Big Cottages & Group Accommodation in Penzance

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Linda - Verified booking

  Beautiful, well equipped, comfortable property that we wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

  Easy walk to the beach and coast path. This would have been a really great holiday if it had not spoilt at the end of the week by poor customer service from Sykes. See under. Please note that I am happy for the below not to be included in my review as it has little to do with the property or owners, however, I would like my comments seen by the owners as they were not given an opportunity to respond and I would like them to see my feedback regarding the cleaning company... We have made several bookings with Sykes as we have found their properties are absolutely lovely but, their customer service is lacking. As long as all is well Sykes customer service is perfunctory but, this changes to very disappointing if you encounter a problem, they just don't want to know. Our car broke down the afternoon before we were due to leave our Sykes property. I called Sykes to ask if we could extend our stay or at the very least leave our luggage in the sizeable, double, undercover car port for a couple of hours. Both requests were refused point blank and the Sykes representative refused to even contact the owner to request either. We were only offered a full weeks further stay at the property at the full rate. I accept that extending our stay by a day or two may not be possible (despite the property being vacant for the entire following week), however, to tell me that we would not even be able to leave our luggage in the large car port for a few hours as it would be in the way of the cleaners was just obstinate. This left us with children, a dog and all our luggage without anywhere to go on a cold rainy February morning whilst our car was being fixed, as we had to vacate the property at 10am. Luckily when the cleaners arrived and we explained the situation they were more than happy to accommodate us however they could, and we were able to leave our bags in the car port for a couple of hours whilst our car was being fixed. They had parked in the neighbouring property where they were also cleaning and said that we and/or our luggage would not be in the way at all. Sykes could have saved us an evening of worry about what we were going to do the next day without a car had they just been a little bit more considerate and accommodating! A sincere thank you to the cleaning company that services the property we were staying in, they were so very kind, unlike Sykes.

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• Andrew - Verified booking

  I read another item of feedback on this property a couple of weeks ago from Wayne and have to say our experience was totally the opposite!

  We were welcomed in the property by a lovely welcome pack. The property was warm and welcoming and very clean. Our dogs were able to have the run of the garden as the fence (about 3 feet high) is secure The ground floor is open plan (as per the pictures) and has a log burner which was very welcome each night. There is a shower room with toilet and sink on the ground floor too. The kitchen is well appointed with a great fridge and plenty of pans and utensils. The piano needs a tune and a bit of work so my attempts at Bach may have had him turning in his grave! (That’s my excuse). Upstairs are three good bedrooms and a bathroom. All very well decorated and proportioned. There is a beam across the main bedroom which you have to remember is there at 3 in the morning - it hurts to walk into it! There is ample hanging space and plenty of drawers in each bedroom. Outside the hot tub was great to have and we used it regularly. I hope you have a great break there. We will go back as we love the area-there is so much around - the best being St Michaels Mount just over a mile away. I’d suggest driving as it is along a busy road with no footpath. There is also a beach about 20 minutes’ walk away at Perranuthnoe which is lovely. The village has two pubs, both 200 yards away, a village shop 400 yards away (and stocks plenty of everyday essentials) and a post office. Plus plenty of takeaways and restaurants if you are so inclined. The owner, Juliet, was great to deal with. Thank you for a great week!

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• S - Verified booking

  We needed accommodation and booked very late.

  I understand that Covid is making things difficult, but on arrival, we were met by a wall of disinfectant smell (smelled more like flyspray) throughout the house. There seemed not to have been enough time between cleaning and arrival. It was really unpleasant and not a great start. The smell persisted for at least 24 hours. Perhaps you should be staggering arrivals and not one out one in on the same day. Or using better cleaning methods/products. The accommodation looked poor from the external photo, but the photos of the interior were good. However, our expectations were not met. The whole enterprise was basic - looked a lot better in the photos, but everything was cheap and disappointing - construction, materials, cutlery, glasses, bedding etc. The carpets and sofas felt tacky and we not comfortable without shoes. The tv didnt work - we notified the caretaker immediately but it wasnt fixed for 3 days, and for a rainy break in september with dark evenings, that was not good enough. Instructions for the use of the property were emailed to us but we couldnt open them on our phones. We asked, but never got a printed copy. It was more like student accommodation. It looked like a party house - Im sure its perfect for a gang of surfers, for partying, drinking and crashing, but it didnt suit us. The description traded on the sea/sunset view which was great, but it was let down by everything else. We will not book through Sykes again.

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• Eleanor - Verified booking

  The positive of the property is the location.

  .. beautiful views. Great for walking to Sennen Cove and very close to coastal path. The lounge is comfortable, WiFi is good and large non digital TV which is complex to operate which requires a satellite decoder to watch TV. It was clean but did smell, this was put right with air freshener, smelly stuff. It was warm. The negatives.... I would be disappointed if I had paid full price for this house. The interior... Downstairs is ok - basic, the carpet in the hall to the downstairs bedroom needs replacing it is very shabby. Kitchen is ok. The lounge which is upstairs is comfortable. The balcony outside needs a lot of work, needs refurbishment but has spectacular seaviews. Our bedroom floor was very bouncy, there were gaps where it meets the skirting and some areas of the laminate flooring was split. I was assured that the floor was safe. It needs replacing. The patio door to balcony doesn't lock. Bed was comfortable. Exterior Needs an awful lot of money spent on this property and the properties next to it. A complex I think. If the properties was painted / rendered... flowers, plants etc. It needs looking after properly... the property / complex is extremely run down and does need revamping. We made the most of the views and location. Recent photos of the outside and complex should be on the website so future customers are aware and not disappointed when they arrive.

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• Jane - Verified booking

  The worst house we have stayed at in the UK, but the best view we have experienced from a property.

  Not as described, looks more like a former youth hostel than a 'cottage'. Awful smell of damp permiates downstairs, most windows are sealed shut there, so you can't relieve that. Upstairs nice lounge area and balcony with view. Carpets mouldy and blackened at the edges, new style flooring in bedroom not stuck down properly, so moves when you walk and pinches your toes if barefoot, skirting boards bending from walls lumps out of plaster on walls, awful mattresses (our son had to pile two up in the second bedroom to get comfortable), refurbished bathroom upstairs but water pressure is such that it takes around 50 mins (NO exaggeration ) to run a bath half full of hot water, by which time the water is luke warm. Description of garden is hilarious as it looks overgrown and unmaintained. Parking very tricky but you learn to adapt. Very helpful caretaker and place kept clean but sofa could do with a professional wash. Needs substantial investment to refurb to level of other holiday lets in area, but I suppose if the owners can command in excess of £200 a night in mid season and be fully booked (due to the view) then who am I to comment of business model? We would not visit again or recommend it to friends. We spent under half the amount for the previous week, just down the road, great place, but no sea to view!

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