“We have booked via Carbis Bay holidays many, many times over the past few years, and they have always been excellent.”
However, takeover by Sykes seems to have changed this for the worse.
The bed in the main bedroom had not been changed prior to our arrival; there were no pillow or mattress protectors on the bed; the sheet was stained with what can only have been urine stains; the mattress was the filthiest I have ever seen on a bed. As arrival is not permitted until after 5pm, the company were not contactable so we had to start by washing bedding and turning over the mattress. As the mattress is not designed for reversal, this made it uncomfortable to sleep on.
An emailed complaint was responded to very quickly with a voicemail message, but the Sykes switchboard was disconnecting calls (for 2 days) when we tried to call back - it seems it's not possible to speak direct to Carbis Bay holidays any longer without going via Sykes......this is definitely a massive degradation in service.
When we were eventually able to speak to Carbis Bay Holidays, they very quickly provided a mattress protector that did at least make the bed slightly more comfortable. However, this is not the answer......the disgustingly filthy mattress needs to be replaced immediately, and mattress and pillow protectors need to be provided as a matter of course.
We have already booked another holiday in Atlantic Blue for next month, based on our previously excellent service from Carbis Bay Holidays. Had we waited until we had visited Atlantic Blue, however, we would not have booked it again.
It will be interesting to see if the mattress has been replaced before we return. We will also think twice about future bookings now that Sykes are the business owners.
Dear Mr Cockerill,
Thank you for taking the time to submit your feedback.
Firstly, we are sorry that you feel that the service has changed; please be assured we are the same team in the local office, supported by the same housekeepers and local trades.
We understand you are returning to us in the coming weeks and would like to explain that when you enter our properties, if you call from the number you gave us when booking your stay, as a priority your call comes through to us in the local office. We are open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5.30pm, so we are still in the office upon check in time to assist with any queries our guests may have.
We are also supported out of these hours by our customer relations team at Sykes head office, which can assist and speak with our out of hours team in the local area in emergency cases.
Its great to hear that we acted as swiftly as we did once we knew of the issues.
Please be assured that we have passed the points to the housekeeper of the property to investigate and we once again would like to apologise. The owner is also taking your comments on board and the mattress has now been replaced as this was the first time that the owner had had it reported to them and they acted as quickly as possible to resolve the issue.
We look forward to inviting you back in a few weeks time,
Kindest regards,
Owner Relations, Carbis Bay Holidays
Property Owner