Curlew

It took us nearly two hours to get into the cottage after travelling all day from Spain. We had only been given a code, which we tried without success. Sykes Cottages, the letting agent, said they would contact the owner and call us back, but we heard nothing for almost two hours. By chance, someone from the next-door cottage came to help and said the lock was difficult to use. We eventually got inside, but neither the owners nor Sykes Cottages contacted us during the stay. Sykes Cottages claimed they had called, though our phone showed no missed calls. They also said they had left a voicemail, despite emailing us to say they couldn’t leave one. We never received an apology for the wait. After we complained to the agency, we were told this was the standard entrance lock for all cottages. If so, someone could have explained over the phone how to use the code. The cottage looked good at first, but we found a number of problems. The soft mattresses were extremely uncomfortable and left me and our friends with back and body aches. None of us slept well because the heating came on at all hours and couldn’t be controlled. In the main double bedroom, the toilet was only suitable for a child because there was almost no space between it and the shower. The mirror above the sink was at waist height, while the one over the dressing table was so high it could only be used standing up. The wooden stairs were steep and dangerous, and the living room sofa gave us all backache and needs replacing. We asked the owners for compensation, mainly because of the trouble getting in after a full day of travel and the lack of help. They weren’t interested and disagreed with our comments about the cottage. It felt as if they only cared about taking our money. We had booked the same cottage for a month in August, but cancelled and lost a lot of money on the deposit. I’d never stay here again and wouldn’t recommend spending your money here. The owners don’t seem to care about the problems guests encounter, and no one even had the decency to apologise.