Gower Getaways Ltd in Mumbles, Swansea

DISGUSTING. On arrival at our accommodation we found rubbish had been left on the driveway before we even went inside. It smelt fishy as soon as we opened the door. We soon found mice droppings in the kitchen, conservatory and hallway. Carpet moths had destroyed the bedroom carpet, you could see the larvae. There was blood and hair in the double bed. There was dirty laundry and rubbish left by the previous occupants, together with their used bar of soap in the bathroom, hairs n all!! An inch of dust on the beside table. Spatters of something not nice over the wardrobe mirror, which on opening had fallen to pieces at the back. The list is endless. It was filthy. We took lots of photographs. We could not stay there and wouldn't have even if it was free! Needed Environmental Health in there, not just a cleaner (cleaning company they use by the way is owned by them too, so don't be caught by the £150 bond they make you pay). No alternative accommodation offered, no refund offered, no apology. Left stranded with our two children in Wales at 10:30pm on a bank holiday weekend. Our holiday was totally ruined. They didn't return our calls, texts or emails. We had to go through Paypal to get our money back. Paypal were brilliant and we got a full refund. I am posting my review in as many places as I can so others don't get caught out. Funny how they are not on TripAdvisor!! Unfortunately I had to give them at least one star to post my review. They don't deserve any stars.

Bad experience with Gower Getaways, booked 4 night stay and on arrival found the place had not been cleaned for months (not weeks). Cobwebs everywhere and a thick layer of dust and grime that said the property had not been looked after for a while. Marvellous view from sitting room window but incredibly it was obscured by the absolutely filthy conditions of the window "inside". Toilets filthy with splattered excrement (not what you want to come in to on any break away).
Called Andrew the Manager of Gower Getaways who came to the property promptly, he was clearly shocked but informed us at 4.00pm that cleaners would not be available till following morning. Beddiing was crisp, clean and fresh. The house was cleaned the following day and box of chocs and wine left on the side which was very nice. However, the house did not just need a quick once over, this house should never have been up for holiday rental. A few hours cleaning made it bearable but not for a professional let. Cobwebs still littered the dining area, cleaning had been somewhat superficial, kitchen work tops had been cleaned but only halfway, leaving the back of the work surface still grubby. Dog bone left in lounge, toilets passable but not pristine. Dirt, hair and muck down sides and back of childrens beds. Spilt sticky drink staines on floor of children's bedroom which had not been moped up.
Dirty oven and utensils with food on them (dried spaghetti), this is AFTER clean. I cleaned them myself. I cannot believe I paid the tarif plus 150 pound bond to stay here. This is not a professional outfit, I understand the Manager tried to resolve I did not ask for cleaners to come back in AGAIN because we were only there for 4 nights and would have meant that 50per cent of our stay was infringed on. I asked for a discount as the whole situation was unsatisfactory and Andrew said he would sort it out when we gave the keys back on Saturday. Andrew was not about when we called in Saturday morning, apparently he was out on a bike ride!
When I asked why, as we had an arrangement to meet up and sort it out, I was told that he was embarrassed about the situation!

I went home from holiday and contacted Andrew Monday morning. Andrew's attitude is very poor, he does not accept responsibility for letting us down. He blamed the owners for leaving the property in that state and the cleaners for apparently letting us down too (not acknowledging or even considering that it was his company and his cleaners that have let us down he distanced himself from the blame. The welcome book in this house ironically had the same level of grime over it and had to be cleaned. On looking through, this property used to be let by rivals home from home as the book had not been updated and referred to the old letting agent. I think what happened is that the owners decided to change letting agents and hadn't been rented out for a while. We must have been the first to rent under Gower getaways, but the property was not checked out beforehand by gower getaways and was not cleaned and brought up to standard. I did question what the 150 bond was for if they were not overseeing the properties on their books. Andrew in the end gave us a 50 pounds refund (I'll let you decide if that is fair) and begrudgingly said he will not make any money on this let. There was no ownership of the problem. I am leaving out the name of the property in question on purpose as it is not the owners who are at fault here. When you sign up to an agent to rent your property out they are supposed to manage/look after your property and make sure it is fit for rental. Apparently someone needs to inform the manager of Gower getaway of his obligations. We visit Mumbles area once or twice a year and this is my first experience of Gower getaways, needless to say we will not be using them again. I do not usually write reviews but this was so incredible that it needed saying. I am giving a generous 2 stars as an acknowledgement of the choc, wine and 50 pound refund.

Bad experience - booked a holiday cottage at short notice and paid half on booking, the other half a week later when due. Two days later was invoiced for a further £50. No explanation. I phoned them to say I had already paid in full and they said this was an extra cleaning charge for my two dogs, which I had included in the original booking. No charge was mentioned on the website nor in terms & conditions. They said that if I had booked over the phone, they would have told me at the time. I had booked online and pointed out that they accepted the contract without informing me of this charge, therefore it wasn't valid. They refused to send final holiday details until I had paid and by then it was too late to find alternative accommodation. Went on the holiday, cottage not the cleanest - certainly can't imagine the cleaners being paid the £50 to make an extra effort after my stay. On my return had to chase up the return of my security deposit (£150) as it was still not in my bank account one week after it was due to be repaid. Managing Director explained, by way of an excuse, that he had been away on a family holiday the previous week, and that's why I was not repaid on time! He freely admitted this without seeming to realise how unprofessional this appears. Goes without saying that I will certainly not be booking with Gower Getaways again.