Guests often praise the cottages for being clean, well equipped and easy to book online. Many reviews mention helpful hosts, attractive interiors and extras such as hot tubs. A tighter cluster of complaints points to booking problems: last-minute cancellations, slow refunds and customer service that can’t be reached. Long phone queues and no weekend support draw the lowest ratings.
Examples from available reviews (Apr 2022 – Mar 2026).
Customer service was unresponsive, slow and sometimes dishonest.
“Phone waiting times of over an hour.”
Lodge was unavailable after booking and refunds were delayed.
“The lodge owner immediately called me and said it wasn’t available for the duration of our stay.”
Property was filthy with no hot water and inadequate compensation.
“the beds had urine and dried blood stains on them”
Reviewer consistently uses Sykes for its excellent listings and usability.
“The excellent listings, the really helpful search facility & the general ease of use of the site”
A distinct set of reviews describes major service failures. People report last-minute cancellations, refunds that arrive late or only in part, missing keys on arrival, and long waits on the phone. These problems show up in the lowest-rated reviews.
Price comes up only occasionally. One review says Sykes costs more than other sites, while another says they found a good deal. With so few comments, the reviews don’t point to a clear view on value overall.
Many reviewers call the website and app easy to use, with straightforward booking. They often mention quick confirmations, clear key-collection instructions and helpful search filters. These notes on ease of use appear in many high ratings.
Most guests describe properties as clean and well stocked, with extras like hot tubs and small welcome touches. Several reviews point to accessible features and comfortable layouts in central locations. A few isolated reviews describe serious issues, including filthy rooms and no hot water.
Hosts and listing teams get positive mentions for accurate listings and helpful check-in messages. Another group of reviews mentions cancellations with no clear explanation and a feedback link that doesn’t work. When communication slips, it often comes with refund and service complaints.
Reviews split sharply between highly rated stays and low-rated service problems. The best experiences focus on property quality, helpful hosts and an easy-to-use platform. The worst ones centre on disrupted bookings, slow customer support and how refunds are handled.
For each review, the core experience based on original source reviews.
Sources: Trustpilot (40) · Reviews (20) · Reviews (1) · Quotes shortened · As of: March 2026
Customer service impossible to reach, long waits over 40 minutes.
“Impossible to contact customer service.”
Customer service was unresponsive, slow and sometimes dishonest.
“Phone waiting times of over an hour.”
Customer support slow and unavailable at weekends, causing booking cancellation.
“Pathetic customer service if you need help, good luck!”
Lovely, roomy modern cottage in central Keswick with great walks.
“We had a lovely stay in this wonderful cottage in the heart of Keswick.”
Booking was stressful and handling of a cancellation felt unfair.
“kept getting the wrong information”
Peaceful and beautiful place to stay.
“Peaceful, beautiful place to stay”
Cute cottage, very clean and in a great location.
“Lovely cute cottage, very clean great location.”
Reviewer consistently uses Sykes for its excellent listings and usability.
“The excellent listings, the really helpful search facility & the general ease of use of the site”
Booking breaks via the app was quick and easy.
“Quick and easy to book breaks using the app.”
Excellent, well-equipped property with strong wifi and fabulous hot tub.
“Hot tub fabulous. Clean and very well thought out.”
Lovely cottage ideal for two with comfy bed and nearby walks.
“Cottage was lovely. Just right for two and had all we needed.”
Reviewer finds Sykes reliable and easy to deal with; recommends them.
“In my experience Sykes Cottages are reliable and easy to deal with.”
Property was filthy with no hot water and inadequate compensation.
“the beds had urine and dried blood stains on them”
Well-presented cottage in a great town location; will book again.
“presented to a high standard.”
Smooth process with great communication and as-described accommodation.
“whole process was smooth with great communication and accommodation as described.”
Comfortable central apartment, well equipped but lacked some kitchen items.
“Could have done with a few more items in the kitchen”
Lovely cottage, well equipped and clean with minor heating and TV limits.
“Lovely cottage, well equipped, spotlessly clean, beautiful interior.”
Comfortable, well-equipped house in a perfect central Whitby location.
“The house was in a perfect location in central Whitby.”
Cozy property with helpful owners and an amazing hot tub.
“Hot tub amazing.”
Pond Farm had everything needed and they'll return.
“Pond farm has everything you need.”
Lodge was unavailable after booking and refunds were delayed.
“The lodge owner immediately called me and said it wasn’t available for the duration of our stay.”
Lovely cottage in beautiful setting with cosy heating and friendly farm dog.
“Lovely cottage in a very beautiful setting.”
Lovely countryside staycation with friendly, welcoming hosts.
“Fiona and her husband were great and very friendly / welcoming and helpful.”
Accessible accommodation largely suitable for wheelchair, minor shower limitations.
“very good for my husband in his wheelchair.”
Booking system efficient but prices were much higher than elsewhere.
“We found ours was almost a third of the cost of elsewhere.”
Spacious, well-equipped house with great host and enjoyable facilities.
“Would definitely recommend and go back.”
Cottage was in a perfect location and was clean and cosy.
“perfect location, clean and cosy.”
Host communicated well and the description was accurate.
“Great communication, accurate description excellent location”
Everything went smoothly during the stay and booking.
“All went smoothly again”
Reviewer happy to find a good deal and had no issues.
“I don’t no issues or problems whatsoever.”
Easy to use with useful payment reminders and accurate listing.
“Easy to use, reminders with payment and property as listed”
Property unclean with no hot water; they refused compensation.
“there was no hot water!”
Beautiful, well-equipped cottage in a lovely location with canal views.
“Beautiful cottage very well equipped lovely location”
Well equipped, clean cottage in great location with welcome extras.
“well equipped very clean,tidy comfy great location for delamere forest ,Chester etc”
Booking cancelled at short notice and no adequate compensation offered.
“Sykes cancelled our half term booking at 24hr noticed”
Spacious modern place, mostly excellent though some maintenance needed.
“Beautiful place very spacious and modern”
Pleased overall; the feedback link Sykes sent did not work.
“only little issue was the feedback link for the place we stayed that Sykes sent wouldn’t work.”
App is good and bookings easy; property exceeded expectations.
“Good app. Easy to see properties and book”
Reviewer expresses strong positive satisfaction with the stay.
“Great, super, Smashing.”
The website was clear and easy to use; communications were prompt.
“The website is clear and easy to use and communications prompt and efficient.”
This page combines submitted experiences with public reviews from platforms such as Google, Trustpilot, etc. Recurring points are summarised without changing the content of reviews.
Sykes Holiday Cottages is a UK holiday rental platform that lists self-catered places such as cottages, lodges, flats and farmhouses. Its website and app let people search listings with photos, prices, availability calendars and filters for things like accessibility, pet-friendly stays and hot tubs. Bookings go through Sykes’ reservation system, including payment, confirmation emails and key-collection details. The company links holidaymakers with property owners and letting agents across Britain and Northern Ireland.