This was our second stay at Gladwin's
farm. The first was four star in every way, but the management has
changed and unfortunately so has the standard. The
accommodation is still 4 star, but there are gaping holes in the way
the business is run. In fact, there are signs in each of the
individual dwellings that state the office hours: a grand total of
twelve hours per week. That is simply not enough to meet the
requirement of guests in any kind of holiday accommodation let alone
one of this size that boasts a four star rating.
When we arrived, there was no one
available to guide us to our accommodation, only a sign which let us
know that the keys were left in the doors of the guests dwellings.
Without a map, this meant walking in circles through mud trying to
find the right door. Fortunately or otherwise, one of the owners
turned up. I didn't know that she was the owner because she never
introduced herself, welcomed us, or offered any assistance so I
continued searching until eventually I was asked Do you
know where you are? Do you know where you're going? . At
that point it seemed as if the highest priority was to let me know
that I had to move my car, a task that was made ten times harder
because she'd parked directly behind me, blocking any possibility of
turning around, even though there was plenty of space to park
elsewhere, at least temporarily, while we unloaded.
There were major works going on
throughout our stay which we were never warned about, and we were
certainly not offered any kind of discount because of it. In fact I
was pressured, not asked, to allow workmen access to our dwelling so
they could carry out work regardless of the impact to us and our
stay. There was no apology for this, nor was there any apology for
the noise of the works which were going on in the adjacent building
let alone elsewhere on the property.
We were led to believe that there was
plenty of space for walking, but all the large machinery had churned
up the earth so much that most of the space was impassable. Again, we
were not warned nor offered any kind of discount, and there was no
apology.
All in all, we were made to feel that
we were an inconvenience, hard work which had to be endured, rather
than welcome guests at a quality establishment. There is a huge
disparity between the price you have to pay and the standard of
management/service received. We won't be staying at Gladwins again
and would warn anyone else against the same. It's a shame the high
standards experienced during our first visit have slid so far the
second time around. read more
