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 17th November 2024

Anonymous

Sykes Cottages 1 star review on 8th November 2024

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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

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“In compassionate company! Don’t use them! We booked with Sykes for my mums 60th 1 year in advance. Unfortunately my dad received a terminal diagnosis 6 months later. We were still determined to go right up until 1 week prior when my dad deteriorated massively. I emailed the owners explaining the situation 3 days before we were suppose to go asking if we could have some kind of refund. I never got a reply from the owners but within the hour of my email Sykes rang me explaining that it was not their policy to give any refund. My mind wasn’t in a place to argue. My husband complained via email after this explaining under such exceptional circumstances we would appreciate some sympathy & would accept a partial refund or changing the dates to suit. The response was have you got insurance, we always recommend customers getting insurance. My response, as I now was very angry, was at the time of booking we were all fit & healthy & didn’t think it was necessary to get insurance out for a weekend away in England. Their response in addition to being very patronising was offering £70 of their vouchers as a gesture of goodwill!!!!!! Joke! I replied stating this was an insult. Life is cruel & this year my family’s lives have been turned upside down. Sykes is a big enough company to show compassion under these extreme circumstances & I believe the owners at Kiplings Lodge are partly responsible too as they could have waived some of the costs for us. Therefore be wary when booking with Sykes, they don’t care! No one knows what’s round the corner! Use an alternative company!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“We booked our Christmas break with Sykes. The property was dirty, smelly and lots of damage. A horrible experience. We spoke to Sykes who told us it’s nothing to do with them and they couldn’t help us because the problems were down to the owner! Sykes were no help at all - a total waste of our hard earned money..”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Sykes are not interested, did not resolve my issues, the cottage I booked them, (hogwarts cottage pickering) was not fit for purpose, the previous reviews on the cottage had same bad issues, yey they still endorsed the property, total waste of time, they removed my review on the property, very unprofessional, stay away from these scammers,”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Catkins in Brayford, 1 frying pan, not enough cutlery, horrendous WiFi, mould and damp. We left a day early and complained, this company are not interested. Trading standards notified as even after we left live chat still Said fibre optic WiFi which is not even in the area. No ping pong balls, 1 pool cue cold and not as described. I see they don’t take responsibility for descriptions, yet this is what people book by. Good firms inspect the properties frequently and stand by their descriptions. Also it makes you laugh what must the standards be like to get nominated for the travel awards, do they think reviews like these on independent sites are acceptable customer service, no matter how few they may seem compared to positive experiences? Their site says they post all feedback reviews good or bad, isn’t on there yet but this is no surprise going on other people’s experiences. I’ve used so many excellent companies for cottages, would never use this company again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“We have had an issue with a recent holiday we booked, we had to cancel due to certain circumstances! Customer service is second to none! Laura went above and beyond to help us :) we are extremely happy with them and will be looking at booking in due coarse. Thanks Mrs Fowler”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Disgusting company, rude and no customer service whatsoever! If u have a problem they do not want to know. They say the contract is between you and the owner nothing to do with them. They ask for a review then basically call u a liar if u say something was bad. Oh and they don’t publish the negative reviews only the good ones. Please do not waste your hard earned money and have a disappointing holiday. We saved up all year for a two week holiday with a hot tub and it was filthy, I’m sure environmental health will be interested even if they aren’t.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“This firm removes negative property reviews from their website! I noticed ours stayed up there for a couple of months and then conveniently disappeared. We arrived to broken glass at the property and were told to hover up by the owner! Sykes tried to help but in the end just left us to it.