Sykes Cottages Reviews

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

1.2 Rating 1,489 Reviews

4 %

of reviewers recommend Sykes Cottages

Company Reviews

Questions

Metrics

1.2

Based on 1,489 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 17th November 2024

Anonymous

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

220

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

“Bullying attitude when I made a mistake booking Absolutely awful liars to deal with”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“Extremely disappointing and upsetting experience with Sykes Cottages. We booked for a three night pet friendly stay at Cleveland Way Pods. Book in was at 4pm and Sykes were supposed to text with an access code. So we packed up the car and the dog and set off early to stop off at Dalby Forest on the way to make a day of it. We stopped off at a garage when we were 40 minutes from the destination, checked my phone for the text from Sykes only to find a voicemail, left at 3.15pm, stating the holiday had been cancelled! It took a while to get through to customer service and ‘all they could do was apologise’ they tried to find alternative accommodation but there was nothing within 100 miles, they agreed to ‘fast track’ a refund and eventually said they would compensate with £50. 5 days later and more phone calls, (where they explained they could do not have the ability to fast track refunds) I received my refund but not the £50 compensation, this instead is currently on my Sykes app account page as an ex-gratia credit due to covid and expires on 22nd June 2022!!! I am absolutely appalled at the lack of concern, they explained that the booking had been cancelled due to the owner pulling out from Sykes, and due to an admin error, they had forgotten to inform me. Disappointing does not describe how we felt turning the car around and travelling back home, I would never use Sykes Cottages again and it looks like I will not receive any further compensation, to cancel a holiday by voicemail, 45 mins before we were due to arrive in is disgraceful.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“Where do I start with how bad this company is? Despite contacting the telephone helpline in June and miraculously getting through to a customer service operator(and given the standard of service received the title is a complete misnomer) to advise I could not see/pay or amend my booking as their portal never works- she advised they were aware of issues but were working to fix it and here we are two months later and still not fixed . Called again today as had some time to spare lol - on hold for wait for it - My booking reference number is MS68I-24-EN, property reference 927592 email confirmation received 24/01/2024 deposit paid balance outstanding due on 23/09/2024 and before I get some smart comment about the payment being incomplete - tell me exactly how I can make a payment if the booking doesn't appear on your portal ? and nobody in customer service responds ? Your customer service score 1.2 reflects how poorly your company performs”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“Never again, Sykes complaints team are poor. Had to chase them every time and they just washed their hands of the matter”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“Worst customer service ever. Would not book with them again. Did not contact us, we had hundreds of flies in the kitchen on arrival. Paid over 2 thousand pounds for 5 days. They were not interested.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 months ago

