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Suffolk Secrets Reviews

1.4 Rating 46 Reviews
7 %
of reviewers recommend Suffolk Secrets
Read Suffolk Secrets Reviews

About Suffolk Secrets:

We have grown to offer an unrivalled selection of self-catering cottages. Suffolk Secrets offers self catering holiday cottages in Suffolk. With over 270 selected cottages on the beautiful Suffolk coast, Suffolk Secrets is the no.1 holiday cottage provider in Suffolk.

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Phone:

0150 272 2717

Email:

holidays@suffolk secrets.co.uk

Location:

The Old Water Tower, The Common, Southwold
Suffolk
IP18 6TB

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Suffolk Secrets 1 star review on 9th January 2023
Jane Brocklehurst
Suffolk Secrets 1 star review on 9th January 2023
Jane Brocklehurst
Suffolk Secrets 1 star review on 9th January 2023
Jane Brocklehurst
Suffolk Secrets 1 star review on 9th January 2023
Jane Brocklehurst
Suffolk Secrets 1 star review on 9th January 2023
Jane Brocklehurst
Suffolk Secrets 1 star review on 9th January 2023
Jane Brocklehurst
Suffolk Secrets 1 star review on 9th January 2023
Jane Brocklehurst
52
Anonymous
Anonymous  // 01/01/2019
Utterly disgusting accommodation. Arrived to find floors, surfaces and handles filthy - clearly not cleaned. Appalling customer service. No contact or resolution. Utility and cloakroom blocked by washing by machine that was still in packaging and not plumbed in. No evidence of COVID compliant cleaning in high contact areas. Would never use this company again. Read reviews for them.
Suffolk Secrets 1 star review on 12th August 2021 Suffolk Secrets 1 star review on 12th August 2021 Suffolk Secrets 1 star review on 12th August 2021
Helpful Report
Posted 3 years ago
We rented a home (felsto beach) by the beach last week. The first thing I notice was that the kitchen had crumbs on the floor and table. I then notice the bed had obviously been used since it was left unmade. Of the 3 bedroom home I only assume 1 of the bedroom was not dirty. The toilets had not been cleaned and still had poop stains. I wasn’t easy but I finally got a hold of Suffolk Secrets only for them to tell me that they didn’t book us so they can’t help us when it was clearly a home they manage. After dealing with two other companies (booking.com, belvilla) they called Suffolk secret and they told me that they can’t get a hold of them either. They sent a e-mail and finally acknowledged that they made a mistake in not cleaning the house. All these companies are trash. I don’t know who owns this home but you should try to get another managing company.
Suffolk Secrets 1 star review on 15th May 2021 Suffolk Secrets 1 star review on 15th May 2021 Suffolk Secrets 1 star review on 15th May 2021 Suffolk Secrets 1 star review on 15th May 2021 Suffolk Secrets 1 star review on 15th May 2021 Suffolk Secrets 1 star review on 15th May 2021
Helpful Report
Posted 3 years ago
We rented cottage in Southwold last week. Dishwasher faulty, shower drain blocked etc. Couldn't get through on phone and they still haven't responded meaningfully to urgent email. Automatic ones say they are too busy. Now home!
Helpful Report
Posted 3 years ago
We had a cottage holiday booked for December. We live in a Tier 3 area and the clear Government guidance was that you should not travel outside of your area or stay away overnight except for exceptional reasons. Suffolk Secrets wrote at the end of November to advise that they would be in touch when the 2 December Tier Structure was fully understood. The mail discouraged any contact due to volume of work. When we did make contact to advise that we were not travelling we were advised that the Government had not made it illegal to travel and the holiday could go ahead. Any refund was at the owner’s discretion and they had decided to keep our money. We asked why we had not been contacted, as promised, and were told that as it was legal to travel there was no need to make contact. How anyone can maintain that no discussion is required when they are effectively insisting that you clearly break Government guidance and potentially contribute to spreading Covid and risking life is beyond us. We have spoken to other holiday rental companies and been advised that they accepted Tier 3 as meaning an inability to travel and rescheduled or refunded holidays. This is in line with the view of Competition and Markets Authority and Which. Suffolk Secrets are manipulating the situation to their own benefit and potential customers should be aware of the type of company that they are dealing with. We had been regular customers of Suffolk Secrets, but this is at an end.
Helpful Report
Posted 3 years ago
Cancelled because of COVID but received a full refund without argument on request. Well done
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Posted 3 years ago
