“This property is not representative of the 4 tick rating.”
We have used Sykes for many years and go by the ratings and reviews. Having seen some fairly good reviews and a couple of bad we still decided to book. I would like to stress that we have never given a bad review before but felt it necessary. On our return I dug much deeper into past reviews of The old Bank House and there are clearly repetative comments on similar issues to those we experienced - why haven't they been addressed? - 1. The first thing of note was a pungent bad odour on the ground floor area reminiscent of old cellars and damp, particularly bad in the first bedroom but pretty much everywhere. I felt sorry for my elderly mother who had to endure this through the week.It is worthy of note that on return all our coats that hung in the hallway smelt terrible and had to be washed. 2. Kitchen cleanliness, work surfaces etc all good, however, when looking further into the kitchen drawers and cupboards, the utensils were dirty, the drawers were dirty, sticky and hairs were discovered, the shelves of the cupboards where the plates/dishes/glasses/mugs were visibly dirty, in fact we chose to wash everything we wanted to use first and cleaned the cupboards ourselves and stuck to those cupboards during the week. 2 hours we won't get back! 3. As we arrived on the 23rd, it wasn't until Christmas eve that we discovered that most of the towels provided were stained/dirty, we used the best ones and found spares. The reason we didn't contact the owner about this was because it was Christmas eve. Opinions about this may differ but we chose not to. 4. The duvet quilts provided were extremely thin in all rooms particularly for the time of year, we did see the notes on the drawers in each room that stated a spare quilt was in the drawer for use, however, my mother found one and on further inspection found it was stained with a big yellow patch. We therefore had to use the quilt on the spare bed for her so she could keep warm. I think all of us found human and animal hairs in our 'supposed' clean bedding but my son found numerous. Whilst I accept that this is a dog friendly property, I do not accept that you should find these in clean bedding. The drawers in the bedrooms were dirty inside with hairs found. I kept our clothes in the suitcase all week. 5. The x2 sofas in the living room were well past their prime, much too soft, uncomfortable and smelt. The foot stool was equally just as bad and really wouldn't take much to even cover it yourself or replace it, it was really grubby. 6. The x 2 locks on the top floor bathroom which lead to the 'balcony' didn't work, so despite many many attempts the door kept coming open, this effectively looks straight down onto the dining space. The bathroom itself albeit the most modern was damaged on the surface around the sink, I had to clean all of the toilet as it was dirty, I don't need explain any further. The toilet brush I couldn't look at, they are very cheap to buy and this should be replaced regularly and cleary hadn't been. 7. The main large bedroom at the top of the property didn't have a mirror apart from a very small make up/vanity mirror so in order to use my hairdryer I had to go down to the ground floor bedroom, luckily we had taken an extension lead which reached to the mirror there. 8. The dining room is not as equisite as described, on the surface it looks lovely, however, the owner left a note as we arrived stating she hoped we didn't have any leaks if it rains! Well, it did rain, and yes we did have leaks, we put containers on the floor to catch the leaks that had been left just in case but there is a massive amount of wet damp that we had noticed when we arrived by the fridge and this continued to get wetter through the week, infact one of the wall lights was full of condensation! 9. The owner had kindly put a xmas tree up lights, thankfully I had taken my own battery lights and used them as having inspected the socket, we deemed it unsafe to use. 10. All of the beds we used were VERY uncomfortable, we all felt springs/slats and the pillows very thin and 'used', glad I always take my own! Overall, we made the best of the property as we were determind to enjoy our Christmas having travelled 6 hours with a family of 6, but I felt compelled write this review as the property is in dire need of some updating and cleanliness. To note, if there were any welcome books/instructions etc, we couldn't find them. We did receive a welcome pack, thankyou.
We are sorry to hear that you were not happy with you stay over Christmas.
1. The house had been empty for 2 months and 2 of the toilets on the ground floor are electric macerator and pump systems. If they are unused for some time an odour can be evident. In 15 years with Sykes we have never received a comment where guests have had to was their coats after hanging them in the hallway!
2. All plates, dishes, glasses and mugs had been dishwasher cleaned and put away by our cleaners. Some of the plates and bowls are scratched but certainly not dirty. We will mention cupboard cleanliness to our cleaning company.
3. All the towels and sheets had been laundered and it is possible that a few towels were stained by previous guests. However when we sacked our last cleaning company towards the end of last season we purchased 20 sets of linen and towels and are surprised they are damaged so soon. We will of course replace the soiled towels.
4. The duvet quilts are all winter quality. We will check the quality of the summer duvets.
5. Both sofas have had less than 60 weeks use and we cannot agree they were uncomfortable.
6. We will address the problem of the bathroom locks.
7. There is a large mirror in the bedroom next door close to a socket.
8. Having had scaffolding and repairs done twice in a year at a cost of £12,000 we will try again to find the source of the leak.
9. We do not agree the Christmas lights were dangerous and in fact the house was rewired and all plugs certified for holiday lets in 2022.
Finally we understand the weather was particularly wet and windy. You mention no positives about the house. We consider the 3 ovens and 2 large fridges which you enquired about for your stay as positives. Also the very central position in a Grade 2 listed building built in 1789. Also a new eco boiler installed in 2023 in addition to all the other improvements we have made.
Property Owner
