Woodland Retreat

We stayed in this holiday cottage for a week in May 2026 and we could not fault it.

Reading other reviews it said how dated the lodge was but it wasn't at all. It was lovely, clean and modern. The hot tub is secluded around the side in the wooded area which was lovely. Beds were very comfortable and the shower was clean and modern. It was great for the kids and dog as the decking was gates. Id definitely recommend this lodge to others and we are already planning to return here next year. Thank you for a wonderful place to stay!!

We had an excellent stay at the lodge.

It was well equipped and maintained and the hot tub was excellent. In such a private and peaceful location and only a short stroll to the site main facilities. We were blessed with excellent weather and the seating area on the decking was really nice and comfortable for soaking up the sun.

Never would i stay at this property power kept going off dirty mop working outside the property no oven glove if you were cooking in the property you’d have to use the tea towels to get the hot stuff out of the oven I will highly recommend people not to stay in this property

We have stayed at White Cross Bay via Lake District Lodge Holidays about 5 times previously, though not for a few years.

Thought standards had slipped quite a lot. Lodge itself if nice enough, though a bit tired and lacking the attention to detail that we've had previously. Service from Lake District Lodge Holidays (now part of Sykes it seems) was awful. We were told by email that we needed to call before arrival to get a gatecode - which was just sent out to us on previous stays. I was only put through to a caller centre with lots of "options" and first time was just sent an email complaint form via automated service. Took me about 4 calls to various people / using various options to find out that there was no gate code as gate broken. They had to call the owner to establish this where should be notes on system. Waste of my time and unimpressive as wondered how long it would take to get a human if there was a problem with the place. Lodge itself in a good spot but, on arrival, a red mop and bucket had been left right by the front door - which looked unappealing. The bedrooms had a weird smell - kids said that their room smelt like vomit that someone had tried to hide with air fresheners. Hot tub nice and benefitted from the covering. Place itself is dated and needs repair. For instance, lock on main bathroom door broken; sink broken with old toothbrush looking to have fallen down it. Towels felt old. Pans in kitchen were dirty when took out to use. Hoover left out in bedroom rather than tucked into wardrobe. These are relatively minor things but gave a "low quality" impression rather than the high-end feeling I'd had from previous stays here via LDLH. Location of the park obviously brilliant and thats why we return. Have only ever given rave reviews about places previously so not someone who is hugely fussy either.

The cabin was generally good but there were a few areas of disappointment.

Not being able to check in until 4pm and having to check out at 10am effectively lost of most of a day from a 4 day holiday. The cabin dishwasher was full of dirty items when we arrived and the previous owners pets were noticeable, especially when it was damp and raining. The smell couldn’t be prevented even by the many plugins and triggered off the allergies of one of our family. It was otherwise well situated, specified and presented.

Accommodation was spotlessly clean and in a great woodland location close to reception, restaurant/bar and entertainment area.

Hot tub was a great bonus. Only slight problem was that there was no hot water as the boiler pressure had dropped to zero but managed to top it up myself

Had a lovely stay.

Great hot tub with views looking into the woods, and very private. Nice outdoor seating area. Would stay again.

The sofas/carpets had a strong dog smell.

I have stayed in pet friendly cottages before and a thorough clean between lets ensures there isn't a strong smell. We reported this and were given an unsatisfactory response where we were told someone can come and give it a wash but this would make things much worse before better. We were only staying Monday to Friday so that is hardly a reasonable solution.

Very lovely lodge just needs a little tlc

We had a lovely break as a family.

The lodge is tucked out of the way and is quite private. I loved the hot tub and the quietness around me. The house was lovely and warm and the WiFi was good. The house is well equipment for being away from home and for cooking in the odd day.

We had a lovely weekend break with our son and family.

Comfortable beds and sofas and lovely to have our dogs with us. We very much enjoyed the hot tub, even though it was nearly November. We saw deer near the lodge, and when we went on the woodland walk. The playground and facilities were great for children. Unfortunately the first morning, we went to take the dogs out and the outside door wouldn't unlock. My daughter in law tried, I tried, it wouldn't shift. We phoned the emergency number and someone phoned us back within 20 minutes. Within an hour they got maintenance out to us, by which time my son had got up and managed to open it. The maintenance men were exemplary, checked and stopped it jamming again, helpful and friendly. No harm done, but I wish it hadn't happened in the first place.

We loved the stay here!

The lodge was in a great location and the hot tub was very private. The lodge was tidy and clean. We really enjoyed our break. Thank you

The property is in a great location for Windermere and Ambleside.

It is also in a great spot on the site itself, in the woodland as described and is quiet and private. The hottub is in a good location and was serviced daily. We paid for a leisure pass which was £7 ish per adult, we only used the pool and had a drink in the bar. The pool is a bit chaotic, however this is expected on a family holiday park. As for the lodge itself, the decking appears relatively new, and the kitchen area also appears to have had a re vamp (except the oven, which could do with a deep clean). The rest of the property is dated, and to be honest on our arrival was dirty. The bathroom sinks were grimy, as was the toilet seat, there was dust spiders in all of the corners, broken bin and dirty up the walls and mould in places. Not ideal with a six month old baby in tow. The property suited us for the location but for the price we paid it did not reflect the standard I would have expected. Also the check in time of 4pm is quite late given it was clear that the property has not been thoroughly cleaned before our arrival.

