Sykes Holiday Cottages Reviews 

The booking process was very easy and straightforward, even though we made our booking last minute (less than a week to).
The farm house is gorgeous, it has a lovely rustic feel to it. The ground surrounding it are soooo beautiful. The farm house is well stocked out with plenty of dishes and glasses. With 5 bedrooms and 6 beds, this property was perfect for our large family.
Excellent location: less than 10 minute drive to the town centre of Bowness and the lake, with a local shop down the hill.
2 little things though,
1- we were unable to turn the heating on
2- there seems to be some confusion around the bin disposal; we found a note saying one thing while the neighbour came at us in the morning, upset we had used her bin.

Overall, we had a great stay; would definitely recommend this property

Very easy to search for properties using the filters. My favourite filter NO DOGS or PETS.
As soon as I booked had an email straight away confirming. Not back and forth to owner and agent accepting dates.

So pleased with service Arbian held my booking for me for 24 hours until I spoke to all family to confirm dates, he then phoned me back right on time next day for me to arrange booking, thank you.

Nice choice of properties and easy to book

Excellent communication. Clear information about rental holidays with great photos. Highly recommend.

Easy booking system. Easy search system on website

If you were thinking of booking or renting through Sykes - think twice! Read the reviews!

We used to think Sykes was some big reliable booking company and that booking through them would be safer than direct or via Airbnb. We have had a few stays through them and as we never needed to contact them before then as far as we knew everything was great. Until I actually tried to contact them.

I was taking them up on their price match guarantee as I had foolishly trusted that they would honour it.

First of all the only contact was a WhatsApp messaging service. And the response was AI. I tried going back and back to them to ask someone to look into it and occasionally an actual human would respond, around a week or so later and be absolutely cold and unhelpful. Most times it would be no response. They could not care less.

I looked them up on trustpilot and saw all these 4 and 5 star reviews and couldn’t understand how they were so high compared to my experience…until you actually read into the review and realise that for anybody who makes a booking without any contact, generally all great and they review high. For those of us who actually try to contact them, it’s the same story over and over again. Sykes don’t do customer service - they aren’t interested in helping, and they don’t care about keeping a customer base.

Please, help them to help themselves by refusing to use them. Maybe eventually they’ll learn??

I read the reviews before booking my apartment and various other reviewers of that property had mentioned the bed not being comfortable, flimsy and the mattress needed to be thicker. As the only property left in the location for the dates I wanted, I booked it but did call and email Sykes Cottages to ask whether the comments of previous reviewers had been addressed? Sykes is just a call centre, the person on the phone wasn’t at all helpful, had no info on the particular property, said they’d try and speak to the owner but I never heard anything more! I tried emailing the same question, but my email never got replied to either. The bed was uncomfortable, felt like we were sleeping on a camp bed, and we’re not big people. It is impossible to make contact with the owners of the properties, Sykes are just an impersonal middleman, would not choose to use them again. There are other booking platforms that enable a much better personal interaction to answer perfectly reasonable questions before making a decision to book.

Good yet poor customer service and unclear and convoluted policies.

Had a fantastic holiday in a really beautiful cottage in the lake district, defo recommend. Regularly use sykes cottages and always good places and holiday let's.

I booked a holiday with this company ,three days after I booked I had to cancel due to a family crisis ,it was still 3weeks before the holiday ,so I asked for a refund they refused.i asked them to move the date forward ,so I could still go ,again they refused .i will not use the company again 🙁

Extremely disappointing experience

My partner and I experienced harassment during a holiday at one of Sykes Cottages’ properties. We felt that the incident was racially and homophobically motivated and ultimately reported the hosts to the police.

Unfortunately, Sykes Cottages did not support us. We felt victim-blamed throughout the process, and neither Sykes nor the hosts offered us even a partial refund.

We were repeatedly contacted by phone by Sykes, but the conversations lacked empathy and left us feeling pressured and manipulated not to escalate our complaint. When we escalated the matter in writing, the responses felt even worse: they lacked basic human empathy and, in our view, were genuinely disrespectful towards us as customers. Our case was ultimately closed without a refund or satisfactory resolution.

At one point, Sykes offered us alternative accommodation because we no longer felt safe where we were staying. Less than an hour later, they withdrew this offer and told us they could no longer provide it, leaving us feeling completely abandoned.

The impact of this experience has continued beyond the holiday. We are still struggling with our sense of safety when staying away from home, and it has had a significant effect on our wellbeing.

We genuinely believed Sykes Cottages would support and protect us when something this serious happened. Instead, we were left feeling as though we were the problem and that we had to deal with the situation alone.

