We spent a week in a Hideaway cabin in January 2023. It was not our first visit, but previously we had stayed in a Golden Oak cabin rather than the Hideaway. Positives: - arrival: we were greeted and welcomed at the Retreat when checking in by really friendly staff, who explained everything pointing out key parts of the leaflet and the route to our cabin - site: the site is in Sherwood Pines and the cabins are situated amongst the trees. The site itself is the quietest Forest Holidays site we have visited. There are a few potholes on the roads but they actually filled the worst ones while we were there. The Retreat has a cafe and a shop with most things you'll really need. - location: It's on the edge of the forest park and you can easily take short or very long walks into the forest park from your cabin. The Sherwood Pines visitor centre is only a short walk from the site and you can pick up trails marked by Forestry England from there. It's less than a 10 minute drive to Edwinstowe or to Clipstone for shops/takeaways. It's not too remote so easy to get to, although it feels remote once there. - cabin: the Hideaway cabin is decorated really nicely, well equipped and plenty spacious enough for a couple. It's a little bit more isolated from other cabins, nobody really overlooking your decking area. We knew there would be a bottle of prosecco included but the sweets and chocolate were unexpected. The bathtub is enormous, and Forest Holidays don't put this bathtub in new Hideaways - if a huge bath is your thing I'm sure it's great, we weren't fussed but I suppose it's an alternative to the hot tub if the weather is atrocious. - checkout: on checking out staff greeted us at the door to the Retreat and asked how our holiday was and if everything with the cabin was alright. Pleasant conversation with the lady on checkout, really ended the holiday on a high note. Negatives: Not a lot to say here but a few small things: - Getting there: Google maps consistently directs you to arrive via a private road, where you'll encounter a barrier and cannot access the site. There are signs at the start of the private road, but easily missed in the dark. When you click on map and directions in the email sent to you shortly before your stay, it takes you through to Google maps which directs you via this route. Since we've visited the site before I knew the route after driving through Edwinstowe anyway but it caught us out the first time. Perhaps Forest Holidays could look to do more to pre-empt this though? Some clarification in the email, and report wrong directions to Google Maps perhaps. - hot tub: we were pretty certain the hot tub was not as hot as it used to be. We remember it being hotter on our earlier visits. I'm confident it was as hot as it was supposed to be since it was checked and maintained daily. In some reviews people moan about it not being hot enough on arrival and still warming but, but this doesn't bother us as we know staff have to drain and refill it between stays. Even though it wasn't as hot as previously, it was still perfectly nice, and actually it meant we could just stay in the hot tub much longer than we would have previously. I wonder if they might have turned them down to help with the cost of energy this winter... if that's the case fine, but make it hotter again next year. The other negative about the hot tub is that there's never any kind of shelter for it, so if it's pissing down you can't use it. Fortunately we've never had endless rain during our Forest Holidays stays so it's never been an issue, but I would be pretty peeved if we'd had a whole day when we couldn't get in the tub. Some way to have an optional/temporary shelter like an extendable canopy is definitely something Forest Holidays should be looking into (optional/temporary because wouldn't want to spoil the view of the night sky from the tub in fine weather). On the whole, almost everything is great and none of the negatives are a big deal, and certainly not deal breakers. We WILL stay again, several more times! We always look forward to our next Forest Holidays to such an extent that we once drove to our nearest one (Delamere - 45 minutes away) for a walk around to make us feel as if we were there and for lunch in the retreat - and that's because on the whole the company and the staff make it excellent and something you really look forward to doing again. Forest Holidays, Sherwood in particular, is our happy place.…
Just landed at forest holidays , hot tub is cold and won’t be ready until the morning, disappointed 😢 was looking forward to jumping in !! It’s a shame when you only get a few days here , oh well will have a hot bath instead, ohhh 😮 sorry can’t do that either as the issue with the hot tub is same issue wiv hot water!!! Cold shower it is 🥶
