Erlands House

Sep 24th, 2021

Jun 4th, 2020

Jun 26th, 2019

May 10th, 2019

Prior to our arrival, Maddy was helpful and good at communicating. However, upon arrival, my brother-in-law (Elliott) was greeted by Toby. He immediately reeled off various house rules which were fair and we were happy to comply with. However, we felt these were prioritised over making us welcome or comfortable at the property. The same evening, Elliott was told he needed to move his car so that it was not an eye sore for the hosts from their house.This was an inconvenience to Elliott who had just driven over 200 miles with a nine-month-old baby. Furthermore, he was told explicitly not to touch the heating controls other than the F button if we really needed it. When the rest of us arrived in evening, we we discovered that there was only one pillow per person. In addition to this, the coach house was extremely cold. My baby nephew woke up multiple times throughout the night and the cold in the property made it difficult for him to get back to sleep comfortably. We checked the thermostat in the morning and it read 13 degrees Celsius. Concerned that this was far too cold for an infant, we messaged Maddy asking to adjust the heating. We also requested for an additional pillow each. Maddy was very quick in her response and Toby did go to the house and adjust the heating as requested. However, we then received an incredibly defensive message from Toby. In which, he dictated the optimum temperature for one to sleep and stated that no one had ever asked for it to be on through the night before as the coach house is apparently very well insulated. We were astounded at his condescending and patronising tone and were really shocked that he thought it was his place to advise what temperature my sisters baby should sleep at. This might be the case but it was a particularly cold weekend (3 degrees Celsius outside) and we would have thought that the accommodation would have been pre-heated prior to our arrival, especially with the fact in mind that they were aware that we had a young baby with us. He then went on to scrutinise the condition that we had left the coach house in whilst out for the morning. The coach house was tidy and sanitary, however, he seemed to nit-pick over towels, windows, lamps and gates. We were also shocked that he had appeared to inspect every room in the coach house and we felt this was an intrusion of our privacy. On Saturday evening, Maddy and Toby eventually arrived with additional pillows. Again, they reminded us of multiple house rules and we received a frosty reception and felt it was quite confrontational. Having read reviews on google and trip advisor about Tobys argumentative and aggressive manner, we did not engage in conversation or wish to raise our concerns in person, in fear that it would escalate. While in the coach house, they once again reminded us to ensure the driveway gate was closed as houses in the countryside are vulnerable to theft. Yet, when checking out, we were told to just hang the key in the kitchen and leave the coach house unlocked. We were confused by these bizarre double standards. We messaged Maddy to thank her for our stay and to let her know wed checked out. Her response was abrupt and she reiterated that Elliott was told to make sure they knew promptly if we needed anything. Having had a long car journey and having experienced Tobys intense welcome, checking the numbers of pillows per person was not at the top of his priority list. We would also assume that at a cost of over 250/night, these would be supplied as a given. Even a travel lodge provides a minimum of two pillows per person. Overall, we were made to feel less than welcome by the hosts and we felt like our entire existence in the coach house was of great inconvenience to both Maddy and Toby. We were also left a poor review from them and told that we were difficult guests. This couldnt be further from the truth and simply expected the basics and to be made to feel welcome.
Oct 24th, 2021