Best of Suffolk Reviews

Name: Best of Suffolk
Rating: 1.72

1.7 Rating 47 Reviews

17 %

of reviewers recommend Best of Suffolk

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1.7

Based on 47 reviews

Customer Service
Communication Channels	Email, Telephone
Queries Resolved In	Over A Week

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Best of Suffolk 1 star review on 2nd October 2024

Anonymous

Best of Suffolk 1 star review on 9th June 2022

Stephanie Arnold

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

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“Awful company and non existent customer service. Don’t fall for the secure your holiday for £20 con that’s the permanent headline on their website. You can’t secure your holiday for this at all!! Yes it’s hidden somewhere in the T&C’s (over 100 of them) but the headline shouldn’t be allowed and says a lot about the morals of this company. It cost us over £660 when we thought we could hold the property and then confirm and pay later. Also shame on the owners of 3 Tinkers End who clearly agree with the scam so be carful of booking and staying there. And if you do want to speak to someone good luck. It’s as if they purposely don’t have any phone offering so people can’t give their opinion. We had used them prior to Sykes Cottages purchasing them and always found a lovely small helpful team. But wow how things have changed for the worst. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 months ago

“Have to being enticed to book one of your cottages having seen the advert secure your booking for £20 we were very disappointed to learn that when we needed to cancel the booking due to a family tragedy we were liable to pay the full deposit of over £600. Although I conceded we were partly to blame as we did not fully read the terms and conditions it is quite obvious that best of Suffolk use this ploy and advertisement of securing a property for £20 in the hope that people do fall into the trap we did of taking the offer at face value. After explaining to Best of Suffolk the mistake we had made and that sadly we weren’t able to fulfil the holiday booking due to a family tragedy. They were incredibly unsympathetic and refused to do anything to help. We did suggest that if the property were not booked again on the dates we were meant to go that we would pay the full deposit, but if it was booked again, perhaps they would be able to waive the deposit fee rather than being paid twice on the property. Sadly the owners of Tinkers End would not agree to this and insisted that we pay the full amount despite there being three full months before we were meant to travel. In the past we have booked many cottages through best of Suffolk when it was a family run company. Since being taken over by Sykes cottages it appears that corporate greed has got the better of them. The customer service is appalling and it is near impossible to speak to an actual person. After being disconnected pressing numerous options, the only way I could speak to somebody was to pretend I had a property to let. Sadly having visited Aldeburgh many times and always using Best of Suffolk we would never use them again. The false advertisement is clearly very naughty and is there to mislead people as there is no way to secure a property for just £20 you will always be asked to pay the full deposit. Please avoid this company at all costs!”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 months ago

“We had two wonderful stays in Albion House in Southwold, but this year Best of Suffolk really dropped the ball. The house was filthy when we arrived, raisins stuck to the floor (which clearly hadn't been swept let alone mopped), high chair and table both covered in food. No soap in bathrooms, no spare bin bags. I spent the first hour our holiday cleaning & also trying to entertain a grumpy 2 year old while my husband unpacked. We wrote an email to best of Suffolk to complain and were promptly told unless we had photos there was nothing they could do in the way of compensation (essentially suggesting we were lying). This is after 3 years of no complaints and spending over £4.5k with them... Not only that, when we realised we'd left something at the property after our stay they said it would cost £30 to post plus any postal charges. What a joke... Very very disappointed.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 months ago

“Stayed in the 'Field edge' bungalow for 3 nights for my birthday. Prior to booking, we read the reviews as the weekend stay was NOT cheap. They mostly mentioned about how unclean the property is and people wouldn't return. Were not an overly fussy family, and knew we would be out most of the day on walks etc so continued to book our 3 night stay. Had a lovely stay, or though we do agree with reviews regarding not being clean- There were dead flys on the window seal, the bath had a dirty ring around it, bedding wasn't white and had marks on it and cutlery was still dirty from god knows when. However, we stayed the 3 nights, left the property after tidying up to then receive an email stating the company having taken and extra £42 from us for 'extra cleaning time'. They attached images of the bathroom bin with 1x food wrapper in it (isn't that what bins are for?!) And an oven tray with biscuits on (this was not ours) and said due to the images, they had to hire the cleaners for an extra 2 hours work, therefore £42 was charged to us for the extra cleaning. It's outrageous!! What we're they cleaning for 2 hours for this charge?! We are still trying to get our money back a month later, but keep getting fobbed off or not answering. How a company like this is allowing people to charge this much extra is a joke and I will definitely NOT be recommending the company to anyone at all. Stay away from this place, they take your money for no reason!! Also, once the company have read this review, hurry up and get in touch and refund the money that was wrongly taken from us!”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 months ago

