“It gives me no pleasure to give such a review, but I feel obligated to warn potential future guests that this property is not what it appears when looking at the photographs provided.”
What no photograph can convey, is the terrible and overpowering smell of damp that hits you the moment you enter this property. Like a musty cave or old damp cellar, the air is thick with damp. Quite frankly, it is a health hazard.
I booked for three nights with my family, and everyone was shocked by the state of the place. Apart from the smell, the bedsheets were unchanged, damp to the touch and even had pubic hairs on the base sheet.
My room was worst affected by the damp. ( Left of the entrance ) and it was impossible to sleep there. I was forced to sleep upstairs on the couch but that brought it’s own problems as it was full of dog hairs, this being a ‘pet friendly’ establishment.
My eldest son, daughter and son in law were forced to leave early as the damp in their rooms were causing them breathing problems.
Cobwebs and spiders were everywhere, and the whole place was in desperate need of a deep clean. All surfaces were sticky to the touch and the shower drainage was blocked causing the base to fill with foul water when showering.
Nobody should be sleeping there until these problems are fixed.
It is a sad state of affairs, because the potential this converted barn has, is clear from the photos they provide. The upstairs is spacious and appealing to the eye, but it is totally spoiled by uncleanliness, neglect and above all, a very serious damp issue.
These concerns were raised in private with Sykes cottages who promised to speak to the owner and get back to us but unfortunately after chasing them for a week there has been only silence in return.
Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback on your recent stay at our property. We are sorry to hear that you had a negative experience, and we take your feedback very seriously.
We understand that you were disappointed with the state of the property, particularly the smell of damp and the uncleanliness. We also apologise that your son, daughter, and son-in-law had to leave early due to breathing problems.
We have investigated the matter and taken the following actions:
• The cleaner who was responsible for cleaning the property has been dismissed.
• We have sent a team of cleaners to the property to deep clean it.
• We have unblocked the shower drainage and it is working correctly.
• We have taken steps to address the damp problem.
We understand that you did not report these issues to us directly, and we regret that we were not made aware of them sooner. However, we appreciate that you accepted our goodwill gesture.
We would like to assure you that the property does not suffer from damp. The smell that you may have experienced was likely due to the ambiance of a stone-built property. We have taken steps to address this issue, and we are confident that the property will be clean and free of damp smell when you next stay with us.
We see from our interaction that agents have also followed up with you and corresponded with you.
We are committed to providing our guests with a high standard of accommodation. We will continue to monitor the property and take any necessary action to ensure that it is in a clean and habitable condition.
Thank you again for your feedback. We value your input and will use it to improve the quality of our services.
Property Owner