House on the Brooks

Poor
Traveller Type:
  : The location of the property was wonderful and it was great to get away to the countryside for the bank holiday weekend. However, I would not recommend staying at this property if that is what you are looking for. There are numerous other properties which will provide much better accommodation for a fraction of the price, and fundamentally with an owner who cares about their guests and their comfort during their stay. See below for more detailed reasoning on this - there were a number of issues with our stay and the way in which these were dealt with by the owner was astonishing. It was clear from the issues that we had that the property had been left unattended throughout the Covid lockdowns - completely understandable and a great shame. We were so happy to book the house after a prolonged period of being unable to get out and support an industry that had taken a huge hit through the pandemic. However, what is inexcusable from an owner renting out a "4 star" property is to not complete the due diligence and checking the property is tenable before renting it out and then taking a complete lack of empathy and customer service in dealing with the issues.
  : 1.) There was NO HOT WATER for the entirety of our stay which meant we could not shower for our duration. We also could not use any of the baths which were on offer. We had to boil kettles in order to cook and clean up after ourselves. 2.) Upon flagging this issue the owner didn't offer any compensation, alternative accommodation (which he later said was available if we had asked - a complete kick in the teeth and flabbergasting if that was the case that he did not mention this straight away!) or alternative means of showering which was the main issue. Although the owner did attend the property promptly when the issue was raised, we were under the impression that he was a plumber/handyman to resolve the issue and so were less surprised at the time by his lack of concern for the issue. There was a lack of communication and understanding of what was going on and we were just told that a part could not be found to fix the issue until we had left. 3.) There was a plumbing issue with one of the sinks which meant that water leaked out onto the floor when it was in use and so we did not use this for the duration of the stay. This was flagged also to the owner who just said "oh right, thanks for letting me know". 4.) When we arrived at the property it was clear that it had not had a proper clean for some time. There were numerous spiders and cobwebs in all of the bedrooms and bathrooms and there were some stains on some of the bed linen. 5.) Although we had stated that there would be 7 guests staying, and they had assured us that towels were provided, there were only 6 towels in the rooms, meaning that not only was I cleaning using boiled water from a sink, I was also sharing a towel in order to dry. 6.) I had some work that I needed to complete during the stay (a couple of emails nothing major). The WiFi that was provided could not allow me to send and receive emails so was useless. 7. etc.) Further issues but no more space to type.

Good
Traveller Type: Family with Young Children
  : Lovely house and location
  : The beds are uncomfortable but very clean

Good
Traveller Type: Business Traveler

Very Good
Traveller Type: Family with Young Children
  : Great location, lovely house.