Sykes Cottages Reviews

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

1.2 Rating 1,480 Reviews

4 %

of reviewers recommend Sykes Cottages

Company Reviews

Questions

Metrics

1.2

Based on 1,480 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

“Only gave one star as had to right this review. So many awful reviews from customers but wanted to state how shabbily loyal owners have been treated whilst trying to do the right thing throughout Covid. I contacted all mine in April when it was obvious the situation was serious and would be for months to come . None of my customers wanted to travel and so I cancelled bookings only to be charged thousands in fees and trumped up charges because WE had cancelled. We had to fight this being prepared to go to court. So very stressful, we are both retired my husband has heart issues and we have earned the company so much money in over six years. Do not book with them ever again!! J from wales”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Be very careful indeed of this company. Booked with sizeable deposit in 2020, but due to Covid restrictions we were NOT allowed to travel. However- no refund from Sykes Cottages, money gone. Please check other reviews about this company- they are dreadful and use highly dubious business practices. Buyer beware!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Booked a cottage early 2020 for early May and paid the deposit. Obviously because of later covid, lockdown and restrictions we could not go. Tried for weeks to phone and rearrange for another date so as not to lose our deposit, which their website said we could do.....constantly engaged and emails ignored. So May came around and it was then too late. So lost all of our deposit. Would never use them again. Be careful as they are also connected with a few other companies.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“If you cancel a booking with this company, check to see if the same booking (property and dates) are later taken by a replacement customer. You can easily tell by looking at their web site and checking availability. If this is the case, the company has no legal right to retain your deposit, as this would be an unfair contract term under the consumer rights act 2015. Schedule 2 Part 1 paragraph 5 of the consumer rights act 2015 states that the following term would be considered to be unfair: "A term which has the object or effect of requiring that, where the consumer decides not to conclude or perform the contract, the consumer must pay the trader a disproportionately high sum in compensation or for services which have not been supplied". "Which" magazine's web site states the following: "Typically, the business has no entitlement to keep any amount that can be saved by finding another customer, or cancelling any other suppliers they’ve employed. That would likely constitute an unfair contract term under the consumer rights act. For example, if you booked a holiday and then cancel, and the company finds another customer to take your place it’s likely the only amount it can legitimately withhold from your deposit will be administrative costs."”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Where do I even start with this? I have never been treated so badly or disrespectfully as I have by Sykes. Booked a holiday for Christmas 2020 back in January 2020. Covid put paid to us being able to go as we were based in Blackburn (one of the worst hit with Covid I would like to add) and our friend based in another town/tier which made it impossible to go due to being in a permanent lockdown/stay local since March 2020. On top of this my husband suffers really badly from asthma. We both got Covid in late October and it caused massive complications and he was told not to travel anywhere. The customer service was shocking. They said they would ONLY issue a refund if we had cancer!! I have never heard such a monstrous thing from a company ever. The staff are incredibly aggressive, demeaning, make you feel like you are stupid and worthless and they are down right arrogant and rude. Withholding our refund has caused so much stress and anxiety. To be made to wait 45 days is disgusting. We are a few days away from this deadline and I have no faith whatsoever in Sykes. I have reported them to the CMA for their behaviour. Myself and my husband work in care homes and the impact of Covid has been immense on our mental health. So, to be subjected to the degree of mental torture by Sykes has been devastating throughout this ordeal with them. For the love of all that is good in this world, do not book with Sykes.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Zero stars from me!!!! I have been a loyal customer of Sykes for years, but my latest booking, due to commence on 26th Feb, has dramatically changed my opinion of them. We’re a party of 20, spread over 8 bubbles, we’re booked into the same property, and have 3 vulnerable members in the group. According to Sykes, because our dates don’t quite fall into the latest travel restrictions, we are “fully legal to travel” - rule of 6 anyone? Not only false information, but irresponsible too. My initial request was to hold off paying the balance, for a short while until we were certain. Sykes refused. Our options were: 1) cancel the booking, and lose £645 deposit 2) don’t pay the balance on time, and lose your deposit anyway or 3) pay the balance of a further £1300, and wait to be told it’s cancelled, plus wait 2 months for your money back. This company will say and do anything to retain your money, and avoid a refund. Customer service is none existent - they even lied to pass the responsibility on, and said they’d contacted the owner who was refusing to help us. I contacted the owner myself. This wasn’t the case at all. To summarise....Sykes will take your money, and do everything they can to keep hold of it, despite a national pandemic. You’ll be out of pocket for months, for a holiday that won’t happen, and that’s if they refund you at all! They’ve worded their contracts in such a way, that whichever way you’re affected, they have the upper hand. Avoid them, and the stress that comes with them!