I am sharing this because I believe other customers should be aware of our experience and consider carefully how supported they may be if they encounter a serious problem with one of Sykes Cottages’ properties.

Fundamentally Sykes Cottages have failed us potentially for life. I don't see we will use them again to be honest. Agree with others. Impossible to contact either while staying, or after if there is an issue. Even complained on their WhatsApp service and they wanted to close the complaint and through inactivity and they had not even responded to the original post. In our case, it was a question of security. Strangers were letting themselves in with a pass key 🔐 A touch of the Travelodge national news story here where the company director was forced to resign. Perhaps senior management should do the same.Sykes totally unconcerned . It was more like digs with shared facilities ,rather than a private space! Avoid avoid avoid.They state only the owner and housekeeper had the master
key . No,no not so ...strangers do too!

Sykes Holiday Cottages customer services are very poor. Once the booking and payment were made they are no longer interested.
We had a few issues with our property and the result was an initial phone call after the first night review. The result being, ( a case file’).

The owner was very responsive and helpful, I sent photographs of the areas that were problematic and also called when the boiler was leaking. A plumber was out at the property within the hour. If it was left to Sykes the ceiling would have been through, as we have received no response from our phone call at the start of our holiday.
Glen Garth Mews, Anglesey

We booked a cottage to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary with our children and grandchildren, 15 people in total. Over 6 months later Sykes cancelled it,blaming it on the owner, although no reason was given, if that's the case,surely there must be some penalty for owners who do this?, We were offered a refund or to book another cottage, it was for the school spring bank holiday week so there was nothing left that was suitable. There was no goodwill gesture offered despite having had our £1200 deposit all this time.
Trying to contact someone at Sykes is almost impossible, if you do,you may have communication problems and they will have no authority. Putting you on hold ( whilst they talk to their boss I guess), and cutting you off. One advisor suggested the owner might have cancelled it because he didn't like too many people in it! Four families have had their holiday plans ruined and we do not know the reason why.
I would never book another cottage with Sykes, it's too bigger risk if something was to go wrong, it's the worst company I have ever dealt with, there customer service is appalling.

10 days after messaging Sykes still no response. There’s obviously an automated response system that replies every 24 hours asking if your message still needs responding to but that’s the only communication we get. A promise that someone will get back to you but nobody ever does. Does their customer service department even exist?! I very much doubt it, but I will keep messaging and reviewing until somebody does!!!!!

Despite Syke's reputation the description of the property was not 100% accurate.

I’m absolutely furious with Sykes Cottages. I booked The Hayloft for July 2027 and cancelled in August 2026, approx 11 months before the holiday was due.

Sykes has charged my credit card £583.70 for a holiday me and my family won’t be taking! Nearly a YEAR before it was due to happen.

When I telephoned them as I thought it was a simple mistake, I was repeatedly told that it was in the terms and conditions. I explained that I wanted the matter escalated and asked TWICE to speak to a manager. I was refused.

The response from the adviser was that there was no point because a manager would tell me the same thing.

I’m sorry, but since when does customer-service person decide that a customer cannot escalate a complaint because she already knows what a manager is going to say?

I wasn’t abusive. I wasn’t asking for anything unreasonable. I was challenging a £583.70 charge and asking to speak to somebody with the authority to properly review it. Apparently, that was too much to ask.

I have now put my complaint to Sykes in writing and asked them to explain something very simple:

What actual loss does £583.70 represent when the accommodation was cancelled approximately 11 months in advance?

And what happens if The Hayloft is rebooked for those dates?

If another customer books the property for July 2027, will my money be refunded so that there is no double recovery?

I have also raised concerns under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, because I believe a charge of this magnitude is disproportionate and unfair.

What I find particularly appalling is the attitude towards a customer questioning it.

“It’s in the terms and conditions” And “a manager will tell you the same thing” is not an acceptable reason to refuse to escalate a customer’s complaint.

Sykes has had my previous custom. After this experience, they will never have it again.

Anyone considering booking with Sykes should read the cancellation provisions extremely carefully. Do not assume that cancelling almost a year in advance means you will only lose a modest amount.

In my case, cancelling 11 months before the holiday has resulted in a £583.70 charge and when I challenged it and twice requested a manager, I was refused.

I will update this review with Sykes’ response to my formal complaint – including their explanation of how £583.70 was calculated and whether I receive my money back if the property is subsequently rebooked.

Easy to use website and great properties available.

Perfect family getaway. Plenty to do along the coast line- both organised and surprise finds. The cabin is both cosy and yet organised well for a family of 4 so plenty of space. The girls adored the lawn, me the views, him the sofa. Only wished there was local walks from the front door - so an investigation into direct vicinity public footpaths please. The area too beautiful not to be in it.