“The property would benefit from a good deep clean.”
Mop is tired & old & bucket has no section to wring out mop. Floors very dirty. We bought mop, bucket & flash anti-bac cleaner (all taken with us on leaving). Cleaned floor 4 times to get to acceptable level. Dusty & cobweb ridden throughout. Carpets are filthy - we photographed numerous stains & emailed to Sykes to ensure owner couldn't suggest it was us. Property smelt very musty. Bedding damp (we had fortunately brought a throw as tend to find duvets too hot). Sprayed lots of Febreze (bought a number of cans) & aired as much as we could, but still smelly & all clothing taken (& throw) has had to be washed on return as now also smelly (including everything washed there). Tiles in bathroom loose & broken, which we could see reported in visitor book back in July, yet still unresolved. Hoover was also reported as broken in July, but we found it in same state - not working, full of filth & no wheels. Disappointing that issues reported are left unresolved. Had a courtesy call from Sykes early in week & reported all issues. We did have an issue with fumes from boiler during the holiday & unfortunately the owner was very dismissive, even offering to supply number of plumber rather than call himself. We can tell difference between spilt fuel smell & burnt fuel fumes - also no smell until Thursday evening, so odd that we wouldn't smell it sooner, when room in question was used daily. Property could be great, but these issues let it down.
Very disappointed with this feedback after a full season of very happy visitors!
The floors were all fully hoovered and thoroughly mopped with flash on change over and I fully inspected post cleaning, polishing taps and mirrors and a final cobweb check.
The cottage is a converted farm building with exposed beams and stone walls. I realise some people who are used to pristine smooth plastered walls don't take to the "rustic" feel but to me, and most of my happy visitors, this is the character of the property that I have lovingly restored.
In the week prior to this visit a brand new outside boiler was installed with the flue pipe taken right up above the eaves of the building. The new boiler is so efficient that the exhaust is secondarily burnt and there are virtually no oil fumes. The fact that the boiler is outside means it is impossible to have fumes in the cottage! When the old boiler was taken out a small amount of oil was spilt on the floor of the boiler room, and I apologised for this when the visitors arrived. A visit by Sykes staff on the day of departure did not smell any fumes. I tried to explain to the guests the fact that it was impossible to get fumes from the boiler into the property but met a very aggressive response at which stage all I could do was suggest they could check this with my plumber if they did not agree with me!
The visit coincided with the end of the heatwave and all the bedding had been line dried, aired and ironed during blazing 32C sunshine! Damp?
Having renewed the kitchen, three piece suits, mattresses, toppers and duvets, the next on our list is the bathroom. Apologies for the one loose tile which despite being glued three times insists on coming loose. This will be rectified in the refurb at the end of the season.
A mop and bucket and Henry hoover and any cleaning aids are available to all our guests. It is stored in the laundry room next door and all they have to do is ask. I do tell my guests on arrival that if there is ANYTHING they need please ask. I have been around all week, waved and spoken to the guests and not once have they asked for anything! This has not been an issue to all our cheerful happy guests we have had over many years. I hope these guests and their four very loud dogs are able to find a more suitable property for their next holiday!
Property Owner
