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Lake District Sleeps 12 Villas
Cumbria
5 Bed Cottage in Keswick
Ref: S421645
From
£459
per nightCumbria
Squirrel Lodge
Ref: S700556
Reviews 14
From
£315
per nightCumbria
Cleabarrow Cottage
Ref: S282017
Reviews 2
From
£568
per nightCumbria
6 Bed Cottage in Martindale
Ref: S879707
From
£431
per nightCumbria
Thorney How
Ref: S527587
Reviews 33
From
£516
per nightCumbria
6 Bed Cottage in Keswick
Ref: S421698
From
£346
per nightCumbria
7 Bed Cottage in Ambleside
Ref: S480377
From
£280
per nightCumbria
6 Bed Cottage in Keswick
Ref: S684539
From
£388
per nightCumbria
Moss Crag
Ref: S1077695
From
£248
per nightCumbria
Fir Trees
Ref: S1058528
From
£343
per nightCumbria
Yewtree House
Ref: S700561
Reviews 11
From
£543
per nightCumbria
5 Bed Cottage in Mosser
Ref: S421859
From
£222
per nightCumbria
6 Bed Cottage in Lamplugh
Ref: S421889
From
£229
per nightCumbria
8 Bed Cottage in Applethwaite
Ref: S421652
From
£260
per nightCumbria
Fair Rigg
Ref: S810699
Reviews 19
From
£285
per nightCumbria
Ecclerigg Garth
Ref: S810696
Reviews 6
From
£350
per nightCumbria
9 Bed Cottage in Keswick
Ref: S421678
From
£711
per nightCumbria
6 Bed Cottage in Lamplugh
Ref: S421894
From
£229
per nightCumbria
Hazel - Woodland Cottages
Ref: S80866
Reviews 59
From
£259
per nightCumbria
Waverley
Ref: S820392
Reviews 9
From
£422
per nightCumbria
7 Bed Cottage in Boot
Ref: S421741
From
£271
per nightCumbria
Lonsdale Villa Retreat
Ref: S679717
Reviews 7
From
£535
per nightCumbria
8 Bed Cottage in Boot
Ref: S421373
From
£325
per nightCumbria
Penny Bridge House
Ref: S802017
Reviews 26
From
£393
per nightReviews
What our customers say about their holidays
Justin - Verified booking
My principal comment is that I was not able to contact Sykes and my frustration was compounded by the supposed methods of contact remaining available yet not functioning.
The day before we were due to check in I was very nervous as I had organised for 11 friends to travel a long way, 2 from America, to spend a week together and nobody from Sykes was responding no matter how I tried to contact you. Although the rental turned out problem free and we all really enjoyed the stay my inability to contact Sykes persisted throughout. The owner thoughtfully rang to let me know that the builders might be a little noisier the next day: they were not at all and even one of them spoke to us to apologise for any disturbance they might have caused. But I heard nothing from Sykes although I am now receiving numerous messages asking for my feedback. I repeatedly tried WhatsApp and received what I now understand to be a series of different, automated replies. The replies, which usually took a day to come in, purported to be from a live person by informing who was messaging me and assured me that I would get a response to my enquiries yet not even one materialised and i now see that not a single message from me has been read. This happened many times (see full copy of WhatsApp attached below) I sent a question on Sunday 18.08 and received an immediate reply saying you would get back to me as soon as possible. 23 hours later, Monday evening, I was asked to confirm my name and booking which i did 10 minutes later. I then had to wait another day, Tuesday, when I received a message asking, âHow can I help you?â. I responded to this in 3 minutes. Once again i did not hear anything until the following day, Wednesday, saying that as it had been longer than 24 hours you were no longer able to respond but if i still needed help i should reply âYesâ. I did this but did not hear back until the next day, by now Thursday, saying that due to the nature of my query I should log in and send a web message (not working either). I pointed this out and asked another question on WhatsApp that generated the message saying you would get back to me as soon as possible. This time I did not get anything on Friday, the next day, but on Saturday received a message asking if there is âanything elseâ you can help me with and that if there is I should âjust respond to this messageâ. I duly responded within 2 minutes and 6 hours later Natasha asked for my name and booking reference (info already on the chat), âso I can helpâ. One again I provided these and it is now Sunday but I of course have not received a reply. If WhatsApp is not working, as is evidently the case you should not pretend that it does, nor continue to send messages that are not followed up. The message function I was advised to log in and use as an alternative was simply never working at all. I tried to use the âactive chatâ many times but having