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Inadequate kitchen equipment in holiday accommodation.

(47 Posts)
Witzend Sun 19-Jul-26 11:25:38

This is a relatively expensive, 4 bed property, sleeps 8, very nicely done up, but…

The freezer was completely iced up on arrival, we couldn’t even open the drawers until dh had spent ages on it with pans of v hot water etc.

Not one induction-compatible, non stick frying pan for the induction hob. Dd made a lot of pancake batter for the Gdcs and was unable to use it. One v old, worn out ‘non stick’, one just non compatible, so useless.

Not one saucepan big enough to cook pasta for 8 - I had to use 2.
Not one very basic implement (not sure what they’re called) for lifting fried eggs out of the pan - we had to buy one.

Why are some holiday accommodation owners so stingy??

Redcar Sun 19-Jul-26 20:47:08

Many years ago we stayed at a very nice holiday house, supposedly for four people. There was only one saucepan, so we bought more, which we obviously took home with us. There were no kitchen knives, but several pizza cutters, a baking tin for reheating pizzas and a list of pizza restaurants and take aways in the vicinity! We just laughed and bought what we needed. We used what we’d bought in our caravan!

Astitchintime Mon 20-Jul-26 07:55:48

I’m going to suggest that it might have had some really serviceable, good quality cookwear……….that was stolen by a holiday maker!
Your best course of action is to complaint to the owners of the property, if they use a cleaning company they might not be aware of the problem if they hadn’t cleaned and inspected themselves.
You might get lucky and get compensated but why didn’t you complain at the time?

JaneJudge Mon 20-Jul-26 08:02:33

Not having a compatible frying pan is really poor.

MartavTaurus Mon 20-Jul-26 08:09:45

JaneJudge

Not having a compatible frying pan is really poor.

Yes. Do you know, that is the one item we replaced every six months because I'm sure people used them at the beach to build mud castles. They were always scratched and bent, apart from the le creuset one, which I assume was too heavy to use! 😆

David49 Mon 20-Jul-26 08:10:12

We usually choose an apartment a couple of days in advance as we travel around so we take pot luck, often we get really nice discounted apartments occasionally sub standard. So it's all part of the adventure for us, to be honest as long as we have a microwave and a kettle it's OK

In the UK we choose a Premier Inn, at around £75 a night they are pretty good, everything else gets compared to that.

NotSpaghetti Mon 20-Jul-26 08:18:00

We regularly find accommodation online that says (say) sleeps 10 but the only dining table clearly only seats 6.

I have been looking this week for large properties and see this again and again.

Last year though we stayed in a very well equipped holiday house with everything in it.
garlic press, French press and coffee pod machine, teapot, decent knives, stick blender...

I didn't need my kitchen knives!

Patsy70 Mon 20-Jul-26 08:39:14

That is disgraceful and so disappointing. Definitely complain and leave all your comments on their website.
We have rented large properties for special celebrations in the past with reputable companies, and were never disappointed.
Hopefully, you will get a well deserved refund, but this doesn’t compensate for your disappointment.

Luckygirl3 Mon 20-Jul-26 08:47:31

One place we went was disgusting ... oven was full of cobwebs! Kitchen coated in grease. Beds .... words fail me! The teenagers slept on the floor it was that disgusting!
We left the next day.
It had been advertised in the local mag by a couple who were solicitors .... we gave up trying to get pur money back!

graciemabel Mon 20-Jul-26 13:56:48

We recently stayed in an air b and b, kitchen quite well eauipped but the washing machine drawer black and slimy and the tunble dryer wouldn't dry the clothes. When I opened the filter drawer it was completely jammed up with lint and damp. Needless to say I left a strong message about the horrendous fire risk this was.

mrsmeldrew Mon 20-Jul-26 14:16:09

What I can't stand about holiday lets are the sofas nearly always faux leather. I always take throws with me to make them more comfortable.

amazonia Mon 20-Jul-26 14:35:05

Always notify the owner immediately you find something missing or inadequate. If a guest doesn't speak up then the problem carries on. I had an excellent review recently but they commented about the awful tin opener which surprised me until I discovered that my fabulous new one had been stolen by a previous guest. Thanks for that.
I have a big fridge freezer for my sleeps 8 which had all the drawers washed last week. I forgot to check the little built in fridge ice box until I was leaving and realised that it was a bit iced up - still usable but didn't look very nice. Oops. First job for me next friday I think!
I welcome all constructive criticism. I want my guests to have the best holiday.

Sparky51 Mon 20-Jul-26 14:51:32

Ok..lol.hardly world shattering..lol...you had to use 2 saucepans??? NO...that is terrible..Im sorry...but self catering is not for yoU!!

vegansrock Mon 20-Jul-26 14:55:44

We always take our own sharp knives, a large wok and extra tea towels as there are never enough in holiday homes. This includes the v expensive CenterParcs which had a tiny frig in a 4 bedroom villa. My OH also takes his toolbox , as he often ends up mending something in the house.

SusieB50 Mon 20-Jul-26 15:11:26

vegansrock

We always take our own sharp knives, a large wok and extra tea towels as there are never enough in holiday homes. This includes the v expensive CenterParcs which had a tiny frig in a 4 bedroom villa. My OH also takes his toolbox , as he often ends up mending something in the house.

That was very poignant for me vegansrock , my late DH always took his toolkit and it was nearly always needed! I don’t drive so self catering holidays are now by train and with family - they don’t take kitchen knives, tea towels pillows or tool kits as we used to !

Lizzies Mon 20-Jul-26 15:12:08

We went away for February half term and my daughter took the camping box with the essentials, knives, pans, spatulas, etc. And I took my favourite peeling knife. To find a fabulous kitchen with everything we could need. On the other hand I went to Northumberland by myself last year to a cottage next to a pub and it seemed that they expected you to always eat in the pub because there was hardly anything in the kitchen. The bedding left something to be desired too, with fitted sheets that were obviously for Sunday as they were holey!

Sparky51 Mon 20-Jul-26 15:18:02

Gosh..sounds appalling...you poor things....i would sue!!!

Aveline Mon 20-Jul-26 15:22:28

Stay in hotels or B and Bs. No wonder there's a housing shortage for homes if houses and flats are used for short term lets.

Gwyllt Mon 20-Jul-26 15:59:18

What you have to appreciate is that many holiday homes have planning restrictions and can only be let to the same person for a limited period of time Also even if such restrictions were lifted there could be problems. On our three there is a single hot water and heating system. Put in by previous owners Access to one cottage is trough another cottage patio

MartavTaurus Mon 20-Jul-26 16:40:52

The comment about tool boxes made me laugh. This was DH with his repair kit he took to France. We rented a house in a new area for 2 weeks and the hoover tube was broken.

Excuse the knees!

WithNobsOnIt Mon 20-Jul-26 16:43:09

Loved Sago's post on the dead relations kitchen stuff. May well be true. But could be viewed as recycling and saving the planet.
Ho.ho.

I personally would not rent a holiday place. Or an Airbnb. Has to be a hotel for me

Perhaps some of these places provide crap utilities because they get stolen on a regular basis.

.

Aveline Mon 20-Jul-26 17:02:04

These were always people's homes before they were holiday lets.