"Beautifully conceived, poorly implemented, and terribly managed."
Our extended family of 9 adults and 7 children - booked this property for a reunion. On arrival, we couldn’t get access at the specified time of 5pm. The house not been cleaned so the owner and his daughter attended to clean this large 8 bedroom house. Not surprisingly, just making the beds took until around 9pm, which was a real challenge with young children in tow.
The rest of the house only got a cursory clean: dusty surfaces, greasy appliances, and rubbish strewn across the gardens all remained. We didn’t receive the welcome email explaining how the property and its facilities actually work until day 2 of our stay.
The house is beautiful on the surface, but a few days of actually living in it reveals it isn’t ready to be rented out. New furniture still had its packaging and instructions (along with dust) in the drawers. Bathrooms were missing basics like bath mats, and the toilet seats were ill-fitting and wobbly — smaller than the porcelain they sat on, as if the wrong ones had been ordered.
None of the bathrooms had locks on the doors, including shared bathrooms and the ground-floor loo. One bedroom had two bedside lamps with no bulbs — an issue already flagged in a review a month earlier, and one we raised directly with the owner ourselves, yet it still wasn’t fixed for the whole of our stay. We were also warned not to use the top-floor shower as it ran too hot — again, already flagged in that same month-old review and still unaddressed. More seriously, every hot tap in the house runs scalding hot (69 deg C measured in kitchen) — genuinely dangerous for children — and given this was a recent renovation, it’s inexcusable that no thermostatic mixing valves were fitted to regulate it. There was also loose cabling (not mains fortunately) hanging from a wall, and a power cable sticking up out of the ground next to the front lawn — wrapped in tape, but still.
Cooking is central to a family gathering, and here too the basics were missing: too few knives (we had to go out and buy a kitchen knife set), no oven gloves, no tea towels, no peeler, no grater, no butter dish, and more. It was genuinely infuriating to spend our first few days chasing the owner and shopping for essentials instead of enjoying the experience. At one stage he said he was “too busy” and suggested we should have sympathy for him because he lives and has a job in Greater Manchester so his self-catering clients are plainly not his priority.
The “games” room and “bar” are in the cellar, which is very damp. The bar stools are all rusted, to the point that sitting on one would stain your clothes.
Outside, the rear gardens are poorly maintained — overgrown weeds and unkempt ornamental hedging throughout.
The owner was initially responsive and apologetic about the state of the house, travelling out with his daughter on our arrival evening to try to sort things out. But the effort was chaotic and poorly directed — we suggested he bring in cleaners the next day and focus only on the bedrooms, but he was determined to handle everything himself. He was clearly stressed, but that’s not how you manage a large property for a group of 17 paying a substantial sum for the week.
The hot tubs were a separate, ongoing problem throughout — not fit to use, with every chemical reading outside the safe range, and the water foaming up as soon as the jets were switched on, a clear sign of how dirty it was. When we raised the idea that the hot tub water should be changed between guests, he dismissed it outright. When we followed up directly about the readings, his response was a terse text saying he was busy for the next two days, that the hot tub was fine to use — despite the pH and alkalinity readings being well outside the safe range on the provided test strips — and that we were welcome to try dosing the chemicals ourselves. We declined.
The gardener who came the following day was competent and got the readings into a safe range, but by the next morning the chlorine level had dropped too low again. Chlorine is known to deplete quickly when it reacts with body oils, lotions, and other organic residue — a well-documented issue in hot tubs, which have a small water volume and see heavy use relative to a pool. Given how dirty the water clearly was, and how quickly it kept sliding back out of range, we suspected it needed changing rather than just re-dosing — a step the owner had already dismissed as unnecessary when we first raised it. In the end, we decided the hot tubs simply couldn’t be trusted and abandoned any hope of using them - our children were very disappointed.
Beyond that, there were several serious safety lapses. On arrival, the door to a supposedly closed section of the garden was wide open — an area littered with rubbish and broken glass, leading to an unfenced pond at the end of the path, a real drowning risk for a young child. Had our children wandered in before we spotted it, someone could easily have been seriously hurt. Separately — and credit to the owner for flagging this himself on the Monday evening — the door to the roof had been left unlocked, directly accessible from the children’s floor. The roof is still a building site with sheer drops on either side. The stairs down from the children’s floor are narrow and steep, yet have no bannisters at all — another basic safety issue that has no place in a house marketed for family groups.
On top of all this, the name the owner uses for the house isn’t its actual registered name. A food delivery couldn’t find us and was sent to the wrong address entirely, meaning we had to drive out to collect it from a neighbour who was, luckily, kind enough to take it in. Individually these are small things, but thoughtlessly handled together, they created real, ongoing inconvenience and anxiety throughout our stay.
