Darwin Escapes Reviews 

We stayed at Rivendale Lodge Retreat.

Firstly, the cleanliness was appalling. There was a layer of dust everywhere: on the blinds, towel drying rails, lights..., and rubbish under the sofa. The bed linens and towels had stains and hair. Additionally, there was only one protective cover for the extractor fan's sharp corners.

We were only provided with three sachets of coffee for four adults and one small complimentary shampoo and shower gel, which was not enough for even one person.

There was no teapot or cafetiere to make coffee, which was very strange not to find in a Premier Lodge.

We had only four forks, knives, and spoons, and five glasses, which we found not very environmentally friendly, as we constantly had to wash them, using more water. If we had more utensils, we could have saved more water.

We couldn't use the hot tub as the smell of cow manure from surrounding farms was unbearable. We were also unable to sit outside because of the smell.

Another disappointment was that there was nowhere to have a walk in the evening. The site had overgrown grass, and the pictures added to the Darwin Escape website were misleading, as this site didn't look as advertised.

Stayed at Cheddar Spa last wèek.
Lovely site in beautiful setting. Lodge was spacious and clean.
However all beds very uncomfortable.
On first night my mum fell down behind gap at back of lodge, sleepers where ground had been levelled with a large gap and 3ft drop. She unfortunately ended up with # to Callcaneum and was non weight bearing.
Oskar and security team were amazing, going above and beyond and staying way past their finish time to try and help.
No contact/check from management at all. For this can only give 3 stars

We turned up at the caravan and it was not clean there was empty food packages and a banana skin under the beds and not all bed were made up so we had to make some of the bed up. We also had to call maintenance as there was a strong smell of sewerage from the dishwasher and the patio doors didn’t open and close properly. During our way we then had to call maintenance 2 more times one to replace light bulbs and coffee table as it was wobbly and not safe to use second time was because the boiler kept cutting out and they had to change a pipe on it. When we raised our complaints to the park we felt they were brushed off and not taken seriously. Also we took our dogs and booked and pet friendly property there was no gated walk way that leads to the patio and blocks the front door so when we opened it we had to be careful to dogs didn’t just run out the door. It felt unprofessional to see bar staff and kitchen staff smoking on the outside patio at the bar where guest were sitting and tables not being cleared up.

Gave the company 4 years of my life doing multiple roles now they won’t even respond to my job applications or communication

Don’t believe what Darwin Eacapes may advertise, if it comes down to it, they don’t care about any of their holiday makers, they only care about the money
Recently booked a getaway and because of a sudden major stroke to my partners mum 1 day before the holiday, Darwin Eacapes were not interested in even trying to offer us an alternative date, no consideration or empathy to the sudden a heartbreaking news my partner had discovered.
I emailed Darwin Eacapes and discussed the situation with Catherine D, a senior guest relation advisor, clearly no relations though because there was a very blunt and none emphatic response, I’d be embarrassed and ashamed to work for an organisation that claims they offer the best experience, that claims in their T&C’s that you can change your holiday date, that claims all the bows and ribbons yet when you call on them, it’s a blunt no!
PLEASE LOOK FOR AN ALTERNATIVE HOLIDAY COMPANY, DARWIN ESCAPES ARE DISGUSTING AND LED BY MONEY
I am currently also in discussions to advertise in many magazines and press the way we have been dealt where failure to refer to their own T&C’s has really left a bitter taste in my mouth

Recently stayed at Blenheim. Staff very friendly and welcoming. Site tidy and clean. Lodge spotless. Would certainly stay there again. Easy walk into Woodstock and the Palace.

The reception staff were nice but the lodge needed work, the bar staff were useless as was the food. The worst was the spa!!

