Last Minute Cottages in Lowestoft

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Matthew - Verified booking

  Dear Sir/Madam We are emailing you to register a complaint in relation to our recent stay at Sea Pearl in Pakefield (25 August-1 September).

  When we arrived on the evening of 25 September, it was immediately clear that the house had not been cleaned and that the property had not been made ready for our arrival. The bed linen from the previous guests was still in heaps on the bedroom floor (and the beds bare of any linen), the bins were still full (and the kitchen ones smelling), the bathrooms had no towels and were dirty, and it was clear that no one had visited the house since the previous guests had departed. After contacting the emergency contact number, a representative from the housekeeping company arrived at around 11.30pm, and made up the double bed for us, and provided us with towels, the makings of a welcome pack (and an additional bottle of wine). Unfortunately, they brought the wrong size duvet cover, so they folded the kingsize duvet up a little, to fit it into the double duvet cover they had. They were very apologetic about the state of the house, and indicated they would call us back around 10am the following day, to let us know what time a full clean could take place. We didn't hear from the housekeeping company as expected, but after chasing them we finally got a text from them around 11.45am on the Saturday, letting us know that a full clean would be carried out between 2-4pm that afternoon. This all dictated our plans for the day; knowing the property hadn't been cleaned we avoided using the shower or bath, and also didn't feel able to unpack. We also had to leave the property on the Saturday afternoon, to allow the cleaners to do their work, not ideal when we'd travelled for 12 hours to get there on the Friday. After the clean had supposedly been completed we returned to find the main bin and recycling bin had not been emptied, and were still smelling strongly. The bins in two of the bedrooms were also still full of used tissues. We emptied all of these bins ourselves. In addition, none of the other beds had been made up (there are 3 other beds in the house). We had said that wasn't necessary on the Friday night (it was close to midnight by that point), but had expected they would be made up on the Saturday. As you can imagine, when we returned on late Saturday afternoon we were very unhappy about all of this, but anxious not to have another night disrupted because of the lack of housekeeping we decided to empty the bins ourselves, and try to ignore that the two other bedrooms hadn't been made up. We just couldn't face yet more of our holiday being taken up with housekeeping admin and disruption. There's no doubt that having 2 days of disruption really wasn't a good start to our much needed holiday, or that it continued to have a negative impact on how we felt about the property across the week. In fact, we ended up leaving 2 days early, having never quite managed to feel at ease in it. I'm sure you'll agree that this level of service falls considerably short of what any paying customer should expect from Sykes and any property it rents (although we've since noted that the property has received several negative reviews in terms of its cleanliness). Our experience means that we are extremely unlikely to ever rent another property through Sykes. As such, we would very much appreciate some financial compensation in response to the disruption we experienced and the impact this had across the whole of our holiday. I look forward to hearing from you, and to achieving a positive resolution to this matter. I can be contacted via linleymatt@gmail.com. Matthew Linley

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• Matthew - Verified booking

  Dear Sir/Madam We are emailing you to register a complaint in relation to our recent stay at Sea Pearl in Pakefield (25 August-1 September).

  When we arrived on the evening of 25 September, it was immediately clear that the house had not been cleaned and that the property had not been made ready for our arrival. The bed linen from the previous guests was still in heaps on the bedroom floor (and the beds bare of any linen), the bins were still full (and the kitchen ones smelling), the bathrooms had no towels and were dirty, and it was clear that no one had visited the house since the previous guests had departed. After contacting the emergency contact number, a representative from the housekeeping company arrived at around 11.30pm, and made up the double bed for us, and provided us with towels, the makings of a welcome pack (and an additional bottle of wine). Unfortunately, they brought the wrong size duvet cover, so they folded the kingsize duvet up a little, to fit it into the double duvet cover they had. They were very apologetic about the state of the house, and indicated they would call us back around 10am the following day, to let us know what time a full clean could take place. We didn't hear from the housekeeping company as expected, but after chasing them we finally got a text from them around 11.45am on the Saturday, letting us know that a full clean would be carried out between 2-4pm that afternoon. This all dictated our plans for the day; knowing the property hadn't been cleaned we avoided using the shower or bath, and also didn't feel able to unpack. We also had to leave the property on the Saturday afternoon, to allow the cleaners to do their work, not ideal when we'd travelled for 12 hours to get there on the Friday. After the clean had supposedly been completed we returned to find the main bin and recycling bin had not been emptied, and were still smelling strongly. The bins in two of the bedrooms were also still full of used tissues. We emptied all of these bins ourselves. In addition, none of the other beds had been made up (there are 3 other beds in the house). We had said that wasn't necessary on the Friday night (it was close to midnight by that point), but had expected they would be made up on the Saturday. As you can imagine, when we returned on late Saturday afternoon we were very unhappy about all of this, but anxious not to have another night disrupted because of the lack of housekeeping we decided to empty the bins ourselves, and try to ignore that the two other bedrooms hadn't been made up. We just couldn't face yet more of our holiday being taken up with housekeeping admin and disruption. There's no doubt that having 2 days of disruption really wasn't a good start to our much needed holiday, or that it continued to have a negative impact on how we felt about the property across the week. In fact, we ended up leaving 2 days early, having never quite managed to feel at ease in it. I'm sure you'll agree that this level of service falls considerably short of what any paying customer should expect from Sykes and any property it rents (although we've since noted that the property has received several negative reviews in terms of its cleanliness). Our experience means that we are extremely unlikely to ever rent another property through Sykes. As such, we would very much appreciate some financial compensation in response to the disruption we experienced and the impact this had across the whole of our holiday. I look forward to hearing from you, and to achieving a positive resolution to this matter.

