“Firstly, we have been using Sykes for 6 years and have always felt assured that, rather than booking directly with the owner, should a disaster arise, we could trust them to loo after our interests but we felt hugely let down during our holiday to 2 Armstrong Cottages.”
To explain (and unusually for me, I'm starting with the negatives because there really was only one), we arrived at around 3.50pm on Sat 30th March to be greeted by another holiday maker who told us there was a power cut. In fact, it had taken out the whole village of Bamburgh. In this extreme eastern coastal location, neither of us had enough mobile signal for internet or to make a phone call (so we couldn't email or phone Sykes) but we could text the owner. She confirmed there was a power cut. In fact it had happened at 3pm (so I don't know why we didn't receive an advance warning). We were then updated by the owner (as I kept contacting to say there was still no power) that it should be back on at 4.45, 6.30, 8.00, 8.30 and then 12 midnight. The real problem (even after a five hour drive and needing something substantial to eat and drink) was that it was Easter weekend. If we didn't go to the shop that evening and fill the fridge/freezer it was going to be a struggle (which in fact it did turn out to be). The owner told us about the CoOp and there being places to eat in Seahouses (which there was) so we ended up with chippy chips and cold ham from the CoOp (with tap water) for the first night. Great. When we did get back to the cottage, it was or course, pitch black inside. On first arrival, we wandered around the beach front for the first hour, expecting the power to come back on at 4.45. From 6pm, it was pitch black inside the building which is when we went to find food at Seahouses. When we got back and had our chips and ham (...) feast, I asked the owner (in two separate texts) if there were any candles or emergency lighting in the cottage (such as a wind up camping lantern) and she didn't respond to either text. I left a message for Sykes via the app explaining the situation and requested a refund for the first night as there was absolutely no assistance whatsoever to provide the emergency lighting I was asking about. The owner clearly lives in the village as she said that they were also waiting for their power to come back on so how difficult would it have been to bring or send the housekeeper (who must also be local) with some candles? I doubt they were sitting in the dark (and paying for the privilege). Our first evening in the cottage saw myself and my husband with our 11 and 7 year old daughters sitting the the pitch dark for hours, eating chips shop chips with some cold ham and tap water, with only the light of my husband's mobile phone to cast some light over the coffee table that we were huddled around. It was freezing cold (no heating), everyone was miserable, I was worrying about what we were going to do for food over Easter weekend with little choice about where we could get some food/if the power was going to come back in or if we would be going home the next morning, and the kids were scared because they were in a place they didn't know - and let's face it, young kids are scared of the dark. We eventually gave up at around 10.20pm after the last update had said the electricity board were hoping to get the power back on at midnight and went to bed. I had to sleep in the single bed with my youngest daughter because she was scared (they usually have a nightlight or a lamp on ...) and this set the tone for the rest of the holiday because she was too scared to sleep without me nearby (so it's been an exhausting holiday for me....). As for the food situation - the CoOp is not our shop of choice. It had limited opening hours and it's expensive. We'd spent £1,031 for the week at the cottage - we weren't planning on blowing our holiday money on chip shops, the CoOp and (as much as the food is lovely and they allow dogs which is fantastic), The Bamburgh Castle Inn in Seahouses (we ended up having 3 meals there at almost £70 a visit....).Our plan is usually to arrive, unpack, go to the nearest Aldi and stock up for the week, and then spend our money visiting all the local historical places of interest (Bamburgh Castle was £47 for a family ticket....and I wouldn't recommend it if you take your dog - grounds only). We were refused a refund of the first night (which is just outrageous, all considering) based on it being "covered by the booking terms and conditions" (I don't know of any common sense explanation for why a family with two young children left sitting in a cold dark house for an entire evening, not knowing where they're going to get food from during the bank holiday Easter weekend would be acceptable?!). We overspent on our budget by at least £150 having to 'make do' and find places to eat, shop in the expensive CoOp because we couldn't go and do a proper shop until Monday at Aldi in Alnwick. A disastrous start to the holiday - I don't care what explanation you to to fob us if with (Sykes reported back that the owner said that no refund would be given for that first night as the power cut was due to a 'geographical fault'. A poor choice of words I'd say. It was reported in the Northumberland online news as being due to a low hanging cable that somebody had reported, so they decided to deal with it and knocked out the power across Bamburgh). As I replied to Sykes, my complaint wasn't directly about the actual power cut,or the fact that there was a power cut, it was about the absolute LACK of assistance. We were just left to sit in a cold dark house. If I was the owner in that situation, I would have gone round with some candles - or contact the housekeeper and ask her to. She obviously knew about the power cut. If the house is being cleaned between 10am and 4pm as stated as being the reason for departure/arrival times, and the power went off at 3pm (as stated in the news report) then she would have known before she left the property (unless she had left much earlier - possibly as the first things I did on the Sunday morning when we got up to find the power had come back in was to clean the dirty coffee table and hoover the long dog hairs off the living room rug - disgusting, we'd been sitting there eating our chips in the dark the night before!). Apart from the above, we did actually like the cottage itself. Credit where it's due. The positives that stood out where the quality of the furnishings, textiles and kitchen equipment. I don't know if these items belonged to the owner once first and then found their way to the cottage or she bought them especially for the cottag but everything is top quality. If it wasn't for