Shame on you Julian! Your behavior was totally unacceptable and of all Cottage amenities, only electricity and running water were accurate. You showed NO concern for your renters!
Anyone planning to rent this property, please beware.
Julian did not respond at all or on a timely basis to all critical questions:
No response to my 2 emails requesting information about transportation to the cottage. My call to his phone number led to a a message that the phone number was not available.
I contacted Trip Advisor who had the same problems!
Three days before arrival, Julian finally emailed, saying that he’d arrange for a driver to pick us up as the Cottage is difficult to find. I gave him our flight number/arrival information. I asked for a local phone number, no response.
The driver did NOT show! We had no local phone number, no address for the house, and no name for the driver. I had to email Julian since his phone did not work.
1st email response: “He should be outside arrivals with a sign, I have not heard back from him so I have to assume he has forgot.”
2nd email response: “If you do not hear back from me in the next 10 mins we have to assume something has gone awry. In that case please jump in a taxi.” Julian then proceeded to give the detailed instructions I asked for in the first place!
I missed these because we were leaving the now closing airport. Phone calls from him came from an unrecognizable phone number — not his. And no message was left. We had found a driver and, using the Trip-advisor map, managed to find the cottage.
The couple there to let us in was leaving, assuming we were not coming. They told us the Julian’s driver had not been as reliable as of late, and Julian WAS IN ENGLAND!
The Cottage had none of the information/services promised.
The couple had no advice re: things to do/see, responding vaguely “Oh, there are lots of things here.” The only thing they did know was how to turn off the cooker (oven). After they left, we found:
No map of the town (a junk drawer full of tourist information)
No cell phone for local calls
No directions to an ATM or grocery store
No emergency information — police, fire, hospital, ambulance, etc.
No smoke detector
No basic information about the house — air conditioner, dishwasher, cistern, technology, etc.
What we did find: non-working ceiling fan, broken wall switch, struggling AC.
Technology was not working, slow or non-existent.
WiFi was slow or did not connect at all: The couple confessed they were technologically inept and could not help. I sent an email to Julian — his response the next day:
“Try to reset the router by unplugging and reporting it up. I assume you are receiving a signal? Also confirm you are using the correct network, written on a piece of paper inside the media cabinet... I believe there are two networks, threadneedle and Threadneedle, one of which is a ghost network.”
Which one is the ghost? No response.
No television reception. There were 5 different remotes, but none for the TV. The couple said we were to use the DVD player instead and, yet again, no instructions.
No cell phone for local calls. The couple expressed surprise that there was ever a phone. Julian’s response:
“If the phone is not in the drawer and is not anywhere obvious (perhaps in the media cabinet) then I can only assume it has been accidentally removed by a previous guest which has happened a couple of times. I will ask Mike (a friend) to look into it, though unfortunately that will not help you much.”
He followed up by saying that he had discontinued service as it had been abused in the past and suggested that we purchase a sim card!
The Cottage was dirty: A filthy tower fan for supplementing the AC, spider webs in the bathroom over the bed, spider eggs next to the bathroom door; TV cabinet so dusty it took my breath away,
My parting words to Julian:
After the driver debacle, Julian responded “I’m glad you are settled now and hope it does not detract from your time in Bermuda.”
Julian, It not only detracted, it foreshadowed the entire experience with your property: dismal, deficient & disappointing.