Islay House

This was the worst Airbnb home I have ever stayed in: it. This experience was a blatant example of 1) false advertising 2) breach of baseline health & safety standards of a property that is hosting paying guests 3) disappointing hospitality and customer service. I would not recommend this home to anyone and strongly advise Airbnb ban this host from their platform or at the very least, update the listing to accurately reflect the state of the property. See below for a detailed overview of why the Islay house offered no version of the “comfort of a large home,” “consistency of a luxury hotel” or “conveniences of a 5 start hotel” as outlined in the Airbnb listing. 1. FALSE ADVERTISING - The Airbnb listing spelled out a number of amenities that were not available and oversold the state of the “luxury” historic home. Examples include: a) private beach, b) breakfast baked for the guests, c) Big Kitchen used as a bakery, d) all new heating plumbing, electrics and fibers throughout - Specially on c) the kitchen advertised on the listing was completely inoperable and not even accessible due to flooding and other construction. Instead of the catering size kitchen that was shown in the photos (multiple Arga ovens, counter space, etc), the actual kitchen was a make shift room not a single working oven or stove, leaking commercial dishwasher, dirt and grime on all surfaces, no kitchen knives or prep utensils, and a giant hole in the wall. There wasn’t even a working coffee machine. After raising the issue with the house manager, a new oven was brought in that was also useable due to power issues. The only working device in the kitchen for cooking was a hot plate - Specially on d): there was no heating throughout the common areas of the house, WiFi was barely usable and due to the storm, the power in the dining rooms has gone out. Only upon multiple requests were space heaters provided for the bedrooms and additional lamps provided for some of the working sockets. The only working fireplace to generate heat was a small furnace in the entrance hall 2. BREACH OF HEALTH AND SAFTEY - All throughout the home, the carpets were stained and ceilings cracked throughout due flooding; a number of the bathrooms had mildew, one bathtub leaked and was unusable, and the master bedroom had slugs. I wish the last comment was a joke but beginning on the first night of our stay, we noticed slime trails all over our luggage and sweaters - on the third day, we woke up to a large slug crawling out from under the bed - As mentioned above, the only way to access the advertised kitchen was through a back staircase that had flooded. In order to access the kitchen that was available, one of the entrances led you through a part of the home that the listing describes as “remote, inaccessible and unrenovated.” As such, it was a freezing cold, dark section of the house that incredibly unpleasant to experience as guests who were expecting a safe and light kitchen. 3. HOSPITALITY AND

We stayed here for two nights on a tour of Islay - nice location in Bowmore, picturesque grounds, nice breakfast. Downsides were trying to find the place - google maps routed us to the backside of the estate and even when we figured it out, there was no sign at the main drive off the road. We also had a plumbing leak in the bathroom of our room leading to wet floors and soaked towels for the two nights. Staff was friendly though and comped our bar tab in recompense.

Dropped into for afternoon tea Wow what a setting, but 2nd only to the service which was outstanding. Jane who waves her magic wand in front of house is a magical person whose team are simply fantastic. We shall return , hopefully before the commercial works implodes