provided my details I always received an automated reply to the effect that due to the high level of demand the facility was not available; this makes no sense. We also tried to phone the office on the number suggested but when we were asked to chose an option by pressing a particular number on the keypad our choice was not recognised and we could not progress the call. This happened whichever phone we used. I did eventually find an email address that received a reply. Below is an unexpurgated copy of the WhatsApp. I accept that I was being stubborn in persisting to use the chat but it was frustrating and I retained a small degree of hope that I would get a response. [04/07/2024, 11:38:38] Justin Preston: Hello. We are staying at Thorney How from tomorrow. Can you tell me please if there is a coffee machine or maybe a cafetière please? We have tried calling, messaging and the live chat but none of these is working. [04/07/2024, 11:38:41] Sykes Cottages: Hi, thanks for contacting us today about your holiday! We have received your message and will get back to you as soon as we can. [04/07/2024, 18:51:50] Justin Preston: Is there any chance you could answer please? We have tried to contact you a number of ways but none works. [05/07/2024, 09:39:56] Sykes Cottages: Hi, you're talking to Lisa, Please can you confirm your booking reference and full name so I can help today? [05/07/2024, 09:41:02] Justin Preston: Justin Preston 26ZF3-24-EN [05/07/2024, 09:41:11] Justin Preston: Good morning [05/07/2024, 10:39:28] Justin Preston: Do you have an answer please? [05/07/2024, 11:14:32] Justin Preston: I tried the live chat and it is of course not working. It is very disappointing that I cannot contact anybody at Sykes. It is also worrying given that 11 of us are relying on you for our accommodation tonight and beyond [07/07/2024, 18:08:29] Justin Preston: Hi is there anybody there who could answer a question please? [07/07/2024, 18:08:32] Sykes Cottages: Hi, thanks for contacting us today about your holiday! We have received your message and will get back to you as soon as we can. [08/07/2024, 17:21:46] Sykes Cottages: Hi, you're talking to . Please can you confirm your booking reference and full name so I can help today? [08/07/2024, 17:31:30] Justin Preston: Hi, you asked this question previously on this chat and I replied. I did not hear back from you [08/07/2024, 17:31:45] Justin Preston: Justin Preston 26ZF3-24-EN [09/07/2024, 16:35:52] Sykes Cottages: Thank you, how can I help? [09/07/2024, 16:38:53] Justin Preston: I have been trying to contact you since Thursday and the immediacy has now passed [10/07/2024, 17:31:45] Sykes Cottages: Hi. As it's been longer than 24 hours, we're no longer able to respond. If you still need our help, please reply to this message with "yes" and we'll be in touch as soon as we can. Thanks for your patience. [10/07/2024, 17:38:50] Justin Preston: Yes [10/07/2024, 17:39:12] Justin Preston: You have not responded so far to any of my questions [10/07/2024, 19:49:40] Justin Preston: The rubbish was not collected today as it should have been. We intend to put what we accumulate now into the bin but it does mean it will be very full. We wanted to let you know. â[11/07/2024, 10:04:52] Justin Preston: â [11/07/2024, 15:48:53] Sykes Cottages: Hi you're chatting to Rose. As your query is regarding a complaint or review please head to the help centre and send us a web message in your customer portal through the link at the bottom of this message and our Customer Relations Team can investigate further and respond to you here. https://www.sykescottages.co.uk/account/login [11/07/2024, 16:17:15] Justin Preston: Hi, sorry it was not clear. I do not think my message regards a complaint or review. I had a question to ask [11/07/2024, 16:17:20] Sykes Cottages: Hi, thanks for contacting us today about your holiday! We have received your message and will get back to you as soon as we can. [11/07/2024, 16:21:29] Justin Preston: I tried the live chat but yet again that is not working and I cannot get the messaging function to work â[11/07/2024, 16:25:10] Justin Preston: â [11/07/2024, 20:15:29] Justin Preston: I have tried to use WhatsApp for 7 days and despite receiving responses purporting to be from a real person (usually after a delay of 24 hours) I have not had a single one of my questions answered. The live chat similarly has not worked once, the message function on my login does not work and when we tried to phone your automated system was not working. Fortunately we did not have a major issue but I am extremely disappointed with this level