Booked for a pedicure with gel nails ( 2 of us had the same treatment ). Tiffany was really nice but we were not happy with the results and we have both had lots of pedicures over the years so know exactly what to expect. Contacted them via email and the response was that if we use the pool before it will lessen the results ( I did not use the pool ) and that if you want better results book the luxury next time. We regularly go on spa days / weekends and know what results we should see. The complete bad attitude to my email ‘what is it the problem’ is appalling. We have been to the Cheddar resort before and the spa cancelled our appointments on the day offering 2 of the 4 of us to have treatments. Do not pay £65 for a pedicure that will leave you with the same finish before but with polish on. Please note I also offered to send photos in but it was ignored and told to book luxury next time. Waiting on the escalation process as not happy with the tone of emails received from the spa. I can’t say who as no name just the email so again very impersonal

Booked a 3 bedroom lodge for 7 nights for 4 adults and two children at Norfolk woods resort! (Currently still there)
This is the 5th Darwin escapes resort weve been to and always faultless! This one is the same! Very very clean tidy light snd airy comfortable lodge with everything you need! The little complimentary pack is very welcome!

The Beds are very comfortable ! Bathrooms clean and modern, Lovely outside seating and parking for two cars! The swimming pool was great as was the bar and shop! The water splash and kiddies park was perfect for the children! Staff very friendly and helpful particularly Jackie who is so lovely and helpful! Nice woodland walk accessible from the park !
We are hoping to try Oxford or Canterbury next!
Love Darwin escapes 🤩

Just been to Woodside Bay on the Isle of Wight
Super location but lodge is very😞 tired needs a lot of tlc especially paintwork internally and decking needed to be cleaned I made the mistake of taking the bedding off stained duvets not good, we have been to 3 sites this was the worst but it is a lovely location..
The staff we came across were very nice.

We had booked a stay at Tilford Woods on the way to site we get a call saying lodge not available with facilities booked. A fault had occurred with hot tub on Saturday we get advised by site and Hoseasons 12pm Monday whilst on way to site. Tilford Woods did not want to talk to us and it took over an hour to get any sort of response from hoseasons stuck on the phone whole time as call back did not work. After a further 30 minutes still unable to offer us an equivalent destination. Lost any further buisness from us very poor customer service.

I visited this site with my 5yr old son. Unfortunately whilst packing up my car I got attacked my a loose large dog. The reception is closed over the weekends, so I had nobody to help me. I was terrified. It still haunts me what could’ve happened if my son had been by my side. Darwin Escapes have done nothing to support me, they say it’s not their responsibility to monitor whether people bring well behaved/trained dogs to their site.
Aside from that horrendous experience, the bathrooms in the lodge are finished to a terrible standard. Botched paint work and dirty yellow drips around the edge of the shower cubicles. The outside sensor light clicked on and off all night due to the steam from the air con unit. The living room area only has spotlights, which are not dimmable so it’s very bright when you’re trying to relax!! The site runs alongside a main road which you can hear clearly. Also, was surprised that they didn’t have basic channels like CBeebies. Overall, a truly basic and traumatic experience for me. Very expensive for what it is. Darwin Escapes do not care about what happened to me on their site.

Disgusting. Staying here now at Castleton Lodge . We went for a meal in the restaurant which was empty. Ordered a chicken chorizo creamy white sauce pasta and got a tomato chorizo dish covered in oil and Parmesan without the creamy sauce. We told the waitress that this wasn't what we where expecting and she came back to tell us this was actually correct and offered us nothing in return. My wife left the meal and we asked for it not to be on the bill. The rude waitress said we will discount it. I said we don't want to pay for it, she shouted back we will discount it 3 times, after a argument with the waitress we then had the kitchen staff all come to the table. The place is rough and you get what you pay for. Look elsewhere is my advice.

They just didn’t care. Arrived on the Isle of Wight Woodside Coastal Retreat to find the lodge we had booked was not available and they had nothing else.

They blamed Hoseasons, their booking agents for not telling us but they only told them the day before! Darwin Escapes had known for weeks before but didn’t do anything about it.

They destroyed our holiday and created a nightmare scenario that we are still traumatised to this day. This was all their fault but they do not give a fig. They have no idea of customer service and I don’t think they care anyway.

