Inadequate kitchen equipment in holiday accommodation.

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! 😆

Not having a compatible frying pan is really poor.

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?

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!

We stay self catering because of the dogs. We do cook and take ready prepared veg, marinated meat, something quick for the first night. We also take everything kitchen wise we will need. We prefer to use our own, it's all excellent quality, sharp knives etc and I know who used it last and how well it has been washed. If only I could take my own sofa! The ones in most holiday lets are uncomfortable to say the least. We used to caravan and motorhome but sadly had to give ut up when it became too much for my husband.

winterwhite

That sounds very poor, but renting holiday houses when the DC were young this was almost part of the fun. I learned to always take a sieve, a wooden spoon and a cheese grater. There were never enough bedside lights so we always ended up buying at least one. And there were always dainty tea cups and saucers. Buying our holiday mugs on day 1 was always looked forward to..

TBH I don’t think of it as fun, not after paying ££££ for what was supposed to be the highest rated accommodation.

At least we have plenty of mugs! But I remember having to go and buy some in France, when all they had provided was teeny little demi-tasse cups!

I would have expected the lack of kitchen equipment to have lost it its 5 star status. Did it occur to you when you got back to check whether the 5 star rating was genuine. We once went away at very short notice, booked a 4 star hotel and it was OK but certainly not 4 star. We checked with Visit England when we got home and they had no record of the hotel. It was a very big grand Victorian hotel that had probably been 4 star 10 or 20 years previously and their website and sign boards still said it was 4 star.

I would have been on to the agency demanding a return of some of my rental money as the property was not equipped as stated.

We usually go on self catering holidays and have usually found the kitchens well stocked, I do, however always travel with a sharp knife and a small knife sharpener.

Thanks for all comments.
There will definitely be a critical review! It was rented through an agency, not directly from the owner,

We would have bought a compatible frying pan today, but it’s Sunday and the only hardware shop for a long way, is closed.
I bought an egg lifter-upper the other day, but I’ll be taking it home with me as a spare!
I will certainly not be leaving any kitchen equipment we have been obliged to buy!

I would definitely be contacting the owners /company you booked with while I am there to let them know you are not happy with everything, they may find a way to put things right. But if no effort is made I would definitely leave a bad review .

That’s not as it should be for sure. We’ve had rentals over many years. Most have been well equipped, those which haven’t have had deficiencies rectified as soon as the owner or agent knew. On one occasion we were told items had left with the previous guests and on another than the owner didn't expect guests to do anything other than eat out. Always best to let them know immediately.

Talking of visitors bringing basic essentials to holiday lets.

A couple staying at our place obviously thought we didn’t provide a mirror. I was cleaning up after they left and found a large mirror about 2.5 ft tall and maybe 2ft wide. It looked like it had been ripped off an old wooden bathroom cabinet. The mirror was very worn and it was all really tatty.

I messaged them to ask what it was and she said “oh that’s our mirror but you can keep it.” 🤣. I binned it. Never seen such a piece of old tat.

A couple of years ago I booked a place for 6 for me and my family of 4 . When my DD and family arrived ahead of me they were greeted with a freezer totally frozen up and the door ajar. There was barely enough crockery for one meal setting, so the dishwasher had to be set after each meal, and very few pans . We complained to the agent plus a few other issues such as loose tiles on the shower floor and 2 of the bedrooms were unacceptably small . It was expensive and I felt did not match up to the price. They gave us an extra night free but I noticed my very underrated review did not appear on the website!

That sounds very poor, but renting holiday houses when the DC were young this was almost part of the fun. I learned to always take a sieve, a wooden spoon and a cheese grater. There were never enough bedside lights so we always ended up buying at least one. And there were always dainty tea cups and saucers. Buying our holiday mugs on day 1 was always looked forward to..

That doesn't sound very good to me. There should be sufficient equipment fir the number of people, I assume there's 8 chairs to sit on?!

We had a full set of le creuset saucepans and casseroles, plus stainless steel ones and Tefal frying pans in our holiday houses. Enough cutlery and crockery to have one set in the dishwasher and another in the drawer.
You've paid good money, so you should expect good quality. I'd leave a very average review.

We used to find it was the other way round! The equipment in the kitchen and the kitchen itself were always far superior to anything we had at home!

Chocolatelovinggran

I will add, however, that a friend who has a property in Spain was surprised to read a scathing criticism online of the kitchen equipment which was lacking..a piping bag for cake decorating.

Had to laugh 😆
And tbh I wouldn’t rate an iron as something I would want when on holiday.
For me a holiday means a break from household chores.

That is just not good enough, a self catering property, especially one catering to larger groups and charging more, should have enough pans and other necessary kitchen equipment to cook and serve food, and the fridge/freezer should be defrosted and in good working order.
Complain and make sure you leave a review stating the lack of kitchen utensils/pans etc., so others will give this property the swerve.

I personally wouldn't exchange kitchen sinks as for me that is not a holiday.

The owners should be ashamed leaving it in such a state and expecting ting you to cook but supplying zilch. If possible I wouldn't have paid the full rent.

I will add, however, that a friend who has a property in Spain was surprised to read a scathing criticism online of the kitchen equipment which was lacking..a piping bag for cake decorating.

I agree with the need for feedback. Could you contact the owner directly?
Maybe she/ he might act on this, change the cleaning service, and add some new equipment.
I once stayed at a brand new holiday let, all very new and good, but lacking in a few places, such as the one- sharp- knife problem. I contacted the owner on a few matters and he was quick to return to say that these were things he hadn't thought about, and thanked me.

Ah, memories of the old Royle Family programme when the family rented a tiny caravan on “The Pearl of Prestatyn” site, and found out there was no chip pan.
I would expect a house to be fully equipped for every possible need.
I hope you enjoy your holiday though.

You had me at the iced up freezer...having defrosted mine recently. Ashamed to say after several years of icing up and not being able to open the drawers. I feel your pain a d annoyance. You or DH dont go on holiday to spend any time doing such "housework".

I would have taken a photo and complained.

I always self-catered abroad and my luggage included a non-stick pan and wooden spatula, which were very often needed. A tiny pot of salt and pepper were useful too.

I tended to take one or two trusted kitchen knives with me, and my own peeler wherever I went, but of course these days , cant carry knives around. I agree with you that they should have appropriate size pans etc. If they advertise it as to let for 8 people , they should have the appropriate size things in the kitchen. They wouldnt only have 6 beds would they?

I would have contacted them on the first day and asked them to provide whatever was missing. Whether it was the owners or their agents you were dealing with , they had not checked through properly or thought about this. It is definitely letting down the quality of the place and on basic levels. If it was a pleasant holiday choice, apart from that, I would contact the owners and tell them , and if I was the owner, I would be glad to be made aware of this, and feel that you were entitled to a small rebate for the hassle.

I used to say to friends that they should have a couple of nights sleeping in their spare room, as this would show up any problems like lights in wrong places or whatever, that guests dont like to complain about. It would be a good idea if owners spent a week in their holiday lets and found out the same kinds of things!

Not acceptable!