“Where to start?”
We were kept waiting right up to the 4pm check in time on the Saturday that we arrived. We watched the cleaners leave and when we entered the property all of the floors were soaking wet, a good sign we thought, how wrong we were. This property has not seen a vacuum cleaner for some time, it was filthy. In the kitchen, the fridge door was plastered in greasy fingerprints with crumbs all over the floor. The pots and pans were greasy and had not been cleaned properly, the colander had the previous guests vegetables stuck to the side of it. All of the laminate floor is warped and lifted so much that you struggle to close the bedroom door with a dangerous plank sticking up that you could easily trip over. As we entered the bedroom there was a discarded contact lens on the floor. The grime under the door bar leading into the walk in wardrobe had been there for some time it seems. There is a hole in the wall leading into the bedroom as well. The bathroom floors had dirt all over them and the bath had not been cleaned. Into the lounge area, the table has a glass top with food under it, muck and grime all over the chrome legs. You could write your name in the dust under the television unit that had not been hoovered for some time. The sofa is quite another story. It is ripped and split, with pen marks over it, and the remnants of the previous guests dinner on it. The balcony had not been swept and the furniture that “is perfect for al fresco dining’ must have been picked up at the local boot sale, I have never seen such ugly cheap looking patio furniture in my life. I would like someone to show me how you get four people sat round the table. In short, this place is not five stars, as awarded by Visit England, in my experience it is in fact a dirty, uncared for property that cost us £2,800 for the week. I asked Sykes to get the cleaners back which, to their credit, they did quite quickly. The girl that came back was embarrassed at the state of the property, and, rightly so. She was one of three cleaners that arrived at 2.30 on the day we arrived. When I called Sykes on the following Tuesday (no call from them to me) to ask what they were going to do I was told that I should have expected damage to the property as it is ‘near the end of the season’. This is totally unacceptable. When you pay this sort of money for accommodation, I do not expect to have to compromise on the quality of it just because the season is nearly over. Naturally I asked for some sort of compensation given that in reality, we were not able to check in until the cleaner had left at 6.30 and to reflect the poor condition of the property. I also asked the owner to come and see me so that they could see the condition of their property. The owner never arrived and we were told that a refund of £125 was their final offer. The bottom line is that Sykes don't really care, the owner doesn't care as they get their money anyway. I have contacted Visit England and sent all of the 21 photographs that I took. I will NEVER book through Sykes again and I would urge you NOT to stay at this property, it is not five star and definitely not worth the money we paid.
- Patrick, September 2022
Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback, we are pleased that when you reported your findings on entry of the property we were able to get the housekeeping team back down within the hour and they remedied all the points you have highlighted on your complaint. The cleaner and the owner have consequently forwarded across their apologies for issues you encounted and have provided you will a goodwill gesture which you have accepted. We will be speaking with the owner to make sure that the points on the laminate flooring and fault in the plaster are addressed as soon as possible. We will also make sure more spot checks are completed on the property to ensure that we maintain the high standard we wish all our guests to experience. Thank you again for working with us on this matter, Kind Regards The Carbis Bay Holidays Team Property Owner