Heart of the Lakes Reviews 42

We've used this company twice a year this last few years, for cottages and apartments up and down the country,

I've never been keen on leaving the Mattress and Pillow Protectors in place when stripping the Beds to depart,
But since the ever growing threat of Bed Bugs has become an issue, we'll not be Holidaying again until we get some assurance that the Beds are fully stripped and cleaned between Bookings.

Awful staff. Really unhelpful.

Just awful customer service. Just come out of hospital with a hip fracture and they refused to help move the date of the holiday. Repeat customer for years, appalling customer service.

Worst customer service I have ever come across

We have been very disappointed in the interactions with this company and believe they are acting to drive profit with questionable behaviors. I advise do not book with this company.

Yew Tree Farm 13-20 May 2020

Overpriced and underwhelming. Firstly to clarify my wife and I enjoyed our break and the cottage was lovely and we did reflect this in the visitors book.

However, the cottage is ‘connected’ to the tenant farmers’ accommodation so you can hear them ‘in conversation’ and ‘smell their cooking’ which distracts from your perceived privacy during the stay.

Previous feedback has commented on ‘farm noise’ which there was very little of and was quite pleasant when you could ‘hear’’ the animals. However there are lots of ‘comings and goings’ throughout the day….people calling at the butchers, various ‘seminars’ and ‘experience groups’ visiting throughout the week. An example of this would be on our last evening sitting in the garden with a glass of wine when an amateur theatrical group turn up and start getting dressed up to start filming….so overall hardly secluded and private.

I have stayed at ‘holiday inn express hotels’ where there is less ‘going on’ and have been more ‘relaxed’. With this in mind I would preferably pay far less to stay somewhere more ‘commercial’ where you at least understand what you’re ‘paying for’.

The cottage is beautiful with very good facilities e.g. bathrooms/showers etc but I think you would be hard pushed to ‘comfortably accommodate’ six people in the lounge or cater for this number with the kitchen.

The ‘fly in the ointment’ for us was when we were approached and informed that the decking area would be removed and replaced in the ‘hot tub’ area at the side of the cottage. You don’t fully grasp the impact this would have until the work starts. The decking had apparently been there for 13 years…so hindsight would suggest this could have been done at an earlier or more convenient time…during one of the many recent lockdowns perhaps? We realised the impact when the ‘joiner’ knocked our door at 10 past 8 in the morning to ‘check that we were up’ so that he could start his chainsaw and start cutting out the old decking…..we opted to go out for a walk returning at half three to find this being ‘loaded’ into a trailer with the consequent ‘backwards and forwards’ around the cottage this entails. On another evening we were ‘put off’ from using the hot tub due to a ‘load of’’…yet to be used decking perched at the side of the building around it. This work ‘stretched’ over 5 days of the week that we stayed.

Perhaps most disappointing of all, was on our day of leaving we had to be ‘clear’ of the cottage by 10 in the morning….but there was no one there to ‘hand over’ to….both tenants were out, one presumably working his farm and the other out in her van. Ironically there was (yet) another visitor going about the farm getting ready to go horse riding.

If you are considering this cottage as an option it is a beautiful house with in a lovely setting, but is definitely a ‘business’ attempting to generate income from several areas of which you are only one. If you are looking for ‘picture postcard’ this may not be it….it wasn’t for us….we just felt like we were there for the ‘requisite week’ before being ‘turned around’ for the ‘next punter’ which may well be you. Definitely not worth the 2k plus that we paid. Disappointing overall.”

Shortly after posting this review on their sight ‘Sykes Holiday Cottages’ got in touch ‘regarding the review’. When I responded they at first seemed like unsure why I’d contacted them. The review was discussed at length and the representative concurred with my disappointment. She informed me that she would ‘speak to the owners- now that she had a clearer picture’ and she also mentioned the ‘compensation’ word not I. She also informed me that a case number would be forwarded (which never arrived)

This is the reply I received a few days later :-

Dear Mr Peter Bxxx
 
Thank you for your feedback.
 
