2 Old Talbot Cottages | Cottage in Lostwithiel, England

“We arrived at 19.00 to what we discovered were planned loud & disruptive road resurfacing works right outside starting that night for 3 weeks between 19.00-04.00 each weekday. We called the owners who had been aware and had placed a laminate of Council plans in the property info pack. But neither they nor s-y-k-e-s had informed us in advance so that we could either cancel with a refund or request a move to an alternative property which is the customer-oriented way to manage this situation. We arrived by train to be green so didn’t have a car to move & the hotel in town was also impacted. We attempted to contact s-y-k-e-s the next day but failed to speak directly to a human being - only automated AI responses, WhatsApp chats with a bot and then an email from a generic email box brushing us off with incorrect info and no sense of urgency. I have responded with the correct facts & await a reply. On entering the property it smelled strongly of cigarette smoke - speaking with the owners it seems this was due to previous guests and they had attempted to mitigate this but it added to a poor experience. Our expectations from the photos were high but overall found the property disappointing. There was a basic bottle of fizz but no milk, only 4 teabags & 1 coffee pod for 2 people for 3 nights, really slow wifi, a tired bathroom and patio tables & chairs not cleaned of road grime or bird droppings. The lounge was lovely and the beds were comfortable when the noise outside stopped.”

“Homely, well-equipped cottage, in a lovely location.”