Your nightmare holiday accommodation stories - spill!

1001 others · Oct 12, 2021

But please don't name the establishment ...

I'll start:

Many years ago, we traveled to another city for a wedding and, going by the most impressive photos in an Air B&B book (online reviews weren't a thing back then), picked what looked to be a great place.

On arrival, we were read a long list of rules in a very stern voice, including:

No use of the pool (despite it being summer, and the listing saying we could )
Lights out at 10pm (um ... we were attending a wedding reception that didn't start until 6pm! )
Breakfast at 7am sharp

We politely asked if there was any flexibility with the lights out and breakfast timing, but our host got all flappy so we said not to worry.

We were shown to our 'room,' which was a (bad!) garage conversion ... it still smelt of oil. The mattress was propped up by beer crates. And it had no windows

. She got all cross when she found out we were engaged but not married and said we should be ashamed of ourselves.

There was no other accommodation available nearby as it had all been booked out by guests attending this wedding. So, we just put up and shut up.

Oh, and during breakfast the next morning I got told off for talking during grace (I didn't actually click that's what they were doing).

These people really shouldn't have gone down the B&B route ... they didn't seem to like people, took photos of us and our car registration (even though it was a rental) - "just in case"

and I'm sure they went through all our stuff while we were out.

Thank goodness for reviews nowadays!

HowlOwl · Oct 12, 2021

We stayed at a cottage in Cornwall … it was tiny. There was a “welcoming“ dirty and dusty tea set on a tray to greet us. It all smelt funny and weird. The quilt smelt of sweat and the carpet had hairs on it, clearly the bedroom or bedding hadn’t been cleaned. There was a spiral staircase right outside the bedroom which you could easily fall down in the night. The bath was only half size so you had to sit with your knees up. There was a tiny TV but no reception anyway. The windows were filthy (the sea air didn’t help) and there was a septic tank cover in the garden which attracted flies.

The setting was beautiful to be fair, but the cottage was too grotty and I can still remember the strange smell.

1001 others · Oct 13, 2021

Years ago, we stayed in the most beautiful old homestead, located in the middle of nowhere. We stayed there many times over a period of about five years, and loved it so much that we didn't hesitate to recommend it to some friends who were looking to holiday in the same area.

Unfortunately when they arrived (deposit paid, booking confirmed ...), it was all closed up - nobody was home! They drove back into town and asked around; it turned out that the couple who owned it were on the run from debt collectors and had bolted overseas.

It was sold by the mortgagee, and sadly has changed hands a few times since ... despite their best intentions, nobody ever seems to stay for very long.

It's quite odd as when I think back, the owners who had it at the time we stayed, had all these plans ... including to install a pool and tennis court, and build little cottages separate to the main house... it would have been amazing (and offered more than enough land to do it). Others who've owned it since have gone broke or their marriages have folded. It's very sad. It's obviously a bit of a bad luck charm. My energy levels are heightened, so I pick up on anything untoward; I certainly never felt anything was 'off' when I stayed.

prozacprincess · Oct 13, 2021

Booked a ‘luxury apartment’ recently that turned out to be student halls of residence. The place was filthy and stank of urine. To top it off there was a trail of blood drops all along the corridor … I left immediately but still trying to get my €200 back