“Firstly we appreciate that the owner has put a lot into this property, nice fixtures and fittings of good quality.”
Sadly, they are being let down by the people who clean and maintain the property. A filthy toilet brush is unforgivable. Cobwebs and dirty floors and soiled pillow covers. The gardener who was there 5 minutes used a mower that does not collect the grass which then gets walked indoors.
The patio area and furniture has not been cleaned for some time.
The one complaint which was most significant is Sykes description of the property, even leading to miss selling.
Sykes clearly says there is a bedroom and bathroom on the ground floor, when in fact the only room on the ground floor is the kitchen/dining room. One of our party is a wheelchair user and finding there is actually 3 steps to go up to get to the bedroom, bathroom and lounge affected his holiday independence badly. He had to ask for assistance when going to bed, going to the bathroom and joining the rest of the family in the lounge. No where in your description of the bungalow do you mention 3 steps, you always refer to ground floor. You need to point this out to future customers.
Thank you for your feedback. We were sorry to hear of your complaints. We were so surprised by the severity of your feedback that we wanted to see for ourselves (as owners) before responding as we have never received feedback like this.
As LakeLovers advise, any such concerns should be raised with them during your week to give them the chance to resolve issues during your stay. Addressing your specific points as you have raised them:
1) We have raised with housekeeping the cleaning issues you raise. The bedding and towels are replaced weekly between each visit and so will have been freshly laundered. The property has wooden or tiled floors throughout which are cleaned between visits and are not dirty. Perhaps the wooden and tiled flooring make any dust more obvious than carpet? We have asked LakeLovers to be mindful of this in future.
2) The patio/outdoor furniture are both clean (we brought a pressure washer with us on the back of your comments just in case). There are occasional leaves blown in the wind. There is a patch on one step below where a pair of Swallows have nested and there are bird droppings under that nest. This is unfortunate but is also part of nature which the Lake District is renowned for. We will remove the nest when their chicks have fledged.
3) Property description: We are sorry for your family member's mobility issues within our home but the property has never been advertised as "disabled or wheelchair-access friendly" and the pictures of the property on the website clearly show that the ground floor has a split height between the front door entrance and the majority of the ground floor. Of course, if there is a critical 'feature' that you require in a property, such as step-free access, low threshold or wider doors or additional mobility aides, we always recommend calling LakeLovers before booking to confirm if the property is suitable which, in this case, it wouldn't have been. If they don't know, they always check with us, as owners, before responding to enquiries.
We are sorry that there were elements to your stay that clearly disappointed you but we also think that there are elements of your feedback that are unjustified - particularly relating to misselling. We hope that you enjoyed your visit to the Lake District and glad you enjoyed some aspects of our home.
With best wishes Property Owner