Monarfon Benllech, Anglesey

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and found the property to be dirty with cobwebs and spiders in most corners of the rooms. The mugs and glasses in the cupboards were dirty. The window recesses in the lounge and dining room had black mould. The rear patio door would not lock so the house was not secure; I do not accept that a broom handle is adequate security for my family and my belongings and I’m confident that an insurance company would not accept this either. The bedroom walls and ceilings had mould as well as the window recesses. The single room still had dead insects and dirt on the window sill. The bin still had a used earbud in it. I felt that the mould was a health risk and the lack of security meant that I could not stay in the property. I called Sykes to advise them and they told me that they would contact the owner. In my opinion, the house needs an awful lot of work to make it a habitable and enjoyable holiday house. I expected a clean, secure place to stay but this property fell far short of the mark. The property owner has offered me less than 30% of my booking price as compensation when contacted for a full refund. I feel that a full refund is a reasonable request for a cancelled family holiday. I was in the property for less than an hour and this time was used to gather photographic evidence of the poor state of the property and to contact Sykes. The photographs on the site appear to be at least five years out of date. The only positive thing that I can say about the property is that the en suite was the only clean room. My family were devastated as we got back in the car to drive home. I have now read other reviews which prove that the property owner was aware of the unsecured patio door and the dirty state of the property.

Plus sides are the great location and size of the property, enclosed garden, comfortable beds and nice showers. We had a lovely holiday despite the disappointment we felt when we arrived at the property. Negatives are the general neglect of the garden and property, cobwebs and spiders everywhere, rotten windows, the patio door has to be locked with a piece of wood! Generally the kitchen needs a good clean, there was disgusting ' gunk' around the kitchen sink. We gave the kitchen surfaces, plates, cups etc a good clean before we felt comfortable to cook anything. There is no kerbside appeal, whoever took the photos for the website did an amazing job!!!

In these difficult times since Covid then some things are understandably difficult.. Although the accommodation met our needs it would have been good to know in advance that most of the things like books, games, dvds had been removed from the lounge area. Presumably to help with cleaning and contamination. I know this property has had some bad reviews and my view on this is that they are largely unfounded. It didn’t smell bad at all and all the bathroom facilities were very good. It’s obviously an old house but we were happy enough with it. The outside area could do with a good tidy up , it’s a big garden. The location is great and we enjoyed our stay. I would hesitate in recommending this property.

House and location were excellent.. Minor points just to help people would be some instructions regarding bins, and local information, however we realise this may not have been possible at this time due to Covid 19 Otherwise a very enjoyable week, with great walks and fantastic views and places to visit

The weather wasn't kind to us and I imagine that would be the case for many others, so it would be really useful if the property had an airer for drying clothes.. There is a washing line in the utility area but it wasn't long enough for wet clothes from 5 people and they all slide to one end on it anyway as it's such a steep incline. Also, a dishwasher would be appreciated as I was gutted to realise that our holiday was going to include a tonne of washing up through the week (you are also then contending with how well other users wash up before you, a machine is much more hygienic). The front door needs to be fixed as we couldn't get in initially and we had times where it was making random announcements. As far as Sykes go, I was a bit disappointed and frustrated there was no communication on where we stood with our booking in the event it needed to be cancelled due to COVID, we had to wait for months once we had paid the full price I feel like it was only common courtesy that there should have been something sooner to explain "In the event of...". We were asked for the balance when it still looked uncertain the holiday could go ahead and I feel there should have been some reassurance provided at that point at the very least. However, the property was lovely, very comfortable, pretty well-equipped and an excellent position for the beach. Shops were close by for the essentials and a great chippie.

Good break in a house that’s a little tired but with a very efficient central heating system which was ideal for a winter break! .

A fantastic holiday in a really lovely house. Superb location, just a short walk to a lovely sandy beach, large enclosed garden, and nice decked area to watch the sun go down with a glass of wine. The house it really warm and cosy, any contrary to the previous review found, we found the cleanliness to our expectations and no bad smell.

Monarfon Cottage Anglesey My wife and I were due to stay at Monarfon Cottage between March 7th and March 14th 2020 with our five year old Tibetan Terrier Flo. As we approached the cottage we noticed that the house next door is in a dilapidated state and does not create a good impression. There is not a lot the owners of Monarfon can do about that but it definitely is an off putter. As we entered the cottage we noticed a strong smell of “drains”which was coming from the down stairs toilet and bathroom area. On investigation, this area is badly in need of refurbishment. The lounge area is fine and the kitchen a decent size. The utility room is in a poor state with damp evident in places and looks more like an outhouse than a utility room. The door from the utility goes to the side of the house where the fence between the dilapidated house and the Monarfon property is broken down and subsequent felling of shrubs has created an area that would allow the next door’s dog to enter the Monarfon property. Although there is a gate to the rear of the property we felt that the dog next door could easily scale that. By now we were feeling less than enthusiastic about our weeks stay. The upstairs, however is quite nice and more like what we expected but the smell of the drains was still there even though we had opened the downstairs bathroom window. Our decision to leave was made when I opened the doors to the Welsh dresser in the kitchen. The only item that was in there was a box of RAT POISON! Why this was in there I don’t know but the thought of there being vermin in and around the property and the fact that there may still be rat poison in or out of the house made our decision to leave a no brainier. We were not prepared to put our dog in any danger. We spent the next 90 minutes searching for other properties. Subsequent contact with the owner confirmed (in writing) that they have had problems with the drains and did in fact have a vermin problem in summer 2019. He said that both had been resolved but from the smell it was clear that the drain issue hadn’t and who knows about the vermin issue? The owner said that the neighbours in the dilapidated house feed the wild life (and presumably still do) and that was probably the cause of the vermin issue. From the look of that house it may we’ll be the vermin issue. Although the owner said he was sorry he made no offer of compensation. After sending a subsequent E mail he offered me 25% money back on the week which was nowhere near enough as we had had to source another property at a higher price than we had already paid for Monarfon. We had booked the cottage through Sykes Cottages so I spoke to them about the situation and I was advised that we should have contacted them immediately and they would have tried to resolve the issue with the owner. At the time of making our decision to leave, it was 15:30 on Saturday afternoon and we did not see how the drain issue could be resolved quickly. We did not feel that the issues we encountered could be resolved to our satisfaction and we were not prepared to let it spoil our holiday. Further discussions with Sykes did not bring any joy as they simply repeated that we should have spoken to them and that any compensation would be at the owners discretion under these circumstances. We have stayed at a lot of properties over the years and many of them booked with Sykes. I can say that we have never felt that we had to leave a property previously but we would not have stayed at Monarfon any longer than we did. Anyone wanting any further information can contact me on Gsb522010@aol.com I wish we had taken more notice of a couple of the other reviews on the Sykes website as it could have saved us a lot of money and wasted time