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• Janette - Verified booking

  Overall we enjoyed our stay.

  Pros: Great quiet location close to pub, shops, beach and only a 2.5k walk to the South Pier. Large well equipped kitchen with all essentials provided. 2 good sized bathrooms with a great waterfall shower in the downstairs shower room. We didn’t use the upstairs shower so can’t comment on that one. Large living/ dining room which opens out onto the private rear garden which isn’t overlooked. Good quality mattresses and bedding and the bedrooms are decorated nicely with plenty of wardrobe and drawer space. Overall the property was clean and tidy, and was nice and warm. Cons: The downstairs carpets were in need of a good clean, we couldn’t walk around in bare feet/ socks because of this. The property is advertised as 1 double, and three single beds. The double is not a full sized double it is queen size and there is hardly any room to get down the side of the bed. The 2nd bedroom was much larger with 2 single beds in. This would have been better used as the master bedroom so a full sized double bed could be provided. Luckily we are only small, but the size of the bed still affected our sleep. The upstairs bathroom has a macerator which is so noisy when the toilet is flushed or taps run that you couldn’t use it at night as you would wake everyone up. The downstairs lounge layout was very odd. The furniture didn’t really fit properly and felt cramped. The tv was hidden in a corner of the room and was not easy to see from where the sofas were. As there were only 2 of us, we were able to reposition the tv and sofa and make it work for us, but if there were 5 people I could see it being an issue. The light switches in the lounge were temperamental, with one not working at all. The garden, though large and south facing, was a bit overgrown and generally tired and unloved. The garden furniture was rusted in parts and not very comfortable. There were only small spaces in the garden and I can’t see how 5 people would socialise in it (when property is at max capacity). That said we enjoyed our stay and loved the area. Overall, with a bit of TLC and some minor adjustments such as rearranging / replacing the downstairs furniture and tv, updating the garden and furniture and providing a full sized double bedroom this property would be worthy of 5 stars.

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• Susan - Verified booking

  Yes. Garden furniture awful.

  Reluctant to sit on it as it was rusty. Both table and the chairs were not fit for purpose. Could not sit outside as a family. Garden itself was overgrown with a dangerous wall that looked like it would collapse at any moment. A little Pond partially covered by a metal gate. If you have young children then be very careful. Inside…bathrooms (both) absolutely no storage at all. Only place to put stuff was on the windowsill. All shower stuff had to be put on the floor of the shower. Not a cupboard or draw anywhere. Toilets seats! Did not fit the toilet. Painful to sit on for any length of time! One of the sofas in lounge very uncomfortable. Like sitting on a plank. Lots of spiders and cobwebs, especially down the side of the sofas when searching for the lesser spotted plug socket! Seems very dark in lounge due to terracotta coloured walls (personal choice). Rugs and mats all over the place. We counted 9 from the front door to the back door! Complete pain to keep clean. This brings me on to the hoover. good lord, poor Hetty! Absolute rubbish. Could not push it on the mats or carpet. Had to opt for the place and pull back method! And it absolutely stank. Within 2 minutes of it being on, the whole place smelt like wet dog! There seemed to be a lot of personal effects around, shoes under the stairs, clothes and belongings in single bed storage. In double room, the bed was 2 singles put together. Not itself an issue but it only had a double quilt on it and did not reach over the whole bed so one person always had hardly any quilt. We have stayed in a number of properties in Pakefield before and the standard has been very high. This review may sound a bit harsh but it really did not compare with other places we have stayed and unfortunately did not meet our expectations.

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• John - Verified booking

  My wife and I have stayed at this cottage on a number of occasions over the years.

  There has been a marked deterioration in the standard of cleanliness and the quality of the fittings. Only one of the five bedside lightsl worked and there seemed to be an absence of PAT testing of electrical appliances. The gate at the entrance to the property was hanging off with a broken hinge. The doorknob to the sitting/dining room was also faulty. The tap unit over the sink in the kitchen was not fixed and makes washing up very difficult. The downstairs toilet/bathroom carpet is soiled and the shower holder is broken. I have mentioned on previous visits that the steepness of the stairs really requires a second bannister as carrying cases upstairs is quite hazardous. The upstairs shower cubicle was dirty with evidence of mould We had difficulty using the shower. The toilet was stained and lacked a lid. .A general air of neglect pervades the property. There was no mattress protector or undersheet on the double bed and only three of the four pillows had protectors on. The garden table is broken.We could not find a visitors book. Most self catering properties are welcoming. Their was nothing to welcome us to this property. To end on a more positive note. The beach is near as is the coast path.

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