25 St. Benedict Road

As others have mentioned no instructions left in the house, bed frames poke out so beware of banging your legs, bruised our daughter.

In bedrooms 2&3 limited space around the beds and lack of hanging space overall but good drawer space. Beware of trip hazard to the sitting room. Fast response to fixing a shower issue

On first sight the property looks lovely but dig a little deeper and it has some issues.

Firstly the dishwasher had stuff in it which I believe had been put back in because it hadn't washed. The mugs were still stained so I washed them by hand. I also brought some good quality dishwasher tablets as the dishwasher definitely had an issue despite me topping up the salt and rinse aid it kept leaving a nasty residue on everything. The kitchen cupboards were quite dirty inside and could do with a bit of a sort and tidy. Also, please note if you are short you will struggle to reach the wall cupboards. The toilets and showers were not too bad but the sealant round the shower needs changing and the door runner on the ensuite shower could have been cleaner. Other issues, which have been mentioned before, not enough hanging space, no wardrobes at all just cupboard on landing, and very small towels ( I took my own after reading this). Not sure why the double beds have 2 single quilts rather than one double/king. Also there is only one pillow on each side if the bed. There is a bin for mixed recycling in the kitchen but when you go to empty it in the outside bin it says no glass, so I had to go through and take it all out. Left it in a separate back as didn't know where to put it. Which brings me to my biggest moan, there was absolutely no information in the property. It took us half an hour before we spotted the wi fi code. There was no instructions re bins. No operating instructions for any of the electricals or the heating. The TV in the lounge didn't appear to have any normal channels on it. The TV in the bedroom didn't work on the aerial and unless you had your i player and itv x log in was unwatchable. No information on local doctors, dentists etc if needed. No recommendations for places to eat, visit etc. All in all the house was fine, reasonable location, about 25 min walk to beach and 10 mins to nearest shops. Use Google maps though if you're walking. This could be a 5 star house with a little bit of TLC and some of the adds on mentioned.

Lovely house, but unfortunately let down by maintenance and cleanliness issues.

The house itself is lovely, spacious and generally well equipped, with a large, private garden and a nice seating area. Unfortunately, however, there were quite a few issues during our stay which affected our overall experience. On arrival, the freezer was severely iced up to the point that the door wouldn't close and looked like the arctic in there. As we'd picked up our food shop on the way down and had frozen items that needed to go straight into the freezer, we spent the first couple of hours of our stay defrosting it. This wasn't an ideal start to our holiday. The kettle was also unusable due to a considerable build-up of limescale. There was a second kettle, but this also had limescale and, more concerningly once it was cleaned and tried to use, it didn't switch itself off, making it unsafe to use. Once the owner was informed, a replacement kettle was delivered by Amazon that evening. We were told that it had already been ordered and was on its way, but if an item is known to need replacing before new guests arrive, it would be preferable for it to be replaced beforehand or for guests to be made aware. Given the extent of the limescale, an under-sink filtration system may also be worth considering. There was an undisclosed trip hazard between the dining and living rooms, where a wooden plank had been left across the doorway. It wasn't particularly obvious and my husband tripped over it. We also found prescription medication belonging to previous occupants under the bed in the main bedroom, along with leftover antihistamines and painkillers in a kitchen cupboard. There was a significant amount of dust underneath the living room sofa. These are things that should really be addressed as part of the cleaning and changeover between guests. The ensuite shower wasn't working properly and unfortunately wasn't repaired during our stay. Good job there was a second bathroom! For anyone travelling with children, particularly a child with autism, additional needs or a tendency to open doors and windows, I'd recommend being aware of the property's window and door arrangements before booking. Not all of the windows are lockable, with green caps covering where the locks would normally be. I appreciate this may be related to fire safety requirements, but it is something worth knowing in advance. The front door also self-locks when closed, so don't leave the keys inside when you go out, as you won't be able to get back in. If travelling with children, I'd also recommend bringing your own non-slip bath mat, as none was provided. There are also a number of areas around the property that would benefit from some maintenance. The raised beds in the garden need attention, as the screws were rusty and the top plank came away on the first evening. There were holes in the wall on the stairs from previous occupants, loose screws on the cooker extraction hood, and one of the light covers above the cooker was also loose. Late on our first night, the carbon monoxide detector started intermittently beeping. We informed the owner the following morning, and the cleaner, Mel, came out and sorted it. She was absolutely lovely and went above and beyond to help us. She replaced the CO detector, tried to help with the shower and later returned with flowers and sweets to apologise for the issues we had experienced. She was incredibly kind and helpful with us and our children, and I genuinely hope the owner looks after her and her business because she was a pleasure to deal with. Despite all of these issues, the property itself has a lot of potential. It is a lovely, spacious house in a quiet setting, with a large private garden and good facilities. With some attention to maintenance, cleanliness and safety, it could be a fantastic place to stay. Unfortunately, the number of issues we encountered meant that our overall experience wasn't as positive as we had hoped.