17th Century character cottage in pretty Devon village

Dear David, Thank you for review, your feedback is very helpful. I am sorry you had some negative experiences and the housekeeper was very appreciative of how clean you left the house. I think in future for two week bookings we will have a weekly cleaning charge rather than one on arrival/departure so we can deal with these issues if they arise. Here are our responses to your concernsKind regards Genevieve & Debbie 1) Recycling and Rubbish. The previous guests did not put out the recycling on the previous week, and so the housekeeper took some of this away but not all when she visited. There is only one collection every two weeks in rural areas which I agree is a problem and we will try and find a solution if a guest does not put out the rubbish. There was rubbish in one of the black bins when the housekeeper left, but the other was empty and the collection day was the Wednesday after your arrival so we hoped that this would be OK. It is a mystery as to where the other ones came from. The recycling (other than cardboard) does not need to be sorted, the council take this mixed but perhaps that is not clear enough in the instructions. I will amend. As you know we have had an unusually hot summer in England this year and so again sorry about the smelly dustbins. The housekeeper says she is sure she emptied all the bins in the house as this is part of her routine, but again very sorry if this was not the case. 2) Fridges - the ice tray is at the top of the large freezer, but it is a bit discreet, so I will mention this in the guide. There should have been one empty tray in the freezer. I am sorry about the items left in the smaller fridge. We will be more vigilant in future. 3) Lightbulbs, we do leave out several spares in case they burn out, but I have asked the housekeeper to check all of them replace them. 4) The vacuum cleaner is in the cupboard under the stairs, it is not necessary for you to clean as you pay a charge for this service, but appreciated. I will point this out in the guide. 5) The window, we could have come and closed this for you or provided the combination number for the lock. We keep this area locked because the attic is very attractive to small children. 6) TV room the TV room is really a snug and I agree it is not possible to have everyone watching TV at the same time. Sorry you found the new sofa uncomfortable. The cottage is our home not just a rental property so some things may not be to others taste