Forest Holidays Reviews 

We stayed at a cabin in Sherwood Forest. It was a really expensive stay at over £1000 for the weekend.

The maintenance in the cabin was terrible. There was hair in the bathroom sink which stopped it from draining, the dishwasher didn’t work properly, there were things missing from the kitchen, the outdoor furniture was rickety and damaged and a curtain rail fell down on my sister as she was drawing it.

I took it up with the staff on site, but eventually got really fed up with having to go up to Reception to complain so wrote to customer services. They took 10 days to get back to me without addressing all issues raised.
Very poor, considering the price.

Everything was perfect, lodge was amazing and spotless, staff were all so friendly, great place to relax

Forest Holidays are a consistently dependable brand. Both their lodges and the staff. This was our firth park and whereas the scenery changes the welcome is always the same.
Some accommodation claims to be dog friendly Forest Holidays actually are.
Well maintained and a reliable design means you feel at home at arrival.
Deer park was nicely remote but local attractions were far away.
Can’t wait to pick our next stay.

We’ve been to Forest Holidays in Delamere Forest several times now and are already booked to return in December 2025. It’s become one of our favourite UK getaways — peaceful, relaxing, and perfect for switching off from day-to-day life.

The setting is stunning. We love the calm woodland atmosphere, the relaxing walks, and the added bonus of the BBQ and hot tub, which make each stay feel like a proper treat. There’s just something about the vibe there that makes you slow down and breathe a bit deeper.

The staff have always been fantastic — friendly, helpful, and always seem to go the extra mile without making a fuss. On our last visit, we had an issue with the cabin we’d booked, and while it was a bit disappointing at the time, the way it was handled was really professional. The team took our concerns seriously and applied a generous discount to our future stay in December, which we really appreciated. Mistakes can happen anywhere, but how they’re dealt with says a lot, and in this case, we came away impressed.

If I had to be constructive, I’d say clearer communication before arrival about any last-minute changes or issues would be helpful. But overall, the experience keeps us coming back, and we genuinely look forward to each stay.

Highly recommend to anyone looking for a quiet, cosy break in nature — especially couples or dog lovers like us. Thanks again, Forest Holidays team — see you in December!

Fantastic location, amazing cabins, friendly staff, very dog friendly. Superb holiday, we will be returning. Thank you

Dangerous cabin, hidden T&C's, and unhelpful staff

In the end, we didn’t want to go on this holiday but had to (see below) but the biggest issue by far was that when we got there, the cabin inside was 35C!! And there was no way to cool it down. The cabin is poorly designed. Firstly, the radiator was on when we got there which was pumping out heat. There were switches all over the whole cabin walls and near the floor that weren’t labelled. Most weren’t anywhere near the thing they controlled so it took ages to find the one that controlled the radiator and it turned out to be hidden behind a wardrobe! Secondly, the cabin had two story tall floor to ceiling windows but only the bottom half had a curtain to pull across meaning we couldn’t block the sun streaming in to the upper 3 meters of the windows so it was a greenhouse. And of course there was no air con. It was unbearably hot. The fridge was the cheapest lowest power thing you can imagine, basically a slightly cool cupboard so we couldn’t have cold drinks to try and cool down.
The final straw was that when we got there, most of the walking paths were closed! This was not disclosed at all anywhere on the website when we booked or anytime before we set off. They knew about it because they had been closed for weeks and it was planned.
Ultimately, the holiday came down to sitting in a boiling hot cabin.
The check-in and check-out times are crazy. You lose almost all of your first day and last day of holiday due to the very late check in and very early check out time. We arrived an hour early because traffic wasn’t so bad and despite the cabin being fully ready and cleaned they made a huge fuss about us going in. Even the cleaning lady said it was all ready! So we had to wait in the boiling sun sat in our car.

My wife and I booked to stay with forest holidays in June. We have a dog with an injured leg so the plan was for us to leave our dog in the cabin with his bed, food and water, just like we do at home, and go exploring the woods and local towns for a few hours during the morning/afternoon then come back and cuddle up with our dog in the living room and balcony. We paid an extra 30%(!!) to take our dog, this theoretically covers any damage he may cause which we knew he wouldn’t because he’s an old softie that just likes to lie around.
A few days before travelling the 200 miles to get there, I phoned forest holidays to make sure everything was sorted. I said we were looking forward to relaxing with our dog. At that point the call handler informed us of a term and condition buried on page 30 or so of the incredibly long T&C’s saying that a dog cannot be left alone in the cabin! I explained that this pretty much ruins the holiday because he cannot walk and we can’t carry him for very long so we’d be stuck in the cabin. I asked what the point of paying an additional 30% for our pet was and she didn’t have an answer. I told them they should put something that important on the purchase page or the website because it definitely wasn’t there otherwise we wouldn’t have booked. The call handler said they weren’t going to do that.
The call handler was very quick to explain that was can’t back out because everything is non-refundable so we had to go.

