“110% DO NOT RECOMMEND.”
On the photos, this place looks like a nice time away, but when you are there, it’s horrendous. I’ll explain why.
Entering into the cottage, we were greeted by month-old spider webs in the bathroom, bedroom and the sitting area. The bathroom contained a huge spider with baby spiders nesting on its month-old spider web - not to worry we thought, and we killed it.
The next day, we were then knocked on by David (the owner) - me and my partner were half naked (privacy??) - and I spoke with him ...
On the photos, this place looks like a nice time away, but when you are there, it’s horrendous. I’ll explain why.
Entering into the cottage, we were greeted by month-old spider webs in the bathroom, bedroom and the sitting area. The bathroom contained a huge spider with baby spiders nesting on its month-old spider web - not to worry we thought, and we killed it.
The next day, we were then knocked on by David (the owner) - me and my partner were half naked (privacy??) - and I spoke with him outside. He was talking about how Sykes Cottages is a rip off and then went onto mention a couple bringing a cat in a way you can tell he was about to slag them off - this was me and my partner, and I told him this. He then looked shocked as he knew that I knew he was about to badmouth me and my partner. The conversation ends a few sentences later.
The following day, our hot tub started to smell like rotten eggs (a chemical reaction caused by a PH imbalance) so we told David and David responds with “it might pay you to go in the shower before you go on”, implying me and my partner are scruffs on a basic. David then comes to the cottage, proceeds to put more chlorine in it (it needed the opposite of chlorine and I told him this) and we then waited to see if it was fine. NO it wasn’t fine, it smelt like bleach and when you put your nose close enough to it, the smell burnt your throat - we didn’t go in, obviously.
We then informed David that it now smelt like bleach and he then makes the same comment about going in the shower. He comes around to proceed to tell us he’d emptied it and had filled it back up. About 5 minutes after this call, me and my partner went and checked it to find that the hot tub had spontaneously heated instantly back up to 41.40 degrees - he hadn’t emptied it, but had just put the jets on - yes David, this is definitely solving the problem.
After this, we waited to see if it would get any better and the answer is no, it didn’t - it got worse. We then contacted David again to get the problem sorted, and he responds with the same comment, so I hang up - he comes around, does nothing again and off he trots. At this point, me and my partner had been more than fair and David wasn’t helping anyone, so we left 4 nights early.
By far out of all of the holidays I have ever had, and I have had a lot of holidays, this was the absolute worst and the absolute worst one could have possibly been - it was a literal nightmare. I preferred to be driving back home on the A1(M) at 1am than I did staying here - and to put the icing on the cake, David has not contacted us once after we left, of which evidently shows his lack of care for his customers, and his inability to provide even the slightest of decent business etiquette for his customers, or even himself.
Some things I haven’t mentioned:
1. The cottage hadn’t been cleaned in months and this was evident by the stains left in the bathroom, the month-old cob webs and the crumbs that were already on the floor,
2. The bed is rock-solid and doesn’t have a duvet - if you like sleeping like a normal person, go elsewhere or if you must go here, bring your own,
3. David watches you like a hawk and everything you do - don’t expect privacy with him, and almost certainly don’t expect him to help with anything - if he appears to be “helping” it’s simply to spy on you,
4. If your hot tub smells horrifically of chlorine/bleach, do NOT go in but also do NOT expect David to fix the issue - you may as well go home,
5. The TV’s aren’t smart TV’s, they are free view normal TV’s and this is a form of false-advertising,
6. Take all other ratings with a pinch of salt, it is unbelievable that anyone else has experienced a nice time at this place as it was literal hell for us.
It’s a true and absolute disappointment and shame that genuine customers looking for a nice place to go away, kick their feet up and relax away from stress and build life-long memories are duped into this nightmare of a holiday by and with David. Please trust me when I say this: IF YOU HAVE OPTIONS OF WHERE YOU GO, DO NOT GO HERE - AND DO NOT THINK ABOUT GOING HERE IF YOU DON’T HAVE OPTIONS - IT’S A MASSIVE WASTE OF MONEY AND TIME.
From all of that has happened, I will be making a formal complaint to Sykes and obtaining a full refund.
Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that your experience didn’t meet expectations. We take all comments seriously and are committed to maintaining high standards across all our properties.
All of our holiday lets are thoroughly cleaned before each stay, including full servicing of hot tubs with the correct procedures and chemicals. Any concerns raised during your visit were addressed promptly, as we always aim to be responsive and helpful.
We also made an exception to our no-pet policy to accommodate your cat, as part of our effort to be flexible and welcoming.
While we acknowledge that a few cobwebs may have been missed—something we have reviewed—other claims made (i.e surveillance and not providing guests with privacy) are untrue and do not reflect our usual guest experience. We have many happy, returning customers and take pride in the service we provide.
Thank you again for your comments.
Property Owner