of service. [13/07/2024, 09:17:49] Sykes Cottages: Hi. We're just getting in touch to check that everything has been resolved for you? If there's anything else we can help with, please just respond to this message. Thanks. [13/07/2024, 09:19:51] Justin Preston: Hi, I have been trying to use WhatsApp to contact you for over a week. You have not responded to a single one of my messages. Is this working now please! [13/07/2024, 15:14:38] Sykes Cottages: Hi, you're talking to Natasha. Please can you confirm your booking reference and full name so I can help today? [13/07/2024, 16:13:38] Justin Preston: Justin Preston 26ZF3-24-EN Now 14th and no response As I said earlier, we all enjoyed the stay: the house is in a superb location. The bedrooms are very well decorated, the beds very comfortable and generally finished to a high standard. The showers could perhaps be updated but otherwise the sleeping area was very comfortable and generally excellent, exceeding expectations. The kitchen was adequate despite the oven being a little temperamental but retained the feel of being in a youth hostel. A few more luxury appliances, perhaps a coffee machine, would improve the feel. The main observation was that it was a shame that the kitchen could not be integrated into the living area somehow as those doing the cooking were isolated from the rest of the party for long periods. The only other disappointment was that the best part of the garden was not available to us. There was one night when those in the smaller cottage were sitting outside, enjoying a glass of wine In the sun and a great view of the sunset on the hills. I realise that there is little that can be done but the outside space available to us was a little disappointing and not as accessible as we would have like. There were many other things we did like about the property and overall we were very happy with it and enjoyed our time there hugely. If there is anything else you would like to know please ask as I would be very happy to assist if I can.
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Mike - Verified booking
Like a bad dream.
.. I was disappointed with our stay at Squirrel Lodge in December 2023. I appreciate that VRBO/Sykes are only going to try and show the good stuff about their property on their books in their web images, and they really have done that in this instance. So, the good bits; the lounge is OK, with plenty of chairs for the 7 of us that were staying, but I'd worry if all six rooms were fully occupied. Kitchen is OK, but again, very small if the house is fully occupied. The dining room would seat everyone around the large table, but that's where the good stuff dries up. I can't directly review the bedrooms on the first and second floor, but we were on the third floor, some 45 stairs up, which was tedious to say the least. But if the bedroom had been half decent I guess the exertion of getting up the stairs would have been worth it. It wasn't, it as terrible. As was the other bedroom in the attic. It was like a cross between student accommodation and a hostel. It was the kind of room you have bad dreams about ending up in if your life had gone wrong. I like to stay somewhere that is as nice or better than my house. This was not. The bed was small and terribly uncomfortable. The cheap foam duvet and pillows were as bad as the mattress. Very little storage. Furniture that wouldn't look out of place in a charity shop. Then woodchip walls have been patched up to within an inch of their life over the years. The décor was shockingly old and, the workmanship (if you can call it that) was woeful. It has obviously been a hotel at some point in is past, which is fine, but I would have expected it to have been fully refurbished when it moved from a hotel to a rental property. The rooms still had numbers on their 1970's doors and there were Health & Safety fire signs all over the place. How Sykes can rate this property as 5 Ticks giving it 'Exceptional standard with a degree of luxury' I have absolutely no clue. I have no axes to grind with anyone either at Sykes or VRBO, or anyone else connected to this property. I've stayed at some wonderful properties in The Lakes, but I feel that everyone should know exactly what they are getting with this property. I very much think that there is a place for a cheap six bedroom holiday let in Keswick, and this may be perfect for you, if it is, then fill your boots. But it's a no from me.Â
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Ben - Verified booking
Fair Rigg is a beautiful property and the owners have renovated to a high standard.
