Scotston Villa 5 bedroom house with large private back garden and hot tub

On the face of it the property had everything we wanted. There was a nice box of goodies which were well received after our various family journeys, all of which were long. Parking was easy and off road. The beds that we used smelled clean and fresh and were comfy. The owner was quick to respond to our problems, he couldn't actually solve all of them but he tried.

On booking, I didn't find it clear that there would be an additional charge to my card for a £250 deposit. This became very clear once I had made my non refundable booking and was therefore unable to change my mind. With the code to the key box came a text warning not to use the hot tub after 10pm and that we might lose our deposit if we did so. This was not mentioned in the listing and meant that those arriving late were not able to use it. Plus my family and I were at a wake on the second night so were not able to use it then either so the hot tub was a wasted facility for us because of this ruling. On retiring after a very long journey, we found one of the beds was completely broken on one side and was unusable, the main lights in this room had only half the bulbs working. The lights in the kitchen flickered making it impossible to use them, with the same happening in the dining room, videos of which I sent to the owner who said we should use a different light switch and then it would be ok! Whilst initially everything seemed ok, once you scratched the surface there were so many things which were either tired or on the point of breaking it made us wary of using in fear of our deposit. The dining room chairs were worn out, some too rickety to use and others with very sagging seats which were uncomfortable. The garden bench looked very dilapidated and at the end of its life so that didn't get used either. The toilet roll holders in both of the bathrooms were hanging on for dear life so we took the toilet rolls off rather than be the ones who break them. The bathrooms all had hair or debris and blinds on the ground floor were filthy dirty with dust, when we tried to open them to let light in the window sills were also filthy and covered in dead flies, the skirting boards were covered in the same. The main traffic areas looked ok when we arrived, but in the morning light we saw very stained carpets and a property not as described.

House was lovely, spacious and suited us no problem for visiting our family in the area. Owner was very helpful on checkin etc and the christmas tree was a really nice given the time of year. it’s a great house to have christmas in. Will definitely use again. Thank you

The house has 5 good sized bedrooms and very nice communal living areas with a new kitchen.

Spacious rooms, lovely garden, warm, comfortable beds

Damp smell & paint smell. Leak under sink in an otherwise lovely kitchen. House could do with a thorough clean not just surface once over. One shower for a house sleeping 10 people is not practical. Kitchen needs more food prep items, eg sharp knives. Only 1 kitchen towel was supplied . No dishwasher tablets.