“Where to begin with this cottage… when we originally booked the property, we had read the reviews extensively that other users had written and felt Bottle Tops was of a quality fit for us.”
In the June before our visit however (just a few weeks prior) someone had commented on the lack of cleanliness in certain areas and left us unsure about what we would face on our own holiday. Safe to say we were not impressed at all!
For the supposed standard of the cottage, the fee paid for our two weeks and the ratings from both other customers and Sykes’ own tick rating system, I was expecting an immaculate cottage; however, this is not what we were met with on arrival. At least 38 photos were taken from around the cottage and sent to Sykes’ customer team after calling them about the situation and the cleaning lady returned to do the odd bits of cleaning although she was not impressed at returning.
- There were hairs in the freezer box and it was heavily iced up.
- There were hairs of all sorts of nature abundantly on the bathroom floor and in both showers.
- There was grime in the washing machine which we managed to get rid of partially by doing a high temp. empty wash.
- There was black mould in the grouting in the bathroom.
- Both ceiling fans were clogged up with dust/webbing, leading to the main bathroom’s fan just not working at all. The windows in both bathrooms were too high to reach so steam built up quickly with no ventilation.
- There were stains on the duvet cover in the main bedroom.
- There was a thick dust covering on most objects, especially the guitar in the lounge, on the tv, and on the radio in the second bedroom. The furniture also had dust on too.
- Someone had shaved by the mirror in the main bedroom and these hairs were all over the top of the dresser and table mat.
- There were cobwebs in most corners of each room.
- There were stains on the ironing board cover - this could just do with replacing.
When the cleaning lady returned, some of the areas were rectified and others we have had to clean ourselves. We didn’t feel comfortable unpacking until it was sorted however, as we do not come from a house with this lack of cleanliness.
The owners never once met us or communicated with us to apologise about the situation or explain. No welcome pack was left (which is unusual with our experience of previous Sykes cottages) and the cleaning lady explained there wasn’t a lot of time allotted for her to clean the property. My suggestion would be to extend this time by more than a couple of hours or have multiple people cleaning the property at once. Either way, we left the property a lot cleaner than when we found it so some of my above points won’t be valid anymore - do I get a cleaning wage now?
Multiple points of contact were made with Sykes who were good at first, but then basically washed their hands of us, saying that the owners were the ones who got the money so take it up with them for compensation. Sykes wouldn’t be operating as a business if they had no take home so that’s a lie for starters.
The closest pub is supposedly 0.1 miles away. There are many pubs in Windermere but the closest is across the road from the property (less than 30ft) so just be aware at night that you won’t get much sleep. The bin lorry also comes round about 4:30/5:00 on Monday’s so enjoy the early morning then too. The beds are really soft (which I know is a personal thing), but meant we didn’t sleep well at all with the combination of this and the nightly noise from cars, drunk adults and those staying in B&Bs;/hostels nearby.
The carport was handy as parking fills up quickly on the other side of the road. There is a permit for anyone with an extra car but it may be difficult trying to park everyday. The carport was therefore very helpful.
There are no recycling facilities onsite, so all items have to be taken to the local recycling point (this is around a 10-15 min. walk from the property); it would be handy to have a recycling bin/box purchased for the property to put in the carport.
I realise I’ve gone quite in depth with everything, but I would have appreciated having this sort of information around prior to booking. This cottage needs a good clean overall and just being kept on top of during changeovers. The issues listed are completely solvable.
We wouldn’t stay again due to this and the noise level at nights/early morning. Windermere itself is nice however, and close to Bowness too (walking distance or a short bus ride), so I recommend staying in the town but at a different property.
Thank you for taking the time to leave your valued feedback.
We are sorry to hear that the cleanliness of the property was not up to standard.
We take all of your comments on board, and they will be passed onto the relevant teams.
The Lakelovers Owner Relations Team
Property Owner