Where do I start?! I have never written a bad review before, but the cabin was so dirty and the utter lack of customer service from Forest Holidays has been so poor, I felt this was my only option. We paid over £1,500 for 4 nights, so really not cheap. We were told at check in the site was full, so I lived in hope of a fantastic, relaxing holiday in the forest ... I was wrong! The cabin was absolutely filthy ... please especially look at my photos of the kitchen tap and around the base of the main bathroom toilet! They don't show pictures like this on their adverts! I spent the week with my shoes on, as the floor was that dirty I didn't want to touch it. In summary, the kitchen was filthy, including dust on top of the microwave! The cabinets hadn't been cleaned and there were marks down the walls. Previous guests food was still on the kitchen table. There were dead flies in the corners of the living room, dust that thick you could literally write your name in it and multiple cobwebs. The windows hadn't been cleaned in what looked like months and there were still handprints on the glass from the previous guests ... or maybe even the ones before them ... or even before them, who knows! There was still toothpaste on the bathroom mirror from the last guests, the toilet hadn't been cleaned properly and the floor hadn't been cleaned either. The pillows are like door stops ... I asked for another pillow, and was told they don't have any! So I used a spare quilt as my pillow. I also asked for a pint glass so we could enjoy a pint in our cabin, and was told they don't have any of those either! Unless we BOUGHT a pint from the forest retreat and used that glass! I had just spent over £1,500! I at least expected them to be able to provide a glass! We were told the hot tub would be cleaned daily ... it was cleaned once ... and even the lid to the tub was in a poor state. I have battled and battled to gain any form of response from Forest Holidays, including Head Office. I even resorted to emailing the CEO, and I still didn't get a response! Finally, I was offered a 20% discount on my next holiday, which is an utter insult, seeing as I had already received a standard marketing email from them offering a 15% off our next holiday ... so in effect, they were offering a 5% reduction! Simply put, I won't be staying again! I have always recommended Forest Holidays to friends and family, but definately won't be any more. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising Forest Holidays, but you have now lost that from my family. Where is your customer service Forest Holidays and where is my offer of a realistic refund??? This company is quick enough to take your money off you, but absolutely reluctant to even discuss with their customers about giving ANY of it back. I live in hope Forest Holidays will contact me with a reasonable offer .......…
Stayed at forest of Dean for birthday weekend was bitterly disappointed soon has I entered the cabin ,they are really run down in urgent need of refurbishment. Bathrobes for hot tub missing tie belts, grubby worn plastic glasses for hot tub, dirty dishwasher, cabin not smelling fresh. The prices for food at the retreat is horrendous. Did complain to a housekeeper I seen walking pass looking overworked who just said sorry we are,nt given enough time to clean properly and under staffed. We spent over a £1000 to stay for a 3 days won,t be back save money go else where .Forest Holidays get a grip.
Where do we start. We arrived in January 2nd for 5 days. We are regular forest holidayers spending lots of pennies at these locations across the UK. I must say, the most disappointing thing about this holiday is the cleanliness of the cabin. It was and is, dam right disgusting. When you sign In to the TV you get a little message stating "if your floors are dusty, please get in touch and we will come and clean it" which already implies they haven't cleaned the floors. My children's white socks were black in minutes. The floor was gritty, dirty, sticky and full of stains. The table was full of noodles and crumbs from the previous occupants. The bathroom had gentleman's hair all over the sink still after I presume a nice shave. Pillows and bedding not clean with an exceptional art piece on one of the cushions, I thought Banksy had paid us a visit before we arrived. Oh and let's not forget the previous previous occupants before Christmas wrapping paper found on top of a cupboard. Frying pan was rusty, plastic cups were cracked and leak everywhere. Sofa was worn and collapsed underneath. Forest holidays of sherwood. I'm sorry to say this but you've become lazy, cleaning just isn't up to scratch and for over £1000 a week it's unaceptable. If I wanted dirty floors and worn out look I'd have stayed at the local youth hostel. Dissappnting to say the least, forest holidays used to be the leader in log cabin rentals , unfortunately I'm afraid I think you've lost this title, there's better cabins out there folks. We used to recommend forest holidays to friends and family, but after this experience I'd be saying to avoid forest holidays especially sherwood forest. …
