Lakelovers Reviews 

Never in all my time of dealing with cottage companies have I found one so unwilling to help. Having booked Riverville in Grasmere in 2019 I was unable to visit in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. I rolled the booking forward a year with no change in price. A year on and again I had to either change the date or get a refund. Stupidly I changed the dates online and didn’t see the additional 50% increase in the price! This was for the exact same Easter week in 2022! I received the booking confirmation a day or so later and realised the price increase. Having phoned the company to advise that the increase was too much and I hadn’t realised there was one, I was told that basically it’s tough luck and all I can do is cancel the holiday and lose nearly £600 (30% deposit of the new rental date cost, not the original booking dates). Surely there is some leniency in this world given our current situation with COVID. When a company is willing to offer 100% refund one week and none the next it’s just daylight robbery. Especially when they are unwilling to discuss any option with the property owner. Surely with over 12 months to go until Easter 2022 the space would be filled, especially when the cottage is amazing and in an ideal location in school holidays! The customer service I received today is not what it was when I booked with Lakelovers originally (before the Sykes takeover). I would never ever use this company again. To the owners who have their properties with this company, please move elsewhere. Your cottages are superb and they should be showcased by a company that has some morals and know what customer service really is!!!!

Usually stay at End Cottage in Ambleside. Now nearly doubled in price this year for a week. Unbelievable.

Covid Profiteers! Trying to make money out of the pandemic- shameful! We had a cottage booked for the week from the 9th April when the rules changed halfway through the week. Lakelovers demanded payment for the full 7 days even though the law restricted us to only using 4 nights! We couldn't take people from outside our household as planned but would have been happy to respect the nightly fee for fewer people. We cancelled in disgust and they re-listed the 4 nights for a higher price than even the original 7. Making money out of the pandemic is disgraceful and we won't be using this immoral company again!

Absolutely appalling service. Total rip off.

So we booked a holiday that was meant to happen early June 2020. A few weeks before this we had to reschedule the holiday because the cottage we had picked was not open due to lockdown restrictions.

As there were no available dates for the rest of 2020, we had to reschedule to the same week in 2021. Lake Lovers however wanted us to pay an extra £150 additional charge due to it being a different year - erm, no, you’re cancelling not us! Eventually we got them down to a £30 admin fee for changing date - still shocking.

Anyway, when rebooking this holiday in May 2020, we weren’t planning the date we start the holiday to be 6 days prior to me giving birth. Obviously not an ideal time to be going on holiday.

We tried to reschedule the holiday but yet again, can only rebook to 2022 due to no availability this year. The cost for booking this place next year has OVER doubled - it’s actually cheaper for us to go abroad.

We’ve contacted them to explain the situation but have been told our two options are cancelled and lose our £350 deposit or reschedule and pay £2000 for a weeks break in a cottage in the Lake District.

I’d strongly recommend nobody use this service. It’s an actual rip off that they can increase prices that much and have no understanding of people’s situations

We booked a property for a Christmas break after not seeing family or friends for the last 9 months. Another couple booked a separate property in the same building so that we could safely spend Christmas day together.
We arrived to find the property was not thoroughly cleaned..... sticky substance on the coffee table, hoover full of dust and hair/fur, crumbs on the kitchen chairs, dirty radiator controls. In these covid days we had been promised enhanced cleaning and expected to have a safe and hassle free holiday.
I contacted customer service who, after much discussion, offered to send a cleaner the next day. This goes against their cleaning protocol which states the property must not be cleaned while guests are in residence.
I was very unhappy about them coming into the property during our stay. But, after sitting outside in my car for 30 minutes (didn't want face to face contact with anyone) no cleaner had shown up. I contacted customer service again and asked to be moved to another property. The upshot of the conversation was that they couldn't move me because a) they don't have any others empty although their website shows 2 available, b) they are working to rectify the situation (unsatisfactorily) and c) they are not a property management company but a marketing company!!! False advertising on their website then.
I was also told I could go out for the day rather than sit in my car waiting - it's heaving with rain and my choice would be to relax in the comfortable apartment I thought I had booked.
Carl then told me that if I didn't like the way they were trying to resolve the issues I could go back home!!!!!
Absolutely disgraceful company and I will never deal with them again.

In Jan 2020 we booked our Christmas 2020 break to The Lakes. Clearly 2020 had other plans so we never made it to the cottage. The purpose of this review is to highlight the lack of customer service we have received.

