Sykes Cottages Reviews

Name: Sykes Cottages
Address: Sykes Holiday Cottages Lime Tree House Hoole Lane, Chester
Rating: 1.20

1.2 Rating 1,481 Reviews

4 %

of reviewers recommend Sykes Cottages

Company Reviews

Questions

Metrics

1.2

Based on 1,481 reviews

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Own Driver
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Over A Week
Customer Service	1.1 out of 5
Returns & Refunds
Refunds Process	Difficult
Returns Process	Could Be Better

Phone:

0124 435 2059

Location:

Sykes Holiday Cottages Lime Tree House Hoole Lane
Chester
CH2 3EG

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Sykes Cottages 1 star review on 8th November 2024

Anonymous

Sykes Cottages 1 star review on 2nd November 2024

Anonymous

Sykes Cottages 1 star review on 18th September 2024

Julie

Sykes Cottages 1 star review on 22nd June 2024

Anonymous

216

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Sort by: Most Recent Most Recent Highest Rated Filter: None None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“Earlier this year, well before the virus outbreak, we booked a cottage through Sykes Cottage in the Lake District. We paid a deposit of £30.00 and were all set for the six of us to start our holiday on 5th June 2020. However, the virus came and we were hit with one thing after another. I am a nurse in the NHS and as a result of the pandemic I am engaged in front line nursing and as such unable to book any leave for the foreseeable future due to the extra ordinary circumstances that we presently see. The second member of our party, my daughter, also employed in the NHS, faces the same restrictions with the added issue of having to self quarantine for three months due to underlying heath issues. The third member of our party, my husband is employed by the police service and is now under the same sort of restrictions in relation to leave as is the fourth member of our party, my son, who is a key worker in the telecommunications industry. The fifth member of our party, my sons girlfriend is also employed by the NHS at the local children's hospital and as the virus situation intensifies over the coming months will be transferring to a crucial role in dealing with the pandemic. She also faces the same leave restrictions. The final member of our party is my eldest son who resides in the Austrian Alps. The district in which he resides is in total lock-down added to which he has been laid of work and as a result is now financially reliant on us his parents and he has been told that there is no hope of any travel by air from Austria in the foreseeable future. As a result we had no option but to cancel our holiday and outlined all of the above circumstances to Sykes. Their response....an automated email stating they had taken the remainder of our deposit of £280.00. When you read through all of their small print, sure enough, hidden away was a clause that if you cancel you still have to pay the rest of the deposit. I'm sure we are not the only ones caught out by this but these are extraordinary times and it is quite clear that whilst the country suffers, this company is going to make a mint. So if you have booked with them and have had to cancel through no fault of your own be prepared to still have to pay.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Cottage booked this May for big family reunion for husband’s 70th birthday. Obv not happening do I changed dates to next year and was reassured I wouldn’t have to pay the balance nearly £1000 till next March. But Sykes have now taken this from my account and say I never changed the date! Anyone else had a similar problem?”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Appalling company You book with them and be aware that they get 20-26% commission Then as soon as you have an issue sorry contract is with the owner Owners offer refunds as they haven't yet received money from Sykes and Sykes say our t&c don't allow Change their mind to suit themselves Profiteering from the Corona crisis DO NOT USE SYKES”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Due to go on 28th march. Due to covid-19 lockdown unable to go. Sykes don't answer to calls or messages. Finally received an email saying they would waive amendment fee and we could move our holiday. Was willing to do do this until realised that for same time next yr they wanted an additional £300 plus!! Shame on you Sykes.... absolutely disgusting way to treat customers, I would have even been happy with half my money back...even the insurance we got with you wont cover us. Disgusting!!! Will never use you again and will tell all the people I know not to use you either!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“We are resident in North America. We had a wedding in May to attend so we had booked 1 week at a Sykes property and paid the 20 GBP fee with the 500 GBP balance payable early April. With the COVID situation, the wedding had to be cancelled due to the 5 person rule. The bride & groom are so disappointed and at this point are not ready to set another date as they are out of pocket. When I emailed Sykes, they sent a automated answer. I emailed them again and when I tried to call them they had shut down their call centre. I've explained in a couple emails that since I have no date, I cannot rebook the property which is the only option provided. Their policy only works for UK residents. IT does not work for situations such as ours that require booking for flights etc. Since I could not speak to them and as the full payment date was coming up we had no choice but the cancel early at the lower penalty fee. I refuse to pay the money since they have blocked any ability for us to have a civilized discussion about alternate options. Now I am getting automated emails chasing us for the money. Waiting for them to stick collections on us.......Terrible company.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Like other customers we cannot get a refund and when we rebooked for next year the price had gone up 30% to £150. Emails go unanswered. Telephone calls not answered. An appalling company and will never book with them again”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Booked a cottage with Sykes for travel last week of March 2020. Then came the coronavirus shut down. Despite the fact that no one was supposed to travel sykes cottages were / are refusing refunds. Offering free amendments to the same property. Initialy this seemed ok however it turns out the prices have risen by in some cases 300% ? So i tried to contact sykes cottages by phone then email when they closed their call centre. Still awaiting a response. Yet it appears the Sykes cottage staff are working leavlng false 5 star reviews on trust pilot rather than answer your calls or refund your holiday costs... in my opinion and many 1000 other customers and that of the national press (check out other review sites that arent paid by the companys being reviewed or search for news articles on sykes) the Directors are clearly exploiting this lock down in an effort to line their pockets. They and it appears their employees should be ashamed for putting profit before decency and especially for leaving what appear to be false reviews in block all around the same time.. trust pilot were quick to sensor my first attempt at a review on their site... they need to get there own house in order if they hope to be trusted by the public in future..”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“You should be ashamed of yourselves over this covid19 lock down, how can people go when they are on lockdown?, even when insurance has been purchased you wiggle out of any refund, Trading Standards / one show/ watchdog should be stepping in on this company, avoid at all costs unless you want to be ripped off!