This house has a great location - a 5-minute walk to the Festival Theatre, about 10 minutes to the city centre, and 20 minutes to the train station by foot. The house is clean, has been decorated beautifully, and is equipped with a modern, bright kitchen. It is a comfortable, convenient, and attractive place to stay while visiting Chichester.
There are, however, issues that need more attention from the management company.
1. Preparing house for guest arrival: The first day of my stay was terribly uncomfortable. The house interior was 10 degrees Celsius when I arrived. (The thermostat was set to just 5 degrees.) It took until bedtime to heat the house to a temperature warm enough to remove my coat.
2. Safety: The smoke detector battery in the main room/stairway was not working (beeping a low battery warning) when I arrived. Thankfully, Amazon.com was able to deliver an appropriate battery the next day so, I had only one night without smoke detection.
3. Maintenance: Many light bulbs in the house were burned out. In the kitchen, 4 of the 8 recessed lights in the ceiling did not work. These were all over the sink and work area, making cooking and washing up in the evening a bit challenging.
There was usually no hot water in the kitchen sink in the evening, so I boiled the kettle to do the washing up.
4. Cleaning: Almost all of the glass mugs, cutlery, and a few bowls had coffee stains in them when I arrived. I was able to remove them with a little elbow grease, but having dishes left in the cupboards and drawers in a stained condition is disappointing for a property of this quality.
There is one issue for which I don't believe there is a solution and which would prevent me from staying in this property again on holiday. The house is located on a busy road with heavy traffic. While the owners have taken successful measures to reduce traffic noise inside the house, one can still feel the traffic. I was awaken every morning by the physical rumble of lorries passing by. The tremors began as early as 5:30 and happened with such frequency, sleep was nearly impossible once morning traffic began. (Sunday was the exception, with less traffic.) I did not get used to this even after being in the house for two weeks, so it was not a very restful holiday.
