Genteel Home Reviews 

Disappointing response from Genteel Homes

I am astonished that Genteel Homes did not offer to change my wife's reservation in Seville after she collapsed before boarding her flight in the UK and was unable to travel. This was very poor customer service, and I would caution others against booking with them, especially given that illness is recognised as a protected ground under Spain's Law 15/2022 on Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination.

Bad show, Genteel Homes!

Dr Khan

The Company are fraud we were there from 8 to 11 September and they making us paying for things we not have done, im a very nice person normally but this is over my edge, the apartment and staff seems nice but after your stay in their apartment, they take the reserved amount and finding stuff that you didn’t have done.
I’m never rely on that company anymore, it was my first and last time ever with them.
And I have been making many bookings around the world without complaining ever.

We chose Genteel Home because of its reputation & expected a professionally managed apartment. Unfortunately, our experience revealed repeated operational failures followed by what I consider to be a disappointing lack of accountability. Problems began at check-in. We received almost no information about the apartment, were not given the electronic device required to access Florence's communal rubbish bins, and were not told how the system worked. On our first evening there was no hot water. Resolving this took an entire day, involved contacting three different people & being asked to reboot a boiler in direct sunlight at over 40°C. A technician finally resolved the issue that evening. We also reported a broken ironing board, which was never replaced.
The missing waste-disposal device caused further difficulty. Once Genteel realised it had not been provided, no attempt was made to deliver one over the weekend. We therefore had no way to dispose of household rubbish in extreme heat and had to store waste in the freezer to maintain basic hygiene. The device was delivered only on Monday afternoon, four days after our arrival, after I contacted the company again.
The apartment was also below the advertised standard. We found a stained mattress with hair and dead insects beneath the bedding, blood stains on the headboard and curtains, breadcrumbs throughout the oven, ants and other insects in the kitchen, and a bathroom bin left full by previous guests. The shower door was damaged and there were no shower shelves, despite previous guests mentioning this in reviews.Despite this, we remained constructive. Rather than lose another day waiting for cleaners, we cleaned much of the apartment ourselves, washed the bedding and vacuumed the mattress. While delivering the waste-disposal device, a Genteel representative invited honest feedback "so improvements could be made for future guests." I sent a detailed summary with photographs, without asking for compensation. The reply, however, focused on explanations rather than responsibility. We were told the mattress had been cleaned in February, although the relevant issue was its condition when presented to guests in June. We were told Amalia "doesn't normally do check-ins", although staffing arrangements are not the guest's responsibility. We were also told the waste-disposal device could not be delivered until Monday because it was the weekend, even though the omission was Genteel's own. Hospitality is a seven-day business.
The representative then told me he had forwarded my photographs and complaints to the cleaning team. Shortly afterwards, the entrance door was struck with such force that it shook violently and part of it moved inwards. We heard someone running down the stairs. I make no allegation that this was connected to my complaint because I cannot prove it. However, the timing was extremely disturbing. We reported the incident immediately. Nobody attended, inspected the damage, checked on our welfare, offered relocation or provided reassurance. We no longer felt safe & left with three nights remaining, paying for alternative accommodation ourselves and losing groceries bought to prepare gluten-free meals for my daughter, who has coeliac disease. The greatest disappointment came afterwards. Genteel later claimed we left because of cleanliness issues and said they wished we had reported them during our stay. That is incorrect. We had already spent days reporting problems, had provided photographs and had cleaned much of the apartment ourselves. We left because of the security incident and what we considered an inadequate duty of care afterwards. Genteel offered a refund for only two of the three unused nights and asked us to confirm acceptance. We agreed because we were still travelling, no longer felt safe and were dealing with the immediate cost of relocating our family. Accepting that offer did not mean we considered the matter resolved or the compensation adequate. At the time of writing, the refund has still not been received. We also wrote to Genteel's General Manager and Operations Director requesting an executive review. Despite the detailed evidence supplied, we have received no acknowledgement or response.
Maintenance issues can occur in any property. What defines a company is how it responds. In our experience, Genteel Home failed at every important stage, causing avoidable stress, financial loss, emotional distress and a complete loss of confidence in its duty of care towards paying guests.
UPDATE: I subsequently discovered that the 2-nights refund was credited to a different card saved on my booking.com. I, therefore, believed it is still outstanding & am correcting this for accuracy.

