"We will start with the positives, the property is ideally located, close to the North Bay beach and local amenities."
The beds we used were very comfortable. The Hot tub was clean and useable, it was located in a shed, which I appreciate is difficult to keep clear of cobwebs, but they did look well established. Sadly that is the end of the positives. We were disappointed with Sykes for the way the property was advertised, the property we rented did not meet up with the impression created in the sales description and photographs published on the website. For instance one of the bedrooms did have a TV as listed, there was a TV but it was not even connected to an ariel or power socket - contradictory to the sales description. The photos show a 'standard welcome pack', nothing was left, apparently the owners do not do this anymore, and know that the photos on the Sykes website imply there is a welcome pack, we were certainly expecting one having reviewed the sales photos on the website! The guest brochure even states, "by now you will have found the welcome pack and guest book", wrong and wrong again! The brochure is absolutely 100% out of date, not only for referring to the no longer offered welcome pack, it also gives the wrong code to connect to the Wi-Fi, incorrectly locates the Wi-Fi box, and tells you the property is strictly no pets, again contradicting the Sykes website description. I messaged Sykes before we arrived at the property to ask about the availability of stairgates, which Sykes quickly checked and answered before we got got to the property, so we were prepared in advance, and knew there were no stairgates being provided. However, when I registered my dissatisfaction with the property on arrival with Sykes, stating it was mis-sold, and the cleanliness was well blow par, rather than getting an acknowledgement or response from Sykes, it was the property owners maintenance team that contacted me, by text, saying Sykes had been in touch about the stairgate, and they could look in to sorting one out for us! Sykes ignored the message about my arrival dissatisfaction, and the ability for me to comment through the website was closed down. I am not sure if this was a coincidence or a deliberate act. I did state I was not happy and felt the property had been mis-sold, the very least you would expect from a company like Sykes is an acknowledgement, but no!! I am bitterly disappointed with the reaction of Sykes to my initial complaint registered on arrival at the property, and they know following my stay I was going to give them the full review. Hopefully Sykes will also read this review and provide me with an explanation as to why they failed to respond to my initial feedback on arrival at the property.
One of the bedrooms on the second floor at the front of the property was unusable as a bedroom, there was only a net curtain up at the window, no blinds, no curtains, no way of even blocking out the street light located just outside the property! Sykes emphasise there is a bond required on the property for damage, I was worried about this so paid a premium and took out damage insurance, just in case there was an accident during our stay. But to be fair I should not have worried, as I reported to the owner / maintenance team (contact details were correctly noted in the guest brochure), the property is tired and looks uncared for and un loved. Two of the WC seats were broken, one of the light bulbs did not work in the WC's, some of the toilet roll holders were no longer fitted to the walls instead they were just placed on shelves or window ledges in the room. The shelf in the entrance hall had gouges / damage to the top surface, disguised by mail strategically place over it!
When we arrived the house was cold, the heating was not on, we went to light the gas fire in the living room, don't be fooled by the picture, it does not work. We were actually told, it is just for show when we phoned to get directions on how to light it!
You should not have to go out and buy basic cleaning materials when you arrive at a property, unfortunately we had no alternative, the place did not look like it had not been cleaned for a while, and there was no cleaning materials in the house. To give you a few examples, in the kitchen, there were still drink bottles in the cupboard, food in the freezer, vapes in the cupboards (we do not smoke or vape!), there was a vimto spillage and food debris on the kitchen work surface, stains in the WC's (might be explained by the missing loo brushes), toothpaste in the bathroom sinks, dust behind the taps, hair and dirt in the drawers in the bedrooms, dust, dirt and cobwebs at the side of the beds, dust and cobwebs on the floors and in the corners where walls meet ceilings, deep scratches to the floors in the games room, the stair carpets had not been vacuumed, there were food crumbs on the chairs in the dining room, dog hairs and stains on the furniture in the living room, black mould growth on shower heads and tiles in the showers, I could go on, but I suspect you have got the gist! It was poor. We did have the cleaners come out to remedy some of the issues we pointed out to them, and as I reported back to the maintenance team, you could see where they had been, which was an improvement on the very low starting point! I showed the cleaners some of the damage, I showed them the stained towels that were left out, and bed sheets that were stained with what looked like paw prints and dog hairs, I actually asked if they would use them, to which they said no, they told me the sheets and towels could all be changed. They weren't. The maintenance contact we had been talking to said the cleaners (his staff) had reported everything back to him, but still the maintenance issues were not picked up and resolved, nor were the sheets or towels changed during our stay. The beds were not made properly for our arrival, on some beds the duvet was crumpled in the duvet cover, it just needed pulling straight, the towels looked like they had been thrown on the bed rather than neatly folded and placed, which when they looked like they needed a clean too just did not create the right impression at all.
