A family's summer holiday in France turned into a 'hellish' experience after they arrived at their rental to find a 'radioactive' green swimming pool, a dead rat, poison scattered around, and broken furniture.
Arrival at the 'Horror House'
Richard Glendenning, from London, travelled to France this summer with his wife, her parents, and their eight-month-old puppy. They booked a 10-night stay at an '18th-century barn, with a private pool and sauna' through Airbnb, located in a rural area of Bars in Bergerac. They expected a rustic charm, but upon arrival on Monday, 27 July 2026, they found the property filthy and in disrepair.
"It looked like a very lovely gîte online, I thought it'd be charming and nice," Rich told the Mirror. "But it was in no way indicative of how hellish the experience was." He described the property as "the messiest place" that looked like "nobody had bothered to clean it for a year or so."
Flies, Poison, and a Dead Rodent
The interior was filled with cobwebs, spiders, and flies. "In the kitchen, the ceilings were fairly low, and I walked into one of those sticky tape things, covered in flies. There were flies everywhere, alive and dead," Rich said. The bathrooms were unclean, and in one bedroom, he found a dead rat. The towels were tiny, and one had a white stain.
In one bedroom, the owners had removed the bed, leaving "really horrible mattresses on the dirty floor, like in a squat." Another bedroom had stacks of wood pushed against the wall instead of a bed. Rich also discovered a gravel-like substance across the floors and dining table, which the owner identified as poison. "She knew beforehand we were bringing a puppy, so that was unbelievably dangerous," he said.
Collapsed Furniture and a Leaking Roof
The outdoor swimming pool was a "comedy green," described as a "radioactive, glowing green colour." The owner had removed furniture from around the pool that was shown in the photos. On their first day, the family set up a lunch outdoors, but the table collapsed, sending food and wine everywhere. "It instantly collapsed. All the food and wine, everything went everywhere and broken plates," Rich explained.
During their stay, rain leaked through the roof. On the final night, water flooded through a light socket onto the bed and into an open suitcase. "Every single item I owned was soaking wet," Rich's wife said. They were scheduled to drive back to the UK the next morning but struggled to dry their belongings.
Airbnb Response and Refund
The couple communicated with the owner and Airbnb throughout their stay. The owner was responsive but said it was her last rental and she was selling the property. Cleaners eventually returned and the pool was restored to a blue colour after two to three days. Airbnb offered relocation, but the family declined due to the peak summer period, elderly parents, and limited vehicle space.
Rich said, "The case was closed down without us being satisfied with any outcome." An Airbnb spokesperson stated: "We are disappointed to hear about this experience and how it was handled. We have reached out to the guest to provide a monetary refund for the entire cost of their stay and are investigating the host."