We had a brilliant stay this weekend at Blackwood, we chose cabin 60 right at the top nestled in the forest, a huge decking with BBQ and hot tub awaited us. The retreat is small but has some lovely staff and the food was pretty good. We also hired bikes very reasonable and also did rifle shooting on Sunday. The weather was so hot but we were cool under the trees. Our dogs loved going straight out of the gate into the forest, they rarely were on the lead, this site is extremely dog friendly. Would definitely recommend.

Stacey Price at Garwnant site was so cheerful and happy in her work! A real credit to the company. She makes a pretty good coffee as well!

Bed bug infestation and absolutely no concern or care from the Forest Holiday Team. I raised this issue privately with forest holiday as soon as we got home, I was literally bitten to bits, all over the bottom half of my body. My concerns were of the next person staying in the lodge.. but no care or concern shown by Forest Holidays who have still not given me an update.

Golden Oak Keldy Forest Holiday Lodge 22 - the first twin room absolutely crawling.. I will be appointing a legal representative if I do not receive an update in 24 hours.

The staff at Forest Holidays Brecon are amazing; nothing is too much trouble and they are so friendly.
The cleaning crews can work miracles in very short timescales, the maintenance teams always made of point of saying hello and checking there was nothing we needed and the team in the main building are always welcoming.
The cabins are lovely, well equipped spacious and well thought out.
The activities are great for all the family and the location hidden within the forest is just so beautiful.
Definately recommend

We very much enjoyed our first visit to Glentress (we've been to other locations several times). The lodges are well designed, with ample storage for jackets, shoes & rucksacks by the door. And we always love having a hot tub!
The path to our lodge was very steep with loose rocks. We've suggested that it might benefit from installing steps, given the gradient. In the short term, the staff were very helpful in removing stray roots and trying to stabilise the path a bit.

Lovely location and great onsite staff, v genuine and friendly. The little shop had beautiful gifts

Absolutely mind blowing, the place it self such a heaven, the accommodation stunning, cosy and clean. We’ve had an amazing time . Our kids loved it our dog too . Strongly recommend, we are definitely going back. It is worth it every penny . Thank you so much for the stuff and everyone who took care for guests to be happy and feel welcomed x

A great family weekend spent at Thorpe Forest. Enjoyed the Gas BBQ and hot tub. Weather was kind enough for us to be able to enjoy being outside in tbis lovely setting

Fabulous holiday! Beautiful cabin in beautiful surroundings….sheer bliss. Enjoyed a meal at the Forest cafe, also had a couple of drinks there and coffee during the day. Lovely friendly staff, hope to return soon. Thank you.

* WITHOUT PREJUDICE *

INCASE I NEED TO SEE YOU IN COURT.

If i could give these voulchers no stars I would. I agreed for them to keep the £50 deposits but not the £500 over payments. I booked July, August and December this year like I do every year. Sadly I lost my partner in April and made the decision to not return this year as we spent Christmas here together in this exact cabin booked (to raw right now) they have just emailed me and cancelled August booking that I had kept with a view of changing names to someone else and told me they are keeping the £500 paid including the deposit. Serious lack of compassion. Vile customer service. They have months to re let these bookings. AVOID at all costs. They dont even clean the cabins to a high standard so if you do go definitely bring your own cleaning products as they have a funny smell. The hot tub was also full of scuzz around the water line. Definitely over priced. I have photos and videos to evidence this. Ive tried to be nice but now im going to alert ⚠️ as many as I can via social platforms. No offer to transfer my bookings they even tried to tell me I had to pay the balances on all bookings until I argued it. As I stated I completely understand the £50 deposits but not the £500 over payments on each booking. AVOID

Just got back from a stay at the Forest of Dean. A really lovely place to stay. We booked a forest lodge and were delighted with it, it felt like we had our own slice of the forest. The view from the lounge was just beautiful woodland, no other cabin in sight. The cabin itself was large enough for five adults and two dogs. The park itself is very dog friendly with lovely walks and the club house welcomes dogs inside.