It was clear, not only was the cleaning a poor standard, but more importantly there had not been a deep clean between paying guests. We do not want to arrive to find other peoples debris or dirt, unfortunately this is exactly what we found, and we had to start cleaning ourselves before our other guests arrived. We felt embarrassed with the quality and cleanliness of the property we were inviting our guests to stay in with us.
Look at the website photograph of the dining room, it is set up for multiple guests ready to eat, this was exactly how we found it on our arrival, the crockery was dusty, the glasses were smeared, the placemats were dirty and stained, everything needed cleaning before we could use it! Not sure how long it had been sat there, but it was long enough to gather dust!!
In the games room, there is a pool table, but the cues do not have tips even though a chalk block is provided. The dart board and darts are not compatible. There is a downstairs wc and shower off of the games room, but not only does the door not have a lock, but the whole locking mechanism has been removed leaving a peep hole through the door, far from ideal, the below sink cupboard handles are corroded and have sharp edges!
I fail to see how Sykes can rate this property with 4 stars, there does not appear to have been a recent inspection of the property to check it was fit for purpose and ties in with the sales description / photos posted on their website. It certainly doesn't live up to what is advertised. At best I would describe this property as STUDENT ACCOMODATION standard, it is not luxury by any stretch of the imagination. There are notes all over the property / guest brochure that this is not a party house, yet there must be 5 or 6 bottle openers / cork screws, but the kitchen lacks some basic equipment like scissors or baking dishes.
The bedrooms are relatively spacious, but not one room contains a wardrobe to hang clothes up. If you do have 14 or 16 people to stay in this property be aware that the living room is not big enough to seat you all, there are two settees (6 people) and two chairs (2 people), that is a long way short of seating for all, though the games room does have another 3 person settee in it.
I am far from satisfied with the performance of Sykes as our booking agent or the property owners for the delivery of the product we thought we were purchasing.
We always leave rented properties clean when we depart, in this instance when we left, the property was definitely much cleaner than when we took possession!
Hi Martyn,
While I cannot comment on the specific points you raised about Sykes, I have spoken to them and it seems that they have a different opinion about how they handled your communications with them.
Regarding the property itself, we addressed all the issues you raised during your stay. Amongst other things, we explained that the password to the wifi was temporarily changed to factory settings during a BT engineer's visit, but it was written on the back of the router. We also explained that the TV is a smart TV and does not need to be connected to the analog aerial physically. When you mentioned cleaning issues, we sent out the cleaning team immediately and dealt with the issue. We have also asked you several times for the metatag of the pictures you took to determine if they were missed by the cleaners or not, but we are still waiting to receive them.
We are disappointed that you felt the need to write such a negative review, which, in our opinion, is untrue. We have spoken to the guests who stayed just before and after you, and they have all been very happy with their stay and have given us a 9/10. We also had your son apologising for the way you handled things, and we are sorry that your experience did not meet your expectations.
However, we always strive to meet our guests' expectations, so we have taken your comments on board and made some improvements. For example, we have moved the sofa from the games room to the living room to provide more seating.
Thank you for your feedback. While we do not agree with your version of events, we appreciate your time and your willingness to provide us with feedback.
Best
Felix
Property Owner
Reviewed by Martyn1.6★Feb 2024