A cottage holiday

Last summer my husband and I rented a cottage for two weeks.
Previously, we had always spent our summer holidays camping, either in England or abroad. Since some of our friends had rented the same cottage the year before, we knew that the place would be clean and comfortable, and also near the beach. Moreover, the day before we left home the long-range weather forecast sounded good, which made us feel even more certain of a pleasant holiday.
However, our high hopes were soon dashed. To begin with, our problems started as soon as we arrived, which was just after midnight. When we unlocked the door to the cottage, we found water everywhere; and we soon discovered the lights weren't working, so we spent the first night in the car. Fortunately, we managed to find an electrician and a plumber early the next day, and by midday all our problems were over, or rather, they seemed to be over. True, the things in the house were now in working order, but this turned out to be the least of our problems; much more important was what we came to call our "invasions".
At first, there were the flies, which stayed with us for the whole fortnight. Then there were the ants, with their annoying habit of getting into everything, even the fridge. These, like the flies, kept us constant company. Besides these permanent invasions, there were also shortlived once. One night, for instance, the house was invaded (if that's the right word) by a mouse, though not for long. A bat was another unwelcome visitor; and last - but by no means least - we had a brief visit from a snake. That, in short, was our cottage holiday. In all our experience as campers, we have never had any trouble with insects or animals, but once with some cows, and now we our wondering why we ever choose any other kind of holiday. Next year we'll go back to camping!