Luxury Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Deborah - Verified booking

  We were really disappointed with the condition of the property and it meant that it was incorrectly sold as it definitely isn't 5 star (tick) rating.

  Issues are: 1. The shower in the family bathroom keeps blocking rendering it un-useable. if you do try to use it for more than a few seconds then the water will make the whole bathroom like a paddling pool and the water starts to flood into the hallway too. They did send someone to fix it on day two, but the fix didn't work. I did try calling the office again but couldn't get through and no-one called me back. I can see from a previous review that this problem was also happening in November yet no-one had fixed it. Not acceptable. There were 4 of us and if we had known the apartment only had one useable bathroom then we would not have booked this place. 2. The tumble dryer does not work. Again, this had been feedback in November but obviously not dealt with. 3. The kettle keeps switching off. Sometimes you have to try it more than 5 times to get it to work. 4. The coffee machine works intermittently so we had to mostly use the cafetière but it was only tiny. 5. The flat was very cold when we arrived (despite weather not being that cold). There is not enough heating in the place. 6. There is no heating in the double bedroom. 7. The underfloor heating in the family bathroom does not work. 8. The stairs leading to the apartment were only partially lit and were covered in leaves which were wet and slippery. We asked for them to be swept but this did not happen. 9. The outdoor light by the front door didn't work. 10. The rugs in living room were not clean - we had to vacuum when we arrived. 11. We had problems with communications with Carbis Bay Holidays who have ignored our calls. 12. Despite not being able to get through by phone, you make it almost impossible to contact you in another way - you tell us to read the booking conditions for contact details, and having sifted all the way through -.you did not provide an email address for Carbis Bay Holidays, just customerrelations@sykescottages.co.uk. Nor did you tell us clearly how to go about making a complaint other than to use this form. I spent ages trying to get through, either through phone or trying to find an email address. Also, your portal does not work on mobile (I have an iPhone). Please can you let me know how to go about making a formal complaint and how to request a refund of 50% of the rental cost for a very poor condition apartment which was mis-sold, and for loss of amenity and inconvenience. how Sykes and Carbis Bay have dealt (or not) with this complaint is now exacerbating matters further. Also, I contacted you re. an item left behind at the property. I know exactly where it was. You then said you would need to try to locate it and I still haven't heard anything back. Both Sykes Cottages and Carbis Bay Holidays' customer relations is really bad. I did not reply originally on this feedback form because I thought you might want to keep my comments private, but I have been told that this is the best way to feedback to you, and because your customer service has been so bad since I first started to try to give feedback, I am making this public.

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• Catherine - Verified booking

  What a wonderful find!

  Probably the best self catering accommodation we’ve ever had - the flat suited us perfectly; it was superbly equipped (once we’d found the cutlery lol!) and ideally positioned with the most stunning outlook. It was beautifully clean for our arrival, even the floors had clearly all been washed too. Everything we could have wished for was provided, even binoculars to make the most of the view. Very comfortable accommodation, everything there that you could possibly need, and so much to do right on the doorstep in a beautiful area. Thank you so much! Parking would have been tricky if there had been anyone at number 4 but thankfully there wasn’t! Just a couple of suggestions. Would you kindly update the info on rubbish & recycling as there were two bits of conflicting info in the handbook, one said don’t sort and the other said yes, do sort. One said collection Thursday and one said Saturday. There was loads of recycling at the kerbside when we arrived, we did what we hope was right but there didn’t seem to be a collection at any point while we were there. Secondly, thank you for allowing dogs - our four legged friend had the best time! We just had one really nasty incident when two of our party were on the beach with our young dog on the Saturday and a firework display started very close to them. This had really bad consequences for our dog, and even the young people with him were very shaken. We had no idea that there had been a wedding at the Hotel that day and that fireworks had been arranged for the evening; if we’d known obviously they wouldn’t have been on the beach at that time and we would have ensured that our dog was safe and secure as he hates fireworks anyway. I contacted the Hotel afterwards and they were really lovely about it and explained that they show firework dates on their website with start times etc. Could your guest information perhaps let people know that firework displays do take place but are shown on the Hotel website and for guests to check there if they would like to see if there are any planned during their stay? Hopefully it will avoid our experience happening to anyone else. Thank you again, it’s been the best holiday and we’ll definitely be back!!!!

