Riddings Wood lodges

Photos

Reviews

1. Laura ★☆☆☆☆

   Stayed here for a night in a 'luxury' cabin with a hot tub. We're visiting family in the area in our motorhome, so we had planned on pitching up for a few days afterwards. Luckily we held off booking until we got there, as the place was filthy, falling apart, and the attitude of the management was even worse. Check in was great, the woman on reception was lovely. The cabin was very basic and a little run down, there were mould stains in the bathroom and patch up jobs, but it was generally clean, apart from a little dust. The kitchen was poorly stocked. There was no oven, no way of preparing food: chopping board, knives, etc, only cutlery and a tin opener. The bathroom was bare apart from towels. No shower mat, shampoo, soap or shower gel. There were none of those little touches that most places have these days, particularly ones described as 'luxury'. The outside area was noisy (next to a busy road), filthy, and clearly hasn't been cleaned in a long time. It was filled with leaves and dirt, and so was the dog bed and hot tub. There was a net to clear the hot tub, and a brush to sweep the AstroTurf, although you would have expected this to have been done before arrival! There was also no privacy, as soon as you step out of the hot tub you are in full view of the path and other guests. There also wasn't anywhere to put your towels, phones, etc. We didn't notice how grubby the hot tub was on til we got in and started the jets. All of the dirt and grime started building up the edges, along with an obvious brown waterline, it was disgusting. My husband nipped to reception but by that time they had left. There was an emergency contact number but we didn't feel like this counted as an emergency so took a video to show in the morning. I cleaned the grime and put the jets back on to try and clear it fully as we couldn't face going back in as it was. I kept nipping out to check but it was just filthy, I noticed that the water wasn't clear as it should be, and in the end we just gave up. When I went to put the cover back on I noticed a part floating in the bottom of the tub. It appeared to be the filter cover. Although it was just a hollow tube, so maybe a part was missing. When we explained the situation at checkout, but the miserable older woman on reception (who is apparently the manager) was very abrupt and dismissive. I showed her the videos and she told us that there's nothing she could do about it as we didn't tell her at the time. My husband explained that he had visited reception but there wasn't anybody there. She then said that it was our fault for not calling the emergency number as she lived on site, and that was the end of it. We were not told this, and didn't want to disturb anyone in the evening for something we didn't class as an 'emergency'. So we were basically being punished for trying to be considerate! She genuinely couldn't care less, so I told her that I would be letting people know what things are really like there. As we turned to leave she oddly replied, 'ok, we've had threats like that before'. I asked her what she meant, and she said I was making a threat to her business. I told her that I would be sharing the video I showed her, and that it wasn't a threat, I was just showing potential customers what to expect from the place. It was probably the worst customer service we've ever experienced at a campsite, and that's quite impressive as we are living in the camper full time! We later reached out to their parent company, however my email was forwarded to Riddings Wood's manager to deal with, so I received a similarity dismissive, and rather pompous response. She basically told me that I was lying, that nobody could see any grime on the hot tub, and that someone apparently overheard me being rude and shouting at her, which I'm assuming was to cover her back with the parent company. Awful place, avoid!

   almost 4 months ago
2. M Starr ★★★★★

   Enjoyed our stay over the weekend. Hot tub Kids and the dogs loved it too. Will be back Only thing is no WiFi and mobile single is bad.

   almost 4 months ago
3. Fi ★★★☆☆

   Nice enough location, but some basics are lacking in the lodge. Set in a woody part of the site, the lodges are nicely secluded away from main camp, with parking nearby. The cabins are situated quite closely together and it was very noisy due to children in the neighbouring builds. The gravel pathways don't help as it's very noisy when people walk or run across. You can also hear the main road from the site. The communal firepit is lovely, but individual barbecues outside the lodges would be beneficial. There is no privacy when moving between the lodge and the hot tub outside. The hot tub itself was very noisy, and had far too much chlorine in it. The bed in the dog friendly Oak Lodge is very comfortable, but incredibly high up. This is quite difficult for people with physical disabilities. The sofa bed is not so pleasant, and very noisy. There are also no cushions for the sofa, and no blanket for using when opened into a bed. The television remote isn't very responsive, and we had to use the buttons on the side of the set to operate the tv. There is no soap or shower gel provided in the lodge, which would be fine if the on site store sold it, but they don't. There is also no shower mat or anything to use when exiting the shower or hot tub. Washing up liquid and sponge is provided for doing the dishes, but there were no extra bin bags. The bin also had no lid. There are plates, cutlery, bowls, a saucepan and frying pan provided, but no sharp knives or kitchen scissors. The fence around the dog friendly lodge is secure and gaps are small enough to prevent our chihuahua from escaping. The gate however has a broken latch so needed to be locked every time we exited. The building was quite clean, aside from cobwebs and dirt buildup in corners and edges. The kitchenette is compact, with combi microwave/oven/grill and hot plate. The grill is very slow, but the microwave and oven settings work well. There are no instructions for this appliance, but it's not too difficult to figure out. There is a decent sized fridge and small freezer, plus kettle and toaster, with complimentary tea, coffee and milk. WiFi didn't work at all in this cabin. It was too far away from the source signal. Lighting wasn't great. No side lights, so you have to choose between harsh, bright overhead lights or a tiny reading light in the bed cubby. The campsite is in a pretty location, providing access to the adjacent woods. However there is a strong smell of excrement halfway down. The site is within walking distance of local pubs which serve food. Overall a nice enough place to stay, but could do with a few more of the basics.

   almost 2 years ago

1. Hayley Lawson ★☆☆☆☆

   Place hadn’t been cleaned was thick with dust, mould in the shower, shower wouldn’t work there was no hot water, not good after wanting a shower after being in the hot tub. Stains on the bedding. These looked like sweat stains looked like hadn’t been cleaned or changed in a while. The cups left out had stains at the bottom of them. Just overall felt quite dirty place to stay

   almost 3 years ago
2. Amy Needham ★★★☆☆

   Lovely facilities for what's there but the small rooms are very small and very basic. Missing a few small details to make the stay easier. Id recommended having a mop in the room to wipe up the water after walking in from the hot tub, and a hook on the bathroom door, just simple things really. Clean and tidy though so fine for one night. Perhaps book a larger cabin for longer stays.

   almost 3 years ago
3. Garry Smiler ★★★★★

   Would highly recommend! What a place! Friendly staff, great service. Very clean. We went for my partners suprise birthday, and they even put little birthday banners in the lodge! Private hot tub is amazing, really secluded. 10/10

   almost 4 years ago

1. Kelly Odell ★★★★★

   absolutely loved this little getaway I only stayed one night but wished it was longer. I added to the booking that it was for my birthday and they put birthday banners up and gave me a card. little touches like that make it special and personal. the lodge was small and cute. perfect for a couple we had a private hot tub. it was all clean and perfect. we self catered and it had sufficient items that we needed. there is a little walk that you can do too. we honestly loved it and the we used the communal fire pit too whcih was lovely to sit and have a drink by

   almost 4 years ago

FAQs