"This is a nice bungalow desperately in need of a little love."
It is situated on the headland with just one house (a useful windbreak) before you reach open grass. I think my dog would move here tomorrow!
The property is let down by a lack of decent cutlery, uncomfortable sofas and a tv that doesn’t show terrestrial channels without linking to an iPad.
We enjoyed our stay and would recommend the place to friends, but we would temper their expectations
Reviewed by Dean3.8★ Apr 2024
"An outwardly pleasant but flawed property."
An outwardly pleasant bungalow on a good corner plot, in a convenient position close to the sea-front (with easy access to coastal walks and the beach and (good food) hotel at Botany Bay), with off-road parking for two cars, a small conservatory, well appointed separate shower room and bathroom, comfortable beds, and a pleasant enclosed and not overlooked garden. However. The property is let down by the feel of being an AirB&B, rather than a holiday rental, with a clutter of random personal effects and food items in drawers and cupboards, a ‘graveyard’ of roller blinds in the corner of the second bedroom, and no “How To” manual; the lounge furniture is tired and uncomfortable, there are broken blinds in most rooms, diaphanous curtains in the main bedroom that leave the room illuminated by the streetlight directly outside, a fully glazed door that provides no privacy to the occupant of the single bedroom (probably was a dining room) and, on stripping the beds prior to our departure, we discovered two horrifically stained and unhygienic pillows, and no mattress protector. In the garden random bits of detritus (including rusty secateurs) and a ‘drunk’ (and a very child unfriendly) rotary washing line in the lawn would have made the garden hazardous for young children, while inside the vacuum cleaner offered for use had a brush-bar so clogged with hair that it was unusable despite it being reported by several previous visitors. Investing just a little time, money and effort could raise the bar significantly for this property.
Reviewed by Andrew2.2★ Mar 2024
"Second review."
Forgot to say that house was freezing cold and took 12 hours after arrival to heat up.
Also, no instructions were available for working TV and kitchen gadgets and machines.
Advertised as TV Freeview and Netflix, we could only use the former as we had a account. No terrestrial TV. Fine, but it should have been stated.
Reviewed by Jane3.1★ Mar 2024
"A lovely bungalow that is literally right on the seafront."
Great location and very near to shops, restaurants and activities within Margate and the surrounding areas. The accommodation was lovely and clean and had everything you need for your stay; plenty of cleaning products, cutlery, plates, cups, glasses etc. and even had shampoo and other items if you had forgotten to bring them with you!
The layout of the property is ideal for families and the bedrooms are very nice and spacious with good beds. The location is fantastic if you are a dog owner as the seafront not only has a lovely beach (great for kids and collecting shells/looking for sea life) but also has a very large grassed open space that stretches' for several miles literally 50m from the property.
For those wet days (lets face it, its the UK and they happen!) the TV has amazon prime and free view so there is aways something to watch. There is plenty of seating in the lounge and the conservatory has a dining table that sits 4; there are also some very nice little food trays that you can have on your lap to eat from; which is great to do whilst watching the TV in the evening!
We really enjoyed our stay here and if we were to return to Margate we would definitely stay at this property again. A+++
Reviewed by Glenn5.0★ Oct 2023
"Lovely as you walked in but later found blinds broken."
Unable to pull the blinds. Dirty curtins. No lights in dining area. The only beds suitable was twin room for my disabled husband. I had to climb in and no curtins on the window. The visitors book was full of similar comments but the owner never made any improvements.
Reviewed by Josephine1.6★ Sep 2023
"We arrived not cleaned absolutely allfall, wet towels in both Bathrooms my 88 year old mum almost fell over ,had to waite ages for it to be cleaned ."
Nearly all the blinds were falling down ,could not use the washing machine or tumble dryer as could not plug in as leads to short.,light bulbs not working in hall way very dark asked to be fixed not dun and all of these issues had been written down in the book over several visits not impressed at all for the cost we had to pay not happy at all rurened our hoilday would not go back and the owners not bothered would not tell anyone to stay their
Reviewed by Angela1.9★ Sep 2023
"The bungalow was spacious and comfortable, but when we arrived, it did not appear to have been cleaned properly."
There was mouldy food and opened boxes of food left in the kitchen, lots of dog poop in the garden, and dirty linen left in the laundry basket from the previous guests, which meant there was not enough bed linen for us. Sykes were helpful and tried to resolve the issues but as they could not contact the owners, we had to clean up the mess and wash the linen in order to give us enough for the week. The beach was dog friendly, but not very good as there was lots of seaweed, and it was slightly oily and rocky, especially when the tide was out.
Reviewed by Colin2.8★ Aug 2023
"Had a lovely stay at Springfield rd."
