“Holiday cottage was absolutely lovely but marred by a couple of things: 1.”
When we got ready for bed on the first night, the bedding had a damp / musty smell that was unacceptable to sleep in. We had to go into Kendal the next morning to buy washing powder and Frebeeze. All bedding had to be washed on a hot wash and dried before we could sleep in the bed, which somewhat curtailed our day by having to be on hand to do the laundry. The towels had the same damp smell and fortunately we bought our own towels so did not use the towels provided by the cottage. 2. Due to the snow, we got stranded on Saturday and could not make it back to the cottage - which is nobodies fault. Fortunately we found refuge in a holiday park about 12 miles away. We contacted Sykes to advise them we could not make it back to the cottage in case the cottage owners wondered where we were due to the snow conditions. When we did eventually manage to arrive back to the cottage (by foot due to roads being impassable for the car) on Sunday morning, the owners greeted us by saying "we turned off the heating as you hadn't come back" - bearing in mind the cold temperatures and not getting back to the cottage on the Saturday night, it seemed very miserly for the owners to turn off the heating when we would have welcomed a warm cosy cottage to return too. We asked the owners if we could stay an extra night due to the road conditions (Police advised motorists not to travel due to the snowy and icy roads conditions), the owners said we could stay - thank you. Only for about 2 hours later to receive a text from the owners saying it would be and extra £100 to stay for an additional night. As the weather conditions dictated our options, we agreed to pay the additional £100 but there seemed little goodwill due to the exceptional conditions and whilst the cottage itself was lovely, it left a feeling of the owners penny pinching on energy costs and trying to benefit from cashing in on the weather situation. A few minor points: electric plug socket in the kitchen is loose and could be dangerous. Shower leaks a little and wets the toilet roll. Light in the lounge flickers on and off.
What a shame to read this when you were so positive whilst at the cottage. There was no mention of anything to Sykes or the owners whilst staying at Dovetail Barn, the opposite as you were happy and said everything was great when you were asked. Any issues could have been rectified immediately, if they had been reported. The cottage is very clean and of a high standard, with plenty of repeat guests. The bedding and linen is freshly changed.
There was no communication from yourselves to the owners , or Sykes to let anyone know if you were coming back or not ( 3 hours after departure time you arrived back) the property was booked to be cleaned that morning . The weather the next day following the snow was safe to drive as you brought your car back to the cottage at lunchtime. You said ‘ we will have an additional day and night so I can blame the weather and get out of going into to work tomorrow’ The roads were clear and drivable. There was an option to stay ( at your request) an additional night at a discounted rate as a good will gesture by the owners which you gladly accepted at the time.
Property Owner