The house and grounds are absolutely stunning as described as per every other review. The history and architecture of the property are an added bonus. And the highlight in my opinion is the surrounding trees, presumably landscaped by Norris - a feast for the senses. All these features are totally priceless, an aesthetic delight, nothing detracts from that, and the place abounds in value for dollar.
HOWEVER...there are several aspects of the “modern” experience one would expect at this price point that I feel are worth mentioning so that prospective visitors have a realistic appraisal (I will note that I received a discounted stay, and I have no actual ‘complaints’, but I may have had some if I was paying full price.)
1. FIRE:
- The indoor fire was a huge attraction in the pics, and one of our main booking criteria, yet only found out it was ornamental once we booked. - Additionally there is an outdoor fire, not mentioned in ad, so we were happy to have that as a consolation. However there was no firewood stack and we had to buy our own. I think it’s reasonable to expect firewood wherever there is a usable fireplace in an Airbnb.
2. BATHROOM:
- For a place of this price point I would expect bathmats and face washers in addition to bath towels and hand towels. - I don’t think bath salts would be unreasonable at this price point either.
- It should also be noted in the ad that THE SPA BATH IN THE MAIN EN-SUITE DOESNT WORK.
- Also to note, hot water runs out in the bath so fill it carefully!
3. KITCHEN:
- No basics are available aside from teabags/coffee, it’s BYO milk, salt pepper olive oil etc. this could be clearer in the ad.
- Some essential kitchen items missing that interrupted our cooking experience (a biggie during COVID-19 when we can’t dine out) like: whisk, potato masher, measuring cups, STEAK KNIVES (some of these items we had to purchase to complete recipes)
4. OTHER:
- No tissues anywhere in the house, we had to use toilet paper to blow our nose.
- No paper towel ...what do I clean a spill on the floor with? The same cloth as the dishes....?
- Dish detergent was almost empty on arrival
- Limited dishwasher tablets - is this necessary?
- Excessive use of fake flowers/plants as decorations, some seriously dated, could do with a revamp I think!
Overall we had a wonderful stay and we thank our host for offering us a late 5 pm checkout to partly compensate for the 2 out of 3 days that electricity was turned off by the council (not her fault).
CONCLUSION: The house and grounds are exceedingly beautiful, we would stay again. I have no complaints considering I had a discounted stay. But if I was full paying I would be concerned the above “details” were not attended to as one would expect.