“Reflecting on the visits made in the South West during my years membership I wonder if the NT appreciates the reality of some (many?) members experience......
I have probably visited something like 15 properties and I'm not exagerating in saying that at almost every single one something was closed on that day and even more annoyingly no notification was posted on the individual properties websites. Last week I drove 100 miles to a place where the upstairs was shut off as it was too hot, other days rooms are closed due to lack of volunteers etc. Whilst I can understand that occasionally there might be totally unexpected closures it is so frustrating that advance warnings are not always posted on the websites which I check the night before and on the morning before I set off to travel, enabling me to make an informed choice whether to visit that day. Membership isnt cheap and I'm not sure it's really worth it any more if you are "taking a gamble" as to what will be open on arrival.”
“The National Trust have provided a very mixed experience in their rather pricey holiday accommodation. Their star rating appears to be based upon the offer of Wi-Fi and or amenities such as a dishwasher. However, on our recent visits to two adjacent properties at Trelissick, Feock near Cornwall, the less pricey accommodation was superior to the pricey top rated one. Each was designed for 4 persons, each offered ‘dog friendly’ status. The pricey one stank owing to lack of cleaning after renters had dried their wet animals on the carpet before the fire. The less luxurious one was far cleaner (despite the damp on the rear wall of the chimney wall, which can be expected in older cottages in winter!) The trust has taken the trouble to ring us to apologise, which is appreciated, but the stinking doggy smell could have been avoided had the carpets been cleaned in between lets. Caveat emptor! Buyer beware! The Trust want your money and know how to over charge for an inferior offering. There’s no inspectorate and self monitoring isn’t good enough.”
“So our daughter purchased us a joint membership before COVID 19 hit, due to the pandemic national trust sites closed, now only a very limited number have opened yet National trust are not interested in discussing the options of refunding or extending our membership other than a three month extension which was 6 months ago. They will not listen to reason and sticking to 3 months only. How can they get away with this? 6 months this has been going on and not looking like it’s getting any better yet still take my money. Now I know it’s a charity but I’m only asking to have what we paid for, not too much to ask I do t think.”