Don’t book with this company. Absolutely disgusting customer service. Booked for a long weekend in March 2020 just before the lockdown and due to a family member illness we couldn’t go. They wanted proof from the GP even though it was a surprise weekend away for that person so would involve me telling them and cause them more distress just so I could get my deposit back. Didn’t get anything back from them and they showed no sympathy whatsoever. We have used many different holiday cottage companies and this is the worst one ever, just read all the other reviews....
Helpful Report
Posted 3 years ago
We booked a week in Southwold in August. We received an email with regards to checking in after 7pm, the house needed to be extra cleaned because of COVID. Phew I’m thinking I’m glad they are taking things seriously. We arrived after 7pm had dinner and went to bed. We woke up to see how disgustingly dirty the house was. The toilets had never seen an ounce of bleach in a very long time, the bathroom floors were extremely dusty and the shower curtain, It was full of orange scum on the bottom 1/4. The kitchen floor had never been cleaned. Dust was everywhere including all the light switches. The couches smelled awful I ended up putting our own towels on them otherwise you couldn’t sit on them. I tried to Hoover but the bag was so full it just omitted a horrible smell. I dread to think what was in the carpets in the bedrooms. I spent the very first day buying cleaning products and cleaning myself as it was the weekend. I emailed and got a response on the Monday saying they would arrange for it to be cleaned - I said no as I did not want to lose another 10 hour day for them to clean when it should have been done before we arrived. They didn’t seem to comprehend that. You took our hard earned money that we saved for a break and ridiculed us when we complained with you. You quoted your terms and conditions because we sent another emailed after we had left. I actually left a day early because I couldn’t stand the disgusting house you supplied. Shame on you !!!
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
I wish I had read reviews before booking with Suffolk Secrets. We were supposed to be in Suffolk this weekend but left the holiday cottage due to poor hygiene standards (despite ‘enhanced Covid cleaning’) and the fact that there was no working light in the bathroom. The 7pm check in is a joke. Now trying to get a refund but because we left the property they are saying we didn’t give them a chance to rectify the situation. If we had been able to get there earlier in the daylight we would have done! Terrible customer service.
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Posted 4 years ago
Not 4 star accommodation, it needed TLC and a good deep down clean. There was a chair in bits, the oven was a disgrace, the windows have not been cleaned in months covered in spiders nests. Some lights did not work and when I looked in the shades- yuk, how about cutting back the undergrowth that grows over the decking. &I NO WIFI !!
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Poor quality accommodation, non-existent customer service. Happy to take your money for accommodation with inaccurate property descriptions. Do not book a holiday with this company as it will be a disappointing experience and expensive.
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Our cottage was listed with Suffolk Secrets while we spent a year abroad. The only good thing about this company is their sales pitch to get you to sign up with them - that is very professional. Thereafter it was a disaster. They completely neglected our cottage, when they were contracted to manage it fully; they didn't check it once in nearly a year, invalidating our insurance and potentially making our home unsafe as things like smoke alarms were never checked. They charged us for things that weren't done (gardening etc) and in fact the garden ended up wrecked, with several thousand pounds worth of damage. Most of our high quality linen has 'disappeared'. For the small number of bookings they did manage to achieve for us, they repeatedly failed to leave necessities like toilet rolls for guests. On our very first booking, they left out-of-date long-life milk in the welcome pack. In addition they have completely failed to address any of our complaints despite our having sent two detailed letters. Avoid them like the plague, whether you are a homeowner or a holidaymaker. They were incompetent long before covid19!
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Anxious experience with unanswered or ignored emails and endless hanging on waiting for someone to answer the phone. When I finally did get through I was spoken to as if I was an idiot. It was all eventually resolved thanks to the owners, not to anyone at Suffolk Secrets
