“We were really looking forward to our first visit to Suffolk but unfortunately the accommodation nearly ruined our holiday.”
We contacted the owner before arriving for the key safe details and they were very helpful and also kindly text us the postcode, we couldn’t wait to arrive and were able to find the house easily. Upon arrival the entrance looked a bit scruffy with overgrown plants by the kitchen window and weeds growing out of a planter, also the garage doors seemed to need repairing. We put all our belongings inside and after looking around we could see that the house was dirty, tatty, dated and grubby, there was also a musty smell, especially in the lounge, we were absolutely gutted. Within 10 mins of arriving we had to start cleaning as had to wipe out the fridge before we put in our milk etc, we couldn’t put bottles in the fridge door as the bottom holder was cracked on both sides and we didn’t want it to snap off. We felt we couldn’t touch anything in the house as everything was so dirty, we had to replace the cords for the bathroom and cloakroom lights and the shower as they were black with dirt and couldn’t touch them. There was hair from a previous guest left in the plug hole of the bath and thick limescale. Also the taps on the bathroom basin and kitchen sink were covered in limescale, the shower house and most of the holes in the shower head. We couldn’t have a shower during the week as the water only trickled out, we bought cocktail sticks to try and clear the holes of limescale on the shower head but it didn’t make much difference, so we used the bath after giving it a good clean. Everything we used or touched had to be thoroughly cleaned before use, the microwave was splatted with food, the glasses and bowls were filthy. We have never seen so many cobwebs with dead flies and spiders around a house. The windows were stinking, the armchairs in the lounge were grubby and you couldn’t use them as they had sort of collapsed. Luckily there was only two of us so we sat on the sofa, the lighting in the bedrooms is very poor as the ceiling lights are completely covered by fabric shades, the front bedroom was the worst. It was the same in the downstairs toilet, we could hardly see so had to take the shade down, only to then find it was thick with dust, we forgot to put it back up sorry. We spent hours and hours cleaning all week, we considered several times about packing up and leaving as the condition of the house was quite depressing but in the end thought why should we cut our holiday short so we stayed out each day for as long as we could before returning. But upon returning after having our meal would start cleaning again to try and make it a bit more bearable. In addition to the general dirty condition of the house it is not well equipped for guests. There was one small burnt baking tray so we had to buy two, we also bought a serving spoon and turner, there wasn’t a vegetable peeler, the glass Pyrex jug spout was chipped, there was an iron but couldn’t use it as no ironing board, no airier to dry clothes in bad weather, luckily weather was good so dried on the washing line. The house is very basic with no carpets in two of the bedrooms and poor quality thin carpets in the lounge and stairs with no underlay, they were all grubby. The maintenance of the house is poor, the bath plug chain was broken which we fixed, some of the windows were hard to open so we bought WD40 to ease them so able to open easily, also bought a plug for the kitchen sink as missing. There are holes in the vinyl flooring in the kitchen and the ceiling needs skimming, window cills and skirting boards around the house are in desperate need of painting. The house is very disorganised with lots of unused items in the utility room and cupboard in small bedroom. No care seems to have been taken to ensure a good experience for guests, hardly any leaflets were supplied for things to do in the area and some were from 2018. We collected leaflets on our travels for future guests and put them in the drawer, there isn’t any information or folder for using the oven etc. The outside could do with a PIR light as it is very dark, we walked back from the cinema one night and could hardly see to get to the front door. We have been to loads of cottages with Sykes over the years and can honestly say this was the worst, if we visited the area again we would stay somewhere else and would not recommend anyone book Cowman’s Cottage. We felt bitterly let down by the owners and if it were ours we would have been embarrassed to let someone stay as it is. It is a shame as it could be made quite nice as the location is good, handy for the shops and the town is lovely.
