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

“No email address. No-one seems to be monitoring web chat and phone calls will cost a minimum of £5.00 before anyone answers. Good properties etc. when there are no problems, but if you have a query, forget it. Once you have booked they don't seem to want to know you.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“You just cannot get through by phone. You've removed the e mail option. Just how are people supposed to contact you??Such poor customer service, really. It would put me off recommending you or indeed using you again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Originally booked Wharfe Lodge in 2019 but due to Covid 19 we were not able to take the holiday until 2021 having changed the date to the following year. Even this was not a satisfactory decision as we thought that we were being cajoled to do this but that has gone now. Our holiday for the 21st may 2021 has been a complete disaster. I will not go into all that has happened it would take too long. Two days before we were due to go contacted by Sykes to say that there was an issue with two of the doors in the lodge but it would be rectified before our arrival. On arrival at the property two doors jammed, the one to the kitchen area was moveable with a lot of force. The door to the bathroom was jammed solid half open and could not be moved and so no privacy in the bathroom. Access and points of escape were a joke. Sykes contacted on two occasions and each time we were told that you would contact the owner and get it sorted out and that you would either ring us back or email to say what was happening .STILL WAITING even though we are now back at home. That property had a springy floor like a trampoline, a large hoover stored in the bathroom preventing access to the shower, means of escape not acceptable and areas behind the sofa which were dusty and covered in cobwebs. To think that I have paid hundreds of pounds for this is beyond belief. Then comes the icing on the cake an email from sykes hoping we had a fantastic holiday is someone having a laugh”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Sykes will categorically take your money (as with a housekeeping bond) without warning, or at least on the day its stolen from your account without giving you recourse, or chance to defend yourself or disagree. Our rich cottage land owner decided to blame a number of things already wrong in the cottage on us and then charge us £141 for them. Did Sykes defend us? No. There was me being kind about all the dirt i already found in the cottage, the filthy windows, the stove that didnt work, the broken blinds and bad lighting, and not mentioing it because the landowner was old, and seemingly 'nice' and this is what i got in return from both Sykes and landowner. Thievery basically. Congratulations to both of you. You just made an already difficult world that bit more cut-throat. Don't trust Sykes and don't trust the cottage owners. Take pictures of everything that is wrong in the cottage when you get there and prepare for your money to be stolen from your card details without warning for issues that you are never given a right to defend yourself for. This was the 1st time i have ever booked with Sykes. Poor poor poor and while many of you might never come across a problem, because your cottage owners are decent unlike mine was, remember they will not defend you or give you a chance to defend yourself if something goes wrong. So i would say they aren't a holiday cottage company worth taking the risk with. I will never use them again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Poor customer service”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“I'm an owner of a property which I have been letting out through Sykes. This company is a complete rip off. They rip off owners and customers alike . I've now had the good sense to rid myself of them which, you've probably guessed, was a very expensive experience. There are plenty of other companies out there, please don't make the same mistake I did........”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Awful customer service!!.. emailed Sykes (as property owner) with some very important information regarding our property availability and some other concerns for future guests. Message was sent to at least five different email address' to ensure that someone at Sykes received this message? After 4 weeks have still not received a reply!!!??? If a company offers an email address as a contact option, they need to ensure that these correspondence as dealt with efficiently. So due to a number issues with Sykes over the past 2 years, we now have decided to remove our property from Sykes. As their commission/booking percentage does not justify their very, very poor level of customer service!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Have had a really bad break in duckling lodge on south coast holiday village. We booked threw sykes and told on arrival they have nothing to do with booking as private rental. Had serious issues one being the on site shower was boiling hot and I was burnt on first night. Many other issues which we reported to sykes to be offered 10% compensation. This lodge had not had a safty check done since 2019. AVOID SYKES AT ALL COST. There on the owners side not interested we are taking our complaint with trading standards now s bodell”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Had cottage in Lake, Isle of Wight booked for 1 week starting 5th June. Have had to cancel as husband needs urgent bypass surgery- no refund, fair enough and I accepted this. UNTIL- the property has been re rented, so either Sykes or the home owner are being paid twice. Incredibly dishonest- no wonder this company are rated very poorly by Which? and other reputable review sites. I suggest you take Trustpilot reviews with a pinch of salt (their reviews have been called into question on many an occasion)”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“We booked a cottage at Harford in Devon advertised by Sykes as having two off road parking spaces. On arrival we found this was a complete fabrication and any parking was actually on the lane to the moor outside, which, when we arrived, was jam packed with cars and camper vans. When a car moved off later we found there was a hand painted notice on a stone stating the parking space near the gate was for this property. This has no legal standing - it is a public highway. We thought the cottage was very well equipped - probably the best we have used. We decided to phone Sykes to complain about the the misleading description and ask if we could be transferred to a cottage which actually had off road parking. However, no phone signal there or anywhere nearby. We also were not happy about plasticised mats on the laminate type floor which skidded when walked on and a 'baby gate' at the head of the stairs. This was situated right above the top step with the bottom frame of the gate about three inches above floor level. A definite trip hazard. One had to step up over this and then down to the polished wood stair. We took note of this and knew we had to be careful. However, going downstairs to attend to our dog just before retiring for the night, I stepped over the baby gate frame and down to the stair below when my foot slipped on the stair and I fell from top to bottom sustaining injury. I damaged my replacement right knee, had bruised ribs and we suspected a bruised kidney, I was covered in bruises and was bleeding badly from my right arm. How can we summon assistance? - no phone signal, no landline. After my wife had rendered first aid we drove to Derriford Hospital to be told there was a 4-5 hour wait. On hearing this we decided to return home and attend our local minor injury clinic. On return to the cottage from Derriford we found the space we had left right outside was now occupied by a camper van. This was the last straw. We have been trying to get a refund from Sykes or even an alternative holiday on the basis there was no off road parking, but to no avail. They are not interested in the fact that I was injured, they seem to think that advertising a feature which does not exist is fine. Be warned - don't use Sykes. I just wish we had read some of these reviews!!!! £478 down the drain!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“What went right? Nothing. I made a complaint to this company two weeks ago. I then emailed and (tried to) telephone. They do not reply to the phone, or one is in a long que. Their response to email is to send auto reply, but then never respond. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS It is apparent (from other reviews) that Sykes do not give a damn - just take your money and sit back . That's it. No customer service whatsoever. Please remember that Sykes were the only company (in lockdown one) who simply refused (yes, refused) to give people refunds!!!) What? I am still awaiting a response to my e-mail, and have run out of energy (and time) to keep holding on to their stupid phoneline JUST AVOID THEM”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Because of the COVID compared with the rules for foreigners we wanted to cancel the booking and to receive our payment back. But mailing and calling didn’t help. The service was very bad and our money that we payed in advance is lost. Within a week after cancelling the apartment was already booked by someone else. We ‘ll never come back!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“We just want our money back 😪..Theft is what I call it the owners getting nearly£600 my partner is disabled he saved hard for this holiday.The owners of Gerlan in morfya bychan should at least give us something back.Its heart breaking.!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“We use Sykes for booking for our holiday cottage. I have had loads of issues with them but today’s is by far the worst. They are TOTALLY unethical. We have had many cancellations due to COVID and we have allowed customers to re-book. Unbeknown to us Sykes deducted double commission from us. When we looked up why the explanation was commission from the first booking as if it had happened and a re-let commission which was on a slightly higher rent. They charged us £177 commission and we came out with £101 on a rental cancelled due to Covid and forward booked. Had the customer cancelled they would have got a full refund and we would not have been charged double commission. Totally unethical and disgusting bearing in mind that we had no control over this due to Covid. We have many bookings like this so sadly will be ripped off many times over. We have complained and I will escalate. Just beware booking with Sykes and using them to rent your holiday property.”

