Grrr! Holiday let oven!

We've been very lucky with holiday rentals, but we booked a very expensive property two years ago on the basis that it had four bedrooms each with its own bathroom. In one, the shower wasn't working and it took them four of our seven days there before they came and sorted it out. There was also no vacuum cleaner, so cleaning up the sand that inevitably came on with us most days with a brush and pan was a chore. On the last day my son was boiling some eggs for a salad when the handle came off the pan full of hot liquid. Fortunately he had just got it over the sink before it happened, or it could have been horrendous. It appeared that the handle had broken and been glued back on - whether by the owners or a previous occupant we don't know. This place was so popular that we had to book it a year in advance, but they obviously had no time between letting to check and put things right!

No, no refund offered, Auntiflo, but at least they apologised.
And let's hope they do provide a new oven soon, especially given that not everybody staying there will be able to afford to eat out all the time - and there's no microwave.

Witzend, glad to hear that you got a reply to your DH's email. BUT! did they offer a refund for the non-working oven and the hassle it has caused you? I would have been so furious, and definitely do not agree that you should have had to put up with it, as some GN's seem to have suggested.

Update! Reply from owners to dh's politely worded email did admit that it was high time they bought a new oven!

Apparently it was necessary to set the timer before the oven would come on - something I've never come across before - plus it was not in the instructions! and the numbers on the electronic timer weren't legible anyway.

We moved on to cottage no. 2, also booked by my sister from the USA for roughly the same money - there was not only an Aga, but also a standard working oven and a microwave.

As for whoever said we should just dine out, we did that most nights, but that particular evening we were back late, sweaty and messy, and just wanted that pizza, shower and bed.

I must say I'm surprised - though maybe I shouldn't be - at the attitude of some GNers, i.e. that you should just put up with anything substandard in accommodation you've paid serious money for, and even find it 'fun'!

Having stayed in a few self catering cottages I can say the quality of furnishings has been different every time, some brilliant, like the one we are in now and some, abysmal.

Has it occurred to you that it could have been a previous guest who wrote out the ovens instructions? Maybe they didn’t want to complain but wanted to warn any future guests.

I usually give a review, good or bad, on Tripadvisor, but only after we have received back any deposit paid re damages etc. I am always worried if they saw a bad review, we would be blamed for any damage we reported.

We once went to stay in a ‘luxury’ cottage in Scotland. It was an upside down house with two on suite bedrooms downstairs. One had a lovely big jacuzzi bath with a shower above in a cupboard. Yes, I did say cupboard and there was no floor area around the bath. You had to open the cupboard door, go up a small step and get in at the sloping end of the bath! Needless to say, we never used that one.

The second bedroom had another on suite, that was that small, if you sat on the loo you could burn your leg on the radiator if you weren’t careful, but you could have cleaned your teeth as the basin was so near. The shower cubicle was so small I could not wash my hair.

We ended up leaving on the Wednesday because I was desperate to wash my hair and be in a ‘normal’ kind of building. We spent the last two nights of our holiday at a lovely hotel!

Needless to say, the review wasn’t one of the ‘good’ ones I have written!

Sorry I don't agree Glamma if the cottage was advertised as having a working oven then the oven should work. Perhaps people don't want to go out to eat. If you are paying for something then it should be right, whether you are renting a cottage or staying in a hotel.

I wouldn’t worry about it and just enjoy the local dining scene. You’re on holiday... live a little. Also if you’re demanding a level of comfort you feel entitled too maybe you should spend your money on a hotel or resort.

I'd be annoyed. You really shouldn't have to use guesswork for an oven. If the symbols have worn away they should have put stickers on them - a home made remedy I'd use.
Is there a visitors' book? You never know - a helpful past guest may have put in some information about how to use the oven. As for the owner - they should try harder.

I, almost always, use airbnb for holiday accomodation and have always found them to be faultless, whether here (UK) or abroad.
If there are one or two of us we mostly choose one where the owners live there themselves. If more than two of us then we usually have the whole place to ourselves, however, I have never been able to fault them and believe me, I'm uber fussy.
Had it been me with an unworkable oven, I would have fired off an email tout suite DH or no DH as the owner clearly didn't disclose the state of the oven in the initial booking or on the website.

We own a holiday cottage which we let out, and to be honest would be upset if we weren't told that you were struggling with the oven. To tell you that it takes 'guesswork' is unacceptable, so I would suggest a brief email to either the agent or owner (depending on whether you booked direct), and explain that you're struggling with the oven, and ask them to come and rectify it a.s.a.p. I note that you don't state what type of oven it is, gas? electric? If it's gas, then safety could be a problem, so tell them that you are worried for your safety, and then if they don't get it fixed within 24 hours, or give a reasonable explanation as to why they can't get it fixed that quickly, then you should ask for a refund, suggesting an amount which would make you feel adequately compensated. Most holiday cottage owners are only too happy to help, although in this case, it does sound like they don't really care about the property and its contents, in which case I'm afraid the best advice I can give, is to get on and enjoy your holiday, eat out if you can afford to, and if not, try and make the best of it with the facilities that you do have, then upon your return home, write them another email, expressing your displeasure that they haven't rectified the problem during your holiday, and again request an adequate refund, pointing out that you feel sure that they wouldn't want the bad publicity, should the matter not be settled to your satisfaction. However, PLEASE don't let this spoil your holiday. Good luck.

