“Having an apartment above an old coaching inn which boasts a “German Flavoured” restaurant is recommendation enough, before you consider the fabulous surroundings of the setting.”
But as you climb the stairs you notice that the balcony is not as shown in the advertising photographs. “Work in Progress” I was told. On entering the apartment it was spotless although some of the furniture was a little “tired”. The high standard of cleanliness is carried through to the bedroom’s and bathroom facilities. Heating is provided by a central heating system that only serves to heat the flat when the pub is open, so when closed there is additional heating in the form of two small convector heaters. Opening times are evenings Friday to Monday, so Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday you have to rely on the two small electric convector heaters. This is where our problems began! Each of the convector heaters are connected via a “Smart” switch which cannot be bypassed other than by contacting the owner. We arrived on Thursday 25th April 2024. The flat was warm but Nik, the owner who showed us around, failed to mention they are limited to TWO HOURS in the lounge and about One Hour in the main bedroom. There is another heater in the second double bedroom but this is connected via an extension cable that goes behind a locked door. This never worked during our stay. He also failed to mention there is a button on the Smart Plug you could press which would switch the heaters back on, for the time pre-programmed. Unfortunately for us on the evening of our arrival a severe frost happened overnight. As the early hours approached we were driven to put our clothes back on as the temperature was so low in the apartment with no way of keeping the heating switched on! We didn’t know about resetting the Smart Plugs every hour for one and every two hours for the other so no sleep was possible! However, if we had have known we could switch them on we would have had to get out of bed every hour or two to do it! Therefore, no sleep would have been possible in either circumstance. At six am I thought it a reasonable time to call Nik to address the problem. The temperature in the flat was at Thirteen Degrees! I was literally shivering. I must say he popped by around eight am, rang his ELECTRICIAN WHO CONTROLLED the Smart Plugs, and asked him to reprogramme them for 24/7 output. Due to the heaters being of a Convector style it did take till Friday afternoon before the flat was a comfortable temperature. Added to this the restaurant was closed due to “Staffing Issues”. It was evident that having taken over the ownership and running of the facilities three years ago, not at the best of times I’d say, he is trying to run it on a limited budget. In his favour he is approachable. He did his best to ensure all other facilities were good but I did have to remind him that if paying guests are being asked for £100 a night then he should ensure proper heating be available in the early part of the holiday season. Did it matter about the restaurant being closed? Not really as that was a bonus and Ruthin is only three miles up the road. There are places to eat there. I really do think that it should be mentioned in the “facilities description” that the restaurant is closed as people may turn up without food expecting to have a good and cosy meal. Not a break to remember but one that turned out okay in the end. Would I use Sykes again? Maybe. However it is obvious that Sykes take the properties on “Face Value” with no physical check. I also feel Sykes should look at the nonsense that forms their Terms and Conditions, as they go to great lengths to explain the Rental Contract is between you the Renter and The Owner. Sykes take a Third Party Stance. Don’t be fooled! Sykes take your money so they can be held responsible for situations as we experienced.
Addressing the issues pointed out by this gentleman.
The moment I explained the restaurant was temporarily closed his face dropped & I knew things would be going downhill from there, sometimes it doesn’t matter how hard you try to make certain people happy, it will never be enough!
The balcony is in the process of being replaced so is actually safer now, the fact that all the decking did not colour match seemed to bother him!
Yes the pub is closed Tue/Wed/Thur but as in the description it states “Please check opening times and make a booking for Three Pigeons Inn ahead of your stay.”
The electric heaters are more than adequate to heat the apartment & have smart switches fitted for health & safety, once the gentleman used them correctly he was more than happy, so much to say he “loved the place”!
I addressed all this gentleman’s many issues however trivial almost immediately (apart from the call, & text when I didn’t answer, at 6am!).
He was more than happy with his stay, so this review came as a very upsetting surprise, needless to say he will not be welcome here again!
Property Owner
