Stuart and Amy, the owners of Tin Can Retreat in Ceredigion, expressed their 'massive disappointment' after being underpaid by all three rival teams on the Channel 4 show Four in a Bed. In a repeat episode aired on Saturday, June 27, the couple faced harsh criticism over cleanliness issues at their vintage Americana-themed property.
Cleanliness Complaints Emerge
Upon arriving at Tin Can Retreat, guests from three other B&Bs—Newquay hotel owners Oleg and Emma, Devon glampsite owners Mandy and Elly, and Devon country pub owners Steve and Mandy—raised multiple concerns. They found mould in the fridge, 'minging' dirt, dead flies behind the sink, dog hair in the fridge, dust and water along windows, and unclean toilets.
Stuart reacted to the low cleanliness scores by saying, 'Dagger to the heart, that is.'
Payment Day Reveals Underpayments
On payment day, Stuart and Amy learned they had been underpaid a total of £74 by all three teams. Mandy and Elly complained about a smell from the diesel heater, which they said caused headaches and nausea. Stuart defended the accommodation, stating it had a carbon monoxide detector, but added, 'I just have to disagree with you… I’m not wrong.'
Steve and Mandy gave a cleanliness score of four, calling it 'massively disappointing.' Mandy explained, 'We did find a lot of uncleanliness, we opened up the fridge and there was lots of mould in the seal, and the window sills had a lot of dirt and mould in them.' Emma added that the toilet had 'crusty residue' and that the standard was not acceptable for charging guests.
Owners Accept Criticism and Payments
Despite the critiques, Stuart and Amy accepted all three payments, though Stuart admitted the £50 underpayment from Steve and Mandy was 'harsh.' He said, 'We offer great value for money, although there were some cleanliness issues, I don’t think they found anything major.'
Stuart reflected on the feedback: 'That’s obviously very difficult for us to hear and we are quite shocked by it. We’re not a new business, we’ve been operating for over two years and this is new news coming to light. We need to go back and work out where it’s going wrong. We needed that reality check on the cleanliness.'
Last Place Finish Prompts Future Plans
Tin Can Retreat came in fourth place, leaving Stuart to say, 'We’re gutted we came in fourth position, I think we knew it was coming. We’ve obviously got some issues we need to immediately address which we will do, and then let’s see what the future holds, maybe some more sites.'
Four in a Bed is available to watch on Channel 4.
