Beautiful Character 5 Bedroom Dorset Thatched Cottage - Great Location - Garden - Parking - Fast WiFi - Smart TV - Newly decorated - sleeps up to 10! Only

First impressions on arrival were not good. A large section of the roof is covered in black tarpaulin – obviously a much cheaper alternative than a proper thatched repair. The driveway is extremely overgrown (back garden is worse) but that is probably a blessing as this covered much of the litter strewn about the driveway. The outside bin is also on the driveway so you are greeted by a swarm of wasps every time you step out of the car or house. You open the door to a smell – a wet dog smell ? or maybe that mixed with what looks like a urine stain on the carpet just to the left of the main door. I went straight to the SPAR along the road to buy some airglade fresheners. There are cobwebs everywhere. The utility room – while equipped with the washer, dryer and a fridge freezer, also has a smell. The kitchen could be stunning but all the wooden surfaces are either stained and sticky or covered in black mould (around the taps). It needs sanded back and resealed / varnished and it would look fantastic. The water from the dishes on the draining rack drips off the edge onto the floor. There was what appeared to be foodstuff smeared on a section of the wall and also on one of the cupboard doors, some crusty food left on a couple of the saucepans, and some stains on cups and crockery. One of the containers doubled as a cemetery for a couple of insects. We washed EVERYTHING before use. There was generally plenty of equipment – although the freezer in the kitchen, one of the ovens, and a gas ring did not work. Plus, for a house that sleeps 10, there were only 2 deep cereal bowls, so we had to improvise by using glass mixing bowls and plastic food containers so that the kids didn’t eat breakfast in shifts. All the bathrooms have mould around the edges of sinks / showers and not all had toilet roll – so had to buy some of that too. Downstairs double bedroom has serious mould around the whole window and large stains on the ceiling. Paint and plaster cracks...

Property had good sized bedrooms and kitchen.

We had numerous issues with the house and despite giving the owners a week to get back to us via email I still haven't heard anything. They replied to a WhatsApp whilst we were staying about the oven not working but have not replied to 2 emails outlining the issues we had when we stayed. So now I am left with no choice but to outline them in a review: - On arrival the majority of pillow cases were wet/damp - The towels all smelt damp and so we washed them all and then tried to tumble dry them but don't think the tumble drier is working properly - The right hand side of the oven and one of the hobs doesn't work but we weren't told about this and realised this whilst trying to cook a big roast dinner. - On arrival the kitchen wasn't clean - the worktops were sticky and had food stains along with the table cloth. The back splash for the oven also had food splashes on it. - The freezer in the kitchen doesn't work although there is another one in utility room. - The garden is a mess which meant we couldn't sit outside and enjoy it. Completely completely overgrown. - There is a possible wasps nest out in the back garden under the kitchen roof which needs to be checked out ASAP due to health and safety reasons. - The upstairs toilet seat is broken and dangerous. - The shower head in the ensuite upstairs isn't safely able to fit into the holder which means it's at risk of falling out and hitting someone. -The staircase and other areas didn't appear to have been vacuumed as there were hairs on the carpet/wood. - The whole house appears tired and in need of updating. The showers are black around the silicone, there are scuffs all over the walls, surfaces and flooring are sticky, cobwebs everywhere. This is a shame as the property has the potential to be nice but all of the above needs to be addressed, mostly with little work like cleaning however they have chosen not to reply to my email.

It is a lovely cosy cottage and suited our family of 10 well for the weekend. The heating was on and it felt warm, when outside it was bitterly cold. It was spacious, with large tables in the dining room and kitchen. The children loved the large screen TV.

The booking system seemed unduly complicated and I had to ring up twice firstly to get confirmation of the booking after the payment had been made in full, and the evening beforehand to get access information. We took our own travel cot for the baby, but a high chair and plastic plates and cups would have been good for the children.