CarolineH wrote:Just to continue this little TC - a lot of my French friends consider squat toilets (à la Turque) to be more hygenic in public than others - because you don't have to touch anything. (I don't think they understand the British habit of hovering!)
Back in the '80s, when flying suits were à la môde, a friend of mine chose to wear one for a long drive to Provence - her problems with squat toilets at the aires are the stuff of legend, hovering would truly have been a blessing!
I've just booked a nice big house for the family for a week in July: sheets and towels not included except as an extra. Yes it's still normal over here, although I notice more places are beginning to include them. Of course we won't be flying so taking sheets isn't a problem.
This house is booked direct from the owner and for the first time ever the cleaning charge is not optional. (Not a problem because mum-in-law always paid for that anyway when we decided to stop doing our own cleaning at the end of the holiday)
Some of you might be interested to know that we're being asked to pay the balance of the rental (60%) and the deposit on the day we arrive - so that still happens!
(However I haven't seen a squat toilet for years)
1. We include bath, hand and kitchen towels in the rental - and always have done. More recently we offered pool towels for hire. Now, we include them if we think it will clinch the deal.
2. I had to instruct our 10 year old daughter on the use of a turkish toilet the first time she encountered one in Africa and came out saying "I couldn't use it. How does it 'work'?" A lesson in the privacy of our hotel that evening sorted it out.
And, the stories I could tell about being 'desperate' and trying to remove a wet, all in one motorbike waterproof sit in a hurry in a turkish toilet with a very wet floor would make your hair curl!
Anno wrote:
Some of you might be interested to know that we're being asked to pay the balance of the rental (60%) and the deposit on the day we arrive - so that still happens!
Yes, we give all our guests that option for their balance (we don't ask for a deposit). If they don't want to pay on arrival, they can pay by Transferwise or bank transfer before they get here. It's around a 50/50 split. Never had a single issue with it.
GillianF wrote: I had to instruct our 10 year old daughter on the use of a turkish toilet the first time she encountered one in Africa and came out saying "I couldn't use it. How does it 'work'?" A lesson in the privacy of our hotel that evening sorted it out.
And, the stories I could tell about being 'desperate' and trying to remove a wet, all in one motorbike waterproof sit in a hurry in a turkish toilet with a very wet floor would make your hair curl!
I don't mind Turkish loos, actually, but those of the female persuasion on here might be interested to know that the SheWee really does work
paolo wrote:Just for balance, I don't live in the UK and am renting a not-cheap house in St Ives - towels are not provided, which I find rather extraordinary.
Goodness, I am shocked to hear that. I would suggest that is very rare in the UK but maybe I am wrong.....
Were you expecting towels to be provided? In my case it was the fact it was not made clear which caused the problem.
"It's a funny old world...." but full of the most amazing people. Sense of humour essential!
We're renting a house in the UK (not cheap, but not top end either) and we have to bring our own sheets and towels. And it's a coin meter for electricity!
People who arrive after 10pm, shouldn't expect a hug.....
Most of our Guests are French yet we always supply loads of towels. Bath, hand, even beach (in the wardrobe) plus spare in the bathroom and/or kitchen.
With the French they are rarely used. They leave these in a little (or not so little) discrete pile We then have to go through the "ritual" at the end of their stay where they point out what they have used and what they have not used. It is fairly obviously but we nod and say "merci" anyway.
Needless to say we love having our French guests!
Yes still some "foot step" loos around here. Mr VT loves the old French bars and these are usually not yet "modernised".
Fifi wrote:We're renting a house in the UK (not cheap, but not top end either) and we have to bring our own sheets and towels. And it's a coin meter for electricity!
Coin meter for electricity......surely the epitome of the dark ages era of holiday letting! hope it is not rigged in favour of the owner so they make extra money on your useage!
Not providing towels is one thing but no sheets is strange. I always liked to imagine what I would provide for friends coming to stay and act accordingly in my holiday cottages. On that basis, who would ask a visiting friend to bring their own bedlinens?
"It's a funny old world...." but full of the most amazing people. Sense of humour essential!
Don't mind taking sheets and towels (it's more normal in France and I only supply them on request), but the coin meter - just like being a student again!
People who arrive after 10pm, shouldn't expect a hug.....
Well, here's a funny thing. These days we almost always book holiday rentals in Spain (Catalonia mostly) - most often from French owners, sometimes from Spanish and very occasionally from English.
And towels have always been provided, even where the owners are French. Ditto bedlinen, and usually the final clean.
We always drive (we live very close to the border) but if I were flying, I wouldn't book anywhere where towels weren't provided. They're just too bulky and take up far too much luggage space.
Somewhere between 50% and 80% of our guests fly in (it varies every year), and one of our USPs is that we provide absolutely everything so that you can arrive just with cabin baggage if you want to. And some do!
We supplied all towels, including pool / beach towels right from the start. I think we were one of the few who did, but it was cheap as chips and a great usp for guests flying in, especially as most used Ryanair. Now it seems most people do it.
Just for interest sake, FC, why do you ban e-cigs - no flame and no smelly smoke, so what's your angle there?
Thank you all for your take on the towels/no towels issue!
Our last day here and the lovely owners have said they have learned from this and promise to provide towels next time, so I am very impressed they have decided to do that.
It is clear their market so far has been dedicated to those arriving in cars, whereas those of us flying have limited luggage. I always pay for a hold case but at 15kg limit, adding towels would mean clothes being severely limited.
Actually, as owners, they have been extremely kind and, despite our initial shock at not having towels, their positive attitude has won through.
"It's a funny old world...." but full of the most amazing people. Sense of humour essential!
Sense of humour essential!
