“After a long drive and feeling rather tired we missed the left turning to the property and ended up going a long way up a very narrow lane unable to turn around for quite some way.”
It would have been extremely helpful to have had a sign at the left turn to confirm the way to the cottage.
First impressions of the cottage were good. It is very spacious downstairs. The location is beautiful, nestled amongst some spectacular scenery.
The upstairs accommodation was OK. Lovely to have an ensuite.
The wardrobes were helpful but there weren’t enough hangers.
The bedside lights were dreadful and over complicated.
However, the absolute worst thing of all were the beds! To be precise, the mattresses. The double bed mattress has no support and the springs are quite literally digging in your back. The single bed mattress was the same.
The pillows were terrible. No support at all. Of all the things you need for a restful holiday, comfortable beds and good quality pillows are essential. I am not talking about personal preference for a soft or hard mattress here. These mattresses are finished!
There wasn’t a position to lie in that avoided a spring digging in somewhere.
The concertina blinds on the velux windows rattle with every gentle breeze, so if like me you like a bit of fresh air in the bedroom you had better bring your earplugs if you want the windows open, even just a little bit.
Sleep was difficult because of this. Stiff necks and sore backs at the start of each day. So upsetting.
It would have been nice to have a small side table or cupboard in the ensuite to put our wash bags on instead of on the floor.
Back downstairs, the kitchen could really do with a nice new set of cooking utensils. There is a large drawer of haphazard items that need updating. Ditto for the bakeware. A couple of extra baking trays are needed.
We ate in every night after long days out and cooking wasn’t an easy experience. Shame, because the kitchen was a great size and could so easily be improved.
The dishwasher isn’t brilliant the cutlery basket has holes in so the cutlery falls straight through.
The front and back doors were very hard to close securely from the inside.
It was impossible to use the barn door feature as when the top door was open the bottom door cannot be secured. Both bottom doors need a bolt or latch to stop them from randomly opening.
This is an absolute NO! NO! If you have a dog/child that can easily nose/push the door open and be gone without you even realising.
The log burner and basket of logs were a nice touch on one of the chillier evenings.
The outside garden was a lovely large space for our dog BUT it was not secure as the 5 bar gates to the property did not close, they were propped open and the automatic system was not in operation.
This was hugely disappointing for us.
An outside light that worked, at the rear of the property would have been very useful.
Despite the negative issues we made the best of our stay.
However, it could have been so much better with a little more care and attention to what your guests need and expect.
We had no real contact with the owners.
A small welcome pack, a tiny gesture would have been a lovely touch.
The cottage felt rather tired and unloved, much like ourselves after our stay.
As a matter of fact, we left one night earlier than planned to get home to our comfortable beds and a much needed good nights sleep.
We are very experienced travellers and I’m sorry to say this was not one of the best for us.
Hello Mr. Alexander,
You will no doubt realise that I was really sorry to hear that you did not have an enjoyable stay at Craig y Deryn. Your opinions have been noted and where necessary will be addressed.
Regarding contact with us, you could have knocked on my front door or contacted Tina, her telephone number is clearly displayed in the information inside the cottage.
Unfortunately I must take issue with you on your grading for cleanliness. We have an excellent cleaning company who do a thorough job every time and this is followed up by a final check by Tina just to check nothing has been missed and all necessary ancillaries are in place.
As you are aware there is a repairs book in the cottage and we were unaware that the rear outside light was not working. Thank you for letting us know as this has now been rectified.
Again I am really sorry that your holiday was not as enjoyable as you would have hoped.
Property Owner