Cally Croft

This was the worst experience we’ve ever had. We drove over five hours from London, with a 5.5-hour journey by car, only to be told on arrival that the owner had cancelled our two-night booking at Cally Croft for 19 and 20 August 2020. We’d received confirmation on 6 August, and the money was taken from our account that day. The owner said she had cancelled the week before, but we had no phone call or email to tell us. When we asked for proof, she went inside for around ten minutes and came back with her laptop. The document she showed said the money had been refunded, though it hadn’t arrived in our account when we checked, and it didn’t show when the cancellation happened or prove that we had been notified. We were extremely upset to be left looking for somewhere else to stay after such a long drive. The owner was hostile and said we should have called ahead to check the booking was still on. She suggested our email might not be working and blamed us for not getting the message. She also said she didn’t care about a negative review because her business was closing anyway. Then she told us she had cancer and was due to have an operation. We said we were sorry to hear that, but it didn’t undo the distress and wasted journey. She accused us of not being sorry about the operation and called her daughter, who was down the road. Her daughter and another woman came over and told us to get in our cars and go home, swearing and making rude hand gestures as we left. We were appalled by how we were treated, especially when COVID-19 meant people had to be more cautious about travel and staycations. We’d be very reluctant to book directly with a guesthouse again, and for obvious reasons would urge people not to book Cally Croft if they want to avoid a wasted journey and abuse from the owner.