Christmas Cottages in Cornwall

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Anna - Verified booking

  We had a wonderful 10 days in stunning St Ives.

  A family holiday with three generations which we thoroughly enjoyed. Some issues with housekeeping, in particular cleanliness, and general maintenance of the house. Following our booking we noticed some new reviews about cleanliness which had us worried but were reassured by the owners replies that housekeeping would address the issues. We were therefore disappointed to arrive to dirty floors in the living area and crumbs, dust and dirt on and underneath furniture in plain view. Sykes/Carbis Bay did send out the housekeeper to address but she told us the furniture was too heavy to move and she cleaned around the sofas etc. The cupboard on the landing was emanating a fusty smell which spread into the joining bedrooms, again the housekeeper tried to freshen this up when informed which did mask the smell slightly. Great location, although hills to navigate which we seemed to acclimatise to and definitely came back fitter! Porthmeor easy 10 min downhill walk away, pace yourself on the return! Stunning sunsets from the top of the road near the house. Porthminster 15-20 mins walk, spent many a day here with the children. Short drive to Carbis Bay. Loved exploring routes from the house morning and night into gorgeous St Ives. Pros: Well equipped kitchen; the views from the bedrooms; the master bath was enjoyed everyday; close to the beach; furnished well. Small details thought of I.e. spare batteries, baby monitors, buckets and spades- didn’t use but nice touch. Lots of games for families and books stocked well. Cons: Parking very tight and a struggle for two small SUVs- the road was busy in September so after a 2 car day out positioning was always tricky; lack of toilet downstairs; upkeep, cleanliness and maintenance needs attention to obtain 5* review; children’s bedroom felt quite far away from other bedrooms- ok for older children but not for our younger ones.

  Read more less >

• Anna - Verified booking

  We had a wonderful 10 days in stunning St Ives.

  A family holiday with three generations which we thoroughly enjoyed. Some issues with housekeeping, in particular cleanliness, and general maintenance of the house. Following our booking we noticed some new reviews about cleanliness which had us worried but were reassured by the owners replies that housekeeping would address the issues. We were therefore disappointed to arrive to dirty floors in the living area and crumbs, dust and dirt on and underneath furniture in plain view. Sykes/Carbis Bay did send out the housekeeper to address but she told us the furniture was too heavy to move and she cleaned around the sofas etc. The cupboard on the landing was emanating a fusty smell which spread into the joining bedrooms, again the housekeeper tried to freshen this up when informed which did mask the smell slightly. Great location, although hills to navigate which we seemed to acclimatise to and definitely came back fitter! Porthmeor easy 10 min downhill walk away, pace yourself on the return! Stunning sunsets from the top of the road near the house. Porthminster 15-20 mins walk, spent many a day here with the children. Short drive to Carbis Bay. Loved exploring routes from the house morning and night into gorgeous St Ives. Pros: Well equipped kitchen; the views from the bedrooms; the master bath was enjoyed everyday; close to the beach; furnished well. Small details thought of I.e. spare batteries, baby monitors, buckets and spades- didn’t use but nice touch. Lots of games for families and books stocked well. Cons: Parking very tight and a struggle for two small SUVs- the road was busy in September so after a 2 car day out positioning was always tricky; lack of toilet downstairs; upkeep, cleanliness and maintenance needs attention to obtain 5* review; children’s bedroom felt quite far away from other bedrooms- ok for older children but not for our younger ones.

  Read more less >

• Michelle - Verified booking

  If you have come across this house on your holiday search then stop looking as this property is stunning yet incredibly homely.

  If you love a view, well, who doesn’t ? this home offers a different view from each window that changes throughout the day. You can see a lot of thought has gone into getting this home ready to welcome guests, for me it’s always the little things,a pint of milk in the fridge, tea & coffee left for arrival, towels & tea towels, toilet paper, washer & dryer which means one less job when you have to leave and can arrive back home still relaxed from the sea air & views, there are also books, dvd’s, games, binoculars, Alexa speakers, coffee machine for ground coffee, a huge, modern fridge/freezer, the tv set up is a bit complicated if you’re used to just turning the tv on and watching the tv, I’m sure your tv has DVB so no need for the freeview box ?but I work in this industry so I was the one holding 3 remotes, loading the dvd & finding the right programs ! The garden does state it’s enclosed which it isn’t fully so if you have a dog or small child they will need supervision, the balcony is enclosed and has enough furniture to enjoy an morning cuppa, alfresco dining or just a glass of wine while soaking in the views plus it was perfect for my puppy to lie on in the sun (when we had some) ! Every seat in the living room has a different view and there are more than enough furniture for a large family. The bedrooms are all large and have enough hangers and drawer space in each room and the beds are large and comfortable. The driveway fits 2 cars but we parked on the roadway covering the drive due to steepness as our car boots wouldn’t close as the sensors see the drive as an obstruction but that’s BMW for you ! Could do with a bin outside instead of in the garage as we couldn’t locate garage key but this is not a negative just a suggestion. Looe island view was warm, comfortable, homely and welcoming. A true 10 out of 10

  Read more less >

• Sandra - Verified booking

  We arrived after a 6 hour drive parked the car and then looked for the keysafe, which we couldn't find.

  Rang Sykes as we were very tired and needed the loo. Sykes duly contacted you and said you would be in touch shortly. You weren't! We were pretty upset by this time as no-one from your company had bothered to ring us so rang Sykes again who contacted you a second time to get this situation sorted out. A neighbour who had also just arrived, heard what I was saying to Sykes and after a while we realised that the car parking was at the back of our our property - Flotsam - no. 87 and not at the front. All the other houses in our terrace had key safes near the back entrances except for ours and no. 86. This meant that we had to walk down the hill to the end of the row, go accross the side of the last house and then walk back up the path to get to the front of the house where there was not one but TWO keysafes. Finally, after a lot of unwanted hassle, we could get in. We were considerably upset by this experience as it would have been so easy to get in through the back entrance had there been a key safe there to enable this. We are both disabled and in our 80's. Luckily it wasn't raining or one of us would have been soaked by the time we got around to the front door. Not having one of those key safes near the back door is definately not user friendly and there is no mention of having to do the hike around the houses to get to the front. After a long and tiring jpurney this is not acceptable.. There is also no dishwasher in the property even though dishwasher tablets are being left for its use and there is no dryer either. What a fiasco that we could definately have done without!!

  Read more less >

• Catherine - Verified booking

  The house is well situated, yes there are steep hills but that is to be expected in Cornwall, particularly if you want a house with parking.

  Please follow the directions given to the property as we followed our sat nav and were taken on a hairy route. Once we learnt the way it was very easy and it’s great to be so central with parking. The house is well equipped and I can’t think of anything missing that we would have expected - maybe salt and pepper! The kitchen is particularly well equipped with quality items. I loved laying in the bath on the top floor watching the sea and people come and go. Beautiful. It’s also great in the second room laying watching the sea and the bay. There were only two of us so the house suited us well but I think it would be a squeeze at capacity given there is only one bathroom and the seating arrangement in the lounge. I personally don’t think it’s suitable for 8. The house is however tired. It needs a deep clean and some maintenance. The houses around it are being decorated externally which makes you realise how tired sea dreams is externally. It needs a sweep at the very least and the fence is green, perhaps as we visited at the end of the season but I’d expect outside to be up kept the same as inside. Internally I’d say the same - basic cleaning was done but there were areas that aren’t done, and there were cushions and throws with marks and stains on and the sofa looked like it could do with a clean. The downsides didn’t detract from our holiday, we had a lovely time and took the house for what it was.

  Read more less >