Sykes Holiday Cottages Reviews 

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 booked a holiday with Sykes in July 2026 for July 2027, but cancelled it in August 2026. Despite the holiday being nearly a year away, Sykes has now charged me £583.70 and told me I can't have a refund because it is in their T's&C's

I find this absolutely appalling. The property has many months to be rebooked, yet Sykes is keeping £583.70 for a holiday I will not be taking. There was no clear warning immediately before the huge amount was taken, so seeing the charge after I'd cancelled was a horrible shock.

When I called, there was no understanding, flexibility or meaningful attempt to help, just a blunt reference to the terms and conditions. A financial consequence of this size should be made unmistakably clear when someone cancels, rather than buried in terms and conditions and taken from their card afterwards.

Whatever Sykes may be contractually entitled to claim, treating a customer this way is disgraceful. It feels grossly disproportionate when the booking is for July 2027 and was cancelled so far in advance.

This has completely destroyed my trust in the company. I will never book with Sykes again, and I strongly advise others to read every word of the cancellation terms and understand exactly how much they could be charged, even when cancelling almost a year before their holiday.

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.

Ferry View, Knott End on Sea, Fylde. Booked this place at fairly short notice (August 2026) for just a couple of days. We were kept well informed, including a contact mobile number if any problems. No problems at all were encountered. The property is of a very high standard. and very close to village amenities. It looks fairly ordinary from the outside but, like the Tardis, is anything but ordinary on the inside. Good quality furnishings, modern equipment, (TV etc) crockery and cutlery. Comfy beds, lots of space, brilliant views across Morecambe Bay. Very quiet. Tourist information. Relaxing.
The sanitary fittings are also finished to a very high standard, with some nice touches, e.g. metal strip along tile edges looks very professional, and has obviously been installed by a competent professional.

I would refer anyone thinking about booking with Sykes to the Sykes Unhappy Customers Facebook page which has over 8500 members with comments about this excellent company. Very positive review here as otherwise worded reviews are removed by this superb organisation.

Beautiful clean cottage couldn’t have been better!! Had a wonderful time!

Providing accurate information about the properties . Sending details of what to do when leaving the property. Booking process is easy enough. Not had a bad experience as yet and been to several properties over England and Wales.

We had no problem with the property we stayed in.

My problem is I am desperately trying to join the customer service because I need an invoice for my stay but they're impossible to join : they don't answer the phone (tried several times), messages or mails through booking.com (sent 2 weeks ago) or Whatsapp.
What do I have to do to get an invoice ?

So quiet and peaceful

Shocking lack of customer service from this company. I called and messaged the number provided and was met with a bot that took my details (booking reference, etc.) and promised an agent would be in touch shortly. "Shortly" turned out to be 24 hours later — and by then we'd already checked out. Their follow-up message actually asked how they could help, clearly without reading anything we'd sent.

If we'd had a genuine emergency during our stay, we would have been left completely stranded with no support. A holiday letting company's most basic job is to be reachable when something goes wrong, and this one simply isn't. Would not book with them again on that basis alone.

It was a truly wonderful setting, so relaxing. It had everything we needed, and very thoughtful welcome pack. Will definitely go back again

Cottage equipped with all amenities you would need. Beautifully clean and welcoming. Thanks for the milk, biscuits and tea, coffee a lovely treat. We enjoyed meeting Ruby next door neighbour’s Golden Lab she wanted to play with our Terrier!

The Cottage was so peaceful and quiet.
Elm Tree Pub was a delight and we didn’t miss a visit every day while we were at the cottage.

Thanks so much for the perfect map, we explored a lot and really enjoyed the walks.

Unable to get a response from them since booking. Concern not addressed. i was told on phone that with paying extra for a flexible booking I could change the booking .
I just get text messages that don’t resolve or deal with this. You just get repeated texts if your query is now resolved reply yes but no proper reply. I note others have had this experience too.