“July 17th -24th 2026
We recently stayed at Alcombe House with our extended family.”
As a large group, we chose the property because it advertised eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a games room and a garden, all of which sounded ideal for a family holiday with children. While the house itself is extremely spacious and well located, unfortunately our overall experience was disappointing due to a number of maintenance and cleanliness issues.
On arrival, the entrance area looked a little tired and could have been better presented. We were aware, having been informed beforehand, ...
As a large group, we chose the property because it advertised eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a games room and a garden, all of which sounded ideal for a family holiday with children. While the house itself is extremely spacious and well located, unfortunately our overall experience was disappointing due to a number of maintenance and cleanliness issues.
On arrival, the entrance area looked a little tired and could have been better presented. We were aware, having been informed beforehand, that the property is a few hundred years old and may have a slight musty smell, particularly in the basement games room. However, the smell throughout the property on arrival was much stronger than expected.
The first thing we noticed when entering the lounge was a large number of live flies around both windows. The same issue was present in the dining room. We attempted to open the windows to ventilate the rooms, only to find they had effectively been sealed shut and could not be opened. On a warm summer’s day, this made the rooms uncomfortable and impossible to air out.
The only accessible window was in the kitchen, where the back door also caught on the vinyl flooring each time it was opened, lifting the flooring as it moved.
The biggest disappointment was the games room. The smell downstairs was overwhelming, with an extremely damp odour combined with what resembled the smell of cat urine. It was so unpleasant that neither the adults nor the children wanted to spend any time there. There were also cupboards containing old items with visible mould, and numerous empty air freshener containers, suggesting attempts had been made to mask the smell rather than resolve the underlying problem.
Sadly, the games room facilities themselves were also disappointing. The snooker table was bowed in the middle, making it unusable, and we were informed that the air hockey table was also broken. One of the main reasons we chose this property was the games room, particularly for the children, but in reality it couldn’t be used. Instead, we found ourselves visiting a local pub with a games room so everyone could enjoy playing pool during our stay.
To his credit, Leon, who looks after the property, was polite and helpful. When I contacted him regarding the flies, he apologised but was unable to attend immediately. He asked if I could purchase fly spray, assuring me I would be reimbursed. I therefore had to leave the property to buy fly killer, spray the lounge myself and ask everyone to stay out of the room until the following morning. Leon visited the next day, spent several hours trying to free the sealed windows and arranging for fans to be delivered, as the top floor bedrooms became extremely hot during our stay. His efforts were appreciated, although many of the issues should have been identified and resolved before guests arrived.
There were also several smaller maintenance and housekeeping concerns. One bathroom contained a dirty hand towel on arrival. The tea towel and hand towel in the kitchen smelled strongly of damp and were unusable, so we used our own. Shelving near the kitchen and cellar stairs contained assorted keys and miscellaneous items, giving the impression that areas of the property had not been properly prepared. In our bedroom, the shower door would not close correctly and the shower tray had black tape applied to it. Another member of our family experienced drainage problems in their bathroom, with unpleasant smells coming back through the sink and water failing to drain properly after showering.
The outdoor space was another disappointment. While technically there is a garden, it is much smaller than expected and sits directly alongside the road. It was unsuitable for children to play football or enjoy outdoor games, which had been one of the reasons we selected this property.
Positives include the excellent location, the generous size of the house and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, which comfortably accommodated our large family. The layout over four floors provides plenty of space for everyone.
However, for a property of this size and price, we expected a much higher standard of presentation and maintenance. Many of the issues we encountered—including the flies, sealed windows, broken games room equipment, unpleasant smells and general housekeeping—should have been identified before guests arrived.
Leon did his best to help once the problems were reported, and we appreciate his efforts. Unfortunately, many of these issues significantly affected our holiday and prevented us from fully enjoying facilities that were a major factor in choosing this property.
Overall, while Alcombe House has great potential because of its size and location, it requires significant attention to maintenance, cleanliness and quality control before we would consider returning or recommending it to other large families.
Mr & Mrs Bates
