot of reviews. Keeps me busy on Autumn nights

@33DominicRaabsTravelAgent It's my favourite hobby!