The family arrived to find the holiday home in a shocking condition. (Image: Handout)
A British family’s summer holiday in France turned into a “hellish” ordeal after they arrived at their Airbnb to find a dead rat, filthy rooms, a glowing green swimming pool and poison scattered across the floors.
Richard Glendenning, from London, had travelled to France with his wife, her parents and their eight-month-old puppy for a 10-night stay at an 18th-century barn in rural Bars, near Bergerac.
The family had expected the property to be rustic but charming, having booked the accommodation because of its private pool, sauna and outdoor space.
The outdoor table collapsed as the family sat down for their first meal. (Image: Handout)
Instead, Richard said they were left horrified by the condition of the property when they arrived on July 27.
“It was the messiest place, and it looked like nobody had bothered to clean it for a year or so – it was awful,” he told the Mirror.
He described the property as resembling something from a horror film, with insects, cobwebs and flies found throughout the accommodation.
In one bedroom, the family discovered a dead rodent, which Richard described as a rat. Other rooms reportedly contained dirty mattresses on the floor, while one bedroom had stacks of wood where a bed should have been.
The swimming pool was another major disappointment, with Richard describing it as a “radioactive, glowing green colour” rather than the blue pool shown in the property’s photographs.
The family said they found flies, cobwebs and dirt throughout the property. (Image: Handout)
The family also found a layer of scum around the edge of the pool and said some of the advertised outdoor furniture was missing.
The situation became even more concerning because the family had brought their puppy with the owner’s permission.
Richard said they found what appeared to be gravel or salt scattered across the floors and dining table, only to discover that it was poison which had been put down at the property.
“She knew beforehand we were bringing a puppy, so that was unbelievably dangerous,” he said.
The family also complained about the kitchen facilities, claiming the main oven was so small that it could not even accommodate half a pizza. They were offered access to the oven in another building, but said it was so dirty that they could not use it initially.
Their first attempt to enjoy a meal outside also ended in disaster when a table near the pool collapsed beneath their food and drinks.
“We put it all on the table, and it instantly collapsed. All the food and wine, everything went everywhere and broken plates,” Richard said.
Poison was allegedly scattered across floors despite the family travelling with a puppy. (Image: Handout)
The family documented the problems and contacted both the property owner and Airbnb during their stay.
The owner reportedly said a group of young people had stayed at the property before them and left it in a poor condition. Cleaners later returned, and the family said the pool eventually returned to a blue colour after two or three days.
Airbnb offered to relocate the family under its AirCover protection, but they said moving was impractical because it was peak summer, they were travelling with two elderly parents and had only one car.
The ordeal continued until their final night, when rain reportedly leaked through the roof and into a bedroom through a light socket. Richard’s wife said the water flooded the bed and soaked the contents of her suitcase.
Richard described the swimming pool as a “radioactive, glowing green colour”. (Image: Handout)
After the holiday, Richard summed up the experience bluntly: “We need a holiday after the holiday. It just got worse and worse – it was hellish.”
An Airbnb spokesperson said: “We are disappointed to hear about this experience and how it was handled. We have reached out to the guest to provide a monetary refund for the entire cost of their stay and are investigating the host.
“We have standards and ground rules for hosts, which require listings to be clean and free of health hazards, safety hazards and secure. While these reports are rare, we investigate and take the relevant action, which can include removal of listings from Airbnb.”
The company said it was also providing feedback to the customer service teams that handled the family’s case, after Richard said the case had been closed without a satisfactory outcome.
The family had expected a rustic French getaway but instead left with an experience they described as a “horror house” holiday.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
