I've not really had a negative experience as such, but had trouble with a cooker not working, and one where the roof leaked on someones head, but the latter was fixed sort of

We have been self catering for almost 40 years and I have to say that last years holiday was the worst we have ever experienced. We treated the whole family 18 in total for Christmas. The property was nothing like the advert, it showed and described a bathroom with a whirlpool bath, shower cubicle and bidet yet this bathroom did not exist in this property. When we booked the property it was advertised as having Wi-Fi but that did not exist either. It was generally dirty throughout, the uncomfortable beds and furniture were either past their best or broken, the towels and bedding were dirty and the quilts badly stained. This holiday was booked direct with the owner through an Independent Advertising Site so they take no responsibility for the adverts they carry and have nowhere on their sites to leave a review. I am now very wary of booking any other accommodation through one of these sites.

hi hatter
to HT!
That must have been a stressful Christmas for you. It can feel a huge responsibility when you book a holiday for so many people and you are let down by the standard of accommodation. Perhaps you could try leaving a review on Ht's site? There is the option to add new accommodation.
Did the owners not respond to your complaints?

If people are booking self-catering accommodation up here in Scotland I always advise them to book through the Visit Scotland website (the official tourist board agency for Scotland). At least that way you know the cottage or apartment has been inspected and graded by them and not just the owner and they will de-register properties if they receive complaints that on investigation are confirmed.

I've booked many times through them up here and never had a problem in some 20+ years of using them. It's not necessarily the cheapest way of renting SC accommodation up here because they do charge the owners for the service and this clearly gets passed on in the rent they charge but I think that it is worth it for the peace of mind it brings. I've not booked elsewhere in the UK using the similar service offered by the regional tourist boards but they do provide them.

SM

I did try contacting the owner several times but never got a reply but after reading about the owners I did not expect one. I also contacted many of the advertisement sites to advise them of our experience, a couple of them were very concerned and removed their advert from their sites but the majority did not reply or seem in any way interested or concerned. The properties are obviously never inspected so you have to rely on the owners integrity and you cannot leave a review on most of these sites.

SMs suggestion was a good one. There is a Visit England site as well. Don't let one bad experience put you off after so many years of successful SC holidays.

I have been looking for a self catering property for 18 people, 10 adults and 8 children preferably one property with at least five en-suites and an indoor pool or if not a pool one by the coast but the only ones suitable that come up in the search are the ones owned by the people we had all the trouble with. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

It might be an idea to start a new thread as I think your question might get lost as folks won't read beyond the title. It's quite a big ask but you never know, someone might be able to help

We have used a company called Helpful Holidays several times and have nothing but praise for them - in fact we are in one of their properties in Somerset at the moment! Most of their properties have been inspected several times by staff and they always put any negative reviews on as well as positive. They do only have cottages in the West Country unfortunately and I am looking for a company as good as them for other areas of the UK.

We've also used Cottages 4 you but they do not seem to be as good as they were - too large a company I think.

We've also booked cottages direct with the owners and haven't experienced too many problems but you do take a chance doing that.

Pippa

Thanks for the info I will take a look.