Are you by any chance in St Ives? It is where I live. They charge a fortune for these places and most have letting agents who can come and fix things. Phone them and let them know. If people don’t complain they don’t fix it.

All they had to do was a couple of dabs of Tippex here and there, surely, to indicate how to turn on. These things are sent us to blot out all that's going on at home, so not entirely wasted .

Yes, I think you should complain to the owners. Guesswork is not the answer, and I truly believe that you should not have to put up with less comfort than you have in your own home (unless, of course you are camping or back-packing).

shw, I confess, I did use it a couple of times to cook potatoes and rice to make salads and we had caterers in one evening as we were celebrating a big event and we decided to eat in rather than go out.. There was no alternative cooker.

Monica
I appreciate you were not complaining but you could have asked for it to be turned off at no cost to yourself.
They do however tend to be erratic during a long spell of hot weather but I have mine on at its lowest as it heats water as well and having visitors need a supply of hot water .I would not be without my Aga.

It's perspective maddyone. Would you want to waste a weeks holiday arguing the toss about a cooker? Or would you prefer to enjoy the holiday with or without a cooker and put in your comments/complaints after?. No need to ever go there again is there? OR recommend it either for that matter. Why would you spend time worrying about safety? If you can't put it on in first place ....its not a safety issue really is it?

I’m amazed by some of the responses on here, OP told to chill out, eat cold food, it’s only a pizza, the cottage ‘only’ cost hundreds of pounds, the implication being you get what you pay for. No, a contract has been made to provide a cottage with cooking facilities, this contract was not honoured. It’s not good enough to say there are some unreadable instructions on how to use the oven. I’m afraid too many British put up with substandard service, unfortunately for those of us who prefer good service this attitude means we have to fight all the harder to get the service we’ve paid for.
No, you are not being unreasonable.

OMG...losing the plot.... people demanding a new cooker? Going OTT or what? Just how long is this holiday? How much time do you spend inside a holiday home? Surely the OP can work something out? It isn't a lifelong commitment! Might be a wee bit annoying having to fiddle about a bit but surely on holiday not warranting a whole vendetta?

If I was on holiday with OP I would just laugh about it and then go out and enjoy myself.

I am not complaining specifically about the AGA in the holiday home. The AGA was not overheating and was working fine, but AGAs are on all the time and give off heat all the time and in a heatwave, even a little bit of extra heat can be too much. I just dislike AGAs.

Most kitchens with AGAs usually have an electric cooker as well so that the AGA can be turned off in the summer because of the heat it gives out. This kitchen only had an AGA.

As it was we did very little cooking, and were in the kitchen very little, just to get salads out of the fridge.

Please, be a little careful how you word a complaint on Trip Advisor or similar sites. A friend of mine who was justifiably annoyed with the removal company she hired when moving is now being threatened by them that they will sue her for damages after they read her comments online. She wasn't out of line in the way she expressed herself either.

But certainly complain, perhaps with your sister as she is the one who made the booking.

Certainly there's no excuse, especially if the owners are already aware of the problem.

Send them an email right away and as non confrontational as possible (you need their cooperation).

Simply explain that the Microwave oven has a serious defect. In it's current condition it can't be operated safely and presents a potential health hazard. Once you hit the 'send' button you won't have to dwell on this and you can start enjoying your holiday!

Monica I have an Aga and hot weather can make them go OTT. You had every right to speak to the housekeeper to get an Aga service engineer to regulate it for you D'ont complain now like waiting for the horse to bolt before closing the stable door.

I would not think twice about complaining about this and requesting either a new cooker pdq or at least a reasonable rebate.

This is a health and safety issue and this should be drawn to the attention of the person letting the property. If the holiday let owner does not do this. Complain to the local council .

There is a legal requirement for all holiday accommodation to meet electrical safety standards and all electrical equipment should be PAC tested every year and there should be an official sticky label on every piece of equipment stating that it has been tested and on what date.
I am pretty sure a cooker without full instructions and where the temperature markings on the oven control have rubbed off would not pass a PAC test.

We have just returned from a holiday let and the sticker was on all the electrical equipment in the house, like microwave, electric cooker etc.

Grannyactivist Not always the case. There is a fantastic Cornish let in my area that sleeps eight and a dogand it is not in the thousands.

Witzend I live in North Cornwall with several lets in my area.Do you know who the agent is as it is preferable to book a holiday let that has an on call agent vital when issues occur such as yours. Feel free to send me a private message if I can be of any help.