4/10 Poor
Roger D., Colchester, UK
13 September 2019
Disliked: Check-in, communication, location
Very Disappointing stay and not to be recommended.
We were very disappointed in lots of ways by this rental. The owner spoke no English which is not what we were told when renting the property. This made it very difficult to address any of the problems. For example, we had agreed online the day before that we could check in a little early as my wife was unwell, but on arrival we were sent away for 2 hours as the villa wasn’t ready.
There were a LOT of issues with the property. The villa is only the small ‘pool-house‘ you see in the pictures. The larger main building overlooking is part of the Donkey Sanctuary that surrounds the villa. The building is quite new but the quality is poor. Doors don’t open properly and there are ‘gaps’ around things. The fire is held in place with a bit of 4x2 wedged in.
There was only one socket in the kitchen area which is used for extractor fan, kettle, coffee machine, grille, and microwave. The tableware provided was very basic and some broken items were still in the cupboards. The old mini-stereo only played FM radio.
We were only given 2 hand towels and 3 medium towels for both the pool and indoor use. There was no bathroom mat so the tiled floor was slippery when wet. We only had two pillow cases so had to use a second pillow without a case. There was a very large mirror behind the wardrobe which was badly smashed when we pulled it out.
The second bedroom was extremely small and cluttered with furniture, including a random unwanted cot which almost filled the only open space. The lounge furniture filled the room and was not very comfortable. The Smart TV and AC did work well.
Now to the worst part. As soon as you stepped outside you were hit by the smell of horses/donkeys which surround you on all sides. In fact, when we arrived there was fresh dung just the other side of the fence, about 6 feet away from the pool. Then you noticed the flies which that plagued you ALL THE TIME. We never once tried to eat outside as they were very annoying even just sitting around the pool. In the late afternoon they were terrible and would descend on you within a second if you got in the pool. The sun loungers where cheap and cracked in multiple places. One gave way and broke in half as I sat on it. You can only sit on them, so you can’t lay face down unless its on the stone paving.
There was no outside shower or grill/BBQ as mentioned in the advert. A cloths drier had many broken rods with lots of rusty screws.
This villa was not worth the price we paid.
Roger D.
Stayed 7 nights in Aug 2019