“Location good.”
Parking slightly awkward. The accommodation does sleep 5 as advertised. However, the conservatory and garden furniture only seat 4. There was no garden furniture at all on arrival. A flat pack furniture set was sent after we made a complaint, but would have taken us hours to assemble ourse!ves, which we were not prepared to do on our holiday.
The downstairs toilet has no basin, so you have to wash your hands in the kitchen sink, which is very unhygeinic.
There was severe black mould on the window blinds in the upstairs bathroom and some of the ceiling. The carpet throughout was tired and worn, severely in the conservatory and some of the walls were dirty and marked. All the furniture is dated. One of the arms of the sofa in the living room was completely worn through and eroded. Not just acceptable general wear and tear, as suggested by the owner. The one heater provided had a broken leg. Washing line was broken in two and was found in the bushes.
We did notify the owner immediately about the issues and were offered a full refund if we wanted to leave that day. This was not really practical as the rest of the family were en route, several hours away and leave from work had obviously been booked. We decided to stay, but made it clear we would expect a discount relative to the issues raised. The discount offered was inadequate, borderline insulting, so we decided to decline.
We did stay at the property 10 years ago and assumed that it would be at least of the same standard. It appears it has been left to deteriorate and has not been maintained/updated at all.
Needless to say, we will not be returning, as there are other properties in Helmsley in the same price bracket which we have stayed at, which are of a much higher standard.
We have corresponded extensively on these matters in recent weeks, and I have disagreed with nearly all your points. I am sorry that we have been unable to reach agreement.
Your observations are clearly inconsistent with the large majority of positive feedback posts we receive, including a recent one from a client who stayed only a couple of weeks after you .
We have invested continuously to improve the cottage over recent years, including new carpets which are in very good condition.
I am confident that our standards are high and consistent with the 4* rating (5* for cleanliness) awarded to Ivy Cottage every year by Visit England
Property Owner