Having visited The Lakes a number of times it was disappointing that some small details had been missed. This included not enough Prosecco glasses for the whole party (only 6 in the property for 10 guests) and no tea bags, salt, pepper or a few sachets of coffee to get us started on the first night. A little welcome pack with some of these items would have gone a long way for a property of this size when you have a larger number of guests. One final added extra would be some form of Christmas decoration for the festive period. Considering that the property is a premium let it would be nice to see this reflected with a simple tree or even a garland on the banister or over the sideboard. We really enjoyed our stay at Fair Rigg, especially evenings in the lounge on the big comfy sofas in front of the huge tv. We all commented on how comfy the beds were and using the aga on Christmas Day took all the usual stresses away with so many oven spaces to choose from. One day we had an issue with a lack of hot water when the baths were used and this meant cold water for the evening but didnât seem to encounter this again on our stay. Perhaps, just bad timing. But if this is due to boiler timing it could be beneficial to mention in the house information folder. As reflected in the ratings above I think the house could benefit from a more thorough clean, especially the bathroom grouting (I cleaned this myself and it took seconds to do). It would really make all the difference for guests - especially during covid. We would stay at Fair Rigg again as we enjoyed the location and ability to head straight out the door for varied walks. There has clearly been lots of thought put into the renovation and itâs a beautiful home!
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Richard - Verified booking
Earlier this year we stayed at Fair Rigg for the third successive year but we will not be returning.
As a premium property with a premium price it is only right to expect a corresponding level of customer service which this year was not the case. The general lack of cleanliness has been mentioned in other reviews and this year we saw it for ourselves (cobwebs on light fittings and an old newspaper and other bits under the sofa). But the main issue was a blocked shower drain that flooded making the shower unusable. Despite reporting this the owner made no attempt to fix the problem during our stay so bathroom facilities had to be shared. When we returned from holiday I took the matter up with the letting agents (Sykes) because I felt, not unreasonably, that compensation should be paid to us due to the loss of facilities. The owner refused to offer any compensation but did suggest a discount off a future stay at Fair Rigg. I declined this offer which I considered to be just a ploy to make us return. Sykes also refused to help saying they are only the booking agents. As renters we have to commit to a Housekeeping bond in case we donât keep to our side of the contract yet this owner and, on this occasion Sykes, can get away with doing nothing when things go wrong. This is a very sad end to what had previously been some great family holidays at Fair Rigg.
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Dean - Verified booking
We had a fabulous stay in Far Sawrey at the Fair Rigg.
From the moment we walked in, it felt like a real home from home. The only downside was, this was Christmas and we had to go about putting up our own decorations, even if a small Christmas tree had been provided, that would have been fine. Comfortably furnished and very well equipped, the open plan kitchen, diner and sitting area with wood stove was excellent. We spent some time working out the operation of the Aga but that added to the fun. Two further sitting rooms were available, with one being utilised for the Christmas tree and present opening on the day. All the bedrooms and bathrooms were comfortably furnished, just one minor "niggle" â the walk-in shower floors were very slippery, perhaps a mat or âgrab handleâ would assist. The house was very warm and clean with only one spider to act as an annoying pet. We had good mobile reception in the house and the wi-fi worked very well. A short walk brings you to the Cuckoo Brow Inn, with good food and beer, and there are plenty of longer walks direct from the house leading up to Hawkshead or down to Windermere by the car ferry. Overall, a great venue, with wonderful views, and all interiors finished to a high standard, we would definitely visit again.
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