Thank you for your feedback regarding Beachcombers and whilst we were pleased to hear you enjoyed your stay, we were concerned by this issues you have reported and we have carried out our own investigations.
Firstly, to comment on the pre-arrival communication – specific units are not allocated until the day prior to arrival. This is because we often need to move bookings to try and get them back to back, in order to keep our availability open, and sometimes for short notice maintenance issues. It isn’t that we “wouldn’t tell” guests the apartment allocated, but more to the point, that the number isn’t finalised until the day prior. For the benefit of anyone reading this review, when guests check-in at Beachcombers they access an envelope with their name and apartment number detailed; the envelope contains the apartment key.
Regarding Trip Advisor, we have no editing control over the information they publish. Unfortunately they collect their information by web-scraping and we have no idea why they state “high speed WiFi”. This is frustrating to say the least as we are physically unable to correct any inaccuracies we spot. You booked with us direct and you should have relied on the information on our website. We advertise “free Wi-Fi” and our booking conditions qualifies this in more detail - the link was sent with your booking confirmation.
To expand on this point a little more, WiFi in Watergate Bay is challenging due to its location in the cove sheltered by cliffs. We have installed two broadband lines now, the second one more recently to try and improve internet speeds but sadly it has had little effect. We have been advised that the only way we can improve the connection is fibre-to-the-property but this involves digging up a long length of road and it is price prohibitive unfortunately. We would never recommend guests visit Watergate Bay to plan work meetings where they rely on the internet.
With regards to your comment about the freezer, we must apologise if you were told the freezer has two shelves. Our fridges have two shelves, but not our freezers. We are sorry you were inconvenienced by this advice and please be assured we have spoken to our staff in reception who would have taken your call to ensure such a misunderstanding does not arise again.
We note your disappointment that the property did not include pasta bowls, a sieve nor an Espresso machine. We are sorry you were inconvenienced but in all fairness these items are not standard inventory.
We refute that the fixtures in your apartment are shoddy. The apartment in which you stayed is one of our most popular. With regard to the ventilation in the en-suite, this is operated by a high up electrical switch. We apologise if our house-keeping staff did not notice it was switched off, but it does work. If you had let us know it was not working we would have happily attended and got it working for you.
When guests stay 7 nights or longer we do replace the bedding and towels. This is stated in our Guest Information Folder. We are sorry you were inconvenienced by this service but if you had advised us in advance that you did not require a change of bedding then we would have advised housekeeping accordingly.
All our properties are non-smoking inside but you are correct in stating that guests can smoke outside, which includes private balconies. We manage over eighty properties in Cornwall and In all honesty you are the first guest in many, many years to comment that smoke from another patio/balcony has wafted into your own.
We are sorry you found the soundproofing and double glazing not to your liking. It is extremely rare that guests comment on this as we have no known issues.
Whilst there is a main road outside Beachcombers, if guests cross over the road to the other side, there is a pathway. Admittedly, to access the beach, the road needs to be crossed. It does rather sound that when choosing your next holiday you may be better to choose accommodation that is directly on the beach and away from roads so these issues do not inconvenience you.