Dorset Self Catering cottage, 26 Rodden Row, Abbotsbury, sleeps 11

Parking at the property is a bit of a challenge having to reverse into a narrow driveway which can only accommodate two
Inside the property there was a general lack of cleanliness throughout and some areas very tired and the photos online were a misrepresentation of what was actually at the property. No complimentary welcome gift such as wine or a few tea bags or biscuits, there is literally nothing, not even salt and pepper. (I appreciate its self catering but every property I?ve stayed in supply a little something) there is a welcome booklet in the lounge (this has the incorrect number for the maintenance person) The kitchen has several dirty fridges to use and one filthy disused one in the dining room. Many of the shelves have not been cleaned in some time as had a build up of grime and dust, especially the ones above the oven (note shelf missing in the top oven and on the right as you walk in. One of the larger tables in the dining room hadn?t been cleaned as I wiped my hand across it and there were several crumbs and sticky parts. The living room smelt of dog and you could see dog hair across the laminate flooring and on the rug. When looking at the photo of this room it appears there would be a large wood burner and a sofa with a couple of plush blue chairs, however this is not the case. A small electric fire has been installed, the two blue chairs have been swapped for two very old, uncomfortable upright chairs. Most of the fixtures and fittings in this room were not there. The sofa was very warm grubby and uncomfortable. When you had a long day out and want to relax this isn?t ideal and we took it in turns each evening to sit on the sofa. Also rafter the first day my daughters white tights were black from the amount of dirt on the floor and rug which was really annoying as the kids always want to run around playing on the floor. The other main issue I had was the dog mess left in the garden! The garden was covered with sticks I can only assume the dogs were chewing and the pond area is in a poor state with it being overgrown and the small wooden bridge in the photos not present. The summer house behind this area was just abandoned, full of cob webs and over grown weeds/plants. The twin room upstairs was a good size room however again the bathroom was misrepresented in the photos. There is in fact no shower screen and the shower is not connected to the wall, you have to stand there holding the shower head whilst showering. The toilet seat was also broken and left on the floor, which I did report and was loosely fixed the following day. The tiny single room was ideal for my 3 year old daughter, she loved it but it got cold in the evenings and the heating didn?t work in there so she moved into our room. In the larger double room the shower has been painted with the incorrect paint and each day whilst showering the paint was peeling off under foot and after the shower I had to pick the bits of paint off the bottom of my feet. We also found someone's clothes left in one of the draws in the room. In the other double room the hot water tap was temperamental and water pressure in here was very poor. Upstairs in the final room which has very little head space the shower was left broken in pieces on the side. I did get told this would be fixed the following day but no one ever bothered to come out to sort it! So we had to share bathrooms to have a shower each day. I appreciate this is a period property but the general level of cleanliness was appalling. When speaking to the maintenance guy and cleaner they said the cleaners only have 6 hours to clean two houses! This really is not my problem and should not be given as an excuse for the state of the house. The worst thing was this was our first trip away since covid and I didn?t want the kids playing in the lounge with the state of the floors and rug. They also stated that the gardener only comes once every two weeks so the dogs mess could have been there for two weeks and why the cleaner can?t have a quick check of this I don't know.
alemstaley
2022-05-22