Holiday cottages for two people

That is just not on!
I choose our cottages very carefully, looking at ceiling height, position of beds, location of loos, assuming we will use whichever rooms we choose. Only once have I opted for a cottage with a discount for just the two of us and one bedroom was locked, but I expected that; nowadays we are glad of the space, the chance to sleep separately because of snoring, room to move.
I am always glad if there are a few basics such as salt and pepper, some cooking oil, dishwasher tablets etc as I don’t want to have to go and buy that sort of thing. I would rather have those basics than a welcome pack of luxuries.
One place we went to, in the middle of nowhere, did not even have a full toilet roll!

Kali in these covid times, every room has to be deep-cleaned, laundry sent away, super sanitised and there is added stress . If the cottage is being used by 2 people and all 4 beds have been used it will increase the workload unnecessarily. Why is everything about money and entitlement?
It should be about everyone enjoying a safe and happy holiday.

Grammaretto would think they would have to do the same regardless wether they think the rooms have been used or not.
If it’s not all about money then the cottage should be let out at a reduced price for just two people

OP that s not on is it. We sometimes remove the duvets off spare beds to snuggle downstairs on the sofa watching the tv

even if the beds havent been slept in who knows what they have been used for. They should be cleaned anyway.

Generally rents are more expensive the larger the property.
If 2 people choose to have 4 bedrooms and pay the rent asked, then all the house should be available for their use.
If they are offered a discount based on fewer people they can agree how many bedrooms they use,

Cleaning will benefit because two should not make as much mess as 8 but that shouldn’t be expected.
We go to. 3 bed cottage on our own yet the Owner always asks how many rooms to make up. As we do get a discount due to being regular customers I say make 2 up as we do like to have the option to move (snoring)

I have never come across locking rooms, but now I see why some larger cottages offer a discount for 2 people. I will be alert in future. We usually get 2 bed places, and definitely need 2, one for our things as rooms are usually small. Prices are very expensive this year, and the place we went to recently didn’t have special measures, just normal cleaning in place. We weren’t asked to strip the bed, but we did. The owner walked in when we arrived and shook my hand. I hadn’t touched anyone, apart from family for over a year!

I apologise. I hadn't realised that the point was whether or not there should be a discount.
I can show you some lovely places just for 2 people.

I understand about owners leaving their own food etc. Our fridge/ freezer in the cottage we went in last year, was half full with other bits. Maybe even left by previous tenants, we didn’t know. There was even a pot of tea in the cupboard!

Grammaretto

I apologise. I hadn't realised that the point was whether or not there should be a discount.
I can show you some lovely places just for 2 people.

Well yes, that was the point really. If you get a discount for 2 people, then that is fair enough. If you pay for the whole place, then it is up to you.

We had a large bungalow in Cape Town a few years back- and 2 of the bedrooms/bathrooms were locked. Our was huge and so was lounge/dining and kitchen- but the owner gave us a huge discount as there were 2 of us, out of season, and explained about the two locked bedrooms. Totally fair.

Thank you everyone for your replies and views. Taking your advice when I next book a 2/3 bedroom cottage I will say that there are 4/6 people staying. Really this should not be necessary when paying for the whole cottage without a discount for just 2 people. It is not a discount we are looking for but the ability to use the whole property and to choose rather than to be told which bedroom we will be sleeping in.

We have stayed in cottages for the last ten years, once or twice a year, and always book for 4 people so that we can use two bedrooms if we want. It's not really the owners business if only two of you turn up instead of four, so long as you have paid for four.

I would never go back to a cottage that locked some of the doors and tried to tell us which rooms we can use. Happily we have now built up a list of cottages that we like to stay at and where we have got to know the owners, so we fit our holidays around when we can stay in them if possible.

We once had an unbooked, unallowed, dog turn up with the renters because they had been unable to get him looked after! I nearly showed them the barn.

DiscoDancer1975

I understand about owners leaving their own food etc. Our fridge/ freezer in the cottage we went in last year, was half full with other bits. Maybe even left by previous tenants, we didn’t know. There was even a pot of tea in the cupboard!

I thought that was against covid rules? Blimey I understood that everything has to go through the dishwasher between let’s regardless of whether it has been used or not, as well as a thorough and intensive clean of the property.

It would seem that the rules are being flouted and quite frankly I would report them. They have had so much information etc that ignorance cannot be an excuse.