⭐☆☆☆☆

We booked this villa expecting a luxury stay, but unfortunately our experience was very disappointing.

The biggest issue was the air conditioning. From the moment we checked in, the air conditioning in the living room was not working. We were told someone would come to repair it, but despite repeated messages during our stay, nobody ever resolved the problem. As a result, we could hardly use the main living area, which is unacceptable for a villa in Marbella, especially during the summer.

Another major issue was the construction work. We were only informed about this after our booking had already been confirmed, at a point where cancellation without losing the full payment was no longer possible. Had we known about the construction beforehand, we would never have booked this property.

The notification described the works as minor with little disturbance. That was not our experience at all. There was heavy drilling from around 7:00 AM onwards, and the noise was far more disruptive than suggested. It significantly affected our ability to enjoy both the outdoor area and the villa itself.

There were also several smaller issues that should never occur in a luxury property, including burnt and unusable frying pans and a toaster that did not work.

What disappointed us the most was not only the condition of the property, but the way our complaint was handled. We reported the problems immediately and gave the property manager every opportunity to resolve them. Instead of taking responsibility, we were repeatedly told that the issues were not significant or were referred back to Booking.com. No meaningful solution or fair compensation was ever offered.

To be clear, we never asked for a full refund. We simply requested fair compensation considering the combination of the defective air conditioning, the construction disturbance and the overall impact on our stay. Unfortunately, that request was refused.

This villa has potential, but in our opinion the maintenance, communication and customer service fall well below the standard you would expect for a property in this price range.

Based on our experience, we cannot recommend staying here.

Terrible experience with Genteel Homes.

We arrived expecting a usable apartment for our family, but the air conditioning was not working properly. We spent hours waiting while they tried to deal with the issue. Their technician eventually confirmed that it could not be fixed.

We were traveling with small children, including a child with special needs/autism. Because of their failure to provide a properly functioning apartment, we had to leave at night and find another place to stay. This caused unnecessary stress, disruption, and expense for our family.

What made it worse was the lack of accountability afterward. Instead of taking full responsibility for providing an apartment that was not suitable to stay in, they acted as if the situation was just an inconvenience and did not handle it with the seriousness it deserved.

A company managing accommodations should make sure basic necessities like air conditioning are working before guests arrive, especially during extreme heat. When something essential fails, the right response is to help the guest immediately and take responsibility, not make the guest fight to be treated fairly.

Based on our experience, Genteel Homes was negligent, dismissive, and completely failed our family when we needed help. I would not recommend them.

Very poor customer service and not honest people to deal with.

We stayed at this fabulous apartment- first floor apartment, one bedroom for 7 nights. I cannot compliment Genteel enough on the cleanliness of the apartment. We arrived shortly before 10pm and the lovely rep was waiting inside for us. Beautiful, tastefully furnished airy apartment with washing machine (a must for 7 days), dishwasher, coffee machine, etc. It was impeccable and completely flawless (no wine bottle opener- a little blip). The kitchen has everything you need if you do want to cook the occasional evening. Bedlinen and plenty beautifully laundered towels are all provided. Very spacious accommodation with separate bedroom unlike the cramped parisian accommodation on offer. Seville has a lovely safe feeling also despite the little side streets and laneways. The apartment is a 2 minute walk to the Cathedral/giralda and the Alcazar palace. Santa Cruz and its bustling restaurants and shops are all a 5 min walk. It is quite literally the epicentre when it comes to location. There is a Dia supermarket before the bridge, near McDonald's which is lovely, there is a carrefour express in the opposite direction. It does have all you need but not the nicest of supermarkets. I would highly recommend this company, their level of professionalism and attention is exceptional. Special thanks to Cristine.

Holiday home lettings company, great communication when placing enquiries.