“My Wife and i booked The Stables, With Sykes Holiday Cottages, On august 15th for four people we paid the money and started packing as we were leaving on Saturday morning for a three day stay, Friday afternoon we got a message of cancellation leaving us in a state of panic as our Daughter and son in law had taken time off work to come with us and help as we are Pensioners and my wife has trouble walking, Sykes was hard to get hold of taking over 11/2 hours to get through and then never got back to us as promised twice, leaving us in total panic, After ringing again, Eventually they offered us unsuitable accommodation in places out of the way or 50% +more expensive when we turned them down we were told we could not have our money back for three days so now we were really in a sticky situation, being pensioners with no money to pay for somewhere else. We had saved for months for this break to be let down by Sykes (Shame on you) Luckily our Daughter paid for a lovey stay in Newcastle Emlyn until we could retrieve our money from Sykes Holiday Cottages, We ended up staying at Melin Pandy B&B Absolutely Fabulous. Oh and as we were near the Sables cottage, We thought we would take a quick look and would you believe it there there were people in there, We were told they were shut due to trouble with the Pipes, we had no compensation for our troubles and spent hours cancelling things we had booked. Caused by Sykes holiday cottages ! BEWARE YOU COULD BE IN THE SAME BOAT !”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“Let me start by saying that I review places A LOT, and I rarely give a rating below 3*. I wish I had checked Sykes Cottages’ Google reviews before booking with them. Property (Shepherd's Retreat Hut in Cornwall) was falsely advertised by Sykes Cottages as having Wi-Fi. Additionally, when we got to the property, there was an eco-toilet, which was not mentioned in the advertisement – it’s standard to mention this feature, and we had ruled out other options because they had an eco-toilet. The property’s kitchen was not clean to an appropriate standard – there were crumbs across the surface, sticky rice in the chopping board and the utensils were not properly clean. I have coeliac disease, and any trace of gluten makes me violently ill, so this was a big concern for me. There were cobwebs across the property, demonstrating a lack of maintenance and cleanliness. On the day, we got contacted by the owner to let us know the previous guest had broken the blind in the bedroom. She stated her husband was not able to fix it, but her son would come by later on to fix it – when we got to the property, it had not been fixed, which meant we had no privacy inside the hut. The other side to the privacy issue was that the property advertisement was misleading in that it used language emphasizing the privacy of the garden and hot tub, including tactical angles on the pictures, when in reality, there’s another hut right across from it, so every time you’re outside at the same time there’s essentially no privacy. The blind in the bathroom was also not working properly. This trip was meant to be a relaxing experience to enjoy my birthday, and it just turned into a nightmare. I refused to spend my birthday in such a place, and we contacted Sykes Cottages exposing all the issues encountered. They took responsibility for the false advertisement of the Wi-Fi and refunded us the booking fee - £42. They did not take responsibility for anything else and suggested we went back to the hut so the owners could attempt to make things right. We refused to go back and in hindsight my instinct was correct. I looked at reviews of their campsite Pattacott Farm Glamping and Camping (where the hut was located), and there were multiple 1 star reviews alluding to police presence, knives, and domestic abuse between the owners. I wish I had checked these reviews beforehand. Sykes Cottages then said they would speak to the owner to see if they were willing to offer compensation. Surprise, surprise, they weren’t. And Sykes seem to find this acceptable. Sykes Cottages and the owner of the property broke their own terms and conditions and yet refuse to refund me for the two remaining nights. We lost £311 for nothing.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“No communication whatsoever from Sykes. Contact details given just lead to automated services which do not work. Our holiday was cancelled without explanation. Money was returned, but the property reappeared as available after our reservation was cancelled. Not trust worthy”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“Terrible company. Had real issues getting refund after they cancelled booking just 3 days before we were due to stay.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“Shocking company. Holiday from hell. I paid £1,063 for a weeks stay at a Holiday cottage in Penzance for me, my partner and 5 year old daughter. We arrived for check in at 3pm and got told it hadn't been cleaned and to come back at 4.30pm. We arrived and there was black mould on all the bedroom walls and bathroom. Place absolutely stank of damp and mould. Place had not been cleaned despite being told it had been. Soiled underwear and sanitary towels in drawer. It was disgraceful. Place felt sticky, all surfaces not clean, bent lampshades, hair on wall, etc. There was a disabled lift in the property that was datrd 1994, old thing and still in use, which looked like a death trap with crush hazards. Clearly no health and safety checks have been done at the property and place in desperate need of investment. No sufficient ventilation systems, bathroom dated and floor always flooded with water. I complained to the owner, and they said they would clean it the next day when we were out. They removed the black mould, and gave us a "dehumidifer". But this wasn't a dehumidifer, but an air cooler! Place continued to stink of damp and mould all week. Fighting for some sort of partial refund at the moment. No way is this cottage worth the price paid for the stay.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“The property we stayed in was filthy when pulling furniture out and fridge did not work, tv was broken, we got charged £115 for cleaning the property when we left.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“Filthy so called cottage and we did not stay it was that bad. We phoned sykes and the owner on the day of arrival and took photos to show how disgusting the place was. I could not stay due to how heartbroken I was. Owners tried to make out it was only a couple of issues and they could come and rectify them. The place would have needed a whole deep clean and revamp for me to have stayed. So bad. Tried to get refund or some compensation but owners and sykes saying it was the other parties responsibility so neither have been helpful and will not offere anything. Will never ever book with sykes again. Promised to ring me back and liaise with the owner but didn't. I've had to make numerous phonecalls in the hope of resolving the issue. After losing my father I needed a little break and to stay close to my family but this has made my heartache ten times worse. Aster cottage in Wales should not be being advertised.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“I booked a weekend away through Sykes Cottages, and upon reviewing my account I couldn't find my booking. Contacting Sykes is incredibly difficult, every time I tried using their online chat function, I was presented with an error saying they were too busy and to try again later. The other options to contact them is text and Whatsapp. I tried both these avenues and after 48 hours received a text to say they hadn't responded because they were busy and to reply "YES" if I still needed a response. 