“We hope to give future guests an honest picture of this property.”
A formal letter outlining detailed issues and concerns will be sent to Sykes separately. The positives first - it was in a great location, a few minutes down a steep hill walk into Mevagissey harbour. The upstairs second floor lounge was light, airy and spacious with a large smart TV and board games.
Things that guests should know however:
- there was no available on street parking at the property through the duration of our stay and if there had been a car larger than a mini would not fit without blocking the door as there are double yellow lines all the way down. The front door access was regularly blocked by a neighbours parked car. The access to the property is via a stable door only 4.5’ in height with two steep steps down - not suitable for pushchairs, or anyone mobility or sight impairment. Or tall - you will hang your head, we are a tall family and would have liked to have known about this before booking.
- the road to the property is a steep single track lane - with no where to turn. We parked up near the school a good 10mins steep walk up. We had to reverse down a steep single track road to load and unload blocking the road when doing so. This is not mentioned at all in the listing.
- the property was not very clean and smelt and felt damp. We cleaned the fridge on arrival, and bought bleach, dish cloths, kitchen roll and washing up liquid - none of which were provided. There were cobwebs everywhere and dirt in corners of the ground floor rooms (kitchen/bathroom). The kitchen cupboards had a strong damp smell. The bedroom cupboards also smelt.
- The property had chipped crockery and not enough bowls or glasses. These were replaced on day 5 of our holiday by the housekeeping which we were grateful for. Some dishes had been put away dirty.
- For five of us, only three large towels and two hand towels were provided (towels annd linen meant to be provided). Again we were supplied with extra towels on day 5 of our holiday.
- there is a problem with water pressure at the property - there are signs about this bring because it’s a 200 year old cottage. It literally trickles out of the kitchen tap - but is ok in the bathroom - if a washing up bowl had been provided we could have filled it there.
- the child’s bedroom has a fire escape door via the neighbours property/garden. We were not sure how secure this was and again not mentioned in the listing.
- some additional kitchen basics would be helpful (although not essential) such as a washing up bowl, dish cloths, tea towels (more than 1), washing up liquid, and a cheese grater, and kitchen scissors would have been useful.
We would not recommend the cottage, it was so disappointing and overpriced, and we experienced various issues which Sykes were slow to deal with. The owner sent us a bottle of wine and biscuits to apologise for the inconvenience with the housekeeper and offered £50 as a gesture of goodwill - we did not accept the money as did not wish to prejudice any complaint. We spotted the property up for sale in the local estate agent’s window in Mevagissey - which probably explained why it feels so tired.
So if looking to book this property:
- be aware of the accessibility of the cottage, narrow steep lane to access, lack of parking close by and inconsiderate neighbours who block the way in.
- take towels and linen and your own cleaning stuff, but hopefully the issues re cleanliness will be addressed for future.
We were disappointed to read your feedback. In the six years we have rented our cottage, as can be seen from previous feedback this is the first significantly negative report we have received. Issues such as missing towels etc raised have never been flagged as a problem previously so we were surprised and concerned that you had not gotten the service we seek to routinely supply to our guests.
In respect of the front door access to the property, the cottage is as original as we can make it, and this shows in its presentation. We consider it is in keeping with this beautiful fishing village and reflects the age and history of the property. The pictures on the website, are a true reflection of the property. Regarding the two steps at the front door into the property, these have not been highlighted as a problem by the many families using the cottage previously.
In respect of the issues raised we are disappointed that you suggest that these were not addressed for some five days. Immediately we became aware of chipped crockery and missing towels both issues we consider wholly unacceptable, our new cleaner made every attempt to visit the property to resolve the issues raised. Additionally given some matters now set out in your feedback were not raised whilst you were at the property, we were not afforded the ability to address these at the time. On the day we were informed issues had been flagged we sought to remedy these on the same day. Gaining access to the property at a time convenient to both you and our cleaner was problematic however and we accept that it was your prerogative not to allow our cleaner to enter the property to rectify matters when you were not present. Therefore, matters did take more time to fully address.
In the weeks leading up to your arrival our previous cleaners served notice, and this was their last week. Whilst we have never in the years of renting our property had complaints in respect of cleanliness it is possible that the outgoing company may not have been as diligent as they had been previously, and this is a matter we will obviously investigate. In respect to cleaning materials there is usually either under the sink, in a plastic box in the bathroom cupboard or in the cupboard at the top of the stairs a collection of cleaning materials and spares. Given cleanliness has never previously been an issue we have never felt the need to advertise this. If these were not present, I can only consider they have been inadvertently removed by the outgoing cleaning company.
Given that we consider the presentation of our property to be paramount we thank you for highlighting this and we are investigating how this could have occurred. Moreover, we are also investigating how it can be that there were insufficient towels or missing linen as these are routinely set out for each guest on each bed by the cleaners prior to the arrival of guests. In this instance additionally this is more concerning as the estate agent had visited just prior to your arrival and photographed each room. The pictures shown on the website show the towels on each bed as such we are sorry if these were not there.
In respect of the on-street parking this is a public street and therefore parking is on a first come basis and outside of our control. Given the cottages proximity just a few 100 yards from the harbour particularly in the summer parking is at a premium and as sent out in the guest information parking is available either in public car parks in the village or free in the streets nearby and steps into Cliff Street should prevent the need for a long walk to the cottage. Also turning is possible in Battery Terrace just past the cottage although parking there is for residents only.
We love the fact that our cottage is such a traditional building set into the cliff face. It is built using traditional building materials and methods. I believe that the week in which you attended was particularly wet and raining daily. I can only imagine that this might have given the impression of damp as this is something the cottage is checked for regularly given its position and it is not something that has been raised by guests previously.
I am sorry that you did not enjoy your time staying at Cobblestones and hope this explanation goes some way to addressing the issues raised. We have taken account of you feedback and will seek to ensure that any guests going forward do not encounter any difficulties such as those raised. Property Owner