“Hidden cottage we stayed may bank holiday weekend paid 620 for a cottage which had stair ladder like a ship bathroom ceiling was deteriorating in two places slabs outside on patio were loose moved 2inchs down when u stood in three of them been fob off for refund said should have reported while there but as I said we didn’t want workman there while your on holiday for three days as this would have took a day at least to fix they r still advertising this property but not the pictures we got of bathroom ceiling falling out in two places going to take legal action now as not keepin property within the law up to stand for insurance Purposes will never book with them again and I suggest nobody else does saucepans all not clean properly didn’t use ate out they are not responding to my emails. Steph arnold”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

“Nightmare experience trying to book with this company. As many other genuine reviews have indicated, the abysmal conduct and attitudes of staff (I dealt with three different employees) has been so horrific that it was impossible to continue with the booking. They have held onto the full booking fee (over £2k) and so further action is now underway to recover losses. Research into reviews of this company is highly recommended and something I would usually do first - alas this was a last minute booking and the positive reviews via other sites naively trusted.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

“We visited Bunny Cottage, Aldeburgh earlier this month and although the cottage was fine, the experience with Best of Suffolk certainly was not. A few things: 1) Long return of the deposit (departed Sunday and received the notification of the deposit on the second Wednesday (10 days later) and in the bank on the Thursday. 2) Expensive and high management overhead, the company charge a lot for the accommodation to cover their fees. In addition, they wanted to charge £20 to return left property which would only have been about £2 to £4 to send. The item costs about £4 and remains with the housekeeper. 3) Poor communication, needed several calls and slow to react on email. Will not book with them again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“After my negative experience with Best of Suffolk (BoS), I have decided only going with holiday letting agencies that are linked to a regulatory industry body / trading association. BoS does not sign up to any such code of conduct, which reassures customers of standards. It also seems that BoS are not keeping abreast of (or ignoring) industry guidance and updates in handling the pandemic. Their ‘Good to Go’ mark issued for free by the British Tourist Board (after doing a ‘self assessment’) is not the same as subscribing to a membership trade organisation (similar to ABTA) whom customers can issue a complaint with when holiday letting businesses break the code. I was previously refused a refund when the government had a ‘stay at home’ order due to the pandemic. BoS told me that they did not know about trading standards and CMA advice (that customers should be refunded when traders are not legally able to provide a service due to the restrictions. Or when customers would have to break to the law to abide by traders’ terms and conditions). But then BoS still did not make good (by refunding retrospectively) when they did eventually catch up with trading standards advice. From my interactions more recently, it seems BoS are still not aware of current government guidance.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Booked best of Suffolk cross wing peasenhall disaster broken glass to wood burner ceiling partly collapsed in lounge lights not working outside they then paid my deposit back twice then making threats re recovering money but would not even compensate me for this holiday fiasco offered discount on next holiday don’t use this company appalling service”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“We recently had the misfortune to rent The White House with Studio through The Best of Suffolk. We were advised to check in later as a ‘deep clean’ was taking place due to Covid. The cottage was filthy. Cobwebs everywhere and everything was sticky. The bbq has not been cleaned, the garden was full of rotting apples attracting wasps, and my dog became extremely ill after eating one of many cigarette butts which were piled into an abandoned sink in the garden. The Aga whilst ‘quaint’ was extremely hazardous. Exposed boiling pipes caused second degree burns to one of our parties who was simply brushing past this on the way to sit down at the adjacent table. I slept in the studio in the garden with my husband and our bed literally moved across the floor each morning with the huge lorries powering past at the crack of dawn, not to mention the noise. Forget sleep! The stairs simply described as ‘steep’ should be part of the next Olympic Games. Large gaps in the hedge onto the extremely busy road running alongside meant dogs and children had to be watched every second of the ‘holiday’ when in the garden. This was certainly not a relaxing holiday more a test of endurance! If you have children please do not stay here....it is a serious accident waiting to happen!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“This is not a bad review about Best Of Suffolk, who have been helpful throughout. This is a WARNING about the OWNERS of 53 Tern Street in Aldeburgh. We booked the cottage via Best of Suffolk end of July 2020 and cottage was lovely, we had a great time and all organised very well. Upon our return the OWNER accused us of damaging their kettle and deducted £64 from the deposit we paid, even though we pointed out that we had not used the kettle at all during our stay (the coffee shop on the High Street was just round the corner and used them for our hot drinks). After threatening legal action and sending through an invoice finally I am getting my money back, but no apology from the OWNER. Be warned DONT BOOK 53 TERN STREET in ALDEBURGH as you may face the same trick. Best of Travel have tried to be as helpful as possible during this so believe it is not their fault but were being instructed by the owner.