Annfield, Carron, Archiestown, Aberlour, Moray, AB38 7RD

Overall, a very poor experience! Let’s start with the good things…

Annfield cottage is in a beautiful location set in a large garden and grounds. We spotted deer, red squirrels and an abundance of wild birds during our week-long stay. It is a great base for walking and other outdoors activities.

Unfortunately, that is where the positives stall…

After seeking permission to park my car at the property, ahead of checking-in to the cottage, upon my arrival I was met by the owner’s partner and his two sons who were burning garden waste in the garden. I arrived at the cottage only 1hr 45mins after the check-out time had passed from the previous guests stay. The owner’s partner had advised that he had finished cleaning the property - this immediately struck me as a very short window of time in which to have performed a deep clean of the property, especially given the current Covid-19 pandemic situation. After handing me the keys to the cottage he and his sons left.

Upon entering the cottage I was very disappointed in the appearance and condition of the interior. Notably, the furniture in the property did not reflect what was photographed on the Sykes Cottages website, the property was very dirty and the quality of the furnishings and was poor - mis-representation!

No welcome pack was provided.

In summary, during our week-long stay the following issues were identified:

The kitchen worktops and splashback were badly soiled so my fiancée had to clean these down;

The dining room table needed cleaning;

The kitchen window was locked with no key provided to unlock and open it;

Rat bait boxes were in the garden with no warning provided;

The cutlery and crockery did not fit inside of the (slimline) dishwasher - if placed inside they jammed the spray arm!

Some of the curtains were covered in spiders webs;

The carpets were stained/soiled (in the dining room there were dog urine stains);

The rug in the dining room was filthy (covered in dog hair);

The upstairs bath plughole was badly fitted, corroded and clogged with hair;

When stripping the beds on our last day the duvets on two of the beds were stained and soiled;

The woodburner was a budget Tiger stove which threw out very little heat and there was little draw up the chimney;

A set of drawers in a bedroom had graffiti on them which had been half sanded away;

A dribbling tap in the bathroom was reported to the owner on the first day with her response being that she had been aware of a problematic tap for a couple of weeks;

No hairdryer was provided in the property;

All of the fixtures, fittings, furniture, furnishings and work done on the property was of the cheapest and poorest quality (a lot of second-hand furniture evident);

If the cottage was given some TLC and investment made into quality fixtures, fittings, furniture, furnishings, etc. this property would be excellent but unfortunately the owners seem to be milking it as a cash cow;

The approach to the front door was very dirty and slippery (additional gravel required on the driveway and a power wash of the paving stones is required).

I would not recommend this property based on our experience. 3 months earlier we stayed in a far better cottage for a similar price, which was less than half a mile away. Sadly, this beautiful cottage is being run into the ground. Avoid Annfield!