Sykes Cottages Reviews: All You Need To Know Before Booking With Sykes 2025
If you’re reading this Sykes Cottages Reviews post then you’re smarter than I am! I should know better being an avid traveller but I was lured in by the pretty prices and wide choice of accommodation and didn’t follow my own advice – do your research!
Because I feel like a bit of an idiot I’m writing this post to stop you from making the same mistakes I did. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t an article insulting everything about Sykes Cottages, but it is a full review of our experiences using them for 5+ years now.
It will hopefully give you a really balanced view so that you can decide whether it’s worth taking the risk of booking through them or going with a different accommodation provider.
If you do use Sykes Cottages for your stay then we would love to hear from you so that we can update this article with more than just our and family and friends experiences.
- About Sykes Cottages
- The pros of Sykes Cottages
- The cons of booking with Sykes
- Should I book accommodation with Sykes Cottages
- Where can I find accommodation instead?
- Frequently asked questions
About Sykes Cottages
Sykes Cottages is a leading accommodation provider in the UK, offering a diverse range of holiday ‘cottages’ for travelers seeking a memorable getaway. With a portfolio spanning over 17,500 properties across the country, Sykes Cottages claims to cater to every type of traveler, from families and couples to pet owners and large groups.
Note that it claims to.
One of the key advantages of booking with Sykes Cottages is the flexibility it offers. With properties available for short breaks, weekend getaways, and longer stays, travelers can tailor their holiday experiences to their preferences.
Additionally, many of the cottages are apparently pet-friendly, allowing guests to bring their furry friends along for the adventure. We would love to hear from you if you’ve taken a pet with you successfully!
Sykes used to offer only cottages but in recent years we’ve seen a whole host of different accommodation types on their website. I would say it’s now akin to AirBnB, you can find some cute cottages but you’ll also find a whole load of apartments, random houses, basements, and even some shepherd hut type accommodation.
Basically Sykes Cottages is an accommodation provider in the UK.
The pros of Sykes Cottages
There are two main reasons we chose to book through Sykes Cottages all those years ago.
The choice and the price.
Both are competitive, and you will often find the same accommodation listed on a different provider’s website for £50 more. Why wouldn’t we opt for the cheaper place to stay?
The first few places we booked with Sykes were lovely. Very similar to AirBnB but without all the hidden cleaning charges etc. They seemed like the perfect company, and you may well have absolutely no issues with them like we didn’t to start with.
But make sure you read on if you want to be able to make an informed decision.
The cons of booking with Sykes
What we didn’t realise was that Sykes has appalling customer service. I would go so far as to say it’s the worst customer service we’ve experienced in all our travels. Perhaps that’s not entirely true as we did have quite a shocking experience in Vietnam! Perhaps I’ll write about that another day.
It is virtually impossible to get hold of anyone from customer services, and when we did we received very little in the way of support or answers to our questions. In fact, we’re pretty sure our first complaint wasn’t even read from the response we were given.
We would never usually write up a bad review of a company. If we have a bad experience we often chalk it down to a one off incident. The fact that we have had repeated problems with Sykes Cottages now has prompted us to make sure our readers don’t have the same problems.
In way of transparency, we’ll share the problems we had and the ones our family and friends have experienced, because it might well be that you book with them and have a trouble-free stay!
But we’ve also since read up on the reviews and have to say they marry up perfectly with our experiences. We’ve cherry-picked a few as there are too many to fit on this article, but you can find them all on Trip Advisor.
I have contacted you followed your instructions and yet still my booking does not appear on the app. You fail to answer any emails or your chat. I would expect more from such a company.
Loads of complaints with property I was staying in, contacted sykes multiple times nothing got done and when home had to keep chasing them on my complaints never getting a call back. Each of the advisor where lovely on the phone and always said someone will call you back this never happened. Felt very let down.
Stay well clear of Skyes cottages! They are scammers and their customer service is the worst I have ever known!
The £20 low deposit booking option is highly misleading. Please do not use this as you are then locked in to the booking. Impossible to contact anyone at Sykes to help.
I would not recommend this company. They have completely failed to recognise and resolve a serious financial problem for us. Despite chasing a number of times – the issue has been ongoing for 14 months and there has been a failure to actively manage this issue and certainly no single person has taken the time to understand and work through what needs to be done to resolve this.
Our Personal Experience
I should start by saying that in previous years we’ve had some lovely stays with Sykes Cottages. But I guess you could say a company shows its real colours when you have a problem.
Our problems started when we tried to book a week in Haworth as a new family of three. We added Jack to our search (three people, one an infant under 1). We booked an appropriate cottage. We were contacted a few days later to be told that accommodation wouldn’t allow infants under 1.
We had spent ages choosing the right place in the right location, so we asked if we could pay a higher deposit or something but were told no, the owner wouldn’t accept children. Ok, fine.
We asked the Sykes representative why the cottage had shown up on our search and he said it must have been a one-off error, that the house owner hadn’t made their preferences known. So on we went and booked another.
