Welcome Cottages Reviews 73

Been using welcome cottages for 10 years never had a problem untill family bereavement.the insurance they offer is not fit for purpose.staff unhelpfull and uncaring.will never use them again

Tired, run down decor, dirty, not worth the money charged for stay. Cob webs on wall lamps , thick black mould in downstairs wet room, dirty shower curtain, on wood, have photos, dirty floor, filthy door handle, downstairs bedroom door lock faulty you can get stuck in room, kitchen wall by bins dirty splash marks, dirty top oven food from previous occupier still on oven, dirty oven ware, had to scrub. Dirty tissues tucked down by sofa, Positive side, nice and large rooms lovely garden and views. Bedding & towels clean. Host grumpy. 1 of our cars is electric, the charger in Hawes was out of action had to trickle hargeisa for 3 hours which cost about £3 in all , was told not to use again. Explained not in T& C and was not going to do again. Host was still not happy.

I was forced to cancel my holiday 6 weeks before our departure due to short notification of a long awaited spinal operation. This could not be deferred.

The Customer Service team were decidedly unhelpful, saying that I could only receive a small percentage of my payment in reimbursement.

Despite taking out their insurance I have been unable to obtain a refund from the Insurance Company. They insisted upon a Policy Number which Welcome Cottages could not provide. This resulted in me losing over £700.

I would never use Welcome Cottages or their group again.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Disgusting company who are unprofessional, unethical and unreasonable. Once they have your money they do not care about the customer experience at all. They will not cancel your booking and won’t even make basic amendments even if made well in advance. Customer service is shocking and purposefully unhelpful. Wish I’d read these reviews before I was scammed out of £405.

My wife and I booked the sea yonder cottage in Buckie from the 28.12.2021 till 04.01.2022 through welcome cottages , we left the cottage in the middle of the night after the second night, we were so desperate to leave this cottage we travelled for three and a half hours on the A9 in the middle of the night in Winter, a road with a bad reputation for accidents.
We arrived at the cottage on the 28.12 2021 after a long journey and in fairness the owners allowed us early access, the cottage looked ok but to be honest a bit tired, I must say the location is stunning.
the first night we had heavy rain and noticed that water was coming through the kitchen ceiling into the light switch, the Skylight glass was broken and was covered with Perspex to stop the glass falling in (in the E-Mail they sent to welcome cottages concerning our complaint, they stated that repairs were outstanding due to the bad storm on November 2021) When went to our Bed the first we then heard movement and Gnawing coming from the wall in the bedroom I videoed it on my phone so to let the owner see in the morning , i called them first thing the next day and left a voice mail, Mark one of the owners arrived at the property later that day unannounced, I told him and showed him the issues that were concerning us, after watching the Video mark openly Admitted that a Rat was spotted in the conservatory earlier that week, he ASKED us what did we want him to do we were Aghast at his comment , he suggested pushing furniture against the wall to stop the Rats entering the property and moving to the other bedroom!! the second night we had had enough and left at 23.30, we could not take anymore, I contacted the owners the next day ,after a lot of texts , phone calls and e mails they eventually called me back when i explained to Liz the conditions we were living in she abruptly hung up on me, her partner Mark called me back 30 min later and apologised as told me Liz was unwell, he then asked me if we could come to a compromise to settle the matter , my offer to Mark was £100 a night for the nights we stayed and refund us the rest of the fee, he was more than happy with that, I Text mark on 04.01.2022 and asked him would it be ok if I called so we can arrange the refund, he text back and told me to contact welcome cottages as they had received Advice from then(all stated in the letter they sent welcome cottages)
we complained to welcome cottages and they contacted the owners and put our case to them , the owners stated they had the all clear from a pest control company that there was no rodent activity in the property , I then asked welcome cottages if the owner could supply me a copy of the report which they dually did, what I did notice was the report was dated 28.01.2022 , my thoughts, why so late? I took it upon myself to contact the pest control company they had used and asked what the process was for a domestic property , they explained to me there was three visits and on every visit a report was created, I then told welcome cottages of my findings and they would contact the owners and asked for the other reports the owners refused and stated they had wasted enough time on this matter!! Welcome cottages had previously offered me £200 in vouchers as a good will gesture which was point blank refused, they then told me they were prepared to give me back the money they had made on the property basically half, but I had to take the matter of the rest of the refund with the owners , I called welcome cottages today 22.02.2021 and spoke to Michael and as far as he was concerned the case was closed ,this news to me, his manager Kelly then called me later in the day and stated that she was eavesdropping on the conversation I had with Michael on 11/02/2022 and she states she overheard me saying that as far as I was concerned the case was closed calling me a liar , is eavesdropping legal without my knowledge?, what is very concerning is welcome cottages still advertise this cottage even with all the evidence I have produced for them , they tell me it has to be more than one complaint before they investigate, I have given them pictures and videos, is it cash before care, we spent over £1000
on this property and only wants what's fair

