“The barn has been beautifully renovated but the lack of attention to detail was evident.”
The fixtures and fittings let it down. The cost of a 4 night stay was a premium price and we felt the property standard did not reflect the price charged.
The sofa needs replacing, you sink so low into it that it's just not comfortable. The bedrooms are lacking basic furniture. Neither bedroom had a wardrobe or a chest of drawers. The upstairs bedroom had barely anywhere to put your clothing. There were two (small) sets of cheap bedside drawers, one of which was dusty and we found hairs inside two drawers. My husband had to fix his set of bedside drawers as one drawer was coming apart. The clothes hanging 'device' was laughable. There were just 4 hangers for the two of us, on what appeared to be a coat type 'tree' stand thing attached to the wall! Neither of the flimsy mirrors in either bedroom were screwed to the wall. They were just propped against the wall and we were concerned about knocking them over as they were so light. You couldn't see yourself in them anyway as the mirrors were on the floor and were not tall enough to view yourself in! Pointless really. The bed pillows were poor quality and uncomfortable too.
We found positives in that the kitchen was well equipped and the bathrooms were modern with good water pressure. The barn is very warm which was appreciated on cold mornings. Dogs are catered for too with water and food bowls. The local pub in Bampton served delicious food too.
Ruth, the owner, was very welcoming. However we were disappointed to be told the EV charging was an extra cost. At the time of booking, the advert on Sykes did not state there was an additional charge for using the electric car charger. We have mobile phone screen shots as proof of this. To be fair to Ruth when we raised this with her she did allow us to have one free car charge. However, it was disappointing that the advert was incorrect and it was a fee we did not expect to pay. One of the reasons we booked this barn was because the car charging was meant to be included in the booking price!
Lastly, the driveway up to the barns needs some work. It is not suitable for low ground clearance vehicles. We scraped our car underneath a few times on the uneven steep driveway. It would benefit from having tarmac laid rather than shingle, as the shingle gets moved around which exacerbates the uneven ground. Additionally it is not safe to turn left out of the driveway onto the main road as the visibility is poor. If you have a car longer than a hatchback then you cannot complete the left turn in one manoeuvre either.
Finally, we wish to explain that we have stayed in many self-catering accommodations over the years and feel this is a fair and accurate reflection of our stay at Meadow Syke Barn.
Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback regarding your recent stay at Meadow Syke Barn.
Regarding the electric vehicle charging, we sincerely apologise for any confusion or inconvenience caused by the misunderstanding that made you think that you could charge your car for free. You made it very clear how upset you were regarding the fact that we charge per kw when the EV charger is used and took the opportunity to try and rectify the situation during your short stay by allowing you a full charge, at no cost. I instantly contacted Sykes to amend the listing stating that the EV charger has a charge payable to the owner to prevent this misunderstanding in the future.
We take all of your comments regarding the fixtures, fittings, and overall standard of the property very seriously, I am sorry to hear that you did not find the sofa as comfortable as previous guests have, but due to individual preferences we have tried to cater for everyone's taste by having a large soft sofa with extra cushions, as well as a firmer chair, dining chairs and a stool.
With regards to the bedrooms lacking basic furniture, due to the bedroom sizes and the fact that we opted for larger comfortable beds storage space is reduced and I am sorry to hear that you found the clothes hanging device 'laughable' but we have one open wardrobe/ hanging rail with shelf unit in an alcove in the 1st bedroom and a vertical wall hanger upstairs, but I have taken your comments on board. I am shocked to hear you found one of the sets of draws was not clean and can only apologise as I clean the holiday lets myself and take great pride in it.
We are delighted to hear that you found positives in the well-equipped kitchen, modern bathrooms, water pressure and the warmth of the barn, as well as our efforts to cater to guests travelling with dogs. Your kind words about the welcoming atmosphere we strive to maintain mean a great deal to us.
Furthermore, we acknowledge your concerns regarding the driveway. Unfortunately we have recently experienced bad weather that has caused some damage to parts of the track which is in the process of being rectified but at all times has remained safe and accessible to all vehicles which use it regularly not just guests but residents, postmen delivery vans etc. We understand that you feel it would benefit from tarmac laid, however this is just not an option due to planning restrictions on our farm track/bridleway set by the Lakedistrict National Park Authority. We acknowledge that the turning at the bottom is tight however it is to highways standards and extra care is needed on rural country lanes. As mentioned in the welcome email I send prior to guests arrival you can easily continue the short distance to the village where there is ample space for turning and allowing the easier access from the south.
Your comprehensive feedback is invaluable to us as we continuously strive to enhance the guest experience at Meadow Syke Barn. We sincerely hope that despite the challenges you encountered, you were still able to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and the warmth of our hospitality.
Ruth
Property Owner
