Cumbrae View, 30 Castlebay Court, Largs, North Ayrshire, KA30 8DS

We had an email the night before we were due to travel to say work was going on and there would be noise etc “ Temporary scaffolding erected just outside our ground floor to replace the railings on a flat 2 floors above ours and 2 elevated balconies above the flat adjacent to ours. This work is of a temporary nature and should be dismantled either the day of your arrival or early next week

One of the flats above us is having internal work done that involves cutting/preparation of materials outside in the communal area of the entranceway to the flats in our block. This outside prep work is being undertaken from 8.00am to about 1.00pm Mon to Friday and there is quite a bit of noise from this activity. We apologize for this disruption; we had no forewarning or knowledge about this disruption before being notified by the current guests who are not pleased at all. Regards, and hope that you enjoy your stay apart from the above disruptions

I spoke to the lady who was managing the flat for the owners you and she said she wasn’t sure of time factors and was trying to get answers. I told her I felt that it was not what we expected and was thinking of cancelling. She said she’d continue to try and get info

I contacted the owners who had written to me to say that with this information I felt it was not appropriate for us and how would I stand in getting a refund. Their answer was “ The scaffolding in front of our balcony is there at the moment being outside our adjacent neighbours flat (which is away from the nice view). We are informed that it will be moved back in front of our balcony for probably 1 day either the day you arrive or early next week to just install the new rails and acrylic panels. When in front of our flat, it is not that obtrusive, as our balcony faces a small grassed area, then the main driveway and then finally an 8ft stone wall. It will not block the view towards the Clyde estuary and Isle of Cumbrae beyond, as that is to the right as you go out onto the ground level balcony. The balcony is not the main access point to the flat so the equipment will not be a tripping hazard.

Regarding the other activity with cutting etc. They are well away from pedestrian access and may be finished by next week. Sorry that I can't be any clearer on this.

Any cancellation that you are considering will be between you and Sykes Cottages.

The next morning I tried to get hold of Sykes but to no avail about getting a refund as owner had suggested.

I spoke to the lady who would,be there to meet us. She was trying to get confirmation that they would be finished by Monday as indicated.

Being elderly we felt we had no choice but to risk it as we were not guaranteed we would get a refund and had a seven hour journey ahead of us, so decided to go.

The noise was bad from the Monday and was still going on when we left a day early because we couldn’t bear it any longer.

There is no view from the balcony of the sea, the car park is there blocking out views.

We found the oven to be filthy, a dirty bath mat, dirty toilet holders one with what looked like feces still on it, filthy cutlery drawer, dust behind the bedside cabinet, cobwebs. The outside patio was cluttered with plant pots with dead plants, two hanging basket with snapped rusty chains that meant they couldn’t be hung up, but had been discarded and left on the patio. The floor had weeds growing out between the cracks, an old newspaper lying between the plant pots and the doors were filthy, nothing had been swept.

We notified Sykes who raised a complaint and informed the owners, also sending photos of what we found

The owners sent me an email

“It was surprising to us to hear your complaints about the cleanliness as most guests comment on how lovely the place is and also how clean it is.

We acknowledge your remarks and will pass them on to our cleaning company. As far as the noise and scaffolding is concerned, we were not informed that this was to take place before you booked, and we notified you by email directly as soon as we knew about the it.

We are sorry for the inconvenience and hope that apart from a few inconveniences you have enjoyed your stay in beautiful Largs and the surrounding area.

No mention of a refund (of which they previously stated was between ourselves and Sykes, who she’s informed me they can’t give a refund until the owners say so) which is it…

Would I recommend this holiday apartment NO NO NO

WISH I COULD ADD PHOTOS