Gransnet forums

Chat

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??

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

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

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.

.

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!

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

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.

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

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

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!

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 !

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.

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!!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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! 😆

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

Not having a compatible frying pan is really poor.

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?

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!

srn63 Sun 19-Jul-26 19:41:56

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.

Witzend Sun 19-Jul-26 18:50:33

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!

M0nica Sun 19-Jul-26 18:09:13

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.

Witzend Sun 19-Jul-26 16:45:10

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!