Colliford Lake Hotel & Holiday Site

Please avoid booking here. This was the most disorganised hotel imaginable. We booked a quad family room through hotels.com, but on arrival we were told they only accept bookings from booking.com, even though they still took my money. Two alternative rooms were hastily put together for my family and me. One smelled strongly of body odour, an open UHT milk packet was mouldy, the bathrooms were filthy, and the toilet sounded as if it was about to blow up. I’m guessing one of the hosts was living in the room that smelled. To top it off, they took no responsibility and acted as though it was my problem to sort out. Thankfully hotelals.com gave me a full refund, and we found somewhere else to stay.

We stayed one night on 9th August, then left rather than spend the second night because of the poor standards. The accommodation was unclean, especially the bathroom, with faeces in the toilet and a very dirty toilet brush, floor, and walls. The service was very poor too. We ordered lasagne at the tavern, and one serving was cold while the other was tepid. Both looked like microwave meals. No one answered the phone, there were no staff around to return the key, and nobody replied to the three emails I sent. The only response was, “we hope you had a good stay?” I’m still waiting for a refund for the night we didn’t stay. Do these owners actually read their emails?

HiddenGemUK.com rating 💎 I hate leaving a bad review, especially knowing the challenges privately owned hotels face, but I feel I should share what happened at the Colliford Lake Hotel to warn others. Avoid it. It really doesn’t get much worse. The price was outrageous for what we got. At reception, we were told the room we’d booked was occupied, then waited 40 minutes before being told an apartment was available. They first tried to put us in a room with no kitchen, which wouldn’t work because we’d brought food to cook. After another 40 minutes, they finally said our original room was ready. The room was appalling. It clearly hadn’t been cleaned after the previous guest, and the bedding seemed to be the only clean thing. The place felt more like a squat than a hotel. For what we paid, that was unacceptable. I strongly advise staying away from the Colliford Lake Hotel. Follow me at HiddenGemUK.com on all social media platforms for an honest review.

As a former local, I came back this week to camp for one night. It was reasonably cheap and in a good location, so I’d use it again. Still, it was sad to see how neglected the place has become. It felt like a ghost town or an abandoned site, and would need several hundred thousand spent to get it back together. The facilities are basic but usable. Tidying up from the road entrance and around the site would be a good start. I hope improvements are planned and this once thriving site can succeed again. If you want something cheap, basic, and no-frills, go for it. If you expect a lot, this may not be for you.