Unfortunately, I missed the timeline to leave a review. So, I decided to post it here to inform others and show some pictures we took and refute the allegations. You can also check my profile for the review she wrote, in which she has told untruths.
We arrived on Monday ,19th December 2022 in London, to start our long-expected family vacation. Our stay at ** London proved to be an eventful one. There were 11 persons in our group, 5 adults, 5 children, and 1 infant. Roza was informed of all guests (please see attached photo, showing she said it was fine). Before our arrival, the host was informed that the 1st guest (elderly) would arrive at 4 pm on 18th December 2022 and she would be accompanied by a cousin of ours until we arrived; when my grandmother arrived, she had to sit and wait because the host was still cleaning the house after 4 pm. The accommodation was far from what the pictures expressed. Yes, we understand that it was an old house, but at the same time, old does not mean unkempt, shabby, and very cold. On the first night, my grandmother who had lived in New York for 25 years and is accustomed to the cold expressed that the house was frigid, upon investigation, our cousin and grandmother realized that the device which shows the status of gas and electricity was at 1.99 pounds. My cousin then had to call the host during the night to ask her to top up the gas. The next day, our cousin brought over some comforters to help keep us warm.
On our first meeting, the host informed us that we were not to launder her linen, which by the way was in a deplorable state. The sheets were threadbare, stained and the towel stiff and rough. We acceded to her request and on the day (2 weeks after), we asked for clean linen- she arrived, and there was no par stock - to replace the towels.. To our shock and awe, she placed the dripping bathroom mats, due to the condensation in the bathroom into the same bag as the towels and bed linen to be washed by the laundry. That was the most unhygienic act of hospitality as a host. This caused us to buy new towels for the remainder of our stay. When she returned the towel and mats, just where she placed them, as where we left them. Mixed with the bathroom mats.
The constantly cold, and wet state of the bathroom always had miniature black slugs at night was our main peeve, the tub had one shower curtain that did not fit the entire length of the tub, and the toilet paper was always soggy no matter where we put it, the taps drip. We spoke to the host about our issues with the bathroom, and she let us know that "we were not happy, she not happy" and " we have many complaints" because we were constantly complaining about the bathrooms and the coldness of the house. It was then after 2 weeks in the stay that she told us about the heater in the bathroom, which we noticed but there was tape over the switch (In Barbados, that means NOT FUNCTIONING). Her explanation was that other tenants often left it on, so she placed tape over it, so it would not be used.
The hosts also advised that we turned down the heat when we were leaving the house, and we complied with her request. Regarding the allocation of funds to gas and electricity, we constantly had to inform her about the low credit on the monitor, and for 4 weeks we did that. At least 3 times, it went to less than 5 pounds or the emergency screen. (Please see photos attached). In the kitchen, there were broken tiles that were hidden with a floor mat, the space between the counter and stove was very dirty and sticky. (Please see attached photos). The kitchen sink taps constantly dripped and were difficult to tighten. The sink was discolored and covered with a sink mat. The backdoor in the kitchen, was very old, and didn't close properly, so it caused the kitchen to be drafty as the air would come through the space. The key constantly fell out because of the widening of the keyhole. The microwave was in a horrible state inside, greasy and food stuck to the top of it. (please see photos). One occasion, when we were lounging in the family room, the microwave sparked. On the night of 31st December, the microwave was in use, and it tripped the electricity in the back section of the house. We called the host and explained what had happened, she instructed us to go into the basement to find the breaker. We spoke to her about having the microwave replaced due to our safety concerns, but she advised that she wouldn't be able to do so at the time.
Fast forwarding to the day of checkout, she arrived at the property and stayed on the outside, I had to invite her in cause our time of departure was 9 am, and it was after 8am. She did an unaccompanied tour of the house because we were weighing our suitcases. We were all startled by her scream and hollering about her bedroom doors being scrawled with crayon by the infant. In all honestly, we did not remember to remove it. The host was livid and shouted at my 9-year-old daughter, who had no idea what she was talking about. ( same child she said in her review that was rude to her). Our relatives who came to assist with a smooth departure had to caution her about her outburst and behavior towards a minor. We informed her that we had honestly forgotten to clean it, and the marks were hastly removed with soap and water. As we understand the care of a property even when away from home.
To address her allegations,
- The whole house was not marked, only 2 of the bedroom doors upstairs with crayon and those were hastly removed when drawn to our attention.
- From the day we arrived the "contact" paper on the staircase wall was lifting, therefore we taped it with clear tape to prevent from tearing anymore.
- The only persons who spoke to the host was my grandmother, my aunt and myself. What she referred to as rudeness was our profound expressions and horror about the bathroom and the temperature of the house along with her attitude to our already bad living conditions, that was below the living standards we are accustomed to, even though we came from a small island state.
- The ONE complaint from the neighbors about the noise was the squeals and expressions of teenagers watching a popular movie and we rectified that immediately and made sure that they kept the noise level at a minimum. In regard to excess rubbish, It was trash that was placed in the garbage cans for removal. But because of the holiday season, I assume the schedule was disrupted. However, it is amazing that, there can be a complaint about trash, but not the giant bed frame or sofa that sat out on the front garden from the start till the end, even though at times the trash was removed. As well the large amount leaves that lead from the bottom of the walkway to the door on the first day of arrival was only removed and tidied by us because wet leaves tend to be slippery and can easily cause falls. What about the giant hole in the fencing in the backyard, where you can see clearly the neighbor's property?
- The heating was not on maximum because the host had the heating on a timer to lower the temperature at intervals which she explained the radiators would have been hot enough to take us through the period that the temperature was lowered. However, that was a myth.
- Yes, we had visitors, we were on a family holiday and we had friends and family who live in London. They never slept, they either came to bring stuff, take us out, or to hang out or have lunch/dinner with us. And about the reservation, the host was notified of an addition to the party, and she said it was fine. It was then 11 persons in total. (please see photo).
- As aforementioned, the markings on 2 of the bedroom doors, were removed in the presence of host and her partner BEFORE we left the property. We also admittedly explained that we forgot to clean the doors, but she was having none of it.
I have uploaded the photos we managed to capture.
In conclusion, we did not trash her house as she had said; we cleaned the entire house up until the same morning of departure. It is shameful and very disgusting to see that she would tarnish my profile knowing the actual condition of the property. My only regret is that I didn’t take enough photos.
I am not able to upload the photo, here is a url for the album. **
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