Great Location, but...
Submitted: February 27, 2013
Stayed: February 2013
PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW
Upon arrival, this house seemed perfect. It gets 5 stars for location and for the ability to accommodate 10 able people. It is a five minute walk to Holland Park Ave. and Holland Park tube. Travel to central London and the major sights is easy and convenient! There are some great shops just down the road. (supermarket, Pharmacy, bakery, butcher, cheese shop, pizza, Giraffe (good food), coffee, gelato). In the opposite direction is a great restaurant named Julie's and also a playground that my kids loved. Shortly after the owner gave us the keys and departed, we realized that the house was not cleaned prior to our arrival. There were dirty, dried up dishes with dried mold in the dishwasher, a sink full of dirty mugs and stains, oatmeal petrified in the microwave and months old shrimp stuck beneath the oven door, a dirty pan inside the oven and a full and smelly trash bin in the kitchen. I had to clean the counters, sink, stove, microwave, refrigerator, and all 3 bathrooms so that we could use them. (I have pictures.) After calling the owner, he sent a girl over to clean, who seemed to be surprised by his random call. She said she hadn't heard from him in months. Only the sheet rock dust covered floors and stairs were left to clean. It was apparent that the place was still under construction. I wonder if the beds were even changed for us. Three of the five lamps did not have bulbs and all 3 of the bathroom mirror lights did not work. Also, the amenities on the list are not accurate. There is no telephone. When I contacted the owner he said that the renters are responsible for their own phone. This is not mentioned on the listing. There were also no emergency numbers or any type of neighborhood information (trash disposal info) available. I also had to contact him for an iron & board, which he brought over promptly. We did not have wifi for the first 5 days. A router was delivered on 2/20 but didn't work until the next day. The kitchen had plenty of pots to use but no baking tray/sheet or oven mitts. A scissor would also be handy for a group that is staying for a few days. Having stayed at this house and carefully looked at the pictures on the listing, it appears that the owner recently moved the kitchen from the main floor to the second floor, making in NOT handicap or elderly accessible. The staircases are narrow and curved which was fine for our group.
Owner's Response: PLEASE READ MY RESPONSE IN ITS ENTIRETY
While I welcome any criticism or suggestions, so I can improve my business and offer my guests the best possible service, I am rather surprised that, notwithstanding the way in which this group of ten people treated me from start to finish, they still found room in their review to list some of the aspects that make this house a top destination.
It is a ridiculous suggestion that a multi-million pound house in such a location, that has been catering for guests for so many years, would not have a cleaner to clean after each guest.
Upon their arrival, I showed the guests around the property, and they were very much satisfied with what they saw. They assured me that everything met with their expectations, and I left them with my telephone number in case of emergency.
Ten hours later, I received a call from them, and they asserted that the cleaner had not cleaned the kitchen adequately, and apparently there was a dried-up shrimp stuck underneath the oven door, not visible when I inspected the property. Also, the cleaner allegedly did not press the ‘on’ button on the dishwasher.
I apologised and immediately sent another very good cleaner to the property with instructions to re-clean the whole house to their satisfaction. I believed this would be the end of the matter. But, subsequently they made further demands that I could not possibly meet, such as the provision of a free telephone for their use. All their other demands I promptly satisfied, and attended to their every whim.
I was particularly careful with these guests, who from the beginning showed signs of animosity towards me, and I had the feeling that they would either damage my property or my reputation by providing inaccurate and unjust comments and reviews. Indeed, they did both. By their own admittance, they left a hairdryer on until it began to melt a very expensive brushed-steel plug socket; and the hairdryer itself was burnt and damaged.
Their comments made in this review are unjustified, inaccurate and, indeed, by publishing malicious falsehood, are illegal in English Law.
Future travellers, please be assured that there is an army of cleaners at my disposal, and I have now a new policy to personally check after the cleaner and with the guests upon arrival to ensure that everything is satisfactory. There are some people, as I’m sure we are all aware, that you can never satisfy!
Helpful votes: 3/3
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