Mike

Beautiful place.The owners Sharon and Andrew were so friendly and welcoming we felt like we were old friends. Sid’s Place is a lovely place to stay,beautifully decorated and spotlessly clean.The welcome basket was a nice touch and much appreciated! A good location for walkers and cyclists as Hurn Forrest is literally on your doorstep.Lots of places to visit just a few miles away by car as well.We will definitely be back!

Absolute disgrace avoid at all costs! We booked a holiday for the end of july to bakewell for my family one which we were desperate for ! Couldn't check in till 5 only to find our property had been flooded the week before which we were not told apart it abs stunk of damp and bedroom carpet was wet we called and complained as we couldn't of slept there only to be told to either go home or there was only one other property which was in another town. We had little choice but to accept the offer but we couldn't get in till 4 the following day so thats 2 days out of our 4 gone. But told if we accept the case is closed ! We had to stay in the first property overnight and 2 of us slept on settee as room was damp the owner then messaged to ask if we had been sorted and i explained situation as to be told she didn't think we could stay in her property as insurance would be void so at 830 at night i had to call welcome cottages to check this out .the next property was no better brown stained ceiling from water no curtains etc at bedroom windows so the lady in next office had a good noisey in ,tv didnt work microwave smelled of curry heating didnt work then neighbour's got it working but then wouldn't switch off nightmare ! All of this and only 2 days to actually holiday 1200 pound and my point is iv wrote a letter of complaint and no reply this company is a disgrace

Never in my life have I ever come across a most unhelpful, shocking customer service. Last week I had to ring to cancel my holiday cottage after my husband had an accident and would be in a leg brace for 3-6 months, got a small refund and was told to claim the rest back from the insurance. The insurance has sent all the relevant paperwork straight away and asked for several documents (which I don't have). I rang and asked several times even emailed them for the documents that I need to be sent via post to be told due to covid we don't have a team to send documents out in the post, I asked again today if they could send them via email and I would ask someone in the family to print them off for me only to be put on hold and eventually they cut me off, it now looks like I'll be left out of pocket for a total of £494+ at a time I could really do with the money this company is the worst I have ever dealt with and reading some of the other reviews I'm not the only one that's unhappy with the level of service, you don't even deserve the 1* rating but I had to leave one to do the review

Absolute shower of incompetence. Worst company I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with. No answer to emails. Nothing but demands for payment. Even if you speak to them they are unable to sort anything.

Please use another company and avoid this incompetent company

Cottage owners don’t use them. They are giving you a shocking reputation

Needing to make a small change to booking. No reply to Phone, email, Letter. I believed there was a SCAM.
I changed my credit card and when the final payment did`nt go through received a phone call.
"I am from welcome cottages."
I replied."I thought you were all dead."
He replied."Sorry to disarpoint you, I want the money."
No Chance. A back street company that hides in plain site that goes out of it`s way to make it difficult to contact them, and won`t reply when you do. the only part of Welcome Cottages that works is the auto payment service.
Got to be something dodgy here???

Due to covid We twice had to cancel our holiday cottage We have now decided to wait till its all over before we book again And Welcome cottages have been brilliant in their handling of our case Our money was reimbursed no quibble at all
When Covid is over we would definitely use Welcome Cottages again Especially after reading about other similar companies Whose customers had problems dealing with them
If any director or boss from Welcome is reading this May I add your staff were a credit to you in all of my dealings with them And I will be a returning customer

Lovely cottage but dire customer service from Welcome Cottages.
Covid has made life a lot more difficult this year and our attempts to rearrange our May holiday was met with dead phone lines, unanswered calls and hours 'hanging on'.
We spent hour after frustrating hour trying to speak to a human being.
We researched and rang every possible number linked to Welcome Cottages and Hoseasons and did eventually speak to someone. The lady were very helpful and understanding but our overall experience was such that I would never use Welcome Cottages again.
Computers are great but sometimes we really need to speak to a human being!

