The Stable, Llandysul

We recently decided to stay at The Stable in place of our usual cottage in Wales, as we wanted something new. The listing has all old pictures, so each room is different to the pictures but we didn't mind this at all. However, it was listed as having a working shower and other amenities. On the first day, we couldn't get the oven to turn on. We had access to the hob, but couldn't find a switch to enable to actual oven. After a long day of driving we just wanted to have a relaxed evening, but unfortunately it took over half an hour for anyone to get back to us. We understood they were busy, but that was the first of the problems. (The oven switch is on the back wall of the bottom left cupboard, behind the pans.) The next day, we couldn't get the radiators working and the cottage was very cold. On asking Karen and Rebecca about it, Rebecca did come round to help. She stated that she knew the cottage gets cold, and it took her a long time to work the heating system herself, but there was no information left for us on how to access the heating. That same day, the shower wouldn't switch on. After ten minutes of fiddling, it came back on long enough for me to wash but not any longer. Because of this, the other three went without a shower. The next day, it still wouldn't turn on so we popped another message to Rebecca. She said she'd come over when she was back next door, and that was fine. She came, fiddled with it herself and left. Unfortunately, it went off completely again just as she left. She came back and phoned the plumber, who talked her through what he thought would work and she got it running. The moment she left again, it went off again. She came back round and told us the plumber would be round later that evening. On coming round, both the plumber and Rebecca tried to get the shower working, but he then came in the front room and said "Don't hate me. But I can't fix it. I need to get onto the roof eventually, but it means you can't have the pressure on at all." Without pressure, the shower was nothing but a small drip. This then went on for the rest of the week - the shower unusable and the water persistently going cold (both in the bathroom and kitchen.) On leaving The Stable and having a day to reflect, we texted Rebecca and Karen about our disappointment and how The Stable fell short. It was listed as having a working shower and this just wasn't the case. We also said that, having reflected, we feel it was justified to ask for a partial refund on our stay. We had no response, so later that day I emailed Sykes Cottages about our stay. Rebecca did get back to us the next day to offer £72, which I thought was an insult considering the problems we had throughout the whole week. On discussing this with Sykes Cottages, it became clear they would not be willing to help, and in fact we were spoken to by one member of staff like dirt on her shoe. She was not willing to hear us out, and may as well have accused us of lying about the shower which just was not the case. She also stated "well, no one else has made a complaint about The Stable before" which would have been fine except we were the first guests! That comment in itself showed us that Sykes Cottages would not listen or assist us in any way. They were entirely uninterested and made it clear they would not be pursuing our complaint and that we either accept £72 or nothing at all. They then, very unhelpfully, rang me back a month later after leaving an honest review on their website, to state that had we had refused the £72 and contacted a solicitor, he would have helped us further. That not only sounds extreme, but they made us aware on four occasions that £72 was a full and final offer or we'd get nothing, and that they wouldn't escalate for any more. This made the further call to us pointless! I would not visit The Stable in the future, and I would suggest it is avoided by anyone else who doesn't want a disappointing holiday. We left early on the final day as we couldn't wait to get home and get a decent shower. We will never use Sykes Cottages again and would suggest others avoid at all costs!