We did report it...but we were there, 300 miles from home. One of us was a toddler. We had enough space left so we didn’t need to touch anything that was left. Most of it was in the door. We cleaned where it was needed. There had been a week between the last people leaving, and us arriving. I think the owner was doing that , rather than cleaning absolutely everything in between.

I'm not sure if I've said this before on another thread - getting to know the owners has opened my eyes to how disgusting some people can be. My mum used to rent out a chalet and said that she once found a fried egg stuck in between some plates after the people renting had left. They obviously had a late breakfast and couldn't be bothered to wash up. Yuk.

Some owners in the Durham where we stay quite often have told us the same, and now run everything through the dishwasher when cleaning.

we rented a house on the understanding it would include 2 bathrooms. We had access to the whole house BUT the owner said that in the future she would lock the one door if only 2 people as surely 2 people could share a bathroom? my issue is that I have 2 toilets at home and need 2 toilets if renting a home- my bathroom habits should not be controlled by somebody else (medical condition or not).

We also saw a house that during the summer had 2 bathrooms and 1 guest loo. We viewed the property as a potential winter long term rent of 6 months but the owner wanted to lock the guest toilet to keep his belongings in (not sure what) and to visit weekly to collect his post. He had moved to another property over 9 years ago but never moved his postal address! Never rented that one

exactly whitewavemark everything since covid is different!
Shortly before he died, I took my DH to a landmark trust cottage which we had done many times before. Last Summer it was different in that the housekeeper had hidden anything which could be passing on the virus although I believe we were the first customers of the season, and we had strict instructions about where to put our used laundry and even the games and books had warning signs.
It was a one bedroom cottage and very lovely..
www.landmarktrust.org.uk/search-and-book/#Search

In fact books and jigsaws in fact anything that can’t be cleaned should be removed.

Makes the property look very empty, but I’m quite happy.

We’ve just stayed in a holiday cottage for a week and there were no Covid restrictions in place at all. In fact the owner walked into the cottage and shook my hand when we arrived. All board games and so on were there, and we weren’t even asked to strip the bed when we left, but we did. This was booked through an agency. I guess the Covid “rules” are merely recommendations. However because the cottage had been empty for several hours before we arrived, and as Covid is mainly spread through aerosol, not fomites I felt OK. Those for example who had been shielding may have felt less so.

Bookings.com have loads of properties for two. I have recntly booked a flat in Cambridge and a small cottage in the Peak District, each with only one bedroom. So this kind of problem doesn't arise.

Next week we are renting a cottage near Dumfries, its very expensive but looks lovely. We had an email for owners saying due to Covid they only supply bed linen and towels for 4 days, we have to provide our own for remainder of stay. I find this very weird and can’t understand the Covid risk.

Another thing we have noticed was that at one time if you booked for two weeks then the owner would leave a change of bedding and towels. Last time we had this was about 10 years ago and we were told that if we changed the beds then we needed to ring their laundry service for a pick up. As there was no phone and this was an area where the mobile phone signal was non existent we just didn't bother changing.
The cottage we rent now and which we return to only provides one set for the two weeks but as regulars, and booking direct with the owner, he gives us a discount so we are not going to quibble. There's a second bedroom so I guess we could change beds halfway through if we wanted!

I think I'd vote with my feet and also leave a bad review!
Certainly, when I have booked a cottage, however many bedrooms it may have, I expect to be able to use all of the rooms - unless occasionally I have been asked to specify the number of bedrooms required.
For some reason , when I have holidayed with my adult son, when we have been going to sporting fixtures, it's been harder to get a cottage with 2 separate bedrooms after filling online booking forms that ask you to state the number of adults so, like others have always put 3 to get the extra bedroom!

We once stayed in a service flat in Melbourne, where the 2nd bedroom was locked. I can’t remember whether we paid according to numbers of occupants, but v likely, since it was serviced.
It didn’t bother me, since although I’d have liked a 2nd bedroom for when I can’t sleep and want to read (often) the sitting room had a huge sofa to flake out on.

Was also amazingly pleased to have a washing machine and tumble drier, since we’d been charged utterly outrageous prices for laundry elsewhere in Oz - $15 for one pair of dh’s socks!

I always gave every guest fresh bed linen (free of charge) in the middle of a two week stay because it made my job easier. 14 days of greasy sun tanned bodies, and any other stains, lying on the white sheets made the laundry a challenge.