“He property is beautiful, spacious, with an amazing outlook, so in that respect it is a lovely place for a holiday.”
We watched some amazing tall ships come in, and our smallest had a fab time running round the garden.
Unfortunately our time there was marred by the general uncleanliness of the place. Given they were still cleaning it when we arrived at 5pm (and check out is 10am), you would assume it would be thoroughly cleaned, alas that was not the case. Dirty floors, a massive collection of detritus and previous occupants things around/under beds and sofas etc, this included 3 different medication tablets which was particularly concerning as we had small children with us. The hot tub wasn’t clean, tide marks round the bath.
The AGA is also not on in summer months, so you have a tiny combi-oven to try and feed 10 people, which doesn’t work. When I contacted about this, I was told we could put the AGA on but it would take 12 hours to heat up and make the house warm if left on. It would have been useful to know this in advance so less “oven” meals could have been planned and bought.
Sykes asked for feedback after the first night to which I reported the above concerns and I was phoned quickly and asked to send photos through the app which I duly did. They said they would contact the owner about this, especially the tablets as they deemed this “disappointing” but I didn’t hear anything further.
Sykes did suggest a cleaning team come in but I explained as we had an elderly disabled person with us, that it made it difficult to “go out for the day” as they wanted us to, and they didn’t feel comfortable with people cleaning around them. I was asked “well what do you want then? You can’t pursue compensation if you don’t let a cleaning team in” - which was frankly an irritating and disappointing comment. I’d been asked to give feedback, that was how it started, and ultimately it should have been immaculate on arrival, not need a cleaning team to ‘make right’ the issues, especially when it would make someone on holiday feel uncomfortable. This attitude is frankly not respectful of an elderly disabled person’s feelings.
Ultimately, none of the photographs, or any of my future messages or emails have been responded to by Sykes (of which I have sent several). I don’t know if Sykes actually passed on the photos to the owner like they said, or if the owner also was not concerned by the feedback. Sykes apparently are not interested and will not be a company I will recommend in future, much like Villa Marina.
Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry that you had issues but all these could have been resolved during your stay if you had accepted the offer from Sykes or the management team and it would not have marred your enjoyment of the property. However there was one area under a bed that had been missed by the cleaners,this is a double bed with a heavy oak frame, it takes 2 adults to move it in addition an oak cabinet needs to be moved so a child would find it impossible to move it.
The cleaners do their best to leave before guests arrive but it does depend on how it is left.
The hot tub is drained, cleaned and filled with fresh drinking water then tested before the next guest arrives.
The AGA is generally not on in the summer as the house has a lot of glass which takes in the heat and can make the kitchen feel like a sauna. If guests want the AGA lit they can request it as the last guest did. You can also light it yourself, instructions are behind the door of the AGA and in the book (similar to a gas fire ). As it is gas it will reach cooking temp after 4 hrs and would be fine for the rest of the week.The combi oven is not tiny, it is a standard size under the counter oven, grill and microwave. There is an additional oven/microwave on top of the counter, and also a four ring induction hob. There is also a charcoal barbecue which is fine to use all the time and we have previously never had any complaints.
Sykes did act appropriately in trying to resolve the issues raised and their actions cannot be considered disrespectful.
Sykes did pass the photos onto us and we are concerned when we receive comments such as yours. We attended the day that the you left, to check everything and to talk through the issues with the manager and cleaners and have implemented a revised cleaning scheme with them so that these issues do not happen again.
We have checked regularly with guests since then and they have all been very happy with their stay.
Regards Carol
Owner Villa Marina
Property Owner