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Really disappointing experience with Sykes. We booked a holiday cottage in Worcestershire for our baby daughter's first Xmas. The directional information to locate the cottage was not correct. Upon arriving at the village it took us almost 1.5 hours to find the place - in a one-road village of no more than 40 properties. We only found it (down a dirt track off the main road) after knocking on doors around the village and speaking to neighbours. Another family who were renting the cottage next door (part of the same development) had also been driving around for an hour or so, as had their Tesco food delivery driver. Yet when we located the property, it was quite easy to find and would have been had simple directions been made clear. If the neighbours hadn't have been able to give us the location we'd have turned around and gone back home. Upon arrival, we noted there was soap scum left in the bathroom sink, the glass shower screen had been pulled from the wall and was hanging on by a thread, the wooden floors were very dirty, the cutlery appeared to have been rinsed but was still soiled, dog mess was on the outside yard gravel, animal hairs were on the bedroom rugs, animal hairs were beneath the pillows etc. etc. etc. Anyway, after cleaning up ourselves we weren't too fussed and got on with our holiday. Now the cottage had feature spot lights set within the floor to illuminate the drapes across the back wall. These lights were not easy to spot - even when turned on - but particularly of a day time. On the first morning of our stay our 9-month old daughter was crawling on the floor and placed her hands on one of the lights. After being switched on for a matter of seconds the lights were hot enough to boil eggs on. Our daughter received burns on both hands, requiring medical treatment at Evesham Hospital. In the course of 7-night stay, we had to take her back and forth 4 times to the hospital to have her wounds re-dressed and treated, burnt skin removed etc. We've had two further appointments since returning home. We politely contacted the cottage owner to alert him to the problem with the lights and he was very cagey about it. Very business-like and mono-syllabic, but essentially he was clueless as to what to do or how to handle it. Upon our suggestion that he'd used the wrong type of bulbs in the lamps, he sent round a worker the next day while we were out and changed the bulbs, declining the opportunity to see us face-to-face. We never received an apology or a courtesy call to check on how our daughter was doing, but we weren't particulary troubled by this and thought he may have been inexperienced in handling such matters. On our final day we had another appointment at the Hospital to have the wounds checked but attending this clashed with the 10am latest leaving time. We asked the owner to allow us the necessary extra time to leave, which he gave us. In the end we left the cottage about one hour 20 mins late. Upon returning home, Sykes contacted us for feedback on our experience so we sent them a private message to let them know what had happened. The intention of this being that better checks could be put in place and/or discussion with the owner to ensure another family didn't go through the same drama in future. We were contacted the following day by Sykes' complaints department, which was frankly a bizarre experience. We were told that our 'complaint' was effectively meaningless because we have no direct contractual relationship with Sykes and therefore they have no liability towards us. We were told that if we wanted to pursue our compensation claim then we'd have to make a private claim against the owner's insurance policy and we weren't entitled to vouchers and the like from Sykes so none would be offered to us. It was also implied by Sykes that we may have exaggerated the injuries to our daughter in order inflate a potential claim, and that we should be grateful that we were allowed to overrun our stay on the final morning to attend the Hospital again to the inconvenience of the cottage owner's 'cleaner'. First of all, we never made and have not made a complaint against anybody despite what has happened. We were asked for our feedback and we gave it to Sykes hoping they'd use the information to improve their service to others. Secondly, we never and have not asked anybody for compensation or vouchers or anything of the sort. Only Sykes has mentioned this - which suggests they are hyper-vigilant against such matters and knee-jerg to conclusions. Thirdly, I've uploaded photographs of the left hand of our daughter as it was when it was re-dressed on the third occasion on Boxing Day. Out of interest, I've also uploaded a photograph of the spot light hidden beneath the drapes and welcome people to try to spot it. At no point have we exaggerated the injury. In fact, the only information that we've offered to either party is that we were advised by Evesham Hospital the burn would be classified as a Second Degree burn in their file notes. We're by no means experts on skin burns nor do we know the specific differences between the burn categories and so we'd welcome feedback from more learned others on this as to whether Evesham Hospital are correct or not. Evesham Hospital wanted to refer our daughter to the burns unit at Birmingham Children's Hospital as they were concerned about how it was developing and suggested our daughter may end up with visible scarring on her thumb. We were advised to have an appointment with a plastic surgeon to explore whether the scarring could be prevented with surgery. We did not disclose any of this to Sykes or to the owner at the time so to imply that we were exaggerating is quite insulting given that we have withheld details that potentially make the situation more serious. The take-away from our dialogue with Sykes is this: - They are a 3rd party agent introducing holidaymakers to property owners. They have no direct contractual liability with the holidaymakers. - As such, checks on the properties being offered for rent seem to be at best rudimentary. - Sykes aren't particularly interested in constructive feedback on the properties they're offering for rent as since they don't have contractual liability with either party they are disinterested in matters occurring within the properties. - In the event of a 'complaint' being raised, Sykes is likely to take the property owner's side instead of doing the right thing and remaining impartial until the facts have been clarified. Needless to say this will be the last of our dealings with Sykes and we'll be more careful in future to make sure that any property we rent is not being managed by Sykes in any way.