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“It. sounds as though many customers have experienced the same appalling behaviour that has been shown to us. I have emailed on a number of occasions and have tried to speak with a member of staff in connection with my concerns re covid 19 but have had no response. All they wanted was for me to cancel, fob me off and keep my deposit. They have trashed their reputation - shame on them - I shall never use this company again”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Quite simply the WORST holiday letting company we have ever used!!!! We booked a property for the Easter weekend in 2020, Then Covid-19 came and we were advised not to travel as we were in forced lockdown, as advised by the Government and by BoS themselves, who sent a communication saying that all their properties are closing and that we should try to move our booking to another date (they did not specify that we could only re-book for dates only in 2020). Contacted BoS and asked for same period of Easter 2021, they refused and could only re-book for 2020. So they offered us available dates in Late November which were completely unnacceptable! We then asked them for a full refund and they refused point blank, claiming they were following 'Government advice' and abiding with their T&C's with the actual property owners, and that we should do the same and claim from our travel insurance. Contacted our travel insurance who suggested we make a claim with our Credit card provider under section 75 act, so we did and now they won't refund us our money! We are now in the process of making a claim against them via the courts to get our money back. The way this company has dealt with their customers during this pandemic is absolutely atrocious, and i am sad to say we are only 1 of 100's of other customers let down by them. They would'nt even contact us by phone to discuss our matter. Rest assured we will not be using this company ever again!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Warning ⚠️ Feefo 5 star ⭐️ awarded ? 4.7 ? And no 1 ⭐️ bad reviews? Why? Because they are managed deleted and manipulated by best of Suffolk! I have placed 2 x reviews on and they have been deleted, like many others. This company take your money 💰, don’t respond or take calls, give out vouchers and won’t give money back... Only by the looks of “certain customers” WARNING UNSCRUPULOUS DEALINGS!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“I have to remain Anonymous. To receive my refund There was conditions, DONT use any form of Social media !! Considering my complaint was of discrimination, why could we not have a refund like I am aware of so any others? This company is underhanded, greedy and giving consideration one of the directors ... promotes life couching and posts “ if today gets difficult, ground yourself in the here and now” ... the here and now is you are ruthlessly underhanded! If your looking for a refund , keep going !!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Terrible customer care. Finally got a refund, but only after threatening court. This was also on the condition I don’t post on social media or tell any one else about refund! Very sad way to run a business. Will not return”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“I posted some feedback on these people just 1 or 2 days ago and just to let everyone know after threatening them with legal action based on the fact their terms and conditions are not legally binding because they are clearly changeable (that is a criminal offence). They have now today refund my parents with the full deposit. However they have not refunded the booking fee. So, if you have a similar problem with them I'd suggest hang in their and make it clear to them you know they are acting illegally and threaten them with legal action. It worked for me so I'm sure it will work for more people. If in doubt contact the Citizens Advice and they will direct you what to do. Pleas also find enclosed par to the letter I sent them...”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Just like everyone else, money paid but no refund allowed. I'm going down the chargeback route with my credit card provider - I've already done it successfully with another company so it should work here too. A distinct plus in my favour is that Best of Suffolk (or should that be Worst?) don't supply terms & conditions at the time of booking, so I can prove they've changed them (unless they had a crystal ball and knew about Covid-19 last year!). Appalling company to deal with - and as for posting the ludicrously fake views on this site . . . .”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Much like many people recently giving poor reviews for Best of Suffolk my elderly parents had a holiday stay cancelled because of Covid-19 and only a credit note has been supplied, no refund. Looking into this in more detail I’ve found the company to be committing a criminal offence. Their terms and conditions are not send to customers but only accessible via a web link. This makes them changeable after a contract is agreed with each booking. This is clearly evident because my parents booked in January before Covid-19 was a known issue and yet there is now a Civid-19 clause inverted into their Terms and Conditions. This is a criminal offence. Anyone effected by this should be made aware and take this up this the company directly. I have been in communication with the company several times already building up to this point and I’ll keep you informed of progress. If you want confirmation of all this please contact Citizens Advice and they confirm this and more about my points. I’ll keep record of this post just in case someone stops it from being posted as what they are doing here is wrong!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Booked last year for May 2020 balance became due ... encouraged to pay and moved to June extra £370. So now my June is cancelled I’ve paid £1700 and been offered a credit voucher. No, I want all my money back. Why should they hold my money for 12 months. Disgraceful. No answer to emails or phone.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Best of Suffolk is rated 1.7 based on 47 reviews