Review of Apartment 2, The Old Police House, Padstow

This is a very honest, and hopefully useful, review to both future holiday makers and the owner.

Location
The location of this apartment is superb and the fact it has a parking space in such a popular tourist day trip location was excellent and most appreciated!!
5 stars for location and parking.

Furnishings
When booking the apartment we were aware from from the description that it required refurbishment, although the advert did say mostly to the exterior we agree with the owner (through her comments on other reviews) that the interior of Apartment 2 requires rather a lot of refurbishment too which I understand will begin after 2014 high season. We feel the price paid reflected this and the pictures do show the style of the apartment. We certainly weren't expecting a Arighi Bianchi or a John Lewis styled interior and were happy with that. The owner has already made a start and we were very pleased with the brand new carpet. The kitchen is very well equipped and we certainly didn't feel anything was missing. The only complaints we have are about the state of the curtains and chair in the bathroom (see cleanliness below) and the 'nic naks' in the bathroom took an entire shelf which could be freed up for guests' toiletries. The toilet is also extremely difficult to flush - doesn't sound much, but it is a real pain.
3 stars for furnishings and equipment

Cleanliness
Having advised the owner we were arriving a little bit early (hour and a half) we were told that we wouldn't be able to check in early as the flat was being cleaned - perfectly acceptable. However, when we arrived at the scheduled check in time (and throughout our stay) there was a very strong smell of damp/mustiness and the flat did not smell clean as you might expect when arriving only minutes after the cleaner had left (especially when there are so many cleaning products in the communal hallway.) Unfortunately for us, there was hair in the plug hole in the sink in the bathroom. Also, the chair and the curtains in the bathroom were quite marked with water and toothpaste stains and really need replacing ASAP. We mistakenly thought the sofa in the living room was a sofa bed and when we lifted the cushions there was an awful lot of crumbs and sand which again, if the apartment had just been cleaned (properly) you wouldn't expect to find.
3 stars for cleanliness

Privacy/Noise/Comfort
The apartment is very reasonably sized and there is a lot of space. Having the downstairs apartment meant we got the benefit of having a back door (stable door) which we were able to use to try and air the flat. However, the bottom lock has been badly damaged and is impossible to use. Because of this you have to really bang the door to shut it, thus causing noise to the upstairs residents and neighbouring properties. The middle lock is warped so takes a great deal of fiddling and a few trapped fingers to get it shut. Ouch! The locks need replacing ASAP.

Sadly, because this is a converted house you can hear everything from the apartment above. We might have been very unlucky with the guests upstairs (two different sets)
, in that they might have been very heavy footed and spoke very loudly, but we could hear everything - including when they were on the toilet!!! We were unable to sleep in any morning because we were woken by their movements. This was really upsetting because neither of us feel we got a full and decent night's sleep - which is what holidays are for. To be fair, we don't think this was the other tenants' fault but it did make for some exasperating meetings with them about the noise - not very enjoyable. This could be improved by lowering the ceiling downstairs and adding extra insulation.

We also felt that because the bed and bathroom are next to windows straight on to the road, and a lack of black out blinds/curtains, that our privacy was compromised and found it rather difficult to relax. It was also impossible to have the windows open and use either of the rooms, because the curtains get sucked out and anyone walking past can see right in. Blinds as well as curtains, would help improve privacy. The noise from the water system, especially the water cistern, was phenomenal, and would benefit from a silencing system. Equally, because of the gap under our apartment door, we were often disturbed by the other guests (Apartment 1) leaving or arriving at the property. At times, it really did feel like we were sharing the apartment with them.
2 stars for privacy/noise/comfort

Apartment 2 The Old Police House has the potential to be a wonderful holiday let. Sally, the owner, is very communicative and easy to get hold of. We recognise that the owner is aware that the apartment is in need of refurbishment, and this is reflected in the current rental price. However, we think attention should be spent on the privacy/noise aspect before decoration.