“I have not been able to open or access a Sykes account, so cannot contact the complaints department.”
I booked and paid online and confirmed by phone. I have no information about the property owners.
Information regarding The Watch Tower (TWT) on this website is incorrect and misleading. It needs reviewing and updating urgently. E.g. There is no Post Office or shop in Downderry, the property photos are not current.
We arrived at TWT to find it cold, damp and grubby. The main entrance porch is scruffy, the floor clearly hadn't been swept or washed. All week there was an unpleasant oily odour, presumably from the boiler. The heating was not on but my husband managed to rectify that. It comes on at times set by the owners and there are no instructions as to how alter that so we had to use a lot of the other portable heaters provided to keep the property warm.
We had no welcoming flowers and/or cream teas as apparently from the visitors' book comments other guests were given.
Parking was impossible. A very small car would fit into the larger parking space and a motorbike into the smaller one. We parked our CRV up against the wall on the double yellow lines using my husband's blue disabled parking badge and my daughter had to leave her Civic parked up in the village.
We booked this holiday at the end of one of our recently widowed daughter's chemo and radiotherapy treatment for some much needed rest and relaxation for us all following a distressing year. As a result of this she has a low immune system and needs to rest/sleep. She and I both have asthma, so the damp and mould were particularly problematic for us.
She had the en suite room, which had cobwebs and peeling paint on the ceiling. Having a curtain between the bathroom and bedroom was peculiar, and that and the curtain on the wardrobe both need washing. The plain glass in the bathroom window meant she had to leave the blind down.
The duvets in the other two bedrooms were very thin and all the bed linen was past its best. There were no pillow protectors. The wardrobes were crammed with towels and bed linen but there were no bedspreads as shown in the photos, or spare blankets, we utilised the duvets from the spare beds, although the cover on the one from the single room didn't look very clean.
The twin room was particularly cold. There was a short curtain over one window and a long one over the other which also covered the radiator, which had a bed pushed up against it so no warm air could circulate. We swapped the curtains over, moved the bed and had a small oil heater on all the time in there. The pillowcases didn't match the duvet covers, and the poppers were broken. I opened the curtains (no nets} one morning to find walkers on the pavement looking through the window.
There was very little room on either side of the double bed, that should be a single room. We moved it up against the wall to give more access space. It clearly hasn't been vacuumed or cleaned behind for some time. I left the things I found behind it out for the cleaners to dispose of.
The basin in the bathroom is too small to wash in. My husband & daughters are all 6ft+ so had little headroom in the bathroom shower. The bathroom cupboard door is damaged and the paint is peeling above the basin. The toilet brush is badly stained. Only 4 toilets rolls were provided for the week for 4 people.
Both showers had thick, black mould so, having already driven from the Isle of Wight, my husband then had to drive another 9.5 miles to Liskeard to buy bleach. As stated in the guest information pack the nearest shop is at Widegates, which is 4.5 miles away, but that was closed at that time. We started our holiday by cleaning the showers and washing up the dirty crockery and cutlery which had been left in the kitchen cupboards. There was a lot of food and condiments in them, presumably left by previous guests. The worktops needed a good wipe down. Other than the microwave none of the appliances had any instructions and it took us some time to get the dishwasher working. One of the top kitchen cupboard doors is loose. One of the cups is chipped.
The sitting room furniture appears from the photos to have been recovered, but is worn and difficult to get up from, and faces away from the view of the sea. The wooden dining chairs don't have seat pads so are uncomfortable and the table is unstable. There is no main light in the dining area.
The skirting boards were dusty. There was a hole for a washing line outside and although we didn't need to do any washing we couldn't find one.
The many rugs with curling edges, especially in the bedrooms, are a trip hazard. One in the double room looks very grubby & feels damp.
The whole property is cluttered with ornaments, books, games & pictures which need dusting.
Access to the neighbouring cottages appears to be through TWT's garden. There were workmen re-roofing the cottage next door, with consequential noise disturbance from them working & their radio, starting at about 8am most days till late afternoon, except on the day we left when they didn't arrive but we had to get up early anyway. We had to ask them to turn it down. They, one of whom had a dreadful cough, and the other cottages' occupants, continually walked past the sitting room windows. Therefore we had to keep the curtains partially closed, obscuring the view. They were working outside the double bedroom's window so we also had to keep those curtains closed. The website should have been updated to advise potential guests about this scheduled work.
The wi fi code in the guest information folder is wrong on one page and illegible on another. We got the code from the router but wi fi is not available in all rooms. The mobile phone signal is negligible.
The main door is very difficult to lock from the outside.
The garden is a reasonable size, but hardly lovely as described. The garden furniture is nothing like that in the photos. The beach is indeed at the bottom of the garden - at the bottom of a steep drop the other side of the wall. Access is a short walk down a steep road, which was too far for my husband to undertake. The view from TWT of the sea is wonderful, but that is not the same as sitting on the beach at the bottom of the garden.
We were asked to sort rubbish into various coloured bins and bags, none of which were yellow, but were only left yellow bags & one black one to use.
TWT is very expensive compared to other, much better quality, properties we have recently stayed in. We were unable to travel on a Saturday to take advantage of the cheaper price offer. We thought from the price, description and photos that we had booked luxury accommodation. This holiday was meant to be a special treat for our daughters and we are so disappointed and embarrassed at what it turned out to be. In 40 years of taking self catering holidays in Cornwall this is the most expensive and worst accommodation we have ever had. Charm and a homely atmosphere as advertised are very desirable but must be accompanied by cleanliness, good quality furnishings and heating appropriate for the time of year. This property, and its furnishings, in its present state is not fit for purpose.
We have run a Guest House for 30 years and know that guest reviews on websites can be unreliable so generally don't take any notice of them, but on this occasion we wish we had. The Watch Tower did not meet our expectations.
I am so sorry that you had a really rotten experience, we have closed over the winter to deal with the issues mentioned, which will be sorted.
GS
Property Owner