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Dont use this company thousands of people still waiting for refunds customer service is a joke full of lies”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Do not use this company thousands of people still waiting for refunds there customers service is a joke full of lies”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“I am shocked by the attitude of this company who refused to refund deposit for holiday after a few days of booking. The customer service is appalling and it must be bad as this is the first review I have ever had the inclination to write about anything! Please don’t use them to rent your property or book your holiday. There are plenty of reputable companies out there who do far better. You need to up your customer service Sykes or you will lose out to the competition who value customers. Take my advice and DONT BOOK WITH This company!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Only give a one star. Have a booking for 5th March for a party of 9 from 4 households, booked before tier system. Originally asked for my deposit back and will rebook when government restrictions change. Cant do that as my booking is not affected by lockdown even though the Govt has not decided on an lockdown end date. Therefore have asked for a transfer to another date but Sykes want to charge an admin fee as my booking not affected! Come on be realistic 9 people/4 household mixing on 5th March? This company is more interested in making money than customer service. If I owned The Stables in Buxton I would be ashamed of the way this company is treating potential customers”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“As most of the reviews I too booked a holiday for last March (2020) that was cancelled and dates changed to November again needed to change dates as no offer of a refund . Looking increasingly unlikely that I will be able to go in April , I have requested a refund but apparently that can’t happen !!! I’m very angry as two other more expensive holidays I had booked have refunded my money in full . Absolutely terrible customer service in a difficult time , causing so much more stress to people !! I won’t ever use this company again and will suggest people are aware , refunds are like gold dust !!!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Not worth 1 star. Common criminals stealing money from honest folk. Rude, threatening, aggresive, liars, dishonest and theives. Clueless organisation and zero customer care. Spend far too long employing fake reviews instead of trying to solve the problems you have created. The way you have lied and stolen peoples money, I hope you go out of business asap”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“I booked a holiday house in Cornwall in February 2020-before coved!- as a surprise for a friends 80th birthday in November 2020. As the time got nearer, it was obvious we wouldn't be able to go as she was shielding and the rest of the party were in their late 70's, so in September I changed the date to 6th March 2021 at a cost of £30 in the hope that things would be better then. I received an email today to say that they would be taking the remainder of the holiday cost, amounting to £448 from my account on the 23rdJanuary. As it is becoming increasingly obvious that we will not be free to travel to Cornwall by March, and none of us have been vaccinated yet, I phoned the office to see if they would put the deposit of £268 as a credit on my account for a future booking when this present crisis is over. This was refused and the only option is either to pay the full cost of the holiday and if the lockdown is extended on the 20th February this would be refunded (?) or to lose the deposit. I have reluctantly cancelled the booking and have lost my deposit. There is a complete lack of empathy from the customer relations team with regard to this virus and government guidelines. Will NEVER use this company again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“I booked a holiday with Sykes in October and paid my £180 deposit with the remaining to pay on the 150121.The holiday is due on the 260221 and the balance remaining to pay is £308.I rang sykes on the 110121 to request a refund of my deposit as we are in a lockdown and no chance of us going on this holiday.I was shocked to be told that if I cancelled the holiday I would lose my deposit and that the remaining balance was due on the 150121 had to be paid or again I would lose my deposit.I could amend my booking at a price of £30....!!!!! I wasn’t happy and told the assistant that the chance of this holiday going ahead was 0.0001% .She wasn’t interested and reiterated that the balance would have to be paid or I can cancel but will lose £180 and that this was their policy.I expressed my concern and said it maybe policy but that morally this was wrong and that I wouldn’t book with sykes again.So I am now in a position where I have to pay the remaining balance on the 150121 knowing that it will be cancelled.Shocking policy in unprecedented times.Morally wrong.Need to change your policy and your staff.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Very poor customer service. They cancelled our holiday booked for February half term due to covid. We then changed the booking to August but unfortunately had to change this due to not being able to go. We then changed our booking to February half term next year and they are still charging us the same price as the August holiday as according to one of their "customer relations people" they do not decrease their booked prices. When I spoke to them regarding this they advised pretty much it was tough and had to pay the extra £277 or lose our full amount of our holiday (£650.00). They also took the balance for the holiday the day before we went into lockdown knowing that this was happening. AVOID AT ALL COSTS”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Awful customer service. Staff do not call back when they have stated that they will. It would appear like other reviews have stated their prime concern if cottage owners and not guests. DO NOT BOOK with this company as they will not give me a refund for my February break which will be a period of national lockdown. They will only let me reschedule my break to the summer(few school holidays weeks left!) when the said cottage will be £500 more. They will also not allow me to change my booking to another of their properties either. Very inflexible. DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY DURING THESE UNCERTAIN TIMES!!!!