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“AVOID THIS COMPANY. Having booked a family holiday at the end of April and in the present circumstances we are unable to go on the holiday. Sykes cottages took our money on the 14th of March and then sent an email saying that no refunds are available and that the extra insurance that we took out would not help us. They stated that the contract was in place that would not allow us to ask for a refund. An offer to move the dates at extra cost to a time where we can not attend is of no use to us. I wish I were a contracts lawyer I would explore every avenue to get my money back and then promote the service to the thousands of disappointed customers that are trying to get refunds. If there is a law firm out there and they are a good firm, please look into this situation and give some legal advise. Your phone number and email will be very busy indeed. When the situation gets tough the good companies shine. the BAD companies also show their true colours and Sykes cottage are NOT TO BE TRUSTED. If you have a property with them, please remove it ASAP, as YOU may be looked upon in the same way. AVOID SYKES COTTAGES.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“As I have said on Sykes Trust Pilot! they are scammers. Can't add anymore to what has already been said by others.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“There are so many angry customers of this company and they need to be named and shamed. I can only urge people to write as many reviews as they can on websites similar to this but also to highlight the problem to their MP, write to Watchdog at the BBC (The One Show), travel journalists etc., local newspapers... in fact, anyone they can think of who might be interested. The company are still taking bookings and so many more people stand to be disappointed and it has to stop. This is an unprecedented crisis and hiding behind ‘rules’ that were designed to cover different circumstances is not appropriate”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“There are so many negative comments about this company. It’s attitude at a time like this is appalling. They are adding to the stress that people are feeling during the Covid-19 crisis. I can only urge people to vent their anger here and other review websites but also to write to their MP, to Watchdog at the One Show, to any travel journalist of newspapers etc. Anyone you can think of. The site is still taking bookings and so more people are in danger of being disappointed. This has got to stop. The company has to be named and shamed.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Where do I start with this shameful company. During the most challenging time this country has ever faced this company have shown there true colours. We booked a family holiday for April 17th at a cost of over 2k we tried to contact this company to discuss our options only to find out you could not contact them direct so I had to post on social media before I got acknowledged. When they finally responded it was an impersonal pre written message that gave me no further information on what I needed to do. We where told we could not have a refund but we could switch our holiday free of charge. This is where the deception began, yes we could amend our holiday for free but only in November when the weather will obviously be very different. We asked to have our holiday booked for the same date next year and we where told if the prices go up next year we would have to pay the difference. We where told if we wanted to book at any other time this year we would have to pay extra which came out at an extra £1000. We have been offered no other option but to take this holiday in November. My kids will be in school at this time so I may incur a charge to take them out of school so overall I will be out of pocket whichever way I do this. Sykes have shown a total disregard for there customers and there level of service has been appalling during a time there customers needed them the most. They had a chance to show there customers what a good company they where whilst keeping there business afloat and they choose greed above all else. My advice never use this company”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Shower of Sykes”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“No reply to emails off you or the owner,we simply are not in a position to amend the dates, we are not cancelling so shouldnt be charged a cancelation fee, the government put us on lockdown,we cant pay the balance for an holiday we cant go to or amend the dates,we dont know what's around the corner never mind a year or more,”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“I used this company in the past and not had a bad experience prior to this but in the current Covid-19 situation within the U.K I can honestly say I am appalled with the company and profiting from a world wide crisis. We were booked to have annual leave for 1 week in August 2020, we booked this leave using the £20 low deposit scheme in May 2019. As per government guideline for NHS front line staff annual leave has been suspended to cope with the influx of additional patients within the U.K that will be hospitalised due to the virus. I emailed Sykes Cottages, explaining annual leave is likely to be suspended for 6 months. After 1 week they emailed me an automated email saying that they would not allow me to cancel my holiday or rearrange at this time. I explained that I had no choice it was online work trust policy I was not authorised to take annual leave and could I book the same week for Aug 2021. Again told it was “ Not required to implement as Sykes Cottages did not believe the epidemic would still be an issue in August” (crikey they know more then the government) but I could cancel.. with a charge of £498!! Please do not advertise your holiday home or purchase a holiday through this company... the message is clear stay home, save lives, protect the nhs! However clearly not if it effects the profit margins for this company and the mental health of medical staff who work within it!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Terrible Company,Paid £475 for cottage and no offer off a refund to my bank account. This company is keeping customers money that should be refunded back to them in full.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“I booked a 4 day break due to start on Monday 23rd March on Saturday 21st March. Sykes took my payment in full that day and at that time it is clear that they were still taking bookings. The owner of the cottage cancelled the booking on Sunday 22nd March in the evening - and told me they'd write to Sykes saying that I should get a full refund as it was they, not I, who had cancelled. I have been unable to get through either on live chat, or phone, and despite 3 emails have heard nothing from Sykes. I am determined to get my money back!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Terrible service, not refunding customers during a time like this when you can't travel, not answering calls and emails, disgraceful, skyes - you should be ashemed of yourselves.. I would have given a 0 if possible, 1 star is being too generous!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Instead of calling Sykes cottages Ltd silly names ,go through the court system or charge back on your credit card company. To get your money refunded , Sykes are a big company working on the sticks and stones theory.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Sykes Cottages is rated 1.2 based on 1,481 reviews