The same thing happened.
This time we were obviously a little put out. Sykes was holding our money before refunding. We had wasted hours of our time searching for a cottage and speaking to Sykes. We made it clear Sykes needed to sort the search issue and they assured us they would and we re-booked again. This time we were successful and we had a lovely stay!
Six months later we needed to stay near Adam’s family again so we assumed the search issue had been fixed and booked again. Guess what. The accommodation didn’t accept more than two people. When we had very clearly searched for three.
This time we wrote Sykes a letter of complaint about the fact this issue hadn’t been resolved. We received an email back that didn’t address any of our concerns and didn’t make any sense as a reply. And we’re still back and forth with no acknowledgement of any mistake on their behalf. We’ve now wasted hours and hours of our time on them and not even had an apology.
Crazy!
Add to that problems our friends had with the accommodation they booked being nothing like what was pictured or described, and family members also being let down last minute with nowhere to stay, we thought it was best you were forewarned!
We accept that one-off mistakes can be made, but to not even receive an apology after a string of mishaps is quite frankly unacceptable from a company of their size.
Should I book accommodation with Sykes Cottages?
We won’t be booking with Sykes again. Saving £50 just isn’t worth the risk for us. It’s made us question what would happen if something went wrong while we were away, or what we would do if they cancelled last minute and we were left without anywhere to stay with a baby in tow.
Luckily when I happened to the people we know they had family nearby and were able to lodge with them until they found somewhere appropriate, but not everyone has that luxury.
Where can I find accommodation instead?
We have always used Booking.com when booking abroad and have never had any issues. They used to just offer hotels and bnbs but recently we’ve booked apartments and similar through them and they’ve always been lovely.
Booking.com is now our go-to provider for accommodation worldwide since AirBnB became so overpriced! We’ve booked literally hundreds of stays through them and have never been let down. It’s also the only accommodation provider we will recommend on this website since we can vouch for it 100%.
Frequently asked questions
We’ve answered some of your most frequently asked questions in this Sykes Cottages review.
Who owns Sykes Cottages?
Sykes Cottages is owned by Vitruvian Partners, a leading European private equity firm that focuses on investing in dynamic, growth-oriented companies.
Vitruvian’s investment in Sykes Cottages has enabled the company to expand its offerings, enhance its technology platform, and strengthen its position as a market leader in the holiday rental industry, though we would argue that perhaps this has let the quality slip.
Can I get my deposit back from Sykes Cottages?
Whether you can get your deposit back from Sykes Cottages depends on the terms and conditions of your booking, as well as the specific circumstances surrounding your cancellation or change of plans.
Generally, Sykes Cottages operates under a deposit system where a deposit is required at the time of booking, with the remaining balance due closer to the start of your stay.
If you need to cancel your booking, Sykes Cottages typically has a cancellation policy in place that outlines any fees or refund eligibility based on the timing of your cancellation relative to your check-in date.
It’s important to review the terms of your booking confirmation or contact Sykes Cottages directly to understand your options for cancelling your reservation and the potential for receiving a refund of your deposit.
Additionally, if your cancellation is due to extenuating circumstances or events beyond your control, such as unexpected travel restrictions or illness, Sykes Cottages may offer flexibility or alternative arrangements.
In such cases, it’s advisable to communicate with Sykes Cottages as soon as possible to discuss your situation and explore potential solutions.
Ultimately, the refundability of your deposit will depend on the specific terms and conditions of your booking, so it’s important to review these carefully and reach out to Sykes Cottages for assistance if needed.
Considering how long it’s taken us to get our full payment back when it was Sykes themselves that cancelled the booking we wouldn’t think you’d be in with a great chance of any quick resolution!
How much is Sykes’s booking fee?
Sykes Cottages typically charges a booking fee as part of the reservation process. The exact amount of the booking fee can vary depending on factors such as the total cost of the booking, the duration of the stay, and any additional services or features included in the reservation.
The booking fee is typically disclosed at the time of booking or during the reservation process, allowing customers to review and understand the total cost of their stay before finalizing their booking.
It’s important to carefully review the booking details, including any fees or charges, to ensure you have a clear understanding of the total cost of your reservation.
Where are Sykes Holiday Cottages based?
Sykes Holiday Cottages is headquartered in Chester, England, United Kingdom. Chester is a historic city located in the northwest of England, known for its well-preserved Roman walls, medieval architecture, and charming city center.
Conclusion: Sykes Cottages Reviews
In conclusion, we have only written this article because we feel so let down by a company we used to love, and we want to make sure you make an informed choice before using them.
Of course, the chances are you might have a great stay with no issues but it’s worth weighing up the risks of something going wrong and not having the support of the company you booked through.
If you’re looking to book an amazing holiday in the UK then consider a bit of a road trip spending 10 days in England or a visit to Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door.
We will let you know if we find a similar company with good reviews!
