Booked the red kite dragons egg a year…
Booked the red kite dragons egg a year ago well we got there after a 6 hour drive to find someone else in the dragons egg no one was there to explain why but we ended up in the tree tent opposite which we have looked at and didn't want to stay in but we had no choice so when we looked at the tree tent it was dirty and the pod had not been cleaned properly and it should of as covid19 is still around the kettle was disgusting the kitchen utensils was rusty and only one chair on the decking the other chair was broken there was a dirty sponge and a dirty brush left for us to use to wash up with there was someone's shower gel still in the shower and as forcit being private well to women walked past lucky I wasn't in the shower and there was no ice block's in the small cool box so what good is that, there was no canopy on the decking by the fire and no hammock there and no cover for the fire wood so it ended up getting wet so didn't burn well the comfortable mattress was just a 4 inch piece of sponge so very uncomfortable bleave me it was well after having 4 rubbish nights there i have taken lots of photos and made a complaint.
Reply from Chillderness
Mr Lawrence appears to have moderately enjoyed his 4-night 'free' stay and has rated us with 2 stars, for which we can thank him. After speaking to him at length on Saturday evening and apologising for having had to change him from Dragon's Egg to Ynys Affalon, (tents largely identical save in colour), I ascertained that he fully intended to use this fact to get a free stay. In fact he told me as much.
We take timed and dated photographs prior to entry because in such times - as the Guardian has reported - a small minority of people are using Covid to exploit independent businesses who have had to honour earlier bookings, cancelled during lockdown, at their personal expense, and are nervous of social media, as above. I really felt we needed to take a stand as we have had the same tactic employed against us, even by a doctor, which to me is the last straw. I anticipate she may choose to write on this forum so I thought I would address this pre-complaint at the same time.
We turn ourselves inside out to try to accommodate people. There has been an unprecedented demand for holidays post-lockdown and we hear people's stress and pain and try to find somewhere special for them to go to. We have inquiries from so many health and key workers because we offer a unique blend of peace and tranquillity. This does not, of course, mean that we are perfect by any means, and offering such remote holidays does mean patience has to be exercised if a gas bottle runs out or a squirrel eats your food.
Please, if you are booking a holiday with anyone, if something isn't right, let the owners know early on, as a small issue can generally be resolved in a timely fashion. It is simply not right to consume the product for 4-7 days and then demand a refund. At the time, with the level of demand we have, a full refund could have been made as we have 4 -5 inquiries to every one space sold. Mr Lawrence could have gone somewhere he liked, and we could have had a guest who liked our unique offering.
Suffice to say in this case, Mr Lawrence sent me one screen shot of a call he made to me for 3 seconds before hanging up and then had sheepishly to admit he and his partner cleaned only AFTER they had spent the night there, and that he did not have any photos of cobwebs, flies or leaks, or any of the matters he alleges to justify his complaint. Nonetheless, the third party company, holidaycottages.co.uk has taken it upon itself to refund him £250 as they wish to close down his complaint. As a representative of Sawdays said to us, it is an extraordinary time and as much goodwill as can be spread around is so very much appreciated.
Thanks for reading.
Anjana Devoy
CEO, Chillderness Ltd.