Henry Adams Holiday Cottages 15 North Street, Emsworth PO10 7BY

"We recently rented one of their homes on Airbnb and this company really reminded us why we usually avoid holiday rental companies and stick with private hosts. After a good experience with another local holiday rental company, we thought we would give Henry Adams a chance. Currently they are trying to charge us £100 for a broken fridge shelf which had a crack through it on arrival and unfortunately broke during our stay, on the last day, when we opened the fridge door. This was inevitable to happen during someone's stay and unluckily, it was during ours. We were not warned not to use it and because we forgot to tell them until a few days after we left, we offered to pay £50 for it (it costs £30 for a new one but this company needed professional help to slide a shelf in hence them demanding over £100 + VAT). Despite it not being our fault, we thought as a gesture of goodwill and because we forgot to tell them on checkout that it would be a nice thing to do. When they replied wanting over £100 plus VAT, they also accused us of using too much electricity during our stay and leaving the property dirty when we cleaned every room and always do, we are hosts ourselves and we even stripped the beds! On arrival, some areas were filthy and had at least a years worth of dirt (side of the sofas in living room, other fridge shelf) whilst many areas of the house were in need of replacing, worst of all was the very old 90's coil-sprung mattresses where you could actually feel the springs so we had to use a duvet from another room as a topper, downstairs bedroom smelt so badly of damp you could hardly breath in there and the rooms even had artex ceilings and other things that we have never seen in an Airbnb property before. We didn't think the lack of up-keep would backfire on us as guests, but annoyingly it did! However, we would not be leaving this review if they didn't deal so terribly with us letting them know about the fridge shelf (which included them denying it was ever cracked so they could charge us the full amount)! The fridge was so old there was yellow, crispy and dried milk all around the bottom shelf visible through a glass covering, which looked years old and was impossible to clean out due to this covering. Very off-putting. I wish I took a photo of this as then we would have proof of the crack too but we aren't petty people and just thought we very much won't bother booking with a rental company next time!"

"Wonderful place:Spacious, very well equipped and lovingly decorated rooms. Nice beds, cool rooms on hot days (fell in love with the shutters!). Very light, windows everywhere. All one could wish for is present. Even perfect reading lights. Close to highway thus ideally located to make day trips and there’s easy on-foot access to large and small stores. Yet super quiet and tranquil place both during day and nighttime. Only sounds of birds."

"Sarah and Neil are exceptional nice hosts. Neil was always available via text to help with all our questions. The cottage is very cosy and provided towels and bedlinen. It was clean and very peaceful. The garden was full of exquisite artwork, which made it a joy to be outside, even when we did not travel anywhere. We will definitely try to come back. Thank you so much!"

"Fantastic location with great views from the bright and airy rooms. It would benefit from a Welcome Pack we couldn't light the gas fire in the lounge and the maintenance man had to come out to assist. We also ran out of hot water and we had to find out how to switch on the boost. Lots of facilities and large comfortable rooms but only one proper shower. The location is great and there are many places to eat within a few miles. Recommended at any time of the year but maybe not for young children!"