Check in: I had to contact the owner the weekend before to say that we had not received any check-in information. She responded promptly with further information. I then messaged her twice again asking whether there was a hairdryer and washing machine at the house and never got a response. (turns out there were). The initial check in was 3pm however we got a call around an hour before to say that due to issues with another rental property, the cleaning was taking longer. We were not able to get into the house until 4.30pm.
Location: The house is literally on the beach, which was great and exactly what we were looking for. The house is however also opposite a bar/ pub, which played live music Saturday night until late and again had a Karaoke night on the Friday. As it was summer, the doors were open which meant little sleep for any of us until their music finished.
Property: The house has four bedrooms and would sleep 8 happily. More people than that I think would be a squeeze, especially since the dining table seats 8 the most and the sofas in the lounge only seat 8, too. We appreciated the large telly with Sky TV.
The house looked overall clean, unless you looked too deep into any cupboards (especially the kitchen) or the garage. Spare duvets had been thrown in the cupboard under the stairs (accessible from the small toilet), the garage was full of old treasures, junk and what we assumed spare bedding covers (not kept in sealed boxes), the airing cupboard looked like it hadn't been cleaned for weeks, the skirting boards throughout were dusty.
Overall the house was kitted out well though, although it would be a squeeze in the kitchen for more than six people. The main beds were extremely comfortable and the bedding was clean. There were two mattresses pilled on top of each other in the kids room and judging by the feel and look, these were not the same good quality as the rest.
We payed just over £1300 for the week, which is the most we ever paid for a week's rental in the UK (and we have rented a lot of holiday homes in our time). Based on this, we had expected a higher level of cleanliness and care - it was the little things that let the house down - blinds in the bathroom that had not been replaced, cracks and scratches in the bath, peeling paint on skirting boards, wobbly bunk beds, no cupboards in the two smaller rooms, an old boiler with no CO2 monitor, windows that have seen better days.......