This could be a wonderful house. As currently managed, it isn’t a safe or workable rental — and the fact that basic issues flagged over a month ago still hadn’t been addressed suggests this isn’t a one-off bad week, but business as usual.
We are now gathering and collating evidence pursuing the various issues further - caveat emptor!
We are genuinely sorry that this family's stay did not begin as expected. Reading the review is upsetting, as the experience on arrival was not the standard we aim to provide and is not reflective of the level of care normally taken in preparing the property for guests.
On this occasion, there was an unexpected issue with the changeover arrangements. As soon as we became aware of the situation, we attended the property and took immediate steps to prepare the house and address the matters that had been brought to our attention.
By that stage, the party had already arrived and begun settling into the property, which naturally made it more challenging to carry out the usual turnaround processes that would typically take place before guest arrival. Our priority was therefore to ensure the accommodation was ready for use as quickly as possible, with further checks and follow-up visits undertaken thereafter.
We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience and disappointment this caused at the start of what should have been an enjoyable family gathering.
We would, however, respectfully note that this was not representative of the property's usual standards or management. The property is routinely prepared between stays, with cleaning, maintenance and safety checks forming part of the normal changeover process. The guests remained in occupation for the duration of their booking.
We also took the safety concerns raised seriously and reviewed all points brought to our attention.
The domestic hot water temperature has since been adjusted, and additional measures have been implemented regarding roof access to ensure it remains secure. The entrance to the separate walled garden was also secured, although this was subsequently interfered with during the stay. This area was not intended to form part of the guest accommodation.
The comments regarding the hot tubs were also reviewed. Routine checks and maintenance were carried out, including water testing and chemical adjustments where required, however we have since enhanced our procedures further, with hot tubs being emptied, cleaned and refilled at each weekly changeover, followed by water testing and balancing prior to guest arrival.
We have also reviewed the other matters raised, including equipment, bathroom fittings, access arrangements and general maintenance. As with any historic property, ongoing inspection and upkeep are essential, and guest feedback is always considered carefully.
We would also respectfully clarify the comments regarding dampness. The property is a historic building dating back several centuries, and some areas naturally differ in character and atmosphere from a modern home. Measures are in place to manage moisture levels, and we do not believe the property would reasonably be described as excessively damp.
None of this detracts from the fact that the issues experienced at the beginning of the stay were disappointing for the guests and regrettable for us. We are particularly sorry that a family travelling with children encountered difficulties on arrival and that valuable holiday time was affected.
We have invested significant time and resources into maintaining and improving this historic property and want every guest to enjoy a positive experience. We therefore take all feedback seriously and have reviewed our procedures following this stay to help reduce the likelihood of similar issues arising in the future.
While we do not believe the circumstances of this stay were representative of the property's usual standards, we sincerely regret that the guests' experience fell short of expectations and thank them for taking the time to provide their feedback.
Property Owner
Reviewed by Jane1.0★Jul 2026
"Stunning property, stylish and well appointed."
Top floor double bedroom: Faulty ensuite shower in the upper bedroom, with the water running too hot and not mixing properly, and we were advised not to use it. It was disappointing that this was not mentioned before arrival. As a result, we were unable to use that room comfortably, partly due to a strong odour coming from the bathroom, which also affected the adjacent room. There were also no light bulbs in the lamps in that room. A similar odour was noticeable in the ensuite on the next floor down. During our stay, there were also blocked toilets and slow draining sinks in some areas.
Formal dining room: We were unable to open one set of curtains as the cord appeared to be stuck. Before arrival, we had asked how many guests could be accommodated around the dining areas and were advised 18–20. In practice, there were 12 seats, and no table could accommodate that number at once. Outdoor dining also appeared to seat fewer than expected. The bedroom descriptions did not fully match, as there was only one king-size bed rather than the three stated.
Front door / downstairs rooms: During rain, water came through under the front door and soaked the rug. The downstairs bedrooms had a noticeable damp smell.
Kitchen: The Aga was difficult to operate at times. There were occasional odours when the dishwashers were in use. There were also very few teaspoons available.
Cellar/gym/cinema room: There was a strong damp smell and visible cobwebs, which limited use of this area.
Bins: There was no clear information provided about bins or recycling, and access to external bins was not straightforward.
Positives: The property is beautifully decorated, and the outdoor area, hot tubs and dining annexe are well suited to groups. The layout of the ground floor works very well, and the beds were comfortable.
We would consider staying again if the issues, particularly the odour and maintenance points, were addressed, as the property has great potential.
Reviewed by Lisa4.0★Jun 2026