Sykes Cottages 1 star review on 16th May 2021

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“We booked this cottage as a family and after weeks of left to be booked and to check sticking to covid rules they decided to cancel our stay last minute. Also then to top this off they refuse to refund, absolutely disgusting. I am not sure how they think can do this? If you had of had a problem with how many people which you would have seen at time of booking you should have refused booking. Not now cancel last minute and try take our money. Will be reporting you as I can see you were already investigated last year by CMA!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“1 month on and still no refund. Sykes cancelled our holiday 2 days before start date on 09/04/21 we still haven't recieved the refund.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Price hike to change dates…now back to normal rate! I am really disappointed with my dealings. I had originally booked a week away in December 2020. I changed this to April 2021. As it was had I have kept my original booking I would have been given a refund. I felt the company very slow updating Covid so for peace of mind changed it again to almost the same week as my original booking one year later and it was £104 more expensive. I have looked at the website today and the week before my latest booking and week after is £100 cheaper, back at the original rates. I am disappointed I have had my price hiked by £100 because I chose to change my dates due to uncertainty. I have asked the company to explain their pricing given staycations increased so much after lockdown rules changed. If the rate for all of November and early December had all increased I would have no issue but to me it looks like I changed my dates at the time, in my view, the industry was becoming greedy. My weekly pricing appears unique which I find hard to believe. My dates are end of November, not in school holidays or other relevant date in the calendar It would still be cheaper for me to change to another week even with the booking amendment fee. I would point out that after appealing the amendment fee was waived otherwise I would owe £60 extra. This has left a very sour taste. I feel ripped off and await their response. HAVING JUST TRIED TO CHANGE MY DATES IT STILL ADDS £100 TO MY BOOKING, DESPITE SHOWING IF YOU MAKE A NEW BOOKING £100 CHEAPER!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Am sure that the holiday accommodation which this company promotes are a great experience. Sadly you can't say the same for Sykes Cottages who are the most anti customer company I have ever dealt with in over thirty years of travelling. If there was a no stars then it still would not reflect the appalling service that you can receive from this company. Covid has been a challenging and difficult time for many. Sadly this meant my much needed family holiday had to be cancelled as we had a member of the party in the 'at risk category' and Sykes were unable to provide some really basic information. That lack of basic support and understanding meant we had no choice but to cancel our holiday and after months negotiating a complaints system which is a complaint on its own, no return of all or part of the deposit but they did offer a discount of another booking. The only good thing to come from this experience is that as an individual who works with companies on delivering outstanding customer service and exceeding expectations, they have given me some great material on how not to treat the customer.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“We stayed at buarthaucottage llanrug Caernarfon Gwynedd ll55 2aq the cottage was absolutely amazing brilliant,spotlessly clean had a fantastic week holiday in a beautiful cottage everything was there ,beautiful welsh cakes left chocolates milk in the fridge superb comfy beds and booking with Sykes very very easy communication with us brilliant very impressed with everything cottage and Sykes holidays”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Wow, people beware total con, booked a cottage for May, for 4 people in February, now told in May after paying first and second payment cottage only for 2. Cancelled our booking without talking to us, found out it was rebooked a day later with our dates we booked. The pits, just a scam too take your money and make intrest on it. BEWARE”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Sykes Cottages is rated 1.2 based on 1,480 reviews