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Awful company who only care about their profits and their cottage owners, no compassion for customers. Having had to cancel my wedding and using Skye cottages for guests, Skye cottages have massively increased 2021 prices to accommodate for low trade in 2020 and won’t honour original booking prices.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“I chose to cancel a booking when it became obvious that it would not be possible to go due to C19. I had paid a reduced initial booking fee and the total fee was taken from my credit card at the due time. I expected this and wrote it off as it was my decision to cancel giving my reasons. Quite a while later and to my great surprise I received a letter telling me I was receiving a refund and when it came it was for the total amount. I am very sorry to see other people have not received the same service. We have booked for several years with Sykes with no problems.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Firstly, do not believe the fake (paid) reviews. They are easy to spot- they are usually just a couple of words like ‘Great website’, ‘Great customer service’ or ‘Good selection.’ That’s it- it’s a fake review. Head over straight to the 1 star reviews if you want the real truth. Instead of employing people to write fake reviews, it would be more admirable to answer some of the complaints. I have just opened up a small claims legal case against Sykes. I have also reported them to THE COMPETITION AND MARKETING AUTHORITY, reported them to BBC’s Watchdog programme and I will now start a one-man campaign to ensure the whole nation is aware of their bullying, unscrupulous methods. Their customer service is beyond appalling, and borders on aggressive. They have gone to the extent of saying the house I booked which sleeps 29 people is only for me, so that I will be able to attend because there are no multi households. It is using a large corporate machine to bully and steal from vulnerable folk at desperate times. It is immoral, and it is THEFT! I genuinely feel sorry for the staff that are asked to act this way. This is the basis of my claim: On 23/02/20 I paid a deposit of £521.40 to Sykes Cottages to hire a house in Wales for 3 days at a total cost of £1577.00. The booking was for 29/01/21. At the time of booking, COVID-19 had not reached our shores and as a nation, we were unaware of it. Sykes Cottages policy DID NOT refer to any cancellation details due to COVID, or any other worldwide pandemic. They cannot use defences such as ‘Act of God’ to cover all eventualities. At the time of the booking, I was asked to enter my details. The house sleeps 29 people, but I was not asked to enter any details regarding other guest numbers. The booking was to celebrate my 50th Birthday and I’d invited around 40 guests (obviously from different households). Since the pandemic, I have contacted Sykes once by telephone and 7 or 8 times by email to reclaim my deposit, as it was obvious the booking couldn’t go ahead due to COVID. I have been constantly told that I must wait until the Government give clearer instructions regarding restrictions that cover the period of my holiday- which I had agreed to do. Unfortunately, during this ‘waiting’ period the remainder of the fee (£1065.60) was due. The only reason Sykes did not automatically take this money from my account was because my card had changed, and I hadn’t updated it on their account. I then received several automatic emails (even got one on Christmas day) telling me that I had 24 hours to pay or they would cancel the booking and keep my deposit. During communication with their ‘customer service’ team I had been threatened that the booking was for only one person indicating that regardless of Wales full lockdown restrictions, I may be able to attend the property, regardless of the fact it sleeps 29 people. It was because of this unscrupulous and immoral defence, I was completely unwilling to pay the remainder of the fee. I have received a phone call today (31/12) from Bradley of Skyes telling me that if I didn’t pay the fee right now, the booking would be cancelled. Wales is in a complete, strict lockdown and Sykes want me to pay over £1000 for a holiday that is clearly not going to happen. Because I refused to make this payment, they are stealing my deposit. They keep quoting ‘policy’ but have no real idea that a policy is not the law. Their original policy did not include COVID. They have since written another policy to incorporate the pandemic, but I did not agree to this and was never contacted to view it. They have moved the goal posts to suit and are happy to bully people as a large corporate monster. It is immoral. I wish to claim back my deposit, as it is of no fault of my own that we cannot attend the property.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Had a lovely Christmas holiday I stayed in a cottage called cawsand in Cornwall ( and before anybody asks I didn’t travel from a different tier). The cottage was modern clean and had everything I needed. The owners Lisa and Felix were very kind and left me to get on with my holiday however if I needed anything I just had to ask. I would recommend any of the three cottages and hope to stay again in the future.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Sykes Cottages is rated 1.2 based on 1,480 reviews