We booked Curlew Cottage in Haydon Bridge as we were having a new kitchen fitted and wanted to get away from the noise and dust. We packed lots of prepared frozen food and shopped for essentials on the way there. When we arrived (on time at 3pm) we were told by Michael that the cottages had been flooded and were unusable but noone had made any attempt to let us know. He told us that Sykes had found alternative accommodation for others who had booked to stay. We tried to telephone the owners, who apparently were driving up from London; 5 days later we still await an apology from them. When we telephoned Sykes and were put in a queue. After over 40 minutes Sykes answered and told us that we only had a certain amount to spend on an alternative. It was high season in a popular area so obviously nothing was available within our price range, although other more expensive properties were available but neither Sykes nor Curlew owners were prepared to put their hands in their pockets to help us out. Eventually Sykes came up with an alternative property... in Kent, which is hundreds of miles away! So we asked for a full refund and after some discussion found out that we were also entitled to 10% of the holiday cost on top (we had taken out their insurance policy, which really isn't worth a jot). Having paid over £1000 we were surprised that the maximum "10%" was only £89, not even close to 10%. Modern banking allows for almost instant transfers but Sykes take over a week to process a refund and use a cheque to cover their made up 10%. We will never ever use this appalling company again and can only assume that any owners who use them for bookings are not to be trusted. BEWARE!!! Do yourself a favour and book elsewhere