I wanted to give Boutique Retreats their usual 5 stars as this is the third time I have booked with them and they are always amazing. This bad review really relates to the owners of the property "Quercus" in Devon - namely Katie Jacoby who I can only assume possesses zero integrity and absolutely no morals. We paid £3k for a week at this property which is stunning, however on day two ALL the smoke detectors (ten) went off for no apparent reason (we were not cooking, did not light a fire or use candles). We called Katie (as the owner) no response but left a VM. We called the 24/7 helpline for Boutique Reteats - no answer and no facility to leave a VM. Four hours later - ten smoke detectors STILL sounding continuously and no help available. Our three dogs were terrified and ran off into the garden, refusing to come int the house. The sound was deafening. Eventually I ran inside to look for the fire instructions on back of door and found someone called "Mark" listed. In the meantime we tried switching off mains electricity but alarms still sounded and guess what? no wifi means you cannot make any calls as there is no mobile phone coverage. Switched electricity back on and called "Mark" who came out. He could not resolve situation and was barely apologetic. He called electrician who ripped out two of the smoke detectors in main lounge and master bedroom (directly underneath thatched roof) announcing "you should be ok now". Err... no - not the right answer. This is a blatant breach of heath and safety regulations as we are now not protected in the event of fire. No call back from Katie and still cannot get in touch with Boutique Retreats. Our dogs were still refusing to come back into the property having had to endure four hours to the relentless sound of ten smoke alarms. We decided to leave - not feeling safe to stay at all. In summary, Boutique Retreats tried to negotiate a refund/rebook with the owners who only offered £100 - for a lost £3k holiday? Incredible. Please take note - even if you book with BR, your contract is with the owners NOT with them. So if anything goes wrong, you are completely stuffed. Fortunately BR offered us their commission by way of compensation (approx £650) but owners refused to give any more than £100!!! We felt too unsafe and vulnerable to remain - it was Sunday and NO-ONE answering our calls. All in all not acceptable and will be reporting owner and the property to the local authority with whom they have to have a licence.
Claim your business profile now and gain access to all features and respond to customer reviews.