We rented a Squirrel cottage - 83 Main Street, Seamer, Scarborough from 25th Sept - 5th October and were delighted with it. Lovely and clean and well apportioned. Dog friendly with well fenced in garden for our escapologist dog. Lovely and cosy too. Kitchen was a joy to work in and very well laid out. Welcome pack was nice too. Highly recommend.

One star seems a bit excessive for Welcome Cottages (part of Hoseasons). I have been attempting to cancel a September holiday for some 3 months.
Initially I sat on the phone for several dozen hours. Then I emailed them. Then I sent a recorded delivery letter. All this to ensure that the date of cancellation was within max refund entitlement. Still no response.
Kept trying by phone and eventually got through. The booking hadn't been cancelled and I was offered a small sum back. No sense in shouting at the unfortunate call handler so I asked who to complain to - the Managing Director was suggested. I sent a recorded delivery letter to her/him. That was a few weeks ago - and ... still no response. An apology for delay at any point would have been decent, but as things stand it's obvious this company is utterly incompetent and with no customer awareness.
Incidentally I contacted the cottage owners directly early on in this pantomine. They had had no contact from unWelcome Cottages so they too would have lost out on a weeks booking without my notifying them. So if you are letting a property do not do so through this lot. And if you are looking to book a holiday cottage, do not under any circumstances pass any money to Welcome Cottages.

Cant get through by phone and dont answer emails. Shocking.

Booked a cottage with Welcome Cottages as a last minute break only to get a response from the cottage owner saying it was already booked for the dates.

I have emailed Welcome Cottages to tell them that it was already booked and have had no response, I have also tried calling them and cannot get through.

They have taken payment in full and still send me confirmation of my booking even though it is not possible.

Do I need to say more! Don’t use these fraudulent con artists.

Stayed at dove cottage at the railway inn Acklington it was the worst weeks stay the fridge had water leaking in the sofa was real low to the ground one single bed the slats fell through so had to sleep on mattress on floor the double bed was very high smelt of damp the manager of pub and owner not helpful mould in shower had to leave one night early as had it couldn't stay any longer

Had to cancel due to my father in law being admitted to hospital seriously ill
Took 3 days to get through and when I finally did. I was told all I would get is a refund of 20 quid due to late cancellation. I cannot believe someone can be dying in hospital and all the customer services lady could say is well all you can hope for is a full recovery or a peaceful death.
I wasnt expecting a refund but I found out that less than 24 hours later they had relet the cottage and that when this happens they usually refund you in full. I havent heard a thing from this company never mind seen a 20 quid refund.
We have used this company for years and I doubt we will use them again.
In the long run the health of my father in law is more important but it comes to something when the company dont see this is not right.

It always boggles my mind how a company's standards and reputation can fall so low, yet their prices continue to rise massively.
I have booked many holidays with Welcome over the years, and you could always guarantee prices to suit every pocket, and accurate descriptions of properties listed. Not anymore. Their prices have now risen so much, that I only book with them if there happens to be a reasonably priced out of season property, though this is getting rarer and rarer. I now pay for a week in February, what I used to pay for a week in summer, only a few years ago.
My most recent stay was a few weeks ago, up in the North East. The property was filthy, even though the owner/cleaner had a full 8 hours to clean due to the later arrival/earlier departure time. I had to clean the fridge, cooker, washing machine, utensils and shower before use, despite the fact the extra cleaning time was supposed to be for 'super deep cleaning due to covid'.
The photos on the website are so old, and bear no relation to how the property looks today. They showed a neat, spacious outside seating area, when in reality it was a dank concrete enclosure, overrun with dying plants and a rotting wooden table.
The area I stayed was devoid of anything to do, and was very rundown and rough. The few places of interest were shut because of 'the pandemic'.
I emailed Welcome full details of my issues and have still not received a response over a week later.
I did a 'Reevoo' review as requested, but this will probably get removed due to the low scores. Welcome, and reevoo, both claim this doesn't happen but it most definitely does - it's happened with 2 of my reviews in the past.
Welcome used to have a good, solid reputation that I felt I could trust, now it's a lottery if your holiday property will be as described or not, and that's if you can afford their prices in the first place.

Booked with welcome cottages for June this year decided to cancel due to covid 19 welcome cottages got in touch and it was agreed that we would move the holiday to September we having decided we don't want to go in September have email them on numerous occasions only to get no response have tired phoning again can't get through to anyone got a email saying my balance was due sent a reply saying I needed to cancel it which we have been trying to do for the past 3 months or more still no reply would definitely not be booking with them in the future