“We stayed here as a group of 14 women celebrating a 40th birthday weekend with family members aged between 30–60.”
The property itself is beautiful — very rural, peaceful, with lovely grounds, a pool and hot tub. The house was clean overall and had everything we needed for a relaxing getaway.
Unfortunately, the experience was completely overshadowed by the owner’s behaviour, which was honestly some of the worst hospitality we’ve experienced.
Firstly, the check-in and check-out times were extremely poor for the price paid. Check-in wasn’t until 5pm on Friday and check-out was 9am on Sunday morning, ...
The property itself is beautiful — very rural, peaceful, with lovely grounds, a pool and hot tub. The house was clean overall and had everything we needed for a relaxing getaway.
Unfortunately, the experience was completely overshadowed by the owner’s behaviour, which was honestly some of the worst hospitality we’ve experienced.
Firstly, the check-in and check-out times were extremely poor for the price paid. Check-in wasn’t until 5pm on Friday and check-out was 9am on Sunday morning, meaning for a Friday–Sunday booking we effectively only had Friday evening and Saturday before having to get up early and leave.
Two of the bedrooms also had bedding that smelt strongly of wet dog/damp laundry, like it hadn’t dried properly before being put on the beds.
One guest charged her electric car overnight using her own charger, from around 80–100%, which would have cost only a few pounds at most. On Saturday morning, when the owner arrived to supposedly “check the pool chlorine levels,” we all watched him through the living room window take a photo of the car charging before leaving again. At that point, he could very easily have politely knocked the door and simply told us charging wasn’t permitted, and we would have unplugged it immediately without any issue whatsoever.
Instead, he chose to save the issue until checkout morning and then demanded £20 for the charge. Initially he claimed he “couldn’t possibly know” how much it had cost him, then changed his story and said he charges a flat £20 fee regardless — despite also saying he doesn’t permit charging at all. We paid purely because he threatened to deduct it from the housekeeping deposit if we refused. When challenged on the amount, he laughed and replied: “I’m a businessman, what do you expect, for me to fill all your cars with petrol before you leave too?” Completely unnecessary and incredibly rude.
We specifically asked him to inspect the property before we left because we were concerned he might make accusations after checkout. The house was immaculate when we left — we were respectful guests throughout and caused no issues whatsoever.
During this inspection he tried to complain that we had used pool floats that “weren’t permitted,” despite the property photos advertising the pool with floats in it. When we pointed this out, he claimed they were “for photo purposes only.” How guests are supposed to know that without it being stated anywhere is beyond me.
Most uncomfortable of all was his attitude towards our group. He questioned us about what the website says regarding “same sex parties.” We replied that it says no hens or stag dos, which we were not. He then stated he “doesn’t permit same sex parties.” If that is genuinely his policy, it absolutely should be made clear before taking £2,500 from guests. His attitude throughout the conversation was dismissive and hostile.
The final straw came on Sunday morning around 8am when he knocked and then pushed the door open shouting “hello” upstairs while one of our group was standing on the landing in her underwear. That was completely inappropriate and unacceptable.
It’s such a shame because the property itself is lovely, but the owner’s behaviour completely ruined what should have been a special family celebration. We left feeling uncomfortable, watched and unwelcome throughout much of the stay.
I’ve actually been reluctant to post this review straight away because, based on our experience, he seems the kind of owner who would withhold the housekeeping deposit over a negative review. Ironically, during the argument before checkout, he repeatedly told us to “put it in a review.” That almost made the anxiety of posting an honest review even worse before knowing whether our deposit would actually be returned.
Thank you for your detailed feedback. We’re pleased to hear you enjoyed the property, grounds, and facilities for your celebration, though we’re sorry that elements of your stay did not meet expectations.
We would like to clarify that the check-in and check-out times are clearly advertised on the property listing, and the owner did make every effort to assist by allowing your group to arrive an hour earlier. In addition, there are notes on the website advising that EV charging is not permitted at the property.
Pool floats are permitted for guest use; however, we do ask that they are rinsed before being placed in the pool and removed overnight to prevent blocking the filters. This was explained on arrival, but we appreciate the feedback and will ensure this is made even clearer moving forward.
Your comments regarding housekeeping and communication have been noted, and we will review these with the owner to help improve the experience for future guests. We also sincerely apologise for any discomfort caused.
Property Owner