I spent 45 mins on the phone on Thursday (17th), to be told we would “probably” be offered a full refund for our trip starting 21 Dec as we’re in T3, and to wait for an email.

By mid-afternoon on Friday 18th there was no email to let us know our options - apparently we were missed in a “data glitch”. I then spent two hours over three phone calls
Trying to get through to someone. It appears LakeLovers are part of Sykes so their phone options are different and I kept ending up with the “owners customer service” people who of course put me back in a queue for another hold.

When I finally got though to someone she advised about the data glitch and that she had activated the refund option on our online account. I hung up and logged on, but it wasn’t there.

Cue another call to try to find out what was going on - which was cut off by the system after 10 mins. Then another 30 min hold to get back through to the owners’ customer service team again! I refused to be transferred on again and was then informed that the refund had been activated on our Sykes Cottages online account. How would I know that even existed given we had booked with LakeLovers?! I stayed on the line while checking that my credentials worked and the refund option was available.

Apparently it can take 45 days to get the refund. Good job I took a screenshot of the online account as guess what? We’re still not had an email to acknowledge the request.

Future customers think seriously before you book with this company.

My husband and I booked our week away in 2019 for September this year, largely based on the previously positive reviews left by past customers and wish we hadn’t.

Customer service was so poor you have to think why the staff are there as certainly not for the paying customer. There must have been a huge change in the staff and manager to the current given our poor experience and others who have shared.

Our booking was for September this year and after the first lockdown, I contacted them directly to see if all was okay for our holiday. I kept getting a response of “ You need Travel Insurance “. But this isn’t covered if Covid related. Later when pushed, told to contact nearer the time and if you want to cancel, go ahead but you aren’t refund due to their strict booking conditions.

We went ahead with our holiday but were told under no condition could we enter the property prior to the 5pm check in time. With two children and a long journey, what if we arrive 10 minutes too early, would this be frowned upon?

On arrival the property looked nothing like the photos, the garden was overgrown, the rooms smelt of damp, towels hardly covered my youngsters and after spending a fortune, no welcome gift even if a shop purchased cake would have been better than nothing.

We contacted LL about various issues with the property while there but they weren’t interested.

Needless to say we won’t be booking with this company in the future and as the title says, future customers think carefully about booking with company.

Like others have said, customer service is terrible. Seem to be "ran" by a team of females who's sole purpose in their job is to get to the end of the "working" day as quick as possible using the least effort!
The Covid situation has meant they've had to put down their nail files and deal with the public rather than everything done electronically. This is totally beyond them

Dirty and poorly maintained accommodation.
Huge delays in getting any response from Customer Services - 42 days and counting.
Do not book with this company.

No stars is what I would give but unfortunately you can’t! Would not recommend this holiday letting company. Booked a stay in a property they let out In September, the place was nothing short of filthy! Dirty oven, cupboards, other peoples hair on the pillow cases, food marks on cushions, grime all over. Cobwebs that had been there for goodness knows how long. We are currently in a pandemic and should be expecting nothing less than spotless. We only stayed one night then left. On contacting them as we left they advised we should have rung them on the night we arrived. They advised if we had rung them on the night we arrived they would have given us money to go to the pub and sent the cleaner back in! This is not an acceptable way to behave in a pandemic. As my husband had been shielding we could not stay there and under no circumstances were we about to go to the pub whilst someone came to clean, something that should have already been done. They only refunded us £125! Shameful behaviour and customer service. AVOID.

I would give no stars if I could. They are dreadful - they do not respond to customer complaints after months of repeated chasing. Expensive properties that are not worth the money, are not cleaned or maintained properly eg cooker not working, springs bulging out of mattresses, rooms not cleaned properly, lack of maintenance info in property, dirty bathrooms, dirty extractor fans, dirty shower drainers so showers flood within mins. Beck View by Lakelovers was one expensive mess and the customer service non existent. AVOID AVOID AVOID

So after weeks of deliberation I decided that for myself (vulnerable and was shielding) to travel up from West Sussex to Ambleside in Cumbria to see my son at Uni was probably not a good idea as the Covid numbers were rising all over the country, my son had also told me that there wasn’t much social distancing going on there and it was ridiculously busy. My holiday was due to start today (2nd-6th November) so I emailed Lakelovers on Friday saying that I would like to cancel my break, I understood that I wouldn’t get a refund and accepted that.
I didn’t get a response, so after Boris Johnson’s announcement on Saturday I immediately requested a refund, even if partial through their refund email as I had not had confirmation that my holiday had been cancelled. After two more emails I finally got a response at 16:54 this afternoon to say that they confirm my holiday was cancelled on Friday 30th October and that as I had cancelled I was not entitled to a refund.

