disappointing stay
Review Submitted: April 10, 2009
Date of Stay: March 2009
This property did not come anywhere near the description and was very disappointing.
On arrival and for the first two days there was no hot water, the tv did not work and the person who greeted us did not explain any of the workings of the kitchen appliances, such as they were. The cooker is so old that the indicators on the gauges have been rubbed away so you cannot see what temperature the oven is set at.
The lounge furniture is far from comfortable and if eight people were there as suggested then there would not be enough seats withouy some of them having to use the hardback and uncomfortable dining table chairs.
The cleaning of the kitchen left a lot to be desired but the old equipment did not help this.
The owner failed to turn up to arranged meetings leaving us kicking our heels waiting, something you do not want to do whilst on holiday.
The position of the property is at the edge of an industrial estate with the access road being little more than a dirt track in places. There were dogs barking all night, not the owners fault granted but prospective renters should be aware that sleep may be difficult.
Do not rent this property without transport as it not within easy walkiing distance of any shops or restaurants.
two of our party of six left without staying one night as the place was so bad, the others had to stay as they had small dogs with them and could not find pet friendly other accommodation at short notice.
When the owner was contacted upon our return she denied anything was wrong and that we should have brought concerns up whilst there, very difficult to do when she did not turn up for meetings.
Stay here at your peril, it is not good, and the facilities are far from the luxury described.
Owner's Response: Owner´s quick answer to "A disappointing stay"
These were the first unsatisfied guests we had in 3 succesful years of rental. They were not typical of the guests we have received and maybe that was the trouble. They booked the Villa a mere week before arrival, did not respond in writing to confirm their interest, did not pay the deposit, arrived one day later than the agreed date, and were in fact 6 instead of 8 without warning, deducting the price of the fourth room .
Mrs Linda B., who fails to sign the critical review, left with her husband shortly after arrival, before speaking to us; they left the other guests to resolve the issues they were unhappy about, which, the next day, we ascertained were unfounded.
Upon the guests' arrival, it was explained that the hot water took some time to reach the furthermost bedroom. Due to Portuguese legislation, the system is not permitted to be installed in the house itself, therefore comes from several metres outside the house. Nevertheless the guests complained about the lack of hot water as they had not let it run for long enough. Indeed the following morning, the remaining guests had all had their hot showers. The TV was working in good order as we checked it before the guests´ arrival, and I can only presume they untuned the satellite settings, which we fixed the following day having to call in the TV company.
The cooker is two years' old and works perfectly well. The access to our property is indeed not attractive, but it´s all behind you once you get to the 32 hectares of our land, with lovely mature gardens, tennis court and swimming pool, all of which is walled-in.
Finally, we didn´t fail to any agreed "meeting" as we never met or even heard from Mrs B., until after she had left Portugal and emailed us requesting a refund, which we considered unfounded. In the end, we had a terrible experience cleaning up in the end as the dogs slept on the sofas, and left hair everywhere.
This was but a blimp in our happy relationship with those guests who have stayed with us .and trust we will continue to receive the support of satisfied guests, who have invariably mentioned how their stay exceeded their expectations.
Sofia
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