“This property has lots of potential but unfortunately the reality did not match the lovely photos on the Sykes page.”
We booked for a stay over Christmas and this was our 3rd year away due to family circumstances. We asked about a Christmas tree and although they had not planned one the onwners kindly agreed to put one up.
When we arrived it was cold and uninviting the electric fire did not work. The shower in the main bathroom did not work properly.
Bedding was torn and stained as was a mattress when one of our party lifted the sheet to put an electric blanket on. Duvets were thin and cheap, which may ...
We booked for a stay over Christmas and this was our 3rd year away due to family circumstances. We asked about a Christmas tree and although they had not planned one the onwners kindly agreed to put one up.
When we arrived it was cold and uninviting the electric fire did not work. The shower in the main bathroom did not work properly.
Bedding was torn and stained as was a mattress when one of our party lifted the sheet to put an electric blanket on. Duvets were thin and cheap, which may be ok in summer but this was a winter break and cold in the early hours.
All the furniture was old, chipped and should be replaced. The bedside lamp in the main bedroom was cracked and speckled with dirty marks. Blinds were stained and frayed and the curtains in the main bedroom had a stain on them, could be paint or possibly bird poop.
It was dirty with cobwebs behind dressers, on walls and there was a faint non descript smell which was probably the smell of old and tired, like in a charity shop and generally just not what I had expected based on previous bookings.
Sofas were acceptable.
There are no safety catches on any windows so take care if you have young children.
Windows are draughty.
The kitchen floor tiles also chipped. A fully carpeted property apart from kitchen, dinningn area and bathrooms. But the carpet added to the smell and may be not the best for a dog friendly property.
The placemats as we set the table for Christmas dinner were also old and worn and not what you you would want to eat off. Plates were chipped and worn out and cutlery mismached with lots of knives that looked like they were butter knives. But I would say a well stocked kitchen and with a bit of help from tin foil we managed a spectacular Christmas dinner with no serving utensils, but everything is old and kitchen cupboards had a musty smell.
I asked about a cafetiere and was told there is a coffee machine, its not a machine, its a filter coffee appliance.
The property has 2 TV's and only has free view, which is explained in the listing, I suggest you invest and get at least 1 smart TV. It has DVD players and lots of radios so if you are stuck in 1970 you might enjoy your stay. Please add more extension leads so guests can charge appliances.
A full-length mirror would have been a bonus as would some larger towels if you are going to provide them a bath towel would help rather than a hair towel and a hand towel.
The outside garden was a water logged bog and my dog kept getting through the large gap in the fence which meant I had to keep cleaning him, it wasn't fun for me but he loved it.
2 of our party left a day early because the beds were uncomfortable.
I bumped into the people staying at Halcyon Annex and they had similar complaints about the cleanliness and the general presentation of the property. They had no Christmas tree and were sad about that.
I have never written a poor review before but I am hoping that the property would improve with some love and attention.
I would not return, it was less than poor and I think it deserves an update.
An overpriced underwhelming stay.
First of all we would like to thank you for your feedback, we welcome feedback from our guests as it highlights any problems. As soon as we are told of anything we always act upon it.
When the guests initially contact us for key collection and anything else that they need to know about, we always say to them that if they have any problems to please phone us straight away.
Anglesey and North Wales had just gone through a really bad storm with power cuts everywhere, can only presume the fuse has blown on the electric fire. Of course we will check it out, In fact the port of Holyhead suffered so much damage that it is closed untill at least the middle of January, so no sailings to Republic of Ireland.
We were lucky that it was just the garden that was water logged, some poor people had their houses and businesses flooded.
The bedding was torn and stained, if it had been it wouldn't have left the laundry as the laundry is owned and run by our housekeeper. If you had phoned us the housekeeper would have come round.
The towels that we provide are 600GSM, Royal Egyptian cotton, Zero twist, of very good quality. One hand towel and one bath towel per guest plus Hand towels left in the bathrooms.
We will certainly check everything that you mentioned such as the mats, cutlery, serving utensils and plates, only a couple of weeks ago everything was checked and we didn't find any problems. When things need replacing we always do it immediately.
We have spoken to the guests staying this week and they can't smell any bad smells, and they say there is no problem with the showers in any of the bathrooms.
The furniture is certainly not old, it is traditional, in keeping with the type of property Halcyon is.
No-one has ever mentioned that the beds were uncomfortable nor did the guests this week say that they were, when we asked.
We cater for all different ages of guests and realise you can't please all of the people all of the time, only some of the people some of the time.
It's strange that there was no Christmas tree in the Annexe as the couple staying the week before were friends of ours and put one in the Annexe and one in the house where you were staying. We saw them on FaceTime.
We also spoke to the guests staying in the Annexe, they had no complaints about the property to us, the only complaint they had was that one of your cars was parked so close to the drivers door of there van, that they couldn't get in. This was resolved by one of your group moving it and parking it in the large space infront of the house, which is the obvious place to park when staying in the house.
We are sorry our property didn't meet your expectations. Glad at least the sofas were acceptable. We do our best.
Wishing all our guests a Happy New Year
Rita and John
Property Owner