“Not Covid Safe”
We arrived just after the designated time - 3 pm - but the cottage had not been cleaned. We had to wait an hour for the cleaners to arrive, two of them, and they said the clean would only take 30 minutes. We were alarmed by that, expecting a very thorough clean. They said they had a special anti Covid spray for all the door handles, surfaces and knobs. When we finally gained access to the cottage, the kitchen was obviously not well cleaned, with pieces of food left on chopping boards and old dirty pan scrubbers under the sink. The cottage had not been prepared with Covid in mind - cushions left on chairs, loose pamphlets in a drawer and old books left on the shelves. After 2 nights we admitted we did not feel 'Covid safe' in the cottage, and left. We rang Sykes immediately on arrival home, explained the situation, and expected good customer service. We have received automated emails, had to wait 80 minutes for the phone to be answered on the second attempt to talk on the phone, and were finally asked to send photos. We have sent photos of the old plastic plate drainer which was marked with the dirt of many years. Since then, complete silence. The whole experience was quite traumatic as it was the first time away since the lockdown in March, and what was required was reassurance, not a lack of recognition that we were in the middle of a pandemic. Sykes appear to blame the cleaners/owners, and the contract with the cleaners is with the owners. Sykes' website info on Covid cleaning is guidance, the ideal situation, and sadly no guarantee that that is what you are going to get.Be warned. Customer service is awful when a problem like this occurs, and Sykes Cottages just don't seem to care. They should be very ashamed.
- Shirley L, August 2020