Had a lodge that when we arrived smelled of chlorine which we thought was due to the spa bath in the shared bathroom/bedroom area by 9-30pm that smell had changed to raw sewage. We called out the emergency maintenance man who was very nice but was only going to put an acid cleaner down. Having worked in nhs maintenance for many years I knew this would not get rid or the smell as you could tell that there is a problem with the drains.
We were moved to another lodge after a while with the employee admitting that there is a problem with the drainage.
In the morning we went up to reception to complain we were meet by 3 ladies and 1 man after explaining the issue the man kept trying to dodge the issue and kept saying that drain cleaner would be fine . ( would you like to sleep in a room smelling of sewage) . After a bit more of this man going on about drain cleaner and that the site is on a tank system you will get smells I slammed my hand down on the reception desk and told him to stop treating me like an idiot with that he went full Karen mode and started to scream at my wife and myself to get off his park that’s when we realised that he was a manager at not one point had he informed us of his position and walked off and slammed his office door. Which left a he 3 ladies looking at us with one of them saying we that’s that then you got to go. A 3 day stay with no accommodation. In the time it took us to get back to the lodge to pack a man turned up with a box of fresh bedding and while I was on the phone to hoeseasons he’d had contact them to tell them that we were leaving on are own accord. Hoeseasons could not get my money back as i slammed my hand down and he felt threatened ( the fact he didn’t say who he was and was totally belittling us as we were not happy with the poor state of the lodge) just shows how poor this company is be aware there is more bad reviews than good we will never spend our money with Darwin escapes or hoeseasons ever again as to both companies that the customer is not right.

Disgusting Lodge in Stratford upon Avon (lodge retreat) infestation of flies EVERYWHERE and I’m not talking 10 I’m talking 200+. I have shared pictures on tripadvisor. Poor attitude of staff when we checked out early - could barely squeeze out an apology. Van parked right next to our lodge every night and left every morning early felt very unsafe and uncomfortable. Smelly drains, dishwasher stank. Decor lovely as well as the sight let down by what appears to be poor maintenance and a lack of care. Awaiting response from Darwin as put a complaint in. Update: Darwin seem to think a 10% refund is a fair refund after 2/4 nights were ruined by an infestation and poor security measures. Apparently fly infestation is common at this site, but definitely wouldn’t tell you that before booking and it’s also up to you to monitor and report on their site. Do not spend your money on a Darwin trip - they really couldn’t care less about customer service and will blame you for their shortcomings.

Really disappointed with the accommodation at Talacre Beechtree premier far from the description and pictures. Have stayed at Darwin in Isle of Wight and Wareham Forrest both beautiful exactly as we expected and could not fault them but be aware if booking this site so many issues and STILL waiting for a reasonable and agreeable response I have pictures if you require them.

Just stayed in Alsop en le Dale for weekend cost nearly £600, the lodge was absolutely disgusting & dirty, borderline Health & Safety issue. Loads of other issues too with boiler not working, Hottub broken etc, staff didn’t seem to care when complaining and showing photos/videos to them. No update 3 days on from when issues started. Requested to move lodge but they had fully booked the park so we couldn’t. No refund given, disguising and wouldn’t recommend.

Just had fantastic break at Darwin escapes Blenheim Palace lodge retreat. Beautiful lodges with gorgeous landscaping. Lodges were well positioned and equipped. Staff were very friendly. Very easy walk into Blenheim Palace and into Woodstock. Will definitely return

Darwin Escapes Alsop en Le Dale
Lovelly Lodge , Great central Location
Great Value for Money
Sofa in living room and chairs a bit uncomfortable in Lodge , But nice bar area , And Restaurant was very nice and Dog Friendly too
Would definatley recommend

Thoroughly disappointed, recently stayed at the Stratford upon Avon retreat. Lodge was dirty, I had to put the dishwasher on before we could use any cups, glasses or cutlery. Dog hair all over the decking area. Cobwebs and dirt all over the bathroom windowsill. Darwin’s escapes are dismissing my complaint and the site themselves have absolutely no interest in my concerns. Completely let down.