We use to be regulars at the sherwood forest holidays site, but it's not as appealing anymore, you fill the online form in to make it faster when you arrive, but when you walk into reception to get your keys you have to go sit down and wait in a que for staff to talk you through the booklet, where your staying, what activities you can do etc etc etc, then your told if there is a problem ring this number or call back at reception. Finally you get the cabin keys so you can go unload, just as I've taken my last piece of luggage in there's a knock at the door, it's a member off staff asking is everything OK, is the lodge OK? (if I had 5 mins to look around I'd tell them) then they say of you have an emergency etc etc omg I know!! How many more times do we all need telling? Just go back to checking in online pass me the keys and leave me alone, it says relaxing holiday I was stressed out on my first night, should be given the option to either just get keys or have everything explained to you, and we don't need a welcome knock at the door, also a waste of time for staff. The site is suppose to be 1 way but noone take any notice, had to drag my dogs out of the way a few times, and the staff on golf cart think there on a race track all hours of day and night. The prices used to be 425 Mon - Fri now around 650 but then when adding dogs and WiFi choice off cabin etc getting nearly a grand for few days away. I understand prices going up due to cost of living but charging 15per dog per day, when we clean up after ourselfs is way to much (I don't see them charging per child and they make so much more mess). So all in all we won't be staying upto 4/5 times this year already started looking else where because of the price, such a shame as it was just on our door step. …
Arrived at Sherwood for a Birthday 4 day break. Staff at check in were pleasant. The cabin was a good size and the hot tub looked inviting (we arrived in the evening)... during the day light however, the cabin seemed to look very tired, bathrooms didn't look very modern, the floors and windows were dirty. We complained about the cleanliness on the 1st morning - we were told someone would come to our cabin to sort it.. somebody came to clean the large window over looking the hot tub as you could hardly see out. However, nobody turned up to sort the floors! We continued on, looking forward to our pizza package we had pre-booked when we booked our holiday. Only to be told they didn't have an order for us! The essential package had not been put in our cabin - there was tea bags, sugar but we had to give them a list of roughly 10+ items that we were owed and the response we were met with was less than apologetic! We got the rest of essentials pack 3 days in to our four day break. Quite frankly, poor customer service all round. Overall very dissaapointed and standards need to be improved for the prices that are being charged. Won't be returning. …
Came here this weekend with family -, 6 adults, 2 kids and 3 dogs. Stayed in lodge 5, a golden oak cabin. Location was lovely and peaceful, hot tub overlooked the trees - perfect for a weekend of relaxation. However, the lodge was filthy. The large windows that overlooked the hot tub / forest hadn’t been cleaned in months, they were caked with dirt - we even cleaned one panel so we could see clearly! Not what we expected to have to do when we’d spent £1500 for 3 nights… Floors were dirty, definitely hadn’t been mopped before we arrived. Leather sofa was also disgusting, I wiped it with a cloth and disinfectant and it was black with dirt. Cushions had stains on, cutlery had marks on, it was just generally grubby. Decking area was also tired looking - trip hazard on the top step due to the hot tub weighing one side down, making a plank of wood stick out more than it should. Side of hot tub was broken / outdoor table filthy. Judging by the reviews, I think they could all do with a deep clean / lick of paint. I think we’ll try centre parcs next time! …
Really wonderful time, particularly enjoyed the hot tub. Stayed in a Golden Oak hideaway, it was very private with a lovely view of trees, stars, the moon. Perfect winter break. Take some bird/squirrel food for your decking and enjoy wildlife watching! Takeaway food was lovely. Lots to do nearby.
Absolutely filthy, even had to have one of the beds changed as it was dirty. The floors were disgusting so I was going to sweep up but the brush was gross, full of hair. We just kept our shoes on. The cabin had a funny smell to it which lingered on our clothes and throws, lots of washing when we got home. We have had several forest holidays over the past few years but this has definitely put me off booking again. I did mention how dirty the floor was and they offered to send housekeeping, but we didnt want disturbing. Also when we arrived there was two dirty towels and a used dressing gown hung on the bathroom door! Also old food bits in dining table groves. Gross
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