First up, there were several positives: Jo and Jason were very friendly hosts and lovely to talk to, and they were willing to go above and beyond to make our stay positive - for example happily giving us late checkout without a fuss. The location was fantastic (you feel like you're in the middle of nowhere) and the views really are superb. The beds were also good and we all slept well which is a nice change from our typical experience of accommodation like this! We had 12 adults (6 couples) and two infants and there was plenty of extra space.
On the other hand, there were a few disappointments: the cleanliness of the property when we arrived was very poor. Much of the inside was covered in dust when we arrived, there were cobwebs throughout the inside of the house, dead flies were in the window-sills, several spiders were found in the one bathroom and there was even a chocolate wrapper on the floor of one of the bedrooms. The carpet was lifting up on one of the bottom stairs which was a bit of a safety hazard. The hot water took several minutes to come through in the shower and when it did it was very difficult to regulate the temperature (at least in the master bedroom) which all but prevented any chance of a pleasant shower. The couches were very old and some had lost all support/cushioning. Whilst the owners were lovely and not at all noisy or intrusive, nowhere in the listing did it indicate that the accommodation was right next to the owner's property which was a bit disconcerting on arrival as we had booked this place for its privacy. Similarly, the photos/listing do not explain that the pool is literally out the front of the owner's house which felt quite uncomfortable (though again, the owners did nothing to make it so, they were lovely). Lastly, not having a clothes iron was a real pain in the backside! Though again, to be fair, this was not advertised in the listing.
All in all, we had a great time and were well looked after (hence the four stars), but considering all of the above, we felt the accommodation itself was well short of 5 stars.