We have since approached the owner in regards to the issues raised; on this occasion the owner isn't willing to offer any compensation. They do apologise if they caused any upset to yourselves, they have mentioned on their description that the property is on a walking farm and unfortunately that does come with noise. The owner has also said that they had approached yourselves in regards to the decking being dismantled/built, they are sorry that the work load might have louder than anticipated.
 
Kind regards,
Emma
The Customer Relations Team
Heart Of The Lakes

So the moral of the story is that £2k+ for a weeks stay does not necessarily buy you a peaceful idyll, and that ‘working farm’ can include a building worksite together with the associated disruption and noise.

We have used Heart of The Lakes for about 15 years and never again. The excellent customer service and warmth they used to offer has totally evaporated since Sykes took them over. No flexibility with changes in circumstances and most importantly breach of their own contractual terms necessitating a claim against my credit card company.

Booked Acorn cottage in Ambleside, we go to the lakes every year and love Ambleside, this holiday cost us £1200 and the price is currently £475 the pricing doesn't make sense, we arrived on Saturday the 30th October to a dirty cottage with many problems, holes in the kitchen floor and mold in the main bedroom, leaking shower screen, bulbs missing in lamps and outside light which is dangerous as road quite dark, the cottage has stains on sofa and carpets, filthy oven and hob, microwave and generally not clean, complained to Sykes and sent photos, went to the office and not heard anything from them, I'm having to sleep on a single bed because of the mold, as I have asthma and it really hasn't been a great experience. We feel let down and angry that we've waited so long for this holiday after a difficult year or so, that this is what we have got.
I just want someone to take accountability and make good a bad situation. We now feel like going home early because of this.

I really don't think anyone should book Acorn cottage until it has been re decorated and made good, new sofas as they are stained and uncomfortable, sorted the mold and given this nice cottage some love again. It's in a great location but it needs attention.

PLEASE BE AWARE BEFORE YOU BOOK THIS COTTAGE, OR YOU MIGHT BE DISAPPOINTED.

Like many people commenting on here we were customers of Cottage Life and Heart of the Lakes for over 30 years. The family run firm excelled in providing first class accommodation and service. I realised something was amiss on our last visit in 2020 when the usually busy office at Old Lake Road in Ambleside appeared deserted. I had to ring a bell and wait. To be fair the property at Romney Grange was as well prepared as ever but when we went to book for the same 2 weeks this year the price had doubled. Sykes are cutting off the hands that feed them and those of the property owners. They won’t be seeing us again.

We were due to stay for one week in Yew Tree Cottage, Ambleside, from 9th September 2021. We were informed 2 days before, at 4pm,that we could not stay there due to a broken boiler. We were offered 4 totally unsuitable alternatives and as we were leaving for our holiday the next day, due to meeting our daughter a day early who was joining us from Brussels, we had to sort out accommodation that evening.At 5.30 the person dealing with us informed us that he was finishing work at 6pm but someone else would deal with us as the office was open until 8. At 6pm,we got an email to tell us the office was shut. We had no alternative but to go with another company and due to the very late notice ended up spending more than an extra £200. I notice that someone from a previous review had to leave early due to the broken boiler. Did this problem occur on the day we were told or did Sykes Cottages wait till the last minute expecting us to accept one of their alternatives? We have stayed at Yew Tree at least 6 times and have used Heart of the Lakes twice a year for 10 years. Last time for us. Yew Tree cottage was priced at £580 for a week this June. Next year, same week it is £955!!

This has to be the WORST customer service I have encountered with a holiday rental company. They do not reply to emails and take over 15 minutes to answer the phone if you have any queries.
Do NOT use this company.

Stayed at The Cragg,Colthouse,Ambleside.11thSept-18th.5 adults stayed.Needs deep clean! Dirty work tops in kitchen with spiderwebs and flies attached to the toaster.Cobwebs everywhere hanging from radiators,light fittings,bathroom.Dirty oven gloves.Only four seats in lounge where tv is.Another four seats in separate room!Sleeps nine but we felt 5 a squash.Worst of all on leaving stripped bed as instructed and mattress was stained with urine,blood and other bodily fluids! Have taken pictures.Complained to customer services who didn’t want to know.DO NOT PAY GOOD MONEY TO STAY HERE.

