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Review 1830: Whitminster House Cottages, Church Cottage

www.whitminsterhousecottages.co.uk

Not Recommended. Review by Norma40 from Ireland

cottages in the Cotswolds near Stroud, Heart of England

When

November 2005, 1 week

Location

We rented Church Cottage. It was located in the country - a lovely location - just a short drive from Whitminster Village.

Nearby Amenities

The nearest store/pub was about a mile away.

The House/Apartment

The house was definitely an old house. This didn't bother us - we knew we were renting an old Cotswold Cottage when we booked it. The ground floor of the house consisted of the kitchen (small), living room, conservatory/dining room & (horrible smelly) bathroom. The very narrow stairs led up to three good sized bedrooms. The house was in a very peaceful and quiet location.

Garden

The house had a small garden. In the summer time, it would be nice. There was no pool.

Furnishings/Cleanliness/Living Areas

Whilst the cleaners of the house obviously do a very good job, the furniture and fittings were just too old to be healthy! The bathroom in particular smelt of urine when we arrived. It was obvious the cleaners had done their best with it, but it still gave me a feeling of unease when we first walked in. The house needs a good overhaul, and the furniture and fittings need to be replaced. There were plenty of chairs for us.

Bedrooms/Bathrooms

The beds were not comfortable. The bedrooms were a good size. The sheets on our bed could be torn up and used for dusters - they were so old, they were "knobbly". The one bathroom was not nice!

Kitchen

The kitchen was ok. There seemed to be enough pots and pans, but due to the main problem we had with the house, we just didn't feel like cooking there (read on - you'll see what I mean).

Problems or Bonuses

On arrival at the house, I noticed a couple of dead flies on the stairs. Whilst it didn't really bother me, I felt a little uncomfortable with it. I put it down to it being the time of year etc. However, in the middle of the first night there, I was awoken to the sound of flies buzzing around the light on the landing, which we had left on for our children. The next morning, they were dead outside our bedroom doors and I had to hoover them up - Yuck! The worst was yet to come. On return from our first day out, there were about a dozen dead flies on the floor of our daughters' bedroom. And so began the nightly/daily routine of being woken by flies in the middle of night, hoovering them up in the morning and again every day on return to the house. Needless to say, it put us off cooking in the house. It was disgusting. We found a can of fly spray in the kitchen, with a note from the owner saying that there "could be a problem with flies". The house should not have been rented out with this problem. Whilst it might be an unavoidable natural problem, it is still not right that we had to pay to rent a house which caused us so much discomfort and upset on our family holiday.

Agency and Representatives (and price)

When I first contacted Whitminster House, I was impressed with the professionalism of the lady who I spoke with (the owner). The website also shows nice photos of the house (not at all the same in reality). However, when we returned home from our week, I wrote to her and as gently as I could, I explained that we were not happy with the fly situation. She wrote back in a bit of a fury and said that we were "foolish" for not telling her about it when we were there. What would have been the point? She had told me that all her houses were rented that week, so we couldn't have moved to another property. Had I complained about it whilst I was there, it would have caused discomfort for her and even more for us! There was nothing for us to do, but just grin and bear it. She did not even offer an apology for the problem in her reply e-mail to us.

Do you recommend this vacation rental to others?

We would never ever stay here again. And would certainly never recommend it to anybody else. It was an unfortunate experience for us.

Things to do in this area

We love the Cotswolds and go once a year to this area to visit family as well as visit "tourist" spots. This year our "big day out" was to Longleat Safari Park - it was fantastic. We also spent a day shopping in Cheltenham. There is a lovely Chinese Restaurant at The Whitminster Inn. The best Chinese we've ever had. Highly recommended! We always go to The Passage to India in Nailsworth - the best Indian Restaurant in the UK. We've been going for years and it's always excellent! Also recommend The Weighbridge (between Avening & Nailsworth). Fantastic pies.

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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