3 days after originally reaching out I finally received a reply, and my account was fixed enabling me to see my booking. Upon reviewing this I realised I had booked this for the incorrect year 2025 instead of 2024, I tried to move my booking to the correct dates, but the property was unavailable, leaving me needing to cancel. I understand that booking the incorrect dates was my error and was fully prepared to lose my £20 deposit, however upon trying to cancel I found I was expected to pay a further £100 to "finish paying my deposit", this shocked me as I am giving over a year’s notice. This happened at the end of July and my booking is for the end of September the following year. I got back in contact via text asking if this was correct as surely with over years notice this isn't justifiable. I was told yes; I am still expected to pay the full deposit. I asked if I could transfer my booking to a different property, you can't as they are all individually owned. I am now left either having to pay over £100 to cancel (along with booking somewhere else for the correct dates), use the property when it is booked for or pay an additional £30 admin fee to change the dates (along with any difference in the cost, whish is understandable). I understand letting companies need to protect themselves from last minute cancellations and being unable to fill the booking and losing revenue, however with over a years’ worth of notice I would have expected to lose my £20 deposit but did not expect to then have to pay an additional £100 to cancel. This along with access to their customer service has put me off from ever booking with them again. Bare this in mind when booking!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“Charges your card at will, hides behind small print, not to be trusted. Avoid at all costs or make sure you use your credit card to dispute them.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“Worst customer service I have ever come across. I don't usually leave reviews (good or bad) but I feel I need to warn people about this company. On arrival, the rented property was filthy; stains everywhere, dirty surfaces and disgusting carpet and bathrooms (you couldn't walk anywhere barefoot). When I complained to Sykes, they said to leave the key at the lockbox and a cleaner would be around at 1pm the same day. I waited at the lockbox for nearly 2 hours so that I could escort the cleaner to the property and show them the issues. Instead, they snuck in and did a cursory wipe of worktops and left. When I complained again to Sykes, another cleaner was sent the following day and again I waited at the property in order to point out everything that needed doing. A lovely lady came but she said she was only being paid to do surfaces and mop the kitchen floor (no other floors and no other cleaning eg the bathrooms) so that's all she did. The second issue was that one of the toilets did not flush properly. The first maintenance person came and said there was no issue so when I complained again, a second maintenance person came, I pointed out the issue and he agreed the flush was not great. He also said that Sykes is happy to list properties that other companies would not. The third issue was that I was being bitten in the night. Again, a pest control person came when I was out and confirmed there were no bed bugs or fleas. So how does one explain the bites every night? I have wasted more than half of my holiday waiting for cleaners, maintenance and pest people and none of the issues have been fully resolved. Each time you mention compensation, Sykes put up obstacles - this needs to happen before we have that conversation or that needs to happen before we can have that conversation. The Sykes call handlers need to go on a customer services course. Louis said to me, "I'm not inclined" to help and when I said it is so hard that I feel I need to leave reviews about Sykes, he said, "you are entitled to your opinion". Wow. Scarlet was equally unhelpful. There is no empathy about the hell you are experiencing and no willingness to help. I've booked multiple properties in the past through Airbnb and Booking.com and never had an issue. This was the first time using Sykes and I will never be using them again. I suggest you steer clear of Sykes. The listings are misleading and if you have an issue, they won't be trying to help you. I guess their strategy is to make it so hard that it wears you down and you give up.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“We have booked to stay at accommodation via Sykes cottages for the end of the month. We noticed a review from a disgruntled customer that a number of items were missing from the garden despite clear pictures showing a BBQ and hammock. We were concerned by the false advertisement so have asked the situation to be clarified with the owner prior to our arrival, we booked the property based on the garden and it’s facilities. Sykes cottages said they would call us back but never did. On ringing back a week later for an update the lady explained her notes said that I had hung the phone up on her colleague and there was no mention of the request or query. Fortunately Sykes cottages appear to record all calls and this is reassuring to know! What a waste of time.. We hope the situation will be rectified prior to our arrival however due to our dealings so far with the company I am not convinced..”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“Shocking customer service or lack of should I say. Emailed them weeks ago to try and cancel my booking this August. The father of my sons’ cancer spread to his brain and he was given weeks to live. Emailed them to cancel my booking using an email address they used to mail me and got no reply. Emailed again- no reply. Emailed them using a different mail address I found online- no reply. Called them and hung on the line for a long time and asked for a call back which I didn’t get. Finally resorted to calling the property owner direct and got nowhere with him just referred back to Sykes. Waited 30 mins on a call today and ended up asking for a call back again. When I did get a call back I was told they had received none of my 3 emails over the last few weeks. The father of my sons passed on Saturday so the funeral will likely fall during my booking dates. Only option now is if the property gets relet in the next 11 days for any sort of refund. Will NEVER use this company again”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“Appalling customer care. 47 minutes to get through to them. Then had to phone back 59 minutes and again alter 26 minutes...still not got through to resolve issue 😒”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“I have been trying for over a month to resolve some lost property from a stay. I have contacted Sykes 14 times over the last month, I have been promised 3 different call backs which never came. The emails sent were never responded too and the portal didn't work and the WhatsApp service was always to busy to respond. I even went to Cornwall on holiday and a was 8 miles from the property 20 miles from the local office I offered to drive and collect my items myself and over a 2 week period Sykes inept service still couldn't resolve this. I write this as I have now been on hold for 53 minutes and in the end used another phone to ring new bookings the only line that gets answered. Happy to take money but back it up with zero service levels. New bookings had to call the local office for me.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“Booking experience went smoothly but when we arrived there we numerous issues with the holiday cottage, none so bad as to ruin the holiday but as a 5 tick listing we expected fine attention to detail. Upon returning home we received a feedback email which I gave a detailed and thorough assessment and area for improvement. Absolutely no response from Sykes at all. Even went so far as to keep my review private as I didn’t want to affect the owners future bookings”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

Sykes Cottages is rated 1.2 based on 1,489 reviews