Didaro

Reviews (7)

• Reg

  The cottage was lovely but had unfortunate incidents with flying ants for 3 days until we filled in the gaps with soap which was all we had available was quite upsetting for our granddaughter the only other issue was no frying pan which we had to go and buy

• Sophie

  Concerned by the earlier reviews and by the owner's enquiry as to which beds needed made up, I asked for reassurance that the issues with the house had been sorted and that we would have all beds available to us, having paid for use of the entire house. I received no response for days until I contacted Sykes, who called the owner on my behalf. Apparently they had been on holiday, but if you work in hospitality (which I do) you either have to reply to customers when you can or hand the work over to someone in your absence. Simply not replying isn't ok. When the owner did reply, I was assured that all beds would be made up and that I needn't have any worries about the house. On arrival, two bedrooms were made up, but in the family room which has three beds, only one bed was made up. The other two were piled with coverless duvets and pillows. Bearing in mind we have two young daughters excited by the bunk beds, this wasn't practical and also just looks rubbish, unfinished and unwelcoming. I checked the cupboards and drawers beneath beds for more bedding but only found three single bed sheets. I then contacted the owner who told me to look in the drawers under the beds for bedding. I received no response whatsoever to my reply that I already had looked in the drawers and only had three bedsheets. In the end, we made up the top bunk with one sheet (which we shouldn't have to do), borrowed a pillow off another bed, and my daughter slept under another fitted sheet. Totally unnecessary and all the more annoying given I had raised my concerns about beds in advance. You can't charge £200+ a night and have guests sleeping under bedsheets! The kitchen is not yet properly stocked. There's one chopping board but it's broken - half the length of a bigger wooden board that has at some point split, leaving a long, thin rectangle to do all cooking with. There are no oven gloves. Not even a frying pan! And there aren't the very basics that you find in holiday properties. We were there for two nights but couldn't do any washing up until we went to the shop for dishwasher tablets and a washing up brush. My dad used to rent a property out on Sykes and they would leave a dishwasher tablet for each day guests were staying, with washing up brush/sponge, and multiple tea towels (rather than the single towel at Didaro). Photo frames on the walls and bedside tables continue to be empty which we had a good laugh about, and the second double room has nowhere to hang clothes (instead of a rail there are just a few hooks) or plug in lamps. Once they've sorted the basics out at Didaro, they need to consider details like not having winter tog duvets during a hot week in July, and allowing guests more than one pillow each. If these details are sorted out, and if owner responsiveness improves, it's a lovely place to be.

• Guy

  However, so many details are missing to make this a comfortable and successful holiday let. We arrived late and were very surprised to find no information and so struggled to access the wifi, work out the heating (which we could not fathom and it was a cold and wet week and so we would have liked it). The welcome pack is very sparse - just a few tea and coffee sachets and milk sachets. I messaged the mobile given in the email to ask about the wifi and was told the information pack would be there next week, which I found quite ridiculous given that we would not be there next week and so this was of no relevance to us! The property is relatively clean but not spotless and some rooms have a damp smell. My daughter stayed in the bunkbed room and was not comfortable in there as only one of the beds had been made up, making the room feel unwelcoming - compared to how it is shown in the photos. The shower we used was weak, although the other one was apparently a little stronger. There was the last person's wash bag in the bathroom and an old foot pumice in the shower and so attention to detail after each stay is required. The kitchen is underequipped. We had to go to Tesco to buy additional equipment, with no grater or frying pan and insufficient plates and cups. We assumed that a property with a Nespresso coffee machine would have the basics, and were disappointed. We found the picture frames on the walls and in the bedrooms without any pictures in them very odd indeed! The lovely lamps in the bedroom look great in the photo, but there was no socket in the position they are in beside the bed to plug them in and so they cannot be used! The living room lacks a coffee table which is very inconvenient. The outside furniture (table) is filthy and covered in algal growth under the glass and is located in the yard at the back door and so was therefore not useable. There is a locked summer house attached to the house which is in a state of decay alongside the outside furniture which is not in the least bit appealing. Good location, some nice furnishings, lovely sunsets from the lawn, Didaro has potential to be a good let, but currently does not live up to expectations of the online photos and could do with some attention to detail and thought as to how holidaymakers may want to use the property.