Holiday cottages for two people

we once rented one that left half eaten food in the fridge. They'd left a note saying, help yourself to the left over birthday cake!! I mean why? why would you want to eat a strangers half eaten food

JaneJudge

we once rented one that left half eaten food in the fridge. They'd left a note saying, help yourself to the left over birthday cake!! I mean why? why would you want to eat a strangers half eaten food

Disgusting!

Like some other GNS, DH & I use separate rooms due to a snoring issue. We've booked many holiday rentals and have never found bedrooms locked to us. I'd be absolutely horrified to hear of this! We never clean before leaving, though we always treat the property with respect, empty bins, load dishwasher, leave things tidy, (and will strip beds if requested). In the 1970s I recall having to clean a holiday caravan on leaving day. These days, we wouldn't stay anywhere where housework was required on departure!

Kali2
i live in N Cornwall, vastly becoming 'second home' and 'holiday let' territory.
I have a friend with a 3 bed 2 bath holiday let who charges seasonal prices only regardless whether a couple who, one assumes is using one bedroom, or a family that will need to use all bedrooms.This she tells me covers the use of all beds/bathrooms used or not.

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We have been told by the holiday company this year there will be no welcome pack and to bring all our own disinfectants including hand wash toilet rolls and Kitchen rolls. No tea or coffee on arrival and no leaving baggage in a room if we are early. It is for 6 and we are two.. Also, no cushions or throws either in or outside will be provided..
This was passed over from last years booking, we are wondering if it is worth going. All bedding, towels and sorted rubbish to be double-bagged I can see that and the arrival time is I hour later and the leaving one hour early..
I have in Scotland been in cottages where rooms were locked and two when we got there we found the owner living in a caravan in the garden
The worst was a National Trust property in Pembroke Wales I put my tablets out the night before and it was so damp They had dissolved, the next morning. Safe parking for the car was half a mile up a very steep hill and we nearly grounded the car trying to unload near the cottage. I had inquired about access and was told it was fine. The boiler broke twice.
When I complained afterwards I was told what did I expect in a character 1950's cottage I replied a part refund which we are still waiting for 10 years on.

Still on the theme of holiday cottages, can anyone tell me why owners have seemingly stopped leaving any 'welcome packs' of any kind?

It was Covid regulations and still is. My daughter and her partner rent out a cottage and they're still not allowed to leave a welcome pack. You are supposed to do (or bring) your own shopping.

If you rent a 3 bedroom place but only require one bed to be made up, I do think you should say so and accept that you don't use the other two rooms. Otherwise, those doing the changeover have to launder the unused items, replace the duvets with a 'quarantined' one, etc. It's a lot of work (and staff are hard to come by, thanks to Brexit) and it's not environmentally friendly to be washing unused bedlinen.

Some owners will provide the least that they can whilst charging high prices.

Some years ago some friends stayed in a house in the south of France which had been rented by a colleague of theirs for 6 weeks. It was a large house, he was celebrating his retirement and had invited various of his friends to stay for a week at a time. The owners did supply sheets for the changeover of guests at the end of each week so the sheets from week 1 had to be laundered by the hirers at the end of each week. These were English owners.

On another occasion 8 of us rented a house in Honfleur - again English owners. As we approached the Pont de Normandie we got a phone call from friends who had already arrived to say that the beds hadn't been made and there was just a pile of dirty linen on the kitchen floor. They couldn't get a signal and so asked us to call the owners. We had 3 numbers for them, each with the answerphone switched on. You would think that on a changeover day at least one of the owners would be around to answer the phone. (they were back in England)

I really don't understand why anybody who is renting a house should be expected to clean it. Certainly wash up before you leave and clean floors etc if there are spills. But to do a major cleaning job? That's just not on.

Also, no cushions or throws either in or outside will be provided

Ive never been anywhere with throws but removing those huge piles of cushions from the bed (that there is never anywhere to pit) is a plus in my opinion!!

Ha ha ...try it if there is only ONE of you ......impossible ! Even caravans are charged for the whole one ......nowhere except a tent for one

No cushions on garden furniture and sun loungers!! I would be cross!

I have a similar issue but that is the price of having a single room in a hotel or b&b. It costs the hotel no more to have a sole holiday-maker than a couple. We only eat one meal, only sleep in one bed, only use one towel, so why are we made to feel a nuisance, and have to pay for this privilege?

I've found that quite a lot. When I was married my ex snored like a train so sometimes I had to go to another room to get sleep. The spare beds, most of the time, hadn't been made up with just a bare mattress or the bedroom doors locked so I had to lie on the sofa. Never rebooked any of them, why pay full price for a half closed up cottage .

I run my own cottage through a booking company. I always email guests directly to ask if they would like both rooms making up as you can never assume 2 adults means a couple, we get siblings or parent and child staying and they wouldn’t want a double!!

On the other side it is nice when they only ask for one room ti be made up as it saves extra washing and ironing and I also work full time. I haven’t had a single complaint so far and enjoy meeting all our guests

It’s very rude to lock off rooms, you rented the whole house! I would’ve complained. Some owners are very stuck up about their properties. I live in a beautiful thatched chocolate box cottage so it’s lovely to have guests come and appreciate it.

What happens if you want to have guests for one or two night during your week stay? Surely that should be allowed if you pay for the 2hole cottage. Sound incredible to me.

Paperbackwriter

*Still on the theme of holiday cottages, can anyone tell me why owners have seemingly stopped leaving any 'welcome packs' of any kind?*

It was Covid regulations and still is. My daughter and her partner rent out a cottage and they're still not allowed to leave a welcome pack. You are supposed to do (or bring) your own shopping.