Well what would have happened if I decided to carry on with the holiday, I hadn’t had any communication or confirmation from them. I love the fact that they have accepted my cancellation but failed to inform me. And since I have asked for a refund they accept my cancellation from Fridays email.

I have booked through many holiday companies but this one is the worst I have come across, they have completely failed in their customer service and I shan’t ever recommend them or book through them again.

Unfortunately we had to cancel our holiday due to Covid 19 restrictions. Lakelovers offered a refund and returned the money promptly. This was a refreshing experience compared with difficulties we have had with booking through AN Other rental agent. We will be using this company again when things eventually get back to normal.

Absolutely no problem with our accommodation, but found Lakelovers staff lacklustre and they hold onto your security deposit longer than they should and seem unable to provide me with a reason for doing so which is concerning and unethical!! Staff have a “can’t be bothered” attitude. Are Cottage owners aware of how poorly their lovely cottages are being represented???

Unfortunately we were not able to take up our booking in November because of the ‘rule of six’. Lakelovers’ website is very clear about their refund policy and I found their staff very helpful on the phone. When the due date for cancellation and refund fell, I Immediately claimed my refund via the dedicated email address. I received a response by return regretting that I had to cancel and saying my refund would be paid within three working days. This duly happened. I have been very pleased with their service.

Worst experience received. Terrible customer service and extremely rude. I will never book with this agency ever again!

Everyone deserves a carefree holiday during the pandemic. They can't provide it.

Summary.
Double booked apartment.
Abismal service.
Blaming their system and the owners.
No additional cleaning.
Beds not made up.

Due to their late booking in and check out, 5pm and 9am, we arrived at 4.30pm to not receive a hello but a non engaging hoodie girl, pointing to basket where the keys were. If I hadn't have asked for directions, she wouldn't have bothered to tell me our holiday had been double booked! After 5 minutes of ranting I just kept being told it wasn't their fault. It was their system. Which is their fault! They also blamed the owners for not moving out when we later found out lived a few doors down. Suspicious!

We paid more to stay in the centre so we wouldnt have get taxis but were made to stay a mile and a half down the road in a dated place on the first night. We lost 2 days from not settling and cleaning both apartments.

By the way there was no additional cleaning apparent due to the pandemic so we had to do it. Bed stripping also required.

Arrived after 5pm to find single beds rather than double as requested.

Thier only saving grace and 1 star is for Beth who agreed just over quarter refund.

Would never have booked if I had read other reviews before and would never book with them again. Even though the apartment was really nice, owners should consider who they use.

Lakelovers refused to provide a refund for a booking made before COVID-19 which we could not keep due to my wife being in the shielding category and the booking being during lockdown.
Despite their parent company Sykes Cottages stating all bookings cancelled due to COVID-19 would be refunded they still refused.
We had been going with Lakelovers for 15 years but after this ridiculous response I am never going back to them. AirBnB have a proper policy and actually know and have proven how to treat customers. Lakelovers need to completely review how they treat their customers.

Orrest Range - Windermere 11/09 - 18/09 2020

The house was ok and we had no major problems but there were a few issues that put a dampener on things!

Tumble drying programmes on the washer/dryer were not working properly, we were running the programme 3/4 times to get clothes dry. In the end we stopped using it.

Even on maximum volume the tv was so quiet we could barely hear it. Also the ariel into back of the BT hub was damaged and the tv signal frequently went off.

Top floor bedrooms a little sparse compared to the first floor one and duvets quite thin. I ended up putting two duvets on one bed.

Dustbin instructions quite confusing! It said empty kitchen bin into green recycling bin which we did however the bin men ignored it. There was no black bin for the property.

Outside area had not been cleaned properly, cigarette butts etc left in pots.

In the kitchen was a sheet of paper with a checklist that said "your house has been cleaned today by" etc and "the property was exited at" etc however it was completely blank, no one had filled it in so we have no way of knowing if the house was properly cleaned before hand!

We recently rented a cottage from Lakelovers through airBnb. It was such a disappointment, the place wasn’t very clean and some of the appliances (Washing machine, wi-fi and fridge) didn’t work or were faulty. We complained whilst we were there but no-one took any notice, I also complained when I got home through Airbnb complaint process and I received a rebate. I wouldn’t stay with this company again as I found their approach to business very cynical. They realise that there are plenty of visitors to the Lake District so why bother making an effort.