Newlands

Can't recommend this property, unfortunately, or Sykes - found most of the flat dirty on arrival, the kitchen and bathroom particularly so, had to scrub and disinfectant everywhere, horrid smell coming from the sofa which was filled with crumbs and dust, even an entire chocolate biscuit under one cushion!

The worst start to a relaxing break. Even the cleaning equipment is dirty, the mop in the cupboard and the toilet brush were particularly awful. Towels and bed linen were old and heavily stained. No heated airer provided per the guest manual (though there are communal drying facilities at a cost, which we didn't make use of.) Kitchen equipment hit and miss, crockery/cutlery fine (after cleaning), pots and pans and cooking utensils poor, frying pans need replaced urgently as non-stick coating is peeling off. Mattress on the double bed is too shallow for the bed frame, making it difficult to get in and out, plus the duvet is too small for the bed. Many fixtures and fittings loose and wobbly, eg light fittings, shower bar etc. Living room/dining furniture has definitely seen better days, armchairs and sofa covers dirty from heavy use and I would suspect use of Febreeze-type liquids and/or pets having been in the flat due to allergic reaction in one of our party. Noisy neighbours and zero sound-proofing between flats. Cold and difficult to keep warm, radiators were difficult to use despite instructions. Doesn't seem to be consistency between Sykes properties on the essentials provided in properties, here we had to buy kitchen foil/wrap, kitchen sponges and cloths, surface cleaning spray, kitchen roll, bin bags, toilet roll, bathroom soap and only four dishwasher tabs were provided for a week's stay. Most of the storage in the flat is filled with rental equipment and extra linens, probably fine for a few nights but difficult for us as we had no choice but to stay for a full week as one of our party had work arrangements in the area. It's a shame as the location is quite handy - we did receive a small compensation after complaining about the lack of cleaning, but wouldn't return and won't be using Sykes again due to poor customer service (we asked for alternative accomodation several times, but this was never acknowledged.) For anybody booked over the next few months and reading the notification re building works, for fuller context there are scaffolding platforms directly outside every window in the flat, living room and bedrooms, with workers directly outside every window each weekday 8am-4.30pm (we had to keep the windows and curtains shut during the day the whole week we were there), plus constant loud music, shouting and drilling/banging between the same hours - dreadful for anyone trying to make use of the flat during the day, there's no escaping the disturbance as it surrounds the whole building.

The flat was warm and well kept, although there were a few issues which we raised with Lakelovers at the end of the stay, as they did not spoil the holiday.

Excellent location.

Comfortable apartment, secure parking a bonus. A couple of very minor points - no dishwasher tablets or scourer for washing up. No airer as published. Quite a lot of noise from neighbours - perhaps a lack of sound insolation in the block?