Orchard Hideaways

We left Orchard Hideaways at midnight with my 14-year-old son, who was unwell, because I couldn't risk him being woken by the same noisy group returning from Penrith. They were still making a lot of noise around the picnic tables after 11pm on Saturday, and arranging taxis into Penrith. At 11.30pm I called the out-of-hours number (XXXXXXXXXX), but nobody answered. I texted it too. The message was delivered, but I got no reply. With no staff on site and no way to reach anyone, we drove home to XXXXXXX. It was incredibly disappointing and frustrating to have my message ignored, especially after Friday night's disturbance. It left me feeling that Orchard Hideaways didn't care. The site calls itself 'family friendly', and its terms clearly set out the noise rules after 11pm and the consequences, but they weren't enforced. This was a two-night stay over the weekend (XXXX July). A large group had made noise until 4am on Saturday morning. I asked them to turn off their music myself and didn't call the out-of-hours number then. At 8.30am Saturday, I couldn't get through on that number, so I called the main number, which redirected to a mobile answerphone. An hour later, XXXX (?) called back and was very apologetic. He rang again later that morning to say he'd spoken to the group and warned them they'd be removed if they made noise after 11pm on Saturday. We also got an automated text acknowledging Friday night's disturbance and reminding us of the site rules. Given that warning, someone should have been on alert. I emailed this complaint to Orchard Hideaways and had no response after four days. The site feels more like a party site, run remotely by AMJ Getaways LTD, with nobody around when problems come up. I'd welcome a phone call to discuss this.

The rooms were as shown and had everything we needed. The real surprise was all the amenities, breakout areas and extras around the site. Andy did a great job running things and was always ready to help with anything we asked. It's in a great spot just outside Penrith, and we had a successful weekend.

The apple trees were amazing. We could pick some fruit for free on the way to breakfast, and there was an Alexa so we could put music on. We also had a BBQ. We were here for a hiking trip and climbed Helvellyn in the Lake District, and this place worked well as a place to eat and sleep. The rooms were fine, mostly bunk beds or singles, with enough plugs for charging. We didn't use the TV. The shower rooms flooded, and the motion-sensitive light switched off while I was showering, which startled me. Thankfully, it hadn't actually gone out. A couple had an argument and the police were called. It was crazy. I'd recommend staying here to hikers looking for somewhere to rest.

We enjoyed the visit, but for what we paid, I think you can find better. The accommodation is very basic and seems better suited to summer. In winter, our showers were ice cold and the cabin never got to a comfortable temperature. We also felt the site had been misleading about the 'chill out area & shack', since using the chill out area alone cost an extra £120. Thanks for replying so thoroughly to our review. We ran the taps before showering and stayed in there for quite a while, but after a day of walking we needed a shower. It took so long to get even a short burst of warm water that we felt it was worth mentioning. We understand that if we'd reported the cold showers and heating problem, they would have been dealt with. We just wanted to get on with our short break, but felt we couldn't let it slide. Thanks again for responding, and we hope future vacationers have a more pleasant stay.