“It would have been helpful if the floor plans (as provided at Roa Island House) had been included on the website as this would have assisted sorting out accommodation among our multi-family group.”
As the owner clearly has them it is a pity they were not visible on the Sykes Cottages website at the time of booking. Overall, very spacious house which is let down by a number of issues, such as the size of kitchen - which could get very crowded.
The cleaning being done between lettings is clearly very limited as dust and lost belongings (e.g. sock, perfume bottle), from previous holidaymakers, were found under beds, sofas, etc. All a bit ironic when you keep reading notices about how you will be charged extra if things like the hot tub are not left in a pristine condition. Not surprised therefore when we had an extra guest one evening in the kitchen in the form of a live mouse. We showed the mouse the door but guess he had his own access route back in somewhere.
Had to report a blocked drain just outside the front door which had clearly not been maintained, and caused the effluent from the laundry room blocked drain in the car park and not great when you have small children in the group. Mobile reception was patchy on certain networks. The third party maintainer seemed to have to be instructed to clear the drain and it appeared that it was up to renters to spot these issues. House related, the mechanism which controlled the cover for the hot tub was broken.
Instructions for various unfamiliar appliances were scattered through drawers and cupboards, which we found eventually, but that was all really unhelpfully disorganised. The lack of recycling bins was a very very odd feature, which we agree with the comments of previous occupants needs addressing. So, interesting location, very quiet, lovely views and garden for the children to play in and great to unwind and relax but the cleaning and pest control both need attention.
Some aspects of the house are now looking very tired and need addressing at Roa Island House.
Thank you for your comments.
As the owner of Roa Island House I wish to apologise for the experience Mr Shaw and his family had. However, after investigating Mr Shaw’s comments it appears that there was a string of unfortunate circumstances, but of course also some outright shortcomings. The inadequate cleaning has been taken up with the maintenance and cleaning company, and measures have been implemented to avoid such an experience from reocurring, as has the issue over the blocked drain, where informaton was not passed on in a timely fashion within the maintenance company. We do have a contract with a pest control company who had actually just rebated the traps one week before Mr Shaw’s arrival, so the incident with the mouse was unfortunate, and we had never had such an incident before and haven’t had since. The hot tub cover has since then been replaced, and is now in fine working order. More recent client feedback has shown that our measures are bearing fruit. It is very clearly my prerogative to give our clients a very good experience, and as the owner this will continue to be my focus.
Property Owner