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Be prepared for filthy accommodation, unanswered emails and phone calls, and a total disregard for fair practice when it comes to holding on to other people's money. As other reviewers have noted, this company has no interest in customer satisfaction and having bought up lots of local small letting companies has a near monopoly which means that it has hiked up rental costs and cut back on staff. Although it is a near monopoly there are one or two others and actually I would think sleeping in a bus stop would be preferable to giving your money to this dreadful company.
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Posted 4 years ago
At last : got my refund !!!!!!! 😊thanks
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Regarding your Google Review feedbacks: Thank you for your feedback, I am sorry to hear about your experience. This has been an extremely testing time for us with our team working through thousands of cancellations, transfers and bookings. If your booking was due to take place during the UK Government's lockdown period (23rd March - 4th July) for self-catering accommodation, you are entitled to a refund. Save from a few which we are liaising with the homeowner to resolve, we believe we have now processed all of these. If you still haven’t heard from us, please do get in touch again and we will look into this as a priority. How shall we contact you? Phoning from Germany is impossible (waiting queue) We don't get an answer after filling in your contact form. (The Dairy 12-26.06)
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Posted 4 years ago
Booked a cottage in Orford for August, earlier this month. Shortly after, a family member told me the stairs at the booked property are steep and narrow and will be a challenge for my elderly dad and a worry for me as his carer. Rang Suffolk Secrets to discuss. On hold for over 30 minutes. Gave up and emailed. That was 11 days ago and I haven't received a response. Currently on hold for 25 minutes. Not impressed.
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Posted 4 years ago
Made a booking and paid deposit for two cottages in Walberswick many months ago to get people together to celebrate my husbands 70th in September. Due to concerns about Covid amongst those invited we have decided we must cancel our celebrations, however trying to liaise with Suffolk Secrets is a nightmare. Over the period of a couple of weeks I have emailed and spent several hours trying to get a telephone response but have yet to receive any contact from Suffolk Secrets. Obviously I am very disappointed in this lack of customer service .
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Posted 4 years ago
Hi, please read reviews and think before booking. Arrived in Silvershore, Southwold on Friday. Late book in as they wanted to make it Covid safe. It has barely been cleaned. Filthy and empty bottles under bed, dirty windows (in and out) broken patio, dirty towel in washing machine, dirty bathroom floors, dirty high chair..... and more. So we weren’t too confident about Covid cleaning. Have now spent 2 days trying to get in contact even using priority and emergency numbers but no response ..... Will be reporting them
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Posted 4 years ago
Wish I could give zero stars, attempted to book last minute break they said someone would get in touch twice no-one contacted me couldn't get through on the phone either, sent many emails and still nothing, don't waste your time with this "company
Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Used them previously and ended up in a property barely habitable. Complained and received £50 refund. This time property ideal and have had a great two week holiday. However, the change of entry to 7pm was way out of order, especially as no consultation was offered. We travelled a fair distance with an overnight stop so arrived at around 2.30pm. No sign of cleaning taking place, this continued until 5.30pm when in despair we rang a number given for the caretaker. She promptly arrived and opened the door early. So grateful to her as Southwold appeared to have been rather caught on the hop where visitors were concerned and not many places to eat or drink were open. Also changed was time of departure to 9am. I queried that and was granted an extra hour by the housekeeper, grateful to them too. The individual I spoke to at Suffolk Secrets appeared to feel she was not simply answering the telephone at a letting agents but running the Bank of England! Would we use them again? Probably, as they appear to have a monopoly in this magical county, but would look elsewhere first. We ALL have to make an extra effort at this difficult time but not answering emails or responding to telephone calls is definitely not the answer, only makes people feel resentful. Read the reviews!
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Posted 4 years ago
Suffolk Secrets is rated 1.4 based on 46 reviews