Minffordd

Lovely cottage, exactly what my husband and I needed.

It has everything that you need. Would definitely stay again.

Let’s start with the positives, because there are some.

The property is in a very quiet little hamlet of around 15 houses in rural Wales, so if “getting away from it all” is your main objective, you’ve definitely come to the right place. In fact, you may get so far away from it all that even the host struggles to find you. The property itself is a good size and would comfortably accommodate four adults, and the parking is also a decent size. Now for the less positive bits… Communication from the host was, shall we say, impressively limited. I sent a WhatsApp message asking whether there was a cafeteria at the property. I’m still waiting for a response. To save future guests the wait: there isn’t one. We wanted to give the floor a quick clean during our stay, which turned out to be an ambitious request. There was no broom, and although there was a hoover, it had no charge and, rather helpfully, no charger either. So much for getting away from it all — apparently that includes cleaning equipment. The washer/dryer was another highlight. The dryer function was about as useful as a chocolate teapot, and as we couldn’t dry clothes outside, we ended up spending £30 on an airer from Tesco. Sorry to future guests, but due to the amount we paid for the stay, we decided to take it home with us. At least we now own a functioning piece of equipment. The handwritten guide to the property was also an interesting touch. It certainly added a personal feel, although perhaps not the professional one you might expect. The guide mentioned that wood was available from the “garage”, so naturally we assumed this meant the garage at the property. Apparently not. Where the mysterious garage actually is remains one of the great unanswered questions of our stay. No further directions were provided, so once again, Tesco came to the rescue. There was also no recycling information provided, meaning everything went into the general waste. I’m sure the environment appreciates the simplicity. Then we have the cleanliness and maintenance issues. There was mould in the bathroom, the door frames were filthy, and there was no air freshener anywhere in the property. The bathroom door was also in desperate need of some WD-40 — although perhaps the squeaking was intended as part of the rustic Welsh experience. The mattresses really do need replacing as well. After a night on those, “getting away from it all” started to feel more like “getting away from a good night’s sleep”. We weren’t expecting the kitchen to be stocked like a supermarket, but having basic essentials such as salt and pepper would have been a nice touch. Overall, the location is lovely if you genuinely want peace, quiet and absolutely no unnecessary interaction with civilisation. The property itself has plenty of potential and is a good size, but unfortunately the lack of communication, basic amenities, cleanliness and maintenance issues really let it down. With a bit more attention to detail, some proper instructions, functioning cleaning equipment, better maintenance and perhaps a host who occasionally checks their WhatsApp, this could be a really enjoyable place to stay.

Minffordd was a great little house and exactly what we were looking for as a base to go and explore around Wales.

We would highly recommend.