It is a really lovely, spacious bungalow. I particularly liked the conservatory. The weather was a bit windy the first couple of days so it was nice to still be able to enjoy the sun in the conservatory. You can see the sunset and sea thru the trees from there and garden. you can move the chairs from the decking area to outside the conservatory if the traffic is a little busy. Overall the bungalow has a stylish, boutique feel, and I would recommend it. The issues i read in previous reviews have mainly been sorted out. I was concerned about the review mentioning the moldy smell in the conservatory, but there was none at all there. All I initially detected, was a slight smell in the hall but that dissipated with airing . Houses by the sea are always prone to getting at least some damp. The kitchen was well, equipped and spacious, as well as being very clean. I was thrilled to be able to use the oven as some holiday homes I’ve stayed at I have been unable to use the cooker because the accommodation fills up with bacon smoke but the oven was clean which was refreshing. You pull the left-hand top button out and turn the temperature up and then tap the middle buttons to get it working. Couldn’t work the hob out but it is a convector one so my sauce pan was no good as you have to use theirs. Got close to working out the coffee machine.. There were at least 25, lovely new hangers in the double wardrobes. I Unfortunately left three of my own as similar… I found the window bed in the twin spare room to be the most comfortable, and I put a quilt on it to lay on as well. I have a back problem but for normal backs the bed should be fine. Neither of us had any problems with the beds. The only problem is with the sun coming through the window. There are white blinds and white net curtains, but it really just need a dark curtain as well which I expect the owner will do. You can’t do everything at once. Am hoping to book again as soon as am able to as fell in love with the bungalow and Botany Bay! Thank you, it was great.
Reviewed by Mel4.7★ Jul 2023
"We were very disappointed, uncomfortable sofas and beds, broken blinds, sparse decoration, non-working hoover, no hanging space in main bedroom, no frying pan, only 2 eggcups and 3 cereal bowls in a place to sleep 5, all small things but collectively meant that this was the worst holiday home we have rented from Sykes in the last few years."
It was clean and the bathrooms were very nice but that is not enough to warrant the price charged.
Reviewed by Patricia2.8★ Jul 2023
"The house was clean and comfortable and in a good quiet location."
It’s not quite a home from home though as the Netflix didn’t work, the wifi was mostly unusable and we all exceeded our data limits and had to pay extra charges. There’s not enough cups and plates to use the dishwasher as you have to keep washing up and reusing items. There were hardly any pegs to use the washing line and the tumble drier stopped working after a few minutes of drying. We managed to work out how to use the hob and microwave by trial and error as there’s no instructions and we had to root around to try and find the regulation bag required to put out the recycling after the council didn’t collect the bin. At times it felt more like being at home rather than a relaxed break away from all that! There’s also no information about the area, walks, places to visit etc. l grew up in the area so luckily we knew it was well worth the walk along the headland round to Botany Bay, taking less than 20 minutes. There’s also a handy Co-op store 5 minutes walk away which we discovered. Northdown Road also has some useful shops and cafes and a visit to Batchelors Patisserie was a real treat. We all enjoyed the stay and were comfortable in the property but a little bit more thought about what guests will need would improve the experience so you feel a bit more looked after and not like you’re making do in some areas. There’s also no tables outside for a family group to eat meals together or play games but that may be down to the seagulls who regularly appeared to see what we were doing!
Reviewed by Jayne3.8★ Jul 2023
"The cottage meets only very simple requirements and is equivalent to a campsite."
It is satisfying if you want to sit uncomfortably like when visiting the doctor, are satisfied with a small table in the conservatory that does not smell good, can not clean because the vacuum cleaner does not work, the traffic noise on the adjacent streets does not bother, and you like to sit in the sun because a parasol is missing.
Furthermore, Sykes Cottages was not easy to reach by phone,
a promised quick call back, we had problems getting into the house, was not made until 22 hours later !
Reviewed by Birgit1.9★ Jun 2023
"The bungalow was in a lovely location but was not very clean."
The conservatory was unusable due to the smell in there which meant we did not have a table and chairs to use for dining, which is essential with a toddler and adults with limited ability. It desperately needed airing and deep cleaning. The beds were not comfortable and the main bed felt like it was on wooden planks which upon closer inspection, it was on a wooden board. The curtains could do with being a bit darker to block out street lights and the headlamps of passing traffic. There was a lack of mirrors near plug sockets. No frying pan or oven gloves, not essential but would be a nice to have. There was no information pack which I would expect from a holiday rental and the Wi-Fi was practically nonexistent despite it saying it was available. Previous issues others have raised seemed to have not been acted upon on, and for the price of the stay, we would have expected to see some improvements.
Reviewed by Paul2.5★ Jun 2023
"For 2 of us it was ok but I think for a larger group they would struggle."