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Poor customer service. Misleading information on website. Company only concerned with taking money for bookings”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“This is a nasty and particularly aggressive company. Their 'Terms and Conditions' contain a number of devious and questionable 'conditions', which can be summarised as being highly questionable and borderline compliant in terms of UK Contract Law and from a Consumer Law perspective. With the benefit of our experience, we would strongly suggest you source an alternative administrator; that relates, to your property, for rent a and your holiday cottage!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Paid 2 booking fees for a 14 night stay. Other agencies I have booked with will only charge 1 booking fee for a 14 night stay. Have got nowhere by ringing. Apparently they charge a booking fee for every week booked. Pay extra for being a good customer seems to be Skye's policy.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“I booked a cottage holiday at Penmaen Amlwch Road, Benllech last Thursday. After I did the booking online and made the payment, I received the confirmation with a number of 9 people instead of 11 as it should be (possibly it was my error) so I immediately telephone the number that was provided in my email and it was the Property owner at Penmaen. I clarified with the lady the number of people attending the property including my old cat. She was very understanding and friendly and said that was not going to be any problem whatsoever. I explained to her that the number of adults were 9 plus 2 children, she said that there were only 10 beds and If I was ok for one of the kids to share the bed with their parents. I said that was not going to be a problem and not the cat either. The conversation was amicable and she in fact offered a Christmas decoration which I was delighted about too. She then said that as they were going to be away by the time we arrive, she gave me the key code to access the property. The next response was an email from Sykes Holiday Cottages saying that the owner pulled out the booking due to the number of guests, as only 10 were the maximum for insurance purposes. I then spoke to my family and they were upset. They said that it would not be a problem as a member of my family couldn't make it for work reasons, so I informed the Sykes Holiday Cottages that would no longer be a problem. They then said that it was my pet that the owner did not want in the property... I could not understand and still do not understand why they did it to us. I booked this cottage on 5th December and the refund was credited to my account on 11th December with 96.46 euros lost.. I have not only lost this money but now all the holiday properties are 3 times more expensive and not days with wanted available. My money should have been refunded the minute that Sykes Holiday Cottages said that my booking was cancelled and not 7 days later having taken 96.46 euros from my account when it was them who have caused all this distress to me and my family.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“I am upset and appalled by this company. Cold, robot like responses to my problems. Reading from a script. I will never book through Sykes again. I didn't realise when I used booking.com that Sykes were the operators.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Holly cottage, Higher Kinnerton 1 week in October, 2019 This was our 5th (and last) weekly cottage booked through Sykes during our 6-week UK visit. The previous 4 cottages had either met, or exceeded, our expectations, but not Holly cottage Arriving at 3pm we were greeted by an apologetic cleaner who explained the cottage was not ready for occupation. The clean bed linen was in a padlocked trunk which could not be opened, and the cleaning supervisor was in the process of obtaining bolt cutters and would return shortly - and that was the start of the saga. The cottage was hot, very hot, and smelt strange too. It seemed the heating had been left full on with the thermostat registering over 27 C. The smell appeared to be from the dishwasher, full of unwashed dishes, which the over heated cottage had amplified. The supervisor returned with large bolt cutters and promised (if we could return in an hour and a half) to have put into effect the linen changes and cleaning. Having little option, and no alternative accommodation within easy reach, we agreed and returned later. Instructions for the cottage could not be found although at previous cottages all had these left in a prominent place. We did find these, much later, at the bottom of a drawer with many papers on top. The cottage heating proved to be faulty as lowering the thermostat setting had no effect on the radiators output. We did manage to turn off all but one of the radiators and reduce the temperature to 24 C by opening windows, but the lounge radiator remained fully on for the whole week in spite of all efforts. The dishwasher problem was sorted by setting it in motion, then emptying the contents. The washing machine was never used as it had hair along the door, plus a sock left inside. There was also no drier, or washing line for drying clothes. The oven was unclean, hence not used. The microwave was used, once it had been plugged back in via a difficult to reach socket behind the fridge. The TV when turned on had Polish? set as its language and it was not until the following day we managed to reset the language to English. The main cable was also unplugged (as our Polish instructions had been telling us). In the kitchen an overhead light was flashing constantly but we were unable to remove the globe and so had to endure this problem as well. We have emailed the list of problems to the owner (who does not live locally) with the added suggestion a local person is needed when help is required. Still waiting for some compensation. Sent to Sykes Cottages as feedback. These comments were never published by Sykes. Favourable comments sent in regard to the previous 4 cottages however were all published.