Main reason for visit was to meet up with family who live in Anglesey.. Cottage was surprisingly roomy. We managed to fit 9 round the dining table - although two of our number were young children. Well enough equipped although we improvised with a few kitchen implements - my late mother in law would be proud. Enjoyable week’s holiday. Weather not bad for November which allowed us 4 walks with the dog. Very likely that we will visit again.

Monarfon needs updating downstairs toilet bathroom utility room mold in bathroom .... Monarfon needs updating downstairs toilet bathroom utility room mold in bathroom upstairs the beds were lovely comfortable needs a lot of tlc Anglesey it's self is lovely and only 4 mins walk to the beach

I’ve already sent my feedback to you yesterday and I’ve also sent an email to the owners and copied info@sykescottages in.. I’ve raised a number of issues which need looking into!

Storage in bedrooms inadequate.. A bread bin would be useful and the toaster needs replacing.

Great location, lovely garden, nice bathrooms and all the facilities you need..

We really enjoyed it at the cottage, the layout was very good and it was lovely to be near the sea.. The dogs really enjoyed it, Cadbury was in the sea every day. We would go back again, as the area was beautiful and not far to the shops, could walk there.

Good time had

Monarfon is a comfortable place with nice touches and in a great location.. Very spacious and clean, with little goodies left for you to enjoy whilst staying there. Good size garden for our two little dogs to explore. Would definitely recommend and we will definitely be returning.

Monarfon is a spacious well presented house close enough to walk down to the beach or you can take the car and park on the sea front ir in the car park .. The beach is dog friendly between September and March but not in the summer. You can get in some good walks along the beach at low tide. We had a very good holiday x x

Very pleased with holiday cottage it matched the description well.. Very comfortable beds & short walk to beach. Nice to have the WiFi included too.

The enclosed garden was excellent and large, our dog Jasper really loved it .. The owners made us feel very welcome

Lovely cottage - very comfortable and excellent garden for our dogs.. Couple of negatives - veranda being repaired? looks as though this has been ongoing for many weeks. Dustbins overflowing when we arrived - obviously hadn’t been emptied and looking at the comments in book does not look as though this is unusual! These couple of problems did not spoil our holiday - we loved Bennlech and would definitely return at a later date.

Close to lovely beach.. Layout of accommodation was good. Excellent facilities. Friendly and very helpful owners.

Fantastic location nice big house but downstairs needs updating and lots of cobwebs on beams and in utility area the owners are really nice and nothing is too much trouble but they need to either check after the cleaner has cleaned or think about hiring a new one as I had to clean quite a few things before used..

Warm,comfortable and well located.. Good sized rooms and a spacious private garden for our small dog , so good we booked again before we had even left to come home

Great location.. Lovely garden, ideal for dog. Nice House with plenty of space.

The cottage was very spacious, warm and comfortable.. It's proximity to the beach and the town of Benllech was fantastic and it was also a great base to explore the rest of Anglesey.

A clean and comfortable cottage which was a very good base for a visit to Anglesey.. Local facilities were very good and the local beach provided our dog with plenty of exercise opportunity.

Fantastic location and cottage was lovely.. We would highly recommend

Monarfon is a lovely, airy and comfortable cottage in a lovely location. The garden was a bonus and two fabulous bathrooms! We had a fantastic holiday and will be booking again as it appears the owners have tried to get everything just right and succeeded.

Monarfon is a lovely, airy and comfortable cottage in a lovely location.. The garden was a bonus and two fabulous bathrooms! We had a fantastic holiday and will be booking again as it appears the owners have tried to get everything just right and succeeded.

Lovely comfortable holiday home.. The owners very helpful and made sure that we were happy.

Lovely comfortable holiday home. The owners very helpful and made sure that we were happy.

Monarfon was lovely and warm, in a quiet cul de sac. There are luxurious bathrooms and the property is very spacious. Chose Manorfon because... Very close to a fabulous beach. Pub nearby. Enclosed garden. All turned out to be so!

Monarfon was lovely and warm, in a quiet cul de sac.. There are luxurious bathrooms and the property is very spacious. Chose Manorfon because... Very close to a fabulous beach. Pub nearby. Enclosed garden. All turned out to be so!

Loved the dining area and the very smart bathrooms, especially the walk in shower in the master bedroom ensuite. Enjoyed the proximity to the beach and managed a few walks despite the stormy weather. Didn't use the garden much due to the weather but it was a lovely big space.

Loved the dining area and the very smart bathrooms, especially the walk in shower in the master bedroom ensuite.. Enjoyed the proximity to the beach and managed a few walks despite the stormy weather. Didn't use the garden much due to the weather but it was a lovely big space.