Having stayed at Owen’s Place we were very disappointed with the service provided including the standard of cleanliness as the flat appeared uncleaned between guests. We felt like an afterthought during our stay. If we had found alternative accommodation, we would have stayed elsewhere but with it being peak season this was not an option.
When I did message Owen about my concerns, I did not receive a reply for sixteen hours. My question was ignored. He made no offer for someone to come and clean the flat during our stay. However, he apologized and refunded the cleaning fee.
The location was ideal with the flat situated at the bottom of the royal mile with only a five to fifteen-minute walk to the shops and attractions depending on what you wanted to see. However, the flat is on the third floor.
During our stay the Wi-Fi worked only in the lounge and kept cutting in and out. The tv was not tuned in and the batteries for the remote were dead. There were no replacements on hand.
Regarding household sundries there were several issues. There was no olive oil, no pods for the coffee machine, no creamers, the salt and pepper shakers were empty, no tin foil to line the oven trays, no paper towels, the dish sponge was mouldy (we replaced this), no batteries for the remote, lower quality hand washes than pictured, cheap toilet paper (we had to replace this as it was so rough) and we weren’t sure if the toiletries in the bathroom were provided for us or left by previous guests as they looked dirty. We had to spend a fair amount to get the necessities for our stay. I would also like to add the property is not in the same state as the pictures and needs maintenance to bring it back up to that standard.
When we arrived at the flat it had a strong odour of tobacco and needed to be aired out, this affected my partners asthma for the entire stay. The floors were covered in crumbs so we hoovered them. The surfaces were dirty, so we wiped them down. The mirrors were all marked throughout the flat.
In the lounge, the bar was not stocked with glasses as pictured. There was cheese down the sides of the sofa. The tv was not tuned into the internet or free view channels. No batteries for remote.
The oven trays had congealed fat on them and the kitchen utensils had food residue stuck to them. The chopping board had not been cleaned, and neither had the fridge. There was a lack of kitchen sundries.
The bathroom bin wasn't emptied. There was hair in the bath and on the tiles around the sink. The toilet appeared clean. There Is an issue with a large amount of mildew growing around the bathtub, this made bathing unpleasant and is horrible to be honest. The towels provided had black marks on them.
The bed although made up to look presentable had dirty sheets that weren't changed between guests. There were black hairs on the pillows and between the sheets. The sheets also had yellow stains. When we asked about fresh linen, we didn’t receive an answer but found fresh sheets in the wardrobe. A lamp in the bedroom was missing its shade which I found rather odd. The bed was lumpy; I woke up several times a night because of this and the noise of traffic outside the window.
Overall, I am extremely disappointed with my stay at Owen’s Place. I am sorry I have had to give a poor review but I feel these issues have impacted our stay in Edinburgh making the city break unpleasant for us. It isn’t expected or acceptable to find accommodation in this state. I hope you will improve your standards for future guests so that their stays can be enjoyable ones.