18 Strand

Location, village feel, welcoming, nicely decorated and furnished a fab property in a perfect place. Comfiest bed I’ve slept in for years - including my own.

Wooden floor boards looked great but lots of hidden fluff, hair, bits when we were bare foot. Bit of a first day issue with the heating thermostat very quickly resolved. (Don’t let this put you off - it was beautifully clean, just a bug bear)

Its proximity to the village amenities etc

The steep stairs

Property is very nicely done with good facilities - everything you would need for a short stay. the location is excellent - in the centre of Shaldon.

The stairs are exceptionally steep, so not suitable for anyone with mobility issues. There is no outdoor space or parking. Also we had difficulties finding the place. There is also a road called The Strand rather than Strand, so we went there first.

It's a loverly property, in a super location, perfect for a couple. Very nicely decorated and furnished.

Considering there is a separate cleaning charge of £65 added to the booking, I would say I could do a better job cleaning the property. There is a house rule that outdoor shoes are not to be worn in the upper floors. However, having needed to wipe the floor in the basement (due to a flood cased by the shower not draining away), it was very evident that floor had NOT been washed between rentals. I checked the kitchen (ground floor) floor as well, and it was the same... clearly not washed between rentals. Very likely vacuumed, by definitely not washed. Also, the inside of the microwave had not been cleaned, as well as the kitchen cabinet where the toaster is stored as it was full of crumbs, and the toaster itself was covered in greasy fingerprints! The dining table had crumbs on it, so, evidently was used by the previous rental, but the cleaner didn't clean it. Personally I would expect the rental to clean all these items before they vacated, but a decent cleaner should still check these areas as some rentals don't care about how they leave a property. Furthermore, the linen (hand and bath towels, and tea towels) had an awful stale and damp smell about them, and despite the landlord offering us a random selection of alternative items from the locked boiler cupboard (when he came to investigate the flood cased by the main shower room located in the basement), they really were not alot better, so we persevered with the smelly towels, until they were eventually replaced by the cleaner the day before we came home!! The tea towels smelt so bad that we went out and bought some clothes hand-wash liquid and washed them ourselves! They smelt great afterwards. Furthermore, we had no way on drying our towels as the only electric radiator in the property (which was located in the ensure shower room) didn't work! Fortunately, as the landlord had to visit to investigate the shower flood in the basement, he fixed the heated towel rail during his visit....