Home from Home Reviews 54

Daisy cottage is lovely. Well furnished and thoughtfully decorated. Great location and road noise mentioned on the wesite wasn't a problem. No mention however of the steep path and steps leading down from the car parking area at the back of the cottage. Not an issue if you're fit but tricky maybe for some.

Very poor customer service - couldn't get through on the phone to discuss a problem with the property - over 30 mins on hold multiple times and email still not replied too.

A spacious house up a rather steep lane. There were four of us and we really enjoyed being able to spread out between the downstairs reception area, the conservatory and the upstairs lounge. A lack of attention to detail might bother some people- this house could be so much better!

A lovely holiday home in a fabulous destination. The house is spotlessly clean and gardens very well kept. Our only gripe was the driveway which is a lot steeper than it looks on the website and is covered with stone chippings which provide very little grip. Slow and steady wins the race here and judging by the many gouges in the ground, slippage is a frequent occurrence.

The location is great, only a few metres from the beach. From the living room and balcony there is a wide open view over Caswell Bay and the headlands on either side. The coastal path passes just in front of the property, perfect for cliff walks to Langland Bay and The Mumbles in one direction or Pwlldu, Southgate and Three Cliffs Bay in the other direction.
In case of rough weather Swansea is only 7 or 8 miles away for shops, bars, museums etc.

Knew when ever we walked in it was for us scenery outside was magic thought I was abroad loved the inside had all the facilities and more comfortable ,spacious homely

We stayed at Little Hill House which was dirty - a mouldy wooden spoon in the drawer, dust everywhere, belongings of previous occupants - I have complained to the company but no response after 5 weeks. Useless.
Responding to Home From Home on Sept 21st:

To be clear, the cleaners came to clean the fridge and kitchen floor, the state of which we noticed immediately upon our arrival. A full clean was not done; as the week went on further problems became apparent. We did not want to ruin our holiday by having cleaners in for a top-to-bottom clean, which is what was required. We put up with the other problems.

Had a lovely stay in the Gower and were lucky with the weather. The house was very comfortable and spotlessly clean. Everything we needed for a great family holiday. Quiet location but close to restaurants, cafes and bars. Booking process was easy and we were kept informed about our stay well in advance with arrival details. Would recommend the property we stayed in (Arfryn in the Mumbles) and Home from Home Holidays.

Great pair of cottages (Frog & Tadpole) ideal if you like walking and cycling. Local Inn is very good.

Stayed at an excellent house near to Caswell Bay. The property has 4 good bedrooms with 2 bathrooms and is very well presented. Very clean with excellent facilities.
Caswell Bay is perfect for my young grandchildren. This was our fifth holiday on the Gower and our third at Westmead.

we went to st Stephen court on the 26th June for a weeks stay. we were informed we could not get into the accommodation till 4 pm and depart by 9 am the following week because of it was going to need a enhanced clean because of covid. we expected it to be cleaned to an exceptional high standard. but on the first day i emailed home from home, as there was nail clippings from previous guest on the bedroom floor which i find quite shocking if this was standard clean it would be bad enough but with enhanced clean its unacceptable. i got no reply, even though they gave me a automatic reply to say they would answer in 5 days i did not see the point in contacting home from home, as there was other issues and not got no reply to my first email, so when i got home i sent a photo copied record delivered letter, that was signed for on the 14th July. on the 20th July i sent a email,to ask when i could expect a reply, i got a reply to say i would get a reply in 5 days, yet again i got no reply. the issues that we had was apart from the nail clippings,were dirty kitchen top oven/grill grill pan had food grease on it from a previous guest skirting board thick with dust, table on balcony dirty., some of saucepan needs replacing, bottom of kitchen bins, very dirty. part of bathroom floor,was damaged, and had be careful not to catch your foot on it, freezer needs defrosting, and had sellotape on some of the drawers.as they were damaged, sellotape on bottom of one of the bedroom doors, because it was damaged. no emergency contact details and incorrect bus information in the folder, no instruction for DVD player, remote control hidden for DVD player. some of pillows had no pillow protectors on, and very flat and poor quality pillows no clear bag for bedding or towels. there was meant to be a harbour and sea view, but there was not one. we have not had a holiday for 18 months and me and my two sons are keys workers. my youngest had to shield as well due to health conditions. i nearly lost my oldest son to covid beginning of January and we all had covid and i lost my brother at the beginning of January none covid related. we were very dissatisfied with the cleaning standard and standard of accommodation and did not feel that home from was doing there best to protect the guest

