Ty Llaeth

We were actually recommended what we thought was this property by a friend and when we booked I viewed the other single review which advised that the property was tired, unclean and full of cobwebs but we had ignored the review based on our friends comments.

However it turned out that this property was not the one that our friend went to and so we had booked the wrong property in error! As we had already paid and having previously read the review I took our vacuum just in case as I am asthmatic. We paid £345.60 and travelled 217 miles each way to get there and back, we had saved up to have a restful weekend after stressful times. On arrival we were very disappointed that the property was so unclean after investing our trust, time, and money. We assumed that the least we should expect is that the property is clean and fit for purpose. Had we not been so far from home we would have left immediately. However we vacuumed the property and told the lady who came round about the cobwebs. The lady insisted the house had been cleaned the night before. Soon after we received a text from the owner and a screenshot of chat GPT about spider habits rather than an offer to clean the house or in some way rectify the problem. " Hi I have just had my mother in law on the phone regarding cobwebs, we are currently on spider mating season which means many more were out and about, we are also in the country which again means many more. We do a full cobweb check at the time of cleaning, but as some guests can arrive hours later some do appear. Please see screen shot of google. The farmer has cut the crops in the field and also trimmed the hedges yesterday. Apologies for the webs, but nature like to take control" The chat GPT question had been "how long do cobwebs take to form" in which the reply said that the structure of a web can take 15-60 minutes but it officially becomes a cobweb and collects dust over weeks or months. Incidentally we live on a farm and never have this problem and also the spiders in the house did not whip up more webs over the couple of days we stayed after vaccing despite how quickly the owner insisted they did. We had also not been given a key and had to wait almost an hour to be given one as initially it could not be found. " Sorry my mate was the last guest and gave me the key, mother in law will go up to house now and fetch it for you" However the mother in law didn't and we were told we could leave the door open as our things would be safe, but we did not want to leave personal computers and belongings laying around with no means of locking the door. The owner then arrived in a car and ran up to the house himself after which we were given a key. In summary: The property is generally poorly maintained throughout. It was dirty on arrival. Cobwebs everywhere. Smelt damp. Corners full of bits and dust Slugs found crawling up the walls in the middle of the night. KITCHEN Kitchen worktops and tables not clean, sink and drainer needed cleaning before we could use them. Dirty Utensils Plates/dishes were kept in cupboard above a very smelly wet vac and cleaning equipment BEDROOM Dust on bedhead, shelves and window sills Very strong smell in bedroom Each lat under the mattress had an inch of hair in it. BATHROOM The Bathroom sink was still covered in toothpaste, and the toilet had clumps of hairs attached that were not ours. Bathroom window was covered in hanging paint Shower head designed for bath The shower caused water to rise into a puddle from under the bathroom floor. The bathroom floor was lifting. The radiators were stained with brown stains OUTSIDE Seating on the outdoor seating area were filthy and unusable Given that this property had a previous negative review on cleanliness earlier this year which they state they will address, why have they not addressed it? We do not usually leave reviews however it is our chance in this case to be honest about our experience. Please save your money and do not go. Despite raising our concerns with the owner no one offered to clean the property we spent the weekend buying cleaning items and a mop and bucket and we ate and drank nothing there. I slept on a kitchen stool the first night and in a newly bought sleeping bag on the second and then we left a day early. It really ruined our weekend. As a consequence, we have lost our confidence in Sykes cottages as we trusted that the properties they advertise are fit for purpose.

The property looked a little ‘unloved’ with weeds growing on the decking and the steps up to the property.

The accommodation is fairly basic - which was ok by us - but the cutlery and some utensils needed another wash before using and there were cobwebs in the electric fire. There were no instructions on using anything so the oven needed a bit of head scratching! Everyone seemed friendly and we didn’t mind the menagerie of animals although some dogs might have been unsettled by them, ours was fine. We had a misunderstanding over the toilet roll as we hadn’t been given a spare but this was soon resolved. Non of this spoiled our break but do feel the place needs some TLC and doubt if we’d return.