Stable Cottage

A traumatic violation of our family's privacy. Two days without heating or hot water. Heart-breaking Positive: Marlow and Henley-on-Thames are beautiful locations, and this property is convenient for visiting both areas. Negative: We are still traumatised by our stay at this property! As a family of four with two boys (ages 5 and 2), this property was our final eight days of a five-week trip to visit friends and family. From the minute we walked into the property, it was clear we were staying in someone's home rather than a property set up for short-stay rentals. The owners' behaviour clearly demonstrated that they are not actually comfortable having tenants in their home. Minor niggles: The glasses were dirty. The property was advertised as not allowing pets, which was one of the reasons we chose it. Our youngest suffers from asthma. Dog hair was on the carpet (predominantly on the staircase) from the owner's dog. Major issues: The owner/occupier used a ring camera to surveil us during our stay. He not only commented on our comings and goings from the property (we had family come to say goodbye one afternoon, and within 10 minutes, he called the property agents, accusing us of having "party guests"). He used the camera to listen to our private conversations, at one point threatening to evict us due to a comment he overheard my brother making when our goodbye was cut short. A stranger having video & audio footage of our young children is a dangerous violation of our family's privacy. We are still waiting for formal confirmation that they have honoured our request to delete footage of our family. The property's heating is supplied by gas bottles stored in the back garden. The gas bottles ran out on day 3. The owner accused us of using all 4 gas bottles - we absolutely didn't, but even if we did, surely, as paying tenants, we were within our rights to use the amenities without restrictions?! We were without hot water and heating for two days before they were replaced. We all had to sleep in the one bed to keep warm overnight & had no way of showering or bathing.

Positive: We had a very nice stay. The cottage was comfortable, clean, and had good facilities. It was also close to the Thames river and provided easy access to some very lovely walks. Negative: The main bedroom is on the third floor and if the temperature outside is warm (above 20 degrees celcius) then the room becomes very hot. Air-conditioning or, at least a fan, would be a welcome addition. Also, there is no door on the en-suite in 3rd bedroom, so privacy.is an issue during the night.