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• Ian - Verified booking

  Unlike some who have reviewed this property, we were very happy with our 7 day stay at The Breakers.

  Having said that, concerns brought up by previous holiday makers are still valid; it would seem though that some points still need addressing: Positive points: We found the property to be very clean internally. Nice bottle of wine in the fridge on arrival. Good information pack. Negative points: Property Description: I didn't count the steps, but there are a lot! This I believe needs to be emphasized in the opening description as well as under 'Important Information'. The property is described as being "just a four minute walk to Carbis Bay beach..." - I believe this is possible, but if anyone did walk it in 4 minutes, then you'd have to be pretty fit as it's very steep and a lot of steps again to navigate. The property is described as having a 'beautiful garden' - it's not at all - it's simply decking with a glass balcony and several pots. The exotic (Cordyline) plants to the left of the picture are no longer there, but have been replaced with pots and not much care for the plants) As a lover of exotic plants this was very disappointing. In the property description, I believe people should be made aware of the property at the top (number 4 - The Breakers is no.6) being extensively renovated and having to walk through a building site. This work is hoped to be finished by the end if 2024. Walking down the countless steps, one is given the impression that no great care is given, as the steps certainly need to be swept. It would also be helpful to have a hand rail going down the wooden decked steps to the seating area. Finally, we could find no bottle opener on arrival. We bought one and left it as a gift! Having said all the above, it may seem that we were unhappy with our stay - this is not true and we would definitely return! Even the noise of the pneumatic drill being used at the (other) top apartment did not unduly upset us as it was far enough away to not be a great concern.

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• Ian - Verified booking

  Unlike some who have reviewed this property, we were very happy with our 7 day stay at The Breakers.

  Having said that, concerns brought up by previous holiday makers are still valid; it would seem though that some points still need addressing: Positive points: We found the property to be very clean internally. Nice bottle of wine in the fridge on arrival. Good information pack. Negative points: Property Description: I didn't count the steps, but there are a lot! This I believe needs to be emphasized in the opening description as well as under 'Important Information'. The property is described as being "just a four minute walk to Carbis Bay beach..." - I believe this is possible, but if anyone did walk it in 4 minutes, then you'd have to be pretty fit as it's very steep and a lot of steps again to navigate. The property is described as having a 'beautiful garden' - it's not at all - it's simply decking with a glass balcony and several pots. The exotic (Cordyline) plants to the left of the picture are no longer there, but have been replaced with pots and not much care for the plants) As a lover of exotic plants this was very disappointing. In the property description, I believe people should be made aware of the property at the top (number 4 - The Breakers is no.6) being extensively renovated and having to walk through a building site. This work is hoped to be finished by the end if 2024. Walking down the countless steps, one is given the impression that no great care is given, as the steps certainly need to be swept. It would also be helpful to have a hand rail going down the wooden decked steps to the seating area. Finally, we could find no bottle opener on arrival. We bought one and left it as a gift! Having said all the above, it may seem that we were unhappy with our stay - this is not true and we would definitely return! Even the noise of the pneumatic drill being used at the (other) top apartment did not unduly upset us as it was far enough away to not be a great concern.

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• Mrs Dawson - Verified booking

  We had such a wonderful time at Tarken house celebrating my husband’s birthday over the New Year holidays (four adults, four children age 6-9). The property is beautiful and the photos somehow don’t capture just how amazing it is (that’s not a criticism of the photos, more of how lovely it is). We arrived to such a lovely experience - lights on, birthday banners and balloons set out, warm toastie heating on, welcome whiskey, biscuits and Scottish tablet… We appreciated so much about our stay - the views, the spaciousness, how well kitted out it is, how many towels, toilet rolls and kitchen rolls were left for us, the wonderful welcome. We loved that logs were all provided and the beds were soooo comfortable. We met so many warm, welcoming and helpful locals. There were walks from the door step and the pool, darts and pool table to occupy us when we didn’t want to venture out. There was always something to entertain all of us, including some much needed rest and relaxation. I can’t tell you how helpful, flexible and kind the housekeepers were (on several accounts that were entirely our fault). We’ve stayed in lots of houses over the years but their kindness has really shone through for us. We can’t recommend Tarken House enough and would love to come back in the summer months.

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