Columbus Retreat, Scarborough

We have stayed in many holiday accommodations, but this was disappointing! We paid almost £1700 for 3 nights, and upon arrival we found there were no toilet rolls, hand wash or hand towels in any of the 9 toilets! We knew it was self catering and we had brought extra toilet rolls but these were being delivered later that day, so I had to rush to Aldi to kit out the toilets with what I would say is a basic requirement. The welcome book still says you have a welcome pack, however, you still don't! This needs updating! I rang several numbers until I got hold of the cleaning manager who told me they couldn't provide hand wash because of COVID! I've never heard anything so ridiculous, individual soaps are cheap, as are toilet rolls, we kitted everything out for less than £20, which he promised to reimburse me the next day, I'm still waiting 3 days later, so that was a lie. He just moaned that I should see the mess people leave it in, well that's not a me problem, it's thiers! It's such a shame, because the house, needs cosmetic work, garden over grown, outside drains were blocked so washing up water running down the drive, but all in all it is lovely and the location is perfect, however for this cost we didn't expect the short cuts, and toilet rolls holders are still hanging off the walls! Unfortunately we wouldn't recommend or return to this property.

As my partner and I both have large families spread out over England and Scotland, we arrange get togethers 2 or 3 times a year usually somewhere in the north of England so we have stayed in a lot of holiday homes.. This is the worst we have ever stayed in! I will however start with the positives: Fantastic location, good hot tub, comfy beds and good quality bedding. And that’s where it stops! On arrival we noticed it wasn’t very clean, we couldn’t turn the fire on (it was cold) and could not find the welcome pack though we found the information book which was ridiculously out of date with most of the information. I called with these comments and was told, the fire is for show, they stopped doing the welcome pack and a cleaning crew could be sent round that evening. Initially I said No to this as we had shopping being delivered, we wanted to unpack and get settled. However on closer inspection, the rooms really were not up to scratch and we made arrangements for the cleaners to come in the morning. I had already cleaned the kitchen worktops that had Vimto spilled on them and food debris not cleared up. It looked like the whole place may have been hoovered but only in the middle of the rooms as there was dust and rubbish in corners and the stairs were filthy. All toilets were dirty but had had toilet duck swished around, 2 toilet seats were broken. No cleaning had been done behind taps, bins were plastic and had never been cleaned and some of the shower heads were black with mold as were a lot of the tiles. One of the baths was cracked at the end so could not use this for our granddaughter. Toilet roll holders broken. There was a light out in one of the bathrooms so this could not be used. In the bedrooms, none had wardrobes so when you are staying somewhere for a week it’s less than ideal. The cheap IKEA chest of drawers were stained and drawers had not been hooked out! There were no mattress protectors on the beds. Although the bedding was of good quality, there were a lot of stains. One of the rooms had so much staining and hairs on the bed, it cannot have been changed since last used. The towels which were just thrown on the beds were white at one point many years ago and badly stained. The cleaners offered to change the towels but didn’t! They did clean but not to a good standard! The room with 3 beds in it at the front of the property only has net curtains so could not be used as it was too bright at night. There was a tv in the main bedroom but not plugged in or wired up?? The throws on the beds all had animal hair on but the book said strictly no pets?? Fairy lights around the hot tub, just there not plugged in? The kitchen was not well equipped: no scissors or oven dishes, only enough crockery for table setting, a lot of which was chipped. Half empty bottles and Vapes had been left in cupboards. No floors had been washed.This felt very much like a student house which was great when it last received great reviews in 2018(as per the sticker on front door) but suspect it has been neglected since. The fact that there was no guest book with reviews says a lot!!!! Especially when the information book initially states that by now you will have seen your welcome pack and guest book!!! We had a really lovely week in Scarborough but I cannot recommend this holiday home to anyone and sadly the agent (Sykes) did not reply to messages to their website detailing the issues.