This property is so homely and the owners have thoughtfully added little things to make you feel at home.

The decor and furniture are pleasant and I really did feel it gives a good first impression. The location in the park is very nice, not too far from the reception area and literally overlooked by nothing but many trees. The only downside for some nay be that this means even on bright summers days the lodge is dark and need a light on and it' feels chilly. On a hot day it was still dark and almost too chilly to sit outside. The patio furniture cushions need some proper storage as they were damp and too dirty to sit om. The kitchen is well equipped and nice little packs were left with cleaning materials and dish washer tablets. The Internet in the lodge and across the entire park is quote poor at busy times, and kept dropping out which was frustrating. The main bedroom isn't en suite but there are two bathrooms and every room is a very good size with plenty of storage. Overall this is a great lodge and very comfortable.

Lodge was as described, clean and in lovely woodland setting.

We were family of four with two boys. Great location to explore from and we had a fab time there and no issues. Only down side if it bothers you is Wi-Fi is awful but this is general Lake District/ site thing and not lodge owners. Thanks for a comfy, relaxing break.

This was our second time staying at the lodge, the standard of the facilities seems to have declined and there are signs of wear.

The radiator in the bunk room still does not work, and the television has no remote. One of the double bedrooms has a broken cupboard door, the shower room has a dodgy light, and the shower door seal has deteriorated and is causing a major flood. The room would benefit from having a drying rack for our wet clothes. In the kitchen, the hob decided to not work on two occasions, and we ended up having to get a takeaway. The draw below the hob was off its rails, and the boiler still stops working which results in no hot water until we restart the boiler. It is a shame that the new decking area does not match the old decking, and there is still a lot of glass around the lodge, which is very dangerous. The maintenance crew were all super helpful, and efficient, we ended up getting to know them very well over the course of the week! We absolutely love the location of Woodland Retreat, and with a touch of TLC could be fantastic. Lake District Lodge Holidays ....... Do you know if the owners are looking at making any improvements to it? We intend on returning next year, but wouldn't come back if it is in it's current state. What other options that are similar to this do you have to offer us? Look forward to hearing from you soon. Many thanks : )

We were overall disappointed with the lodge.

It was dirty, it was clear the sheets in the bunk room weren't changed there was visible mud in the beds. The whole place absolutely stinks of dog. The smell was overwhelming. The crockery was shoved in the dishwasher and we had to re-clean a lot of it. There was left over food in the fridge. Part of the hot tub was broken however this didn't hamper use. The absolutely worst part was the boiler wasn't working when we arrived and the out of hours support number doesn't work. We did manage to get an engineer out the following day when we could get the in our line to answer, the customer service here was good. However it wasn't fixed, it broke again during our stay. All they did was turn it on and off. It's clear this needs to be replaced ASAP. The site was nice and overall we had a nice holiday but the accommodation put a massive damper on it and I would not recommend booking this particular lodge.

I’m someone who hardly leaves feedback but as some reviewers have gave a negative feedback I want to say that overall we had a lovely stay here are woodland retreat.

For anyone who’s reading the reviews regarding the decking, I can confirm this has now been fixed and created a lovely setting. The noise to the hot tub did not bother us one bit. The lodge was very clean upon arrival. The location of the lodge is fantastic, out the way but in walking distance to the main facilities. If I had to pick anything out it would be the workmanship to whoever applied the aqua panels in the toilets but this is from someone who is a bathroom fitter so I see these small things

This is a lovely lodge.

It did smell a little of dogs when we first entered; maybe because people staying before had dog(s) with them. We got used to it though! Bedding and the place generally was really clean. Would suggest maybe skimming bedroom doors slightly to main bedrooms - seems new carpets have been put in 2 double bedrooms and it was quite hard to open/close the doors. Only minor points though - otherwise, great stay; great location and would recommend.

Could be a few more breakfast bowls.

Mattresses need looking at but otherwise a nice cabin.

Absolutely disgusted in this lodge, we arrived to find a big pile of decking at front of lodge, no decking at the front so all the underneath was exposed and my toddler and dog could get underneath to god knows what, glass broken in a lot of places, nails sticking up from the decking that was all down side of property, cigarette butts, Stella cans.

Smell of dogs as soon as you walked in, settee was really low, we did not stay didn't even unpack! Owners refused a refund, now taking matters further. Do not go!!

Lovely comfortable stay in a beautiful secluded part of the Park, we definitely would stay here again!

All I can put is if you read Emily’s review from her February stay it was the same for us but I think worse.

Although the cabin inside was clean the hot water was practically non existent. As for the decking I was emailed a couple of days before arriving and offered £50. Looking back now I wish they would have cancelled my holiday. I didn’t know the true extent of the damage and that on day 2 of the holiday the workers arrived to repair the damage and therefore spoiled any piece and quite I hoped for. Then on my last day a gas fitter arrived as we sat down for our tea to repair the boiler. We was not informed of this and found it very intrusive. After the gas fitter left we had hot water for a shower but no heating so I was glad to be leaving the next morning. As for sound proofing the noise at night from the hot tub/boiler was unbearable. I’ve booked many log cabins in the past and