The walk in shower was good but hardly a power shower. The toilet seat kept sliding away and needs to be fixed. As previous feedbacks there was only one usable wardrobe in one of the bedrooms, although I brought a few hangers we still went out and brought more which we left for the next person. We also brought a frying pan, tin opener and a slotted spoon as we couldn’t find any in the kitchen.
On arrival we couldn’t gain access to the property, we had to contact Sykes who contacted the owner only to be told they had changed the key box code and not told anyone.
Again like others had said there was no information what so ever so another phone call to Sykes for the Wi-Fi details. We finally worked out how to use the hob and oven but gave up with the microwave. The bungalow as I said was ok for us but was a bit soulless with odd bits of old furniture. I’m not sure if it was this but there was an awful musty smell in the lounge area.
We enjoyed the garden and overall our week at the property and would probably book again in the future.
Reviewed by Ann3.8★ Jun 2023
"Garden dreadful."
Had to clean dishwasher washing machine and dryer. Bed comfortable on mattress but not a bed for older people. Settees for too low Dining table in wrong spot miles from kitchen, Took my own coat hangers read there was only one , left them for others. Mirror NOT fixed to wall could kill a dog or child. There is NO Wi-Fi This could be a very nice holiday home with some are and attention in a good spot near bus route
Reviewed by Pauline1.9★ May 2023
"The bungalow is in a lovely location."
It was clean on our arrival and the kitchen is well equipt. Both bathrooms are nice and have plenty of storage. You can't use both showers at once as the water pressure doesn't allow it. This didn't matter to us but could be a problem if you were there for longer and all wanting to get ready in a short time.
The rest of the bungalow is basic. What I mean bu this is there are no little 'extra' touches. No pictures on any walls, despite picture hooks being everywhere, no little decorative nic naks anywhere - meaning it looks bare. Plenty of furniture but it needs thinking about better regarding placement. A previous reviewer commented on the wardrobes in the twin room being full up with linen - this would annoy us too if we were at the property for a week or so as it just leaves you with drawers to put clothes in. The one wardrobe in the whole property that you could use had just ONE coathanger in it.
There was no guest book or any instructions from the owner in the property - we had to ring Sykes to get the wifi code, why hasn't this been left in the property - lots of reviews have mentioned it.
These points are all little things but they do add up when you look at the whole property. I've stayed a lot of holiday cottages and the ones you recommend or return to are those with the extras or thought behind these things.
Thank you for your feedback,
I'm sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your stay at the property.
Once we were aware of the issues you had raise, we tried our best to resolve these problems for you.
The mattress and bed linen are both new as of late last year, and we will ensure the other items reported are reviewed accordingly.
Thank you again for your comments.
Property Owner
Reviewed by Debbie3.8★ Apr 2023
"This property was not fit to be let as a holiday rental."
Did not have anywhere in the main bedroom to either hang clothes or put into drawers, also no side table lamps, we had to have the overhead light on which was not acceptable. The quilt cover had stains on it, very nasty. The twin bedroom wardrobes were full of blankets, quilts pillows etc so nowhere in there to put clothes. Hob not working, microwave impossible to fathom, no instructions on any of the appliances, nespesso machine needed descaling, tumble dryer was not cleaned of lint which is a fire hazard. Washing machine drawer was filthy and a wall socket plate was loose. Living room stains on coffee tables, mirror on shelf not attached so was unsafe for people that rent the property. No internet connection when the write up from Sykes said wifi, even after we got the code it did not work properly. Key code box on outside not in use, not made aware there was a sliding door to open for other lock box.
Reviewed by Linda1.3★ Mar 2023
"We found some parts of the bungalow very nice and well equipped."
We felt the lounge and bedrooms could do with updating. The settees were very low and uncomfortable. Also the mattress on King-size bed could be better. I slept on the single bed as a bit softer. Garden was untidy and unkempt. Bathrooms and kitchen very well equipped and in excellent condition. Position of bungalow very good right near the seafront. This could be a very good holiday home with a little more work. No password was left for WiFi. More information should be left as to how to operate the microwave etc.
Hi,
Thanks for the feedback. We have since had a gardener in as things start to grow. Thanks for the points on information, I am reviewing the guest instructions and will update.
Am sorry to hear your found the king uncomfortable, the mattress was new in November, the Sealy brand which the shop told me is often used by hotels. Am sorry it was not to your taste.
Appreciate the comments on updating, hopefully overall you had a good stay given the other positive comments made.
Many thanks,
Jessica
Property Owner
Reviewed by Philip3.4★ Mar 2023
"Could do with an info pack detailing heating controls, local amenities etc
Washing was left on the line when we got there and the property wasn't particularly clean or well equipped."
Hi Mr W,
Appreciate the feedback as I am keen to continue to improve. I will review the guest instructions. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on equipment, please do feel free to message direct so I can think about adding to the property.
Many thanks,
Jessica
Property Owner
Reviewed by Nigel2.8★ Mar 2023
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