Advice on compensation ....

min21

Basically we booked a 5 * child & dog friendly self catering cottage. Things in the description of the place that we read on the website of the company didn’t exist such as “claw footed baths & rain showers” or “Molton Brown Toiletries” and in fact our bath & shower were so small my husband couldn’t stand up straight in it. Also so far from child friendly with a lethal staircase with no baby gate. Not dog friendly either as surrounding fields all had livestock in them & barbed wire everywhere. 

The place was also grubby & even in non COVID times I wouldn’t have been happy with the level of cleaning but evidence of the “deep clean” nowhere to be seen.

The holiday was a total stressful experience for us & in the end my husband, toddler & dog left 2 nights early ruining the family gathering we had booked the place for. 

I have complained and nothing has been offered. While I appreciate it’s COVID times it’s still not correct to falsely describe the accommodation or to jut have the right safety standards in place. 

Just looking for any advice on what might be reasonable to ask for? I was thinking a refund of one night? 

Thanks! 

martindow

min21 said:

Basically we booked a 5 * child & dog friendly self catering cottage. Things in the description of the place that we read on the website of the company didn’t exist such as “claw footed baths & rain showers” or “Molton Brown Toiletries” and in fact our bath & shower were so small my husband couldn’t stand up straight in it. Also so far from child friendly with a lethal staircase with no baby gate. Not dog friendly either as surrounding fields all had livestock in them & barbed wire everywhere. 

The place was also grubby & even in non COVID times I wouldn’t have been happy with the level of cleaning but evidence of the “deep clean” nowhere to be seen.

The holiday was a total stressful experience for us & in the end my husband, toddler & dog left 2 nights early ruining the family gathering we had booked the place for. 

I have complained and nothing has been offered. While I appreciate it’s COVID times it’s still not correct to falsely describe the accommodation or to jut have the right safety standards in place. 

Just looking for any advice on what might be reasonable to ask for? I was thinking a refund of one night? 

Thanks! 

Did the bath have clawed feet?  That's all they seem to have claimed so the size doesn't seem relevant.

It's quite normal for fields to have barbed wire on fences so livestock doesn't escape.  I'd take dog-friendly to mean that they accept dogs in the cottage and no more than that.  And I wouldn't expect a stairgate unless one was mentioned.  You do seem to have assumed rather more than was being offered in this cottage.

The cleanliness issue is a valid complaint Covid or not and certainly merits a response.

How many days did you stay?  Did you contact someone to raise these issues at the start?

min21

No the baths didn’t have any claw feet & claw footed tubs are usually free standing. There’s many inaccuracies in the description & the owners have since changed it & admitted they used a copywriter to do the website. They’re creating an image & an expectation of the holiday home that isn’t true. It also says “unleash your children & dogs to explore the surrounding countryside”. But you can’t it’s not safe. 

They’ve put a stair gate at the top of the lethal staircase but that’s no use once the crawling baby or toddler is up the stairs. If there was an accident I can’t see they’d be able to say it wasn’t their fault since they know it’s not safe by putting one at the top. 

You can’t say it’s child friendly, offering high chairs (covered in nasty glued on old food) & travel cots if your property is actually not safe for very young children. Just be honest & day older children only & point out dangerous features instead of using a company to falsely advertise your property for you. 

I raised all the issues at the start - nothing happened and we went home after 3 nights of our 6 night stay. It was no way a 5star property & the stress ruined our stay entirely. 

Got legal advice & been informed it’s breach of contract. Thanks though 

WeAreGhosts

This wasn't LakeLovers, by any chance?

If you can, leave a review on TripAdvisor, or TrustPilot or similar - businesses don't like public bad reviews and so are more likely to take a look at your issues.

min21

It was The Rowley Estates .....
Left a Trip Advisor review but no response & no reply to my official letter of complaint. 

Sadly we paid direct by bank transfer so they know short of small claims there’s nothing we can do ..... 

Really feel they’re misleading people into booking & they’ve admitted they’ve changed the description since I asked them about it .....