“Our stay in the Barn at Waen y Ffynon was disappointing due to access issues getting to the property on the night of check in.”
This was due to very bad driving conditions, snow and ice, which I appreciate is out of the property owners and Sykes' control but some forewarning on the listing of how remote the barn is may have altered our plans had we known. The listing states easy access to Ruthin but the driving conditions essentially meant we were snowed in at the Barn, had to abandon our car temporarily and weren't able to travel anywhere at all for two days which did not suit our travel plans of using the barn as a base to visit friends and family before Christmas. We ended up missing some events that were the purpose of our travel. As we booked at short notice we were only sent the extra information on the day of travel and nothing was mentioned about ice and snow via text or email by the owners in spite of the roads up to the access road essentially being clear and then the difficulties we faced were a surprise. Being from a similarly remote area myself in Wales I would have thought that alerting guests to the access road conditions on the day of travel would be common sense especially knowing guests were travelling across country and not knowing their mode of transport. I would advise attempts not be made to travel in anything less than a four wheel drive to this property in freezing weather conditions due to health and safety. Unfortunately we felt we had to cut our stay down from six nights to two and as soon as the ice thawed enough for us to leave, we took our opportunity. The property is also advertised as extremely dog friendly but we felt there were a lot of rules to follow. The option to have a stair gate would be a useful addition to the property. Having said all of this the Barn itself is lovely, well furnished and clean. I can imagine it being a beautiful setting in different weather conditions. The hosts were also attentive, helped collect us when our car became stuck and offered to go and collect supplies for us from the local town in their 4-wheel drive. We did however feel like we were an inconvenience and were left feeling quite embarrassed needing to rely on them so it was not the relaxed break we had hoped for unfortuantely
Thank you for your comments. It is often difficult to offer a reply to a guest who feels their expectation have not been met, without appearing to be controversial. I can understand that you would like to hold someone responsible for your disappointing experience. However, its felt that your opinion does not tell the whole story and some further clarity may be helpful.
From your feedback the following points are raised.
Difficulty navigating to the property
Difficulty accessing the property
Too many rules
A feeling of embarrassment.
Your booking request came through to the owners at approximately 19:35hrs on the eve of your proposed day of arrival. Additional information was sent to you at 09:45hrs, the following morning which describes the property “as being surrounded by agricultural land”. The location of the Property is given in three formats, GPS Coordinates, Ordinance Survey – Grid reference and What3words. A detailed map is also included showing the property’s location. The photographs accompanying the property listing on the agent’s website show a rural location with views across the Vale of Clwyd. It is also described as “nestled in a cwm below Moel y Plás, at the Southern end of the Clywdian Range”. This should be sufficient information for you to make an informed decision as to location of the property.
The adverse weather conditions had been widely publicised by the Met Office, both local and national news organisations as well as on social media. The Met office had widely publicised weather warning and that country was experiencing below average temperatures for a few days prior to you make your last-minute booking.
You say that you were visiting friends and family in the local area – did you consider contacting them prior to commencing your journey to check on weather conditions on arrival?
You mentioned that your car need two new tyres which indicates you were completely unprepared for the road conditions. As a point of interest, a delivery van had previously accessed the property earlier in the day, this was not a 4x4. From a health and safety point of view It’s expected that delivery companies would have stringent QHSE policies in place to protect their personal from risk, there by fulfilling their duty of care to employees.
When choosing a self-catering accommodation in rural location, it is assumed (wrongly so in this case) that the guests have researched where they are staying. You mention that you visited the area every two to three months (to visit your sister) and that you were also from a rural part of North Wales (near Snowdonia). It would therefore be reasonable to think you would have had the common sense to check conditions prior to commencing your journey.
You mention rules. The additional information sent by the owners as a curtesy, only contains three points ‘as a reminder’, which all relate to pet behaviour.
Pets should not be left in the property unattended Dogs are not allowed on the furniture. Your dog should not be allowed on the bed.
These three points are reiterated because guests with pets maybe don’t realise that non-pet owning guest may not appreciate animals on the beds and furniture.
If you had read the Agents (Sykes) terms and conditions for the booking, section 9 – pets, point 9.5.
You would see that, you must agree to these points prior to confirming the booking. Which really negates your point concerning rules because you have already agreed them.
You describe the owners as both attentive, yet making you feel an inconvenience. Customer care is taken very seriously, making sure that guests are comfortable in the Barn. To this end we give you our contact details so that you can discuss any concerns you may have. You obviously didn’t give any thought to the conditions. It is not the owner’s responsibility to prejudge, guest ability, type of vehicle or the condition in which it is maintained.
If you had read either the guest book or customer comments on the agent’s website, it would be abundantly apparent the effort made to accommodate guests.
To this end we helped you to:
recover your vehicle
Offered to get fuel for your car, as you arrived with the low fuel warning light showing.
Offered to pick up food shopping for you
Checked that you were comfortable in the Cottage.
You were also offered transport into the village.
I would suggest that your embarrassment is more a result of your failure to take responsibility for your poor preparation and planning.
Not reading and understating the terms and condition for the booking
Not reading and understanding the additional information the owners sent out, which
includes location coordinates and map.
Ignoring Met office weather warnings
Not checking the weather conditions prior to traveling
Traveling in a vehicle that was fitted with worn tyres
Being unprepared for the weather conditions despite having local knowledge.
Being unprepared for a stay in self-catering accommodation.
We very much appreciate your kind description of the Cottage, however it is felt that you are trying to delegate your responsibility and poor judgment on to both the owners and the agent, because you failed to read and assimilate available information and plan properly for your trip.
Property Owner