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“These delete bad reviews for the cottages and keep only the good ones. We have recently left two reviews, I property was rubbish, so 1 STAR and other one was a top property hence 5 STAR. Our 1 star review has been deleted, when I spoke to the co. according to them, i have chosen to hide it from the public. The 5 star review is still there. Both reviews were left same day/time and same way. Avoid this co.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“When I booked a cottage with Sykes over the telephone in November 2019 they charged me £6 for doing so. Free if booking on line. Not everyone has access to the internet. As well as the £39 booking fee they also charged me £3 this year for paying the low £20 deposit which was free last year. Admittedly I discussed this with the Sykes Rep but I don’t feel inclined to book with them again in future years as too many add-on prices.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Definitely will not be doing business with Sykes, after reading these reviews...enough to turn me stirr crazy,”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Sykes Cottages used to be a company with excellent and helpful customer service (I was a property owner). This became worse in recent years and we have now ceased trading through them following poor treatment of guests and problems on our own account. I would not recommend them.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“"0 Stars" Went to a cottage in Orford, Suffolk in August...disgraceful, filthy and dilapidated accommodation requiring major refurbishment to bring it up to an acceptable standard. We reported our concerns to Sykes within 2 hours of arrival and sent photos via email. Staff member seemed genuinely concerned at our predicament. Only stayed 2.5 days and one of those we stayed away from the property so that a "deep clean" could be completed. On our return we have sent many emails including photographic evidence, made numerous phones calls to Sykes (waiting too long each time to get through) to Customer Relations, spoken to 8 different people, been promised phone calls from "Managers" that just don't happen...have been give a £200 refund from a holiday costing £600. They just keep saying that your contract is with the owner of the property, they are just the agent. The owner will not refund any monies. This is a shortened version of the email I sent to Sykes and received no response and had to telephone (Again!) Along with a number of other issues, we found the accommodation as follows: All windows dirty both inside and out Ladders and garden tools left in front garden Porch dirty - spiders in every corner / cobwebs Lounge - spiders/ cobwebs behind curtains and radiators curtain tieback broken Kitchen - cobwebs above curtain rails spiders in corners dirty cutlery drawers untidy equipment drawers dirty/greasy cooker hood dishwasher dirty down sides and no plinth underneath microwave dirty turntable toaster - right side didn’t work/crumbs inside and in tray corner cupboard - containing saucepans and mouse droppings sink cupboard - untidy and delapidated sink plug and drain hole dirty limescale buildup at base of sink tap black stain on worktop at back of sink unit electric fire - glass missing and door broken fridge - makes horrendous noise, salad container dirty, underneath salad container disgusting pantry/boiler room - generally scruffy and unfinished hole in wall between pantry and kitchen no curtain - rail missing floor tiles - very badly cracked tiles covered over with door mat- several other tiles cracked Back porch - spider’s web under curtain Bathroom- dead flies above and to side of shower area brown stains at base of toilet and u-bend stained no safety restraint for venetian blind cord Back garden - unsafe undulating brick paving into garden Dog poo bin not emptied Outhouse - washing machine in old outhouse full of rubbish, spiders, cobwebs and snails Stairs - very steep spiders in each corner of bulkhead Bedroom 1- Water stains running down the walls No wardrobe - 1 hanger left on cloak hooks on bedroom door Chest of drawers - no liners and handle missing (on mantlepiece) Fly on floor Snail to side of window inside Spiders and cobwebs Bedroom 2 - Water stains running down the walls Cobwebs The level of cleanliness and the condition of the property was far below any reasonable expectations of acceptable holiday accommodation. The Sykes website misrepresented the property with the photos and description. As at today's date (9/11/2019), my review has not been put on their website. A duty of care is expected from a company supplying holiday accommodation to the public. I will be reporting them to the Advertising Standards Authority and putting a claim through the Small Claims Court...do not use this company!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“I have yet to go on our 4 day break, we was quite annoyed that we had to pay a £39.00 booking fee. We have been to various destinations round the world never ever have we paid a booking fee. we will not book again with Sykes cottages it is daylight robbery, not a happy customer this is our honeymoon to very bad customer service.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Sykes Cottages is rated 1.2 based on 1,481 reviews