If you rent a 3 bedroom place but only require one bed to be made up, I do think you should say so and accept that you don't use the other two rooms. Otherwise, those doing the changeover have to launder the unused items, replace the duvets with a 'quarantined' one, etc. It's a lot of work (and staff are hard to come by, thanks to Brexit) and it's not environmentally friendly to be washing unused bedlinen.

This isn’t COVID rules, it’s certain rental agents rules! My daughter rents out her house and has never stopped offering a welcome tray of goodies.

Far too many companies using COVID as an excuse!!

Alioop

I've found that quite a lot. When I was married my ex snored like a train so sometimes I had to go to another room to get sleep. The spare beds, most of the time, hadn't been made up with just a bare mattress or the bedroom doors locked so I had to lie on the sofa. Never rebooked any of them, why pay full price for a half closed up cottage .

Why not make it clear at the time of booking that you will be using the whole villa/flat/cottage etc - 2 on arrival with guests arriving during the week- if you know you are likely to want to use more than one room.

As for goodies- I really don't expect any.

We had similar issues in Wales and Devon pre covid. Rented 3b and 2b houses but only one room made up. Informed we had to leave place spotless, bed stripped, floors and fridge clean or deposit not returned. One had a freezer we could barely use as it was full of owners food. Both had rooms we or the dog not allowed in despite paying full price and extra for dog. We booked with owners direct in both cases but find it much better if you book through a company specialising in holiday rentals.

The only time we rented a holiday flat recently was when we returned from France and were homeless for a few months (long story).
No problem with access to rooms and the flat was ok but the CH boiler kept breaking down in the freezing Feb 2018. Luckily the landlord was decent, and available, and had to pay out for a new boiler.
Otherwise we would have stopped the rent. We had booked for 2 months.

ps @ Judy - we have often stayed in holiday cottages in the past and never come across that situaion - ridiculous. But prices have gone up - owners trying to compensate for the loss of income recently?

The examples I have given were some years ago and not related to the current situation with Covid. Of course I understand how difficult it must be for Owners right now and the challenges they face. Let's hope things get better soon.

We own a holiday cottage with 2 bedrooms, but only accept 2 guests after a dreadful experience with a group of 4 young lads. Now, we tend to get couples, sisters, or friends, and it works really well. We NEVER assume that only one bedroom will be used, and know for a fact that a lot of our guests use both bedrooms because of snoring problems. We still do a 'Welcome Hamper' but include all wrapped goods in order to be 'Covid safe'. We made a considered decision not to remove all books, games, etc., and leave our guests to make their own decision as to whether they wish to use them, as guidance about these things has changed over time.

For those of you who don't believe that it's important to leave the cottage clean and tidy, the reason most owners request this, is because there is an incredible amount to be done, between departure and arrival, not just basic cleaning, but deep cleaning, often including dirty oven and hob, together with making up beds, checking all cutlery, pots, pans, china, glass, etc. Then there are sofa covers to be changed, cushion covers to be changed, windows to be cleaned, fires to be cleaned out, garden areas to be checked, including seating, outdoor tables, and umbrellas, then the BBQ has to be checked and cleaned, as all too often guests are keen to use the BBQ, but not so keen to spend their holiday cleaning it. The list is never ending, and it all has to be done in just a few hours. Then if something has been broken, it may mean a mad dash into town to try and find a suitable replacement. So please, next time you stay somewhere nice, please try and leave it as you find it, as otherwise the next guest to come in, may find that something hasn't been done because you couldn't be bothered to clean the oven when something boiled over and got burnt on, and we've simply run out of time.

Oh, and finally, just because you've paid for the use of the property for the week/fortnight, your friends or relatives haven't, and inviting other people to visit you at the property can lead to damage, for example spilt wine when 4 of you have a few too many , where 2 of you are less likely to do so. Your friends decide that they don't want to go outside for a cigarette, and you don't like to push the point, so we end up having to deal with a hole burned in the sofa. Or something goes missing, but it's not you who has taken it. I'm sure you get the picture. Plus, you will also find that many insurance companies will not cover damage if people other than those named on the booking form are present in the property. So again, please cut us some slack, we're not all in it to fleece you, we, like many other property owners, want our guests to have the best possible time, and go out of our way to try and ensure that, so it's not really fair to invite guests to someone else's property, without at least asking if it's OK first.

Sorry it's such a long one, but I just wanted to make sure that people realise just how much work we put into making your holiday property a lovely place to stay.

We stay in a one bedroom log cabin with outside hot tub. It will be our second time in July. The company is called Rural Roosts and it’s near Lincoln. We love the peace and quiet, king size bed and of course hot tub. Free fishing in lake. Dogs welcome too.

Aepgirl

I have a similar issue but that is the price of having a single room in a hotel or b&b. It costs the hotel no more to have a sole holiday-maker than a couple. We only eat one meal, only sleep in one bed, only use one towel, so why are we made to feel a nuisance, and have to pay for this privilege?

I travel and always have this problem. Last time in Scotland I have booked my double room only to find that a couple were arriving the following day, so to save the trouble of making up the bed again, the owner decided to put me in a single room which had a very uncomfortable single bed. They thought a small bottle of wine was good compensation, i was not given the choice. I do believe they hadn’t changed it since their son was four, he was at university.

Well said, OldHag. My daughter runs a holiday cottage and works very hard, setting herself incredibly high standards. She still does a welcome pack including home made cake!

Out of interest OldHag if you expect cleaning to be done, do you provide products and equipment? Or are the paying customers expected to buy them? We are regular renters of the same property and assume that the cleaners must either take their own stuff or that it is in one of the locked cupboards. For example no mop or cleaning fluid for the kitchen floor. (Broom to sweep it, which we do). Likewise no products or cloths for cleaning the bathroom (apart from a loo brush), no dusters etc.