Oak Lodge

The lodges themselves were clean and spacious, and I’d have been happy to recommend them. After we left, though, my daughter got an email claiming seven people had stayed, when there were only four of us. How could they know that for sure unless they were watching who came and went? They were quick to contact her about that, but when my other daughter tried to arrange the hot tub hire, which costs extra, she couldn’t get through to anyone. There’s also not much in the honesty shop, and nowhere nearby to pick up basics.

The lodge was a reasonable price, so three out of five feels fair, but it could use some attention. Hawthorne’s outdoor area is tiny and poorly kept, while the lodge itself was clean. The furniture is good quality, though the bedroom lamp was knackered and there’s filler all along the hallway, as if they’re looking at making improvements. The four Velux windows in the living space look like they’ve never been cleaned. There were a few unnecessary niggles too. No bath mats, a broken tin opener, three corkscrews but no sieve or colander. The freezer badly needed defrosting and its door wouldn’t close properly. Like others have said, it just needs some TLC. I guess the owners hire other people to handle maintenance.

The lodge was spacious and clean, with a fenced area that made the hot tub private and was great for the dog. It could do with a bit of TLC, but I’d come back.

We arrived and found someone else in the lodge we’d booked. We had to rush off to a wedding and needed to get ready, but had to call and wait while they found us another place, which made us late. There was nobody there to help us when we arrived, either. You only get 18 hours, from 4 pm check-in to 10 am checkout, so it felt like we were paying just to sleep there. The hot tub costs extra, and the train noise really is as bad as the reviews say. It was so loud all night that the place shook. The walls are thin, and men were cutting down trees until 4 am. The beds and pillows were awful. Worst sleep of my life, and the worst service I’ve had. I’d have been better off in a tent. Don’t waste your money, just get a hotel.