“Overall we had a lovely stay, though there were a few issues.”
The mill is lovely, spacious and the garden is wonderful and nicely maintained- our dog enjoyed the extensive outdoor space (and pond!). The space is not fenced and is shared with two other cottages which are in close proximity, but this worked for us as our dog is very laid back!
The cottage was a bit dusty in places, and there were a few hairs in the bathroom sink and floor when we arrived, the rest of the cottage was clean, comfortably furnished, and warm.
The location is great, the mill is very peaceful but only a few minutes away from Penzance and all of the shops and services there, and is close to loads of interesting day trip locations and National Trust sites.
On our second to last day, the water went off- absolutely no fault of the owner who informed us in the evening. This did mean no toilets and no fresh drinking water, the only water we had was what was left in the hot water tank in the property which we had to use to manually fill the cistern so we could use the toilet. As we had been told of the issue late Sunday, we were also not able to buy water to use as we waited for an update.
We did reach out to Sykes to see if there were any other cottages available, should the owners not be able to resolve the issue however thankfully it was fixed by lunchtime the following day.
Although not their fault, it would have been useful to know about the issue earlier so we could have bought water or found alternative accommodation. The owner dropped off one large bottle of water the following morning of the issue and then offered us the use of the toilet in an empty holiday cottage across the courtyard after Sykes had been contacted, however it would have been better to offer this on the evening the water went out when it was clear it would not be fixed quickly, as it would have saved us an unpleasant night without any facilities!
Overall we had a good stay, however the water issue did put a damper on the last 2 days.
As exceptionally committed property owners who strive to go above and
beyond in everything that we do and who have welcomed many hundreds of
different families to stay in our home over the last seventeen years, many
of whom return year after year and have become friends, this form of
passive-aggressive feedback, left by guests who were staying for the first
time and just three nights, was completely unnecessary, but doing so in a
public forum is not only unfair – it is damaging to our reputation and our
business interests whether intentional or not.
For those interested to hear more about what happened, please read on…
Regarding the issue with the ‘mains water’, it is important to clarify that
it was not just the guests staying in the Mill who were impacted…Far from
it. At least five other properties, including our home and several farm
buildings, were also without mains water from around 7.15 pm on a Sunday
until around 1 pm the following day.
The issue was finally located to a buried mains water pipe on land not
owned by us and located approximately 2 miles from our property. Work was
still being done at 11 pm to rectify the problem, despite initially
thinking it had been resolved an hour earlier. However, due to parts
needing to be purchased the work could not recommence until the following
morning.
As soon as we became aware of the issue, at around 7 pm, we spoke directly
to the guests at the earliest opportunity. South West Water was also
notified and an investigation commenced. However, it became clear at
around 8.30 pm that the issue was due to a damaged mains water pipe buried
under private land.
Having already contacted the land owner, he attended to the issue
immediately.
We were hopeful, at this point, that the problem could be resolved that
same evening. However, as time went on and it became less likely that this
would be the case, we drove to our local town (Penzance) to purchase
several 5-litre bottles of water to give to our guests – this was just
before 11 pm.
When we returned home it appeared that the guests in the Mill had gone to
bed (there were no lights on that we could see) and therefore, we thought
it best to take the water over to them in the morning.
The following morning (at around 8 am) we spoke to the guests and gave them
the water. We also updated them on the situation (including how we'd
purchased water the previous evening but hadn't wanted to disturb them).
They gave the impression of being very understanding and extremely grateful
for the water.
We explained that we had been told that the work had already commenced on
fixing the water pipe and that we were hopeful that the water supply would
return to normal around midday.
At no point during this exchange did the guests appear angry or upset and
at no point did they mention any concerns. We were, therefore, astonished
when just a short while later Sykes called to say that the guests in the
Mill had complained and had asked to move properties because of the
situation with the toilets.
We explained to Sykes the lengths that we had gone to, the communication
that we had with the guests and that we were hopeful that the water supply
would be reinstated around midday.
Following our conversation with Sykes, we went back to speak to the guests
and shared that we were surprised to have received such a call as we had
only just spoken to them and they had seemed very happy with how the
situation was being managed.
As we were now aware that the guests had raised their concerns over the
toilet to Sykes (not to us directly) we happily offered them the use of the
toilet in Roskennals Granary. Our only reason for not offering this
earlier was that our minds were fully focused on fixing the damaged mains
water pipe and reinstating the water supply.
Naturally, had the guests mentioned this concern, either on the evening
before or on the following morning, it could have been arranged immediately.
At 12.56 pm a text message was sent to the guests letting them know that
the water was back to normal – the guest's reply read: “Amazing, thanks
for getting it sorted so quickly”.
Concerning the other comments that have been made…
Firstly, that our gardens and grounds are not fenced off and that they are
shared with our other holiday cottages, these being Roskennals Granary and
Ella’s Pottery.
We do not claim, nor have we ever claimed that our grounds, which extend to
more than 4.5 acres, are fenced off – our property is in a wooded valley
and half of the grounds are bordered by a stream/leat with the remainder
behind Cornish hedges.
Secondly, that “the cottage was a bit dusty in places, and there were a few
hairs in the bathroom sink and floor when we arrived”.
We allocate the full 6 hours between our 10 am departure and 4 pm arrival
time to carry out a very full and thorough changeover. We often have two
people doing the changeover in the Mill and sometimes at least 10 hours are
used - we certainly do not and never have ‘skimped’ on the time allocated
to housekeeping duties.
We pride ourselves on the cleanliness and high standards throughout all our
properties and had these ‘concerns’ actually been brought to our attention
during the guest's stay, we would have immediately taken the necessary
steps to rectify the situation. However, choosing not to mention this
matter to us, during the numerous interactions we had with the guests is,
quite frankly, baffling…
To end…Friends who own and run a very successful ski chalet business in
France once said to us, “If a problem is not important enough for a guest
to tell me when I have the opportunity to fix it, then it’s certainly not
important enough for them to tell me when I can’t do anything about it…
How true!
Property Owner