The only negative was the kitchen. The fridge was hanging out of the cupboard, making shutting the door very difficult. The fridge is also very small for self catering. We had to keep drinks outside on the deck as had to prioritise storing the food. Also there is just a small ice box for the freezer, not enough room for ice cream only for an ice cube tray.

Minor issues though for such a beautiful setting. Would highly recommend and we will visit other locations based on our experience.

GLENTRESS 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
FANTASTIC.. group of mature men on a Mountain Biking week.
Weather, trails, golden with tree house SUPERB.
Retreat great service. (BBQ Gas delivery, you know who your are.. THANK YOU 🤩)

Number 11….
ONLY issue we had was me personally when the downstairs communal shower head ‘spray’ part blew off twice, first time splitting my toe nail with such force !!
Plus NO shower mats… OMG.. skating rink bath and shower trays !!

Ive got a family booking at Delamare in November… we will be taking shower mats.

Arrived at Cropton forest after travelling most of the day!!! Just wanted a shower & relax!!! NO HOT WATER!!! Even the hot tub wasn’t ready!! Reception was closed. Had to boil a kettle & have a strip wash!!!
Also WiFi was ridiculous, more off than on even though we paid extra!!
Reported to reception, after there couldn’t care less attitude, sent someone, got hot water on only for it to go off again!! And again!! And again!!!
Found a bowl under the boiler!!! Obviously a leak that they knew about!!! Why put us in a lodge when you are waiting for a part for the boiler!!!!
Dangerous or what!!!
Two days left then offered to move us!!!
Got a refund for the WiFi. No apologies & still waiting for your customer service to acknowledge our complaint. Been waiting a month now still nothing.
Will never step foot there again!!

So where do I send the booking reference number?

Okay, positives first. The Strathyre site is in an amazing spot, next to a loch, surrounded by forest and mountains and about 5 miles away from a lovely little town called Callander. Hot tub, log burner, gas powered BBQ are all excellent. The staff, or at least everyone we met, were fantastic. Certainly a 4 possibly a 5 star experience.

So why is it one star? The not so good.

1. We paid for premium TV and WiFi. For three days of a four day stay half the TV channels were unavailable (no BBC1, ITV, channel five and a whole host of others). Met a lot of staff who explained a third party provider was looking to fix but nothing they could do. Not a huge issue, as assumed management would just apologise, maybe provide a partial refund of the additional premium paid. Nope, nothing. Management apparently not interested.
2. Cabin a little shabby and in need of some TLC. Outside is a bit dirty - cobwebs, old leaves, generally needing a tidy up and a power wash. Inside is just a little tired looking. We had marks on the woodwork, a freezer not defrosted and full of ice, a patchy DIY job on the staircase, a kitchen blind that was broken and you had to physically roll up and balance on the window handle to keep it up. Not huge issues just maybe a lack of investment and upkeep which is a shame as having used Forest holidays a few times in the past it's a little sad to see the decline.
3. On our last day, my wife had a bath (in the main bedroom en-suite) before we were meant to be heading out for a nice meal in the town. Unfortunately, the bath overflow pipe wasn't connected properly so all the bath water going through the overflow was simply pooling on the floor and then going through the ceiling and light fittings in the bathroom below, flooding the room. Couple of lovely maintenance guys came out, confirmed the problem and asked that we not use the bathroom downstairs (what with water running through the light switches) or the upstairs bath and shower because of the hole where the overflow pipe should be. Not ideal an hour before we were meant to be getting ready and going out🤦. The maintenance man did say he spoke to management and said we could use another cabin nearby for showers etc if needed. Possibly all they really could do in the circumstances but just not a great way to end our 4 day "relaxing" break. Again, no direct contact from management, no apology, no offer of a partial refund for the inconvenience. Nothing at all.

When we checked out I mentioned the problems and the receptionist, who was very nice, said she'd make management aware (I'm pretty sure they already knew) and they would get in touch. Guess what, they haven't 🤣. I'm genuinely wondering what "management" do there if they apparently don't deal with customer issues. It's certainly a novel approach to customer service (simply ignoring the customer) but perhaps it needs a little rethink as I don't think repeat business is going to something they have to worry about based on my experience and some of the other reviews. The reality is that these things sometimes happen and if management had engaged properly (or even just engaged at all) we could have had a sensible chat, agreed on a sensible partial refund and everything would have been fine and a 2 star review would have been a 4 star review.
And just to reiterate, it's a huge shame as the location, amenities and the staff were all wonderful.