Tonnau Yr Oleu or “ Waves of Light”

We had a really lovely stay, enjoying the stunning, ever-changing views from the front windows and the extensive space the house offered.

Well worth the walk up! The lounge main lights didn't work, but we managed our boardgames with the lamps instead.

A beautiful traditional property with unbeatable views, let down by poor maintenance.

After making the challenging walk up to the property we were greeted by stunning views over the bay, as well as a pot of used cigarette ends. The property is split over four floors, with the ground floor being the kitchen/diner. Dogs are only allowed on the ground floor, so if you like to have your dog with you while you relax in the living room, then you will be disappointed. All rooms are spacious and the bedrooms are comfortable. Bathrooms are large and the showers are of a good standard. The kitchen has all the equipment you need for a self-catering holiday. The wi-fi is also good. Unfortunately, the property is lacking a bit of TLC: lots of cobwebs, loose slabs (inside and out), poorly fitted blinds, stains/marks on walls etc. We did contact the owner once to report a mouse in the kitchen, and for the blind in the kitchen (which detached from its fixings when being adjusted and has the potential to cause injury). The owner responded quickly but didn't seem overly concerned. The walk up to the property is steep, and we wouldn't recommend it for the elderly or those with mobility issues. Overall, we enjoyed our stay, and with a bit more attention to detail the property would be five stars.

Having stayed at the property back in April, and having raised our concerns with Sykes and not getting a satisfactory resolution, I feel it is only fair to leave this review.

The property is in a great location situated high above Barmouth, with fantastic views across the beach. However, the property was nowhere near clean enough when we arrived. We spent hours on the first day vacuuming the many stairs and carpets, removing 2 full tanks from the vacuum which consisted primarily of dog hair. Many of the walls were covered in dirty marks, with the wall leading from the ground floor up to the first covered in splash marks from a previously spilled drink. The living room walls and ceiling were covered with cobwebs, not just in corners but across much of the room. The fuse board and much of the electric controls for the house are just on the wall in the hallway, with cables on show directly out of the wall, it would be much better if this was covered. There was a storage which had no latch in the door handle, and no usable lock to stop the children going in there. The cupboard itself was full of paint tins and varnish, not great for kids to be able to access. More drink stains and dirt on the walls leading from the first to second floor stairs. In the master bedroom, the bathroom area was particularly poor. The freestanding taps for the bath were very loose. The plaster on the walls was coming away in places, with a large area of repair having been just left where the curtain pole was fixed to the wall, surrounded by decorators caulk but no plaster. It must have been a recent repair, as all the dust from where it has been drilled into the wall was still on the floor and skirting board surrounding the bath. There were broken items of lighting and furniture, damp patches on the ceiling in the top twin room, amongst other things that I brought up with Sykes directly after the holiday (which we ended a day before we were supposed to, as we just wanted to be somewhere clean). I hope these many issues have been addressed by now for other people who stay, but for us, it was an expensive few nights in a property that should never have been handed over to guests in that condition. All photographic evidence was sent to Sykes, who offered £100 off our next holiday, but we shall not be booking with them again, so the will have to be escalated to ABTA and CEDR.