“We were very disappointed with this holiday let.”
We have been renting cottages / houses for over twenty years with different companies and this has to be one of the most disappointing! Every other rental we have had provided a welcome pack, even if it was just a pint of milk in the fridge but there was nothing here.
The main reason for booking this house is the wood burning stove, again, every other rental has provided a basket of logs to start you off but no logs, no newspapers, not even a companion set to use with the fire so heaven knows how we were meant to use it or clean it out ! Please don't advertise a wood burner / fire if the owners don't want to encourage the use of it!
Considering we had to check in late due to the "extra cleaning" required due to Covid we found the house to be dusty, not cleaned properly and the cutlery had been put back in the drawers with food stuck to it.
The bedside lamp in the main bedroom had no bulb so we had to find one elsewhere and the general standard of hygiene left a lot to be desired. The instructions said that there were spare keys just inside the door but these didn't exist and the shed where we had to initially collect the key from (in the safe) was filthy and bin bags full of rubbish left in there.
Instructions said to leave the bedding in the laundry basket provided but these didn't exist either - I must say if we had known the state of the bedding before stripping it on our departure we definitely would not have used it, stained pillows and duvets, not what I would expect from a house that demands such a high price for a stay.
In fact we were so disappointed with the overall lack of cleanliness, use of the fire and the general feeling we got that we packed up our belongings on Tuesday morning and came home, cutting our stay short by 4 nights.
Would I recommend Tilly's Retreat? No. Would I recommend Sykes Holiday Cottages? Not based on this experience!
Thank you for comments. We have taken on board your issuesand will have these actioned.
In accordance with many bookings at present due to COVID, no welcome pack can be left. A companion set is normally located at the property. The dishwasher is due for replacement and it may have been that previous guests have not checked the cutlery properly before returning it. It is a large, Victorian house with many original features including fireplaces. I am not aware on any staining, I will check the state of the bedding.
Property Owner