Stayed at Summercliffe chalet park in Caswell Bay. The chalet park is nice,peaceful and well kept. The beach is only a couple of minutes walk away and plenty of walks close by. Stayed in chalet 79 and booked it through homefromhome. Not allowed to arrive before 4pm to allow full cleaning( covid etc). Arrived around 5pm only to find the place dirty and smelly probably from being shut up for a couple of weeks. Had to sweep the whole place out which included finding old underwear under the bed, washed up all the crockery and cutlery that we needed as it was grubby and sticky especially the cutlery tray which needed cleaning as well. The shower was dirty and the hair trap had plenty of hair and dirt in it. There were cobwebs in various places and an old spiders nest in the lounge. Every surface had a thick layer of dust. There was no mattress protector in the main bedroom and we didn't look at it until we left otherwise we wouldn't have slept on the dirty mattress. The whole place is looking tired and run down( poor paint job and cracks in walls) and the furniture is patched up and uncomfortable. Did go and see homefromhome in the mumbles office and ended up feeling fobbed off with some wine and the offer of a late checkout. Left on time as couldn't see how the cleaning could be done if we left late when it couldn't be done with all day available. Only stayed for the full week as the weather was lovely and we were out all the time otherwise would have gone back home. The photos in the brochure look nothing like the the chalet, obviously old photos. It has a visit Wales 3star grading which is Good level of quality and comfort. Giving it 1star, Simple practical and no thrills, is being generous. I would happily stay at Summercliffe again but not at 79 and definitely not through homefromhome.

Thank you homefromhome for your reply. We didn't contact you straight away because your Mumbles office was closed and we had no details for the cleaning company. We went to your office on Monday at 10:30 to find it shut even though the opening time stated 10:30. We went back later to find it open, half a day of our holiday wasted.

It was so great to not only have a user friendly website, but to have a person to call talk through your requirements and have quality help.
Thanks

We booked with ‘Home from Home’, part of Original Cottages’ to stay at 14 Limeslade Drive, Mumbles. The house is a bit like the girl with a curl – when it’s good it’s very, very good and when it’s bad, it’s horrid! (Though, to be fair, most of the issues we had were down to ‘Home from Home’ not the owner of the house.)
From the outside, it looks as if a lick of paint would brighten it up considerably, but once you are inside, it’s very bright and welcoming, and well decorated, and the large windows in the lounge / dining area give good sea views.
The kitchen is bright with shiny white cupboards and looked very clean, at least the bits you can see did! We had been asked not to arrive until after 7pm to allow for deep cleaning. Apparently such cleaning does not extend to removing and cleaning the dirty washing up bowl hidden in a cupboard that contained a tea towel so filthy it was literally rigid, and a couple of pieces of used cutlery. Deep cleaning also doesn’t include emptying the (almost full) dehumidifier, even though the reservoirs of such units are notorious as places viruses and bacteria can multiply. The floor could have been cleaner too.
The kitchen is well equipped, but some of the crockery is cracked and chipped. The crisp, clean white bedding looked very inviting, but the only quilt provided on the double bed is a heavyweight one, meaning that we have had to sleep under the duvet cover and our picnic blanket, even though it’s not particularly warm for August. The mattress seems old and hard, and the beds in the twin room aren’t very comfy either. Is it too much to ask that some of the £100+ per day we are paying could be spent on providing a choice of bed clothes and some crockery without cracks?
The other issue we have is around lack of basics in the house. We arrived in mid-evening, as instructed due to the need for extra time to ‘deep clean’ the house, tired after a very long day and much driving, to discover a house with no soap or hand wash, no washing up liquid or dishwasher detergent, and about 1/5 of a roll of toilet paper. (There is a container of alcohol-based antibacterial hand rub, but nothing to use to clean hands after using the toilet, or if they are dirty for some other reason.) At a time when we are all very aware of the need for frequent hand washing, I think this is this is absolutely appalling. I suspect the excuse might be used that leaving washing up bottles, soap, and similar here from previous visitors might risk spreading the virus (though they could easily be wiped) but again, if I were being paid £100+ per day I wouldn’t grudge providing a new bar of soap or some hand cleanser, a bottle of washing up liquid, and a roll of toilet paper once a week. (Also, since cooking oil, salt and some other kitchen basics are provided I can’t see why washing up liquid can’t be, if this is to do with coronavirus.) I am aware that there is a statement on the Home From Home website stating that they can’t ‘guarantee’ such absolute basics will be provided in their houses. Why on earth not? We have been staying in holiday properties from Inverness to Penzance, and The LLyn Peninsular to Kent for 30 years and none of the companies or owners in any of the accommodation we have rented, even those 40+ miles from the nearest supermarket, has had any problem with providing basics such as these even in accommodation that was, in some cases, considerably cheaper. Last time we stayed in S Wales (Pembrokeshire), we booked with a different company, and not only were these basics provided, but on arrival there was a large and freshly baked Victoria sponge in the kitchen, as well as a pint of milk in the fridge.
We had needed to contact the company with an enquiry before coming, but they did not answer emails and when we tried to ring kept u on hold for 40 mins before we gave up. Once in the house, we discovered that the washing machine wasn’t functioning fully on the Tuesday, and emailed HFH immediately, but have had no response 10 days later. Despite all the shops in the town being open, it is, apparently, still not safe for Home from Home’s office to be opened, so we couldn’t visit them to report the problem either.
I think the issues are mainly the fault of Home from Home, not the owner of the house, so, while there are certainly a number of positives about this house, we won’t be using this company again sadly.