Villas In Scotland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Confirmed Guest - Verified booking

  I have been wondering whether or not to leave this review, but on reflection, have decided this could ruin someone's holiday if they were to book here. Check in was straight forward and the gentleman who keeps the key is nice and helpful. The house, however, wasn't clean. I was informed I was the first person to stay here this year, and I hope the owner makes changes before too many more come to stay. The house is in desperate need of some updating. There is too much furniture in the house and this makes it cluttered, a lot of the furniture is old and dirty. The bed sheets were old and stained also. The carpets deteriorated. The worst issue though, was the mouse droppings all over the house and general cleanliness. Mostly in the kitchen, I didn't feel like I could safely cook a meal without having to clean absolutely everything. I contacted the caretaker, and he was very helpful. He brought the traps and bait I had asked for and I set them. Nothing was caught which told me that perhaps the house just wasn't cleaned properly since the winter. I asked him to arrange for the cleaners to come, which he did, and they came the next day. When I returned to the property, the same mouse droppings were still there, some spots he mentioned specifically to the cleaner were the droppings on the kitchen floor. It hadn't been cleaned very well at all, even though a note was left by them. In the end, I gave up and emptied the hoover and gave the whole house a going over myself. I washed the minimal stuff I needed to, so I could have some cereal for breakfast and a coffee but looking at the worktops and the rest of the kitchen, I decided it was easier not to cook. I ate out every night and had take away. There is a loud noise and banging outside the bedroom window from some structure on the roof of the Co-op next door. This has been previously mentioned apparently and was supposed to have been dealt with but if its windy, it can be very noisy throughout the night. I have photos and videos of the mouse droppings, but I won't add them. I have sent some to the caretaker. I left the house earlier than I was booked to stay until as my plans had changed and to be honest, I didn’t want to stay any longer than I had to. I hope they used that extra time with it vacant to make some improvements to the cleanliness of the house. In hindsight, I should have asked for a refund and looked into hotels in the area, but it was a busy time of year with the Easter holidays and accommodation was difficult to find at the time.

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• Valerie - Verified booking

  The apartment on first sight is lovely, well furnished and clean but there are some basic maintenance and housekeeping issues that let it down.

  The first problem was no hot water. We called the owner who came over within 20 mins and said it was a known problem. They had a new boiler installed a couple of months ago and there was a fault that they were waiting on an engineer to fix. He showed my husband how to remove the cover and reset the boiler with a screwdriver. This is not just a small boiler but a full-size floor standing the height of my husband, 6’1”. My husband had to reset it six times during the week. There is no way I could have lifted a boiler cover off and even reached the reset button. The lights on the cooker hood didn’t work, nor the under-unit lights in the kitchen and it was quite a dark area to work in. The microwave didn’t work. It turned on and the fan came on but it didn’t heat anything. The extract fan in the bathroom didn’t work. When I went to put washing on the machine was full of stagnant water so I had to drain it first. There is no soap dish or shelf in the shower to keep soap, shower gel, shampoo etc and the grouting needs a good clean. We were left with a ¾ used toilet roll in the shower room. If I’m paying £1000, the least I expect is a new toilet roll, not the left-overs from someone else. The bedding is not the best of quality, especially the cheap pillows and there was no mattress or pillow protectors (an essential for guest’s hygiene). The bed itself was comfortable though. Inside the building, just outside the apartment there is noticeable damp and mildew growth that doesn’t present a good first impression. It would have been good if the owners had provided a welcome book with useful info on places to visit and eat but we were only left instructions to empty the bins and strip the bed. We reported the maintenance issues to the owners who said they were not aware of them (apart from the boiler). It could be a lovely apartment with more care and attention but sadly we wouldn’t rate it highly enough to stay again nor recommend it.

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• John - Verified booking

  The only flaw in the whole process was being unable to contact Sykes Cottages prior to taking up the booking.

  I needed to ascertain some information prior to taking up the booking, and was constantly frustrated with not being able to speak to anyone at Sykes. The only email address was the ‘no-reply’ one used when you forwarded generic information to me. I did find a tell phone number, but each time I called I gave up after 45 minutes of waiting for a reply - I know that ‘my call is important to you’ and also that ‘due to COVID-19 we are working with reduced staff’ can be appeasing comments, but not for 45 minutes each time; I eventually gave up and was unable to access the information I needed. Once I heard from the ‘contact on the ground’ a couple of days before my departure then her costumer service was excellent. I think that Sykes as an organisation does make finding a cottage/booking easier, but not sure that I’d use you again as your customer interface lacks any sense of personal exchange and accessible customer service, and seems to rely solely on a digital interface, that even asks for this feedback via an email with is ‘signed’ at the bottom with ‘Sykes Cottages’ and still no personal identity. You rely far too much on technology, which might satisfy some, but I am sure that many in the market area you are trying to reach who would rather prefer an accessible personal interface that reflects an organisation that really does ‘care’ for their costumers, rather than a telephone/email system that tells the costumers they do. To sum up: excellent accommodation, excellent personal service from the person on the ground, but appalling lack of service by the impersonal organisation that goes by the name of ‘Sykes Cottages’.

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• Donna - Verified booking

  We had a fab holiday throughout our stay in this property.

  The cottage is close to places where we wanted to explore and had adventurous experience with the kids. The owner met us up at the cottage after we settled in on our 1st day of arrival which we thought was very nice, gave us an overview of places to see, things to do and recommended places that served great food which was a bonus! The cottage itself was very clean and was prepared for a homely stay (nice bouquet of flowers in the living room). Beds were comfortable and each has en suite shower/toilet. Kitchen was well equipped with everything you'll need for cooking and washing. Dishwasher was very handy as we came in 2 groups and mostly cooked for meals. Also made use of washing machine as always out and about and kids especially were constantly getting messy. Just one suggestion to make for future holidaymakers - maybe an indoor airer would come handy if unable to hang the washing outside (since we're in scotland, weather can be so unpredictable!). Either indoor airer or a tumbledryer can be put in place, however, I bet indoor airer would be the cheaper option between the two. Summerhouse equipped with amazing gym equipment was very handy as my friend's teenage son was gym fanatic so fairly made use of it! Overall, our holiday was so relaxing and worthwhile knowing we had a comfortable place to stay. We do highly recommend this place for holidaymakers who intend to seek a peaceful and relaxing break from their own homes!

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• Shauna - Verified booking

  We visited the property in August of last year and fell in love.

  As soon as we got home we re-booked to come back in the February school holidays and already we are looking to go back in the six weeks holidays as even our 2 year old is upset to be home. The house is so comfortable and clean, it has everything you need for your stay, it feels like a home away from home. It's also full of wildlife around the property and so quiet for being near a main road. The "traffic" isn't a problem in the slightest you get the odd few cars during the day and hardly any at all on a night. At night if you get a clear sky, go and sit and look at the stars it's an unbelievable experience if you live in a city like ourselves. The owners are lovely, lovely people and will help you with anything they can. I love the tray the owner leaves on arrival for you, it feels so personalised to the family visiting somehow! the owner also popped round to tell us a few places we could visit nearby with our children! I must also mention the neighbors as they make their own honey and it's unbelievable and their dog Finn is the most gentle German Shepherd I've ever come across he deserves a mention in this review. We can't wait to return again as soon as we can.

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