2/10 Terrible
Mel C.
21 Aug 2019
Unfortunate experience
First, I called the owner (as advised) to double check arrival arrangements. She was quite unfriendly and gave me some instructions about parking, etc. I could not hear her properly so I asked if she could text me. She said, flatly, no, as if I was bothering her. We arrived at the property which is very pretty and well kept on the outside. As soon as we were shown into the cottage I smelled mold. I’m very aware of this as I’ve been quite ill with respiratory problems from mold in the past. My husband and I thought we’d try airing the bedroom to see if the smell went away, but the sash window was hard to open and would not stay open. At this point we decided to leave. We had to find a hotel and the owners of the cottage refused any kind of refund. They also denied that the entrance and bedroom smell of mold. They suggested I was imagining it. We had driven for 4 hours, we are in our late 60s, and the last thing we needed was to set about finding more accommodation late in the day. So to suggest I was inventing the problem was absurd.
There is something odd about this listing. When I checked the reviews I noticed that several were repeated, in one case 4 times. Also, they don’t tell you that the cottage is managed by an agency who charge a booking fee on top of the VRBO booking fee. That agency have offered to refund me their fee, but I still paid the VRBO fee and the three-night rental.