“The cottage, which is spacious, is well-sited for easy access to the local shops and the beach.”
However, there are numerous general maintenance issues which require attention and which, because of their multitude, tended to spoil our holiday. I would endorse all of the earlier criticisms made by previous occupants. The garden is in dire need of proper attention, both in terms of the wobbly steps, the broken garden furniture and the brambles. There were brown leaves all over the lawn and trampoline. When the gardener arrived on the final day with a leaf blower I was pleased that they would finally be tidied up but her proceeded to just blow the leaves on the lawn into the corner of the garden without removing any! The house, which can only be described as “neglected”, is in need of a thorough deep-clean and redecoration throughout. There were numerous cobwebs all around the interior of the house, dirty placemats, dusty plates, tissues and other debris down the back of the bath, dirty windows, dusty towel rails, the list goes on.
The ability to clean the extensive kitchen surfaces and any dishes not suitable for the dishwasher, when one is not provided with any form of dishcloth or all-purpose cloth, together with the weak/watered-down (?) washing-up liquid defeated me. I purchased “proper” washing-up liquid and a dishcloth! The small sponge provided was no better than useless. Whilst we were provided with two tea towels, no hand towel was provided in the kitchen. Basic hygiene surely dictates there should be such provision. The table cutlery was more akin to that which one would provide for children. The spacious freezer was functioning at -24 Centigrade. Any effort to reduce the temperature failed miserably.
My partner and I occupied the top bedroom. I did not consider the water pressure to be poor on the third floor. It is the shower head which requires cleaning and decalcifying. The toilet seats continue to not fit the toilets. We had several head-banging sessions, when using the toilet, flushing the toilet and getting into bed. Coming to terms with the sloping walls was not easy! Fortunately, neither of us can be described as “tall”. The bed, whilst not uncomfortable, was very low, obviously because had it been a “normal” height, one would have experienced even more head-banging! Sleeping effectively on the floor made rising in the morning difficult, when one is of advancing years.
All the beds had polyester bed linen and cheap duvets which we found uncomfortable and we were extremely aware of the poor quality waterproof mattress protectors as it felt like we were sleeping on plastic sheets. Most of the pillows were as flat as a pancake and in desperate need of replacement. My adult daughter struggled to get to sleep all week as she felt so uncomfortable.
The doorbell was inoperative and the provision of just one front-door key was inadequate. The dimmer light switches throughout the house did not appear to be operative.
The general purpose dustbin was full on our arrival, which meant we had no means of placing our full kitchen bin-liner in the dustbin until after the dustbin men had emptied the bin on Wednesday.
We declined to strip the beds prior to departure. When one considers the rental we paid for the week together with the poor general standard of the cottage, I considered such a request was almost an insult.
