“We have just returned from a festive family stay and it's with a very heavy heart that we had a few issues which resulted in us having to write this complaint sadly.”
On first impressions of our property Glebe Holme was absolutely superb and It had everything possible in the pictures shown on the booking page and was perfect for our weeks stay.
After settling in it was then that we realised that we couldn’t use the Hot tub as it was very cold water to which we contacted the owner about and he said that the engineer had only just been to clean it. My husband afterwards realised that the thermostat was completely down to below the advised temperature, and we managed to get it working properly in order to use but this really should have been checked by the engineer.
The cleanliness of the property was unfortunately poor as Mum had to clean out bedroom drawers due to people's hairs and tissues in there before unpacking and the cutlery, plates and 1 pan still had food on them I’m sorry to say. Hair all in the sinks.
We had a few issues with the state-of-the-art cookers as too technical and resulted in manuals every time we cooked but luckily had 2 brainy masterminds with us. Only minor issue but a struggle nonetheless.
And the last issue which I’m so sorry to say was the absolute worst was the heating. We’ve virtually had none all week despite contacting the owner again.
I'm awfully sorry but I don’t particularly agree with the owner overseeing the property heating from his own home during the property being occupied and we are convinced that he was turning it off all the time that we put it on.
The property was honestly freezing at most times of the stay which then led to it being really damp. We contacted Michael about this issue a few times, but he said that he couldn’t see any faults.
Even on his timed schedule, 7.30am to 11.30, the heating system either never came on at atall or went off on its own so when we changed it manually over to manual, for some reason it still wouldn’t respond and at times, the boiler system in the utility wasn't even firing up!
We had pets and my parents who sadly have health conditions, and they felt the cold terrible all week, especially as we were caught out in the torrential rain showers, we had out exploring the Lakes. We came home to a dithering house.
Both bathrooms had puddles in due to condensation and our towels had been wet through or cold to use as no way to dry them. Towel rails stone cold too.
It seriously needs addressing and if the radiators need bleeding it should have all been checked beforehand. He said the hive heating was only 6 months old.
I honestly don’t think our stay was worth £1876 as it’s been a bit of a joke and stressful at times, especially having to sit around with coats on.
We expected heating to be a basic need, especially in December and with the weather we had.
We left the property in accordance as requested and left it exactly as we found it. Stripped bedding and discarded our towels in the showers ready for cleaners. No good housekeeping bond of £200 was reimbursed as stated in conditions.
We will continue using Sykes but definitely not staying here again.
We are sorry to hear of your issues you say you have experienced Katrina. We make a huge effort and financial commitment into making sure the property lives up to its five star rating it has always had.
Firstly, we have always felt that the Lakelover’s cleaners do a fine job and have never been informed by any guests of all the cleaning issues you have raised. We stay in the house many times ourselves and if we thought the cleaning was not up to the standard we expect for guests we would have brought this to Lakelovers attention. I can only assume this was a one-off.
In relation to the heating, I can absolutely guarantee you I was not switching this off via my app at home to save on energy costs. What I think would have caused this is the fact the thermostat for the hive has been fitted in the snug room where the gas fire is. When the gas fire is on the room temperature rises above the thermostat set temperature and automatically switches the heating off in the bedrooms and hallway. I will move the thermostat to the hallway and hopefully this will solve the issue. I’m a little confused with your comment that the house being freezing most of the time and you had virtually no heating all week. I have checked the amount of energy you used during your stay via our Octopus energy app and its reading suggests you used a substantial amount of energy during your stay. Coincidentally we arrived at the house the same day you left and when we entered the house via the large kitchen area, the heat in the house was quite extreme. The thermostat said it was eighty degrees. For the full week we stayed immediately after you left we experienced none of the heating issues you described.
Finally, I have had it confirmed by Lakelovers that the £200 bond was never charged to you in the first place so just a misunderstanding of the bond rules between you and the agency.
Property Owner
Property Owner
