“Although the owner of this property was very friendly, the property clean inside and the beds comfortable, we feel that Sykes does nothing to inform potential customers about the true location of this property.”
To say it is on a working farm does little to inform people that it is in the middle of farmyard and as such does not have a nice outlook, and does not have the degree of privacy which most people require when choosing to go self-catering. Being kept awake by mooing cows at 3.00 am is not our idea of holiday fun. Above all, the steep, uneven and unmade track down to the property is not remotely suitable for saloon cars, and the bottom of our car scraped on this 'roadway' every time we went up or down it. If this property's description on Sykes' website actually informed people that you needed to have a car with a high clearance, such as a 4x4, when booking this property, this problem could be avoided. Sometimes, an absence of information is as bad as being blatantly uneconomical with the truth, and we feel severely let down by Sykes, for the second time (the first time was having lorries careering past our bedroom all night long, whilst staying in the Cotswolds). We are not inclined to continue to use a company which cannot be honest, and which leads to our having a less than satisfactory holiday as a result - and this in a year when people are in dire need of a holiday.
The twin bedroom in the property was short of furniture - each bed needs its own set of drawers and bedside light, otherwise one or both occupants have to get out of bed to reach the light, access a drink etc. The kitchen was also under-equipped in terms of cooking utensils, particularly needing a range of oblong pyrex dishes for cooking in the oven, and more than just four mugs when there is a dishwasher to be filled (otherwise you have to wash by hand in order to be able to have a second drink). The towels in the bathroom needed to be a larger size- bath sheets not bath towels, the latter not being big enough for adults. Lastly, given the nature of our work, internet access is imperative for us, sadly even when on holiday, hence our always having to choose a property which can provide that. On this occasion, the internet was not working and we spent the whole week without internet access. We appreciate that there are a lot of farms up and down the country which understandably gain much needed rental income from holiday lets, but Sykes needs to be honest about what people are going to get for their money. The behaviour of estate agents comes to mind, upon discovering the mismatch between what is being sold and the reality of what is actually on offer. On this occasion we are very unsatisfied customers.
- Mrs Yarushin, August 2020