Fabulous setting but.........
Review Submitted: August 27, 2008
Date of Stay: December 2007
We spent a month there in January 2008; we have holidayed in the Lagos/Luz area for the last 10 years and have always had a super time but this was dreadful. We would never go back to this villa or use any other owed by the same people.
The villa was damp- the walls of the bedrooms were covered in black mould which meant that we had to have noisey dryers on day and night while it was sorted. This took 3/4 days with work on the roof and internal paint/fungicide spead out over a week.
The villa was described as kitted out to a high standard but was tired, dated and worn out. We were reliant on the caretakers to turn on the heating at an agreed time - 75% of the time this didn't happen. There was an open fire which thankfully my husband was able to light otherwise we would have frozen in the evenings. The laundry room is at the end of the garden and the villa has a dedicated washing machine and shared tumble dryer. Our 'dedicated' washing machine was constantly in use for the first 3 days by the villa caretakers;the shared tumble dryer would have washing lying in it for 24 hours.
We chose this villa because we have two small bichons and the vila was described as pet friendly. We are happy if the dogs are happy but unfortunately our dogs were poisoned. They ate rat poison which had been left within reach in the open garage in the "animal friendly garden where the dogs are free to roam". This meant a rush to the vets and almost daily visits to the vets for 10 days and constant supervision for the dogs until they were completely clear - no walks of the leads on the empty beaches. The constant worry about the dogs, trips to the vets, etc really spoilt our holiday- not to mention the additional costs of vet fees and medication.
For all this we paid full rent - never again!
Owner's Response: Unfortunately, I have to respond to this review in a more negative way than I would normally wish to respond to anyone. I have always been very lucky with the guests I have had in Melody and many return year after year, and some have become firm friends. if you visit my website you will find three years of highly positive reviews relating both to the villa and the service I offer.
However, the people who wrote this review were the only people that I have had a problem with, either in this villa or any other that I rent out. First, the guests who booked the villa and wrote the review booked for one small dog that was well behaved. Instead they brought two dogs that were anything other than well behaved. Second, I made it clear in the booking process and when they arrived that the dogs should not be let out of the grounds of Melody. This they ignored and let the dogs run unsupervised outside of it, hence why they found the rat poison in a neighboring garage (which was not part of Melody and therefore not on the property they were renting). On asking them to clear up after their dog's toilet activities, I was subjected to verbal abuse about all types of things they said was a problem with the villa (which ranged from damp (a small patch in the bathroom which was treated/repaired immediately - they were here during the worst winter rains for 50 years in the Algarve), to the fact that the soup bowls were wide rather than narrow (I immediately replaced with narrower ones from my own kitchen). Ignoring the manner in which they raised these issues, I offered to them alternative properties that would take their dogs as, despite the fact that I thought they were being unreasonable, I still wanted to them to be happy, They refused any offer of a relocation. Finally, they left the villa in the worst condition I have ever seen which involved not only an industrial clean internally, but my having to collect a month's worth of dog excrement (which as part of their rental agreement they were bound to collect and dispose of themselves).
As I said at the beginning, I am very proud of the feedback, repeat business and recommendations that all my other guests give me, and these people were really not in the same genre and I would certainly not have them back (and they are the only guests to date I would ever have that view on)
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Helpful votes: 23/23