Avoid using this company. They have yet to properly respond to my complaint regarding building work being carried out on an adjoining property, chasing walls at 8am. builders wandering into our garden. Builders urinating in view of us. Builder actually came through wall while casing for cables. Dog was terrified! Heating that was set on timer and could not be turned down while it was 20+ degrees outside. Nobody came out, nobody has had the decency to even talk to us about it never mind apologise. Completely ruined our stay.

Appalling service from Customer Support and Customer Relations. HOTL is now part of Sykes which explains a lot. Extortionate prices and dreadful customer service . DO NOT USE this company. So many reviews are saying the same thing,terrible.

Absolute disgraceful. Have been going to the lakes for over 20 years. Mostly used Lakelovers or heart of the lakes for bookings. Lest face it, the have three monopoly. Since Sykes took over the prices have doubled and cleanliness appalling. Avoid if you can.

Diabolical and unacceptable price hikes. This company clearly doesn’t care about people. MONEY is the only language they speak and understand. Terrible company and they should hang their heads in shame. People need to avoid this company. Cumbrian Cottages are far far superior. And after reading the reviews they are cruel , heartless and they should change their name to AVARICE in the Lakes!!!

Didn’t know the property we booked was directly on a busy main road. The guide book did not indicate this. I only found out when I was given the postcode (after paying for the property) on google earth.
I successfully changed the property for another but was met with total unprofessionalism, as the young man dealing with my issue from the company condescendingly informed me that I should have known it was on a main road! Well honestly- why would I do that with a young dog and a child? Not to mention the noise from the traffic!
And to add insult to injury the new property was awful and not worth the extortionate cost!!!
Won’t be using HOTL again.

I’m adding this here as I know they won’t allow this on their website.

They are a terrible company.

This cottage is perfect for exploring the Lake District and is ideally situated but this is where it ends. If you have a dog there isn’t any suitable outside space and you have to walk on an extremely busy road. The description doesn’t mention it has a garden but it doesn’t say that it’s by a busy main road where the traffic doesn’t stop at night so if you have young children this makes it unsuitable. While the cottage is quaint it is oppressive especially when only one window can open on the ground floor.
The relaxing outdoor bench is feet away from the neighbouring property’s outside space so privacy is out of the window. You can’t recycle your rubbish as this is a commercial property and it’s to be placed in the general rubbish where the bin is marked with the opposite to the cottage name!!
This property has 2 bathrooms and a new en-suite, which is lovely but hasn’t been finished well to match the updated fixtures. The second day we were there the shower blocked and overflowed into the bathroom with what smelt like foul water from the toilet! This was fixed 2 days later but the bathroom smelt so bad we didn’t feel it safe to use even though we were told that we had another bathroom to use. Do not book this property if you have kids or pets, want to sleep at night, not have to smell sewage, have a peaceful drink outside without sharing your business with someone you don’t know then this is the perfect cottage for you!

Found out our pet had cancer the day before our holiday. Contacted Heart of the Lakes as soon as we knew. We didn’t expect money back but in the circumstances expected company and owner to offer a reasonable solution. We were willing to rebook during a quite period for the owner so they wouldn’t lose out financially (November).

Not willing to do anything at all so we have lost our £850.

If you have Covid though you can move no problem? It doesn’t make any sense at all.

We’ve been loyal customers of Heart of the Lakes for years but won’t be coming back.

Having successfully booked with Heart of Lakes previously, I booked a short break, only to receive an email a couple of days later to say I'd been 'double-booked' and my stay was cancelled...I requested alternatives for the same dates, heard nothing, couldn't get through on the phone as constantly engaged, I then had to book a Lake District cottage via an independent...'Heart of the Lakes' (Sykes) eventually emailed me a list of alternatives the day after I had departed on my break...just pathetic...typical Sykes...you should be ashamed and disappointed with yourselves...