our disastrous first night experience, this would be a glowing review because I was very impressed by the quality of things left in the cottage for us holiday makers to use (and I've stayed in a LOT of cottages - we have around four UK cottage holidays a year). I found the beds comfy but my husband found the beds in the room with the head and tailboard uncomfortable (also, when I stripped the beds for the housekeeper, there were stains on the mattress nearest the door and also on the pillow - ugh! Same in the other room with the single beds, one had a stain on it and also the pillow - you can only imagine urine or vomit) Pity about those stains as the actual mattresses are Silent Night and Simba (!). Again, the owner has gone to the trouble of providing the absolute best quality even in the mattresses and the John Lewis duvets (I always check EVERYTHING). The kitchen sink was blocked on arrival. We only used the cold water tap the first night and the next day when there was daylight to be able to see - the kitchen sink was a third full of water. It stayed like that for the week. There were no leaflets or visitor information or even a visitors book to write in. There needs to be. The Tourist Information in Seahouses was about to close permanently when we stayed last week. The woman in there was really unfriendly and could barely take her eyes away from her computer to answer me when I asked for some dog friendly visitor information. There was nothing to take away, she just verbally listed a few things which if course, I couldn't remember, being a visitor and not having been to any of these places before, so I just said thank you, took some leaflets for general places to visit and decided to just do it the long-winded way and research each one a bit more as the week went on. We left some leaflets in the cottage, knowing the TI Office was shutting down. The housekeeper probably binned them (as when I asked the owner where her visitors information folder was she said that visitors tend to go and get their own leaflets...?). So (if it helps as a starting point): Bamburgh Castle - great to visit with kids but expensive. Don't bother if you've got a dog as it's only allowed in the grounds (which is just grass and small). They're only allowed in the tack room cafe which is just a kiosk with limited areas to sit in the old stables. It was raining when we went and there was nowhere to sit under cover (only about five seating areas anyway). £47 for two adults and two kids (plus a small dog). Barter Books in Alnwick - quirky, massive second hand book shop in the old railway station. We went on a VERY rainy bank holiday Monday when we went to Aldi, also in Alnwick, to get some food in for the week. It's not cheap though. Despite being second hand, you'll still be paying a fair amount for your books. Dogs allowed though so happy days. Warkworth Castle - dogs allowed. English Heritage (we got in for free with our CADW pass). Doesn't look like much at first but inside is fantastic - lots of rooms to explore and still in decent condition despite being a ruin. Lindisfarne Priory - watch the tide times. Accessible via causeway. Dogs allowed. The priory is English Heritage and they make BOTH of you adults show BOTH of your FAMILY passes to get in (why? It clearly says 'family' on it). The ruins are 'ok'. I wanted specifically to go and see the priory because of it's history and links with Vikings (!) but nothing at all is me toned, written about, nothing on any information boards....very disappointing and nothing much to see apart from the four ruined walls really. Wouldnt want to go again. Lindisfarne Castle - National Trust so we, as members, got in for free. This castle is fantastic! I could see someone spending a night in there now (would certainly beat the first night we stayed in the holiday cottage). Very cosy - you could see how people of yesteryear lived in these castles after visiting this one. Loved it. Dogs not allowed though so pooch had to wait outside with my husband while we went in. We like to go Geocaching so we also had a great time finding three well hidden Geocaches on Lindisfarne (Holy Island) while we were there. Large car park for visitors - you can pay via app. My advice is to get all the main parking apps set up before you go on your cottage holidays and then it's very quick to pay - otherwise it can be a bit of a nightmare). During the week, we used a mixture of Pay By Phone and Mii Permit (check that second one - I'm used to just tapping on it and off we go, I might have got the name wrong). The sand dunes along Bamburgh Beach are great. What struck us is how white and clean the sand is. Dogs allowed. Loved it. Seahouses - a few tourist shops selling nice stuff. There's two pubs that I'd say everyone aims for. One (I'm not sure if it's called The Ship) looks great but was just too busy. The other (The Bamburgh Castle Inn) allows dogs throughout except one corner, the food is great, we found a water and dog treats station on our second visit, clean toilets, quirky well decorated books. I really can't fault that place. It is a bit pricey so unless you are struggling to find somewhere for some hot meals, as we were in our first few days here, you might only pop in once but it's worth it. Alnwick Castle - home of Harry Potter - doesn't allow dogs anywhere on site except assistance dogs so we couldn't go. So, there we go. To summarise: Cottage facilities/furnishings/equipment 4/5 (it would have been a 5 if I hadn't discovered the mattress/pillow stains - down to the housekeeper I'd say). Northumberland/Bamburgh area 5/5 - we will definitely be back. Having never been to this part of the country before, we were looking for a new annual holiday destination and I do think we've found it. We loved the area and i think we only came across one unfriendly person (the woman in the TI Office). Sykes customer service - zero (I don't see how you think our experience on day one can possibly be answered away by some general Ts and C's) The owner's responsibility towards the wellbeing of the customer - 1/5 for the power cut updates. You should have responded with more compassion. You could have got some emergency lighting to use. You should certainly put some in there after our experience! Would you expect to have to sit in a cold dark building with two young children in the first day of your holiday? This review will be read by the owner, Sykes and is also intended as an honest review, along with some useful bits of info for anyone intending to go on holiday in the area. We still have some holidays booked and fully paid for with Sykes. I've found details of other holiday providers in the area while we were there.
