“We were greeted over the fence by the owner on our arrival and she was polite and welcoming and then left us to get settled in.”
The garden was pretty and was also dog friendly and secure. It had been raining heavily that day, but it was somewhat off putting to find that the septic tank for the cottage was in the garden near the property and was obviously not functioning properly, as the smell of sewerage was overpowering and the noise of the processing motor was quite intrusive, meaning that we needed to sleep with all the windows closed to keep the smell and the noise to a minimum. When we explored the cottage on arrival everything appeared to be clean and comfortable, with a pint of milk and some biscuits plus chews for the dog left for us, which was certainly appreciated. Unfortunately, when we turned back the bed there were several hairs on the sheet and a long blonde one on the pillow and on going into the bathroom we found several short, dark, curly hairs in the bath! It was also quite annoying that the inner front door was extremely stiff and tricky to open, literally requiring a concerted effort both to push the handle down and then to push the door itself open. The internet signal strength at this property was so poor as to be virtually useless, but maybe we hit a bad week as when we mentioned this problem to the owner she just said she'd not had any complaints from other guests.
The one huge problem which completely ruined our whole holiday, though was when, on day 2, the owner shouted and swore at us over the fence, refusing to listen to any answers or apologies from us for something that we had already settled with the other owner a few minutes earlier! The genuine mistake that we had made, simply because the previous 6 properties we have stayed at have had no problem whatsoever with it, was to top up our electric vehicle charge using a genuine BMW slow charger, which plugs into a normal household socket, like any household appliance. (As an aside, the terms on the booking sheet clearly state that all electricity is included in the price paid!)
We were totally taken aback at Brian's aggressive tirade and to say we were upset and angry is an understatement!
This holiday had been meant to be a special celebration of our wedding anniversary and my birthday but we spent the rest of it feeling intimidated and unwelcome, finding excuses every day to delay going back to the cottage in case the owner was once again waiting at the fence!
Ashleworth is a beautiful area and perfectly situated for exploring the locality, but needless to say we won't be coming back to Lawn Lodge!
In reply to your feedback, when I saw u the next day I asked if everything was alright and your reply was that everything was fine. Regarding the septic tank which by council regs has to be at least 15meters from the property which that one is and as it was serviced the week before I doubt there was any smells and it does make a very low noise. I cannot believe you found any hairs in the bed or bath as we are very careful and fussy. The front door is a little stiff but is very secure when locked. I tried the Internet signal when u left and it was fine but u were using a phone so maybe check your phone. Our electrician happened to be here on your second day and noticed a lead coming out of the porch window to your car. He was concerned about whether we were insured for this which I checked and found we were not insured for electric vehicles. When I pointed thus out to you you said u didn.t believe it stating you always charged yourcar at holiday cottages, there was no apology from him but the lady apologised. My partner was very upset about the fact u had charged your car here not even asking, and the fact u had the car parked on the patio to be near enough for the lead, he was worried in case you had damaged the patio slabs which fortunately were OK. We have been open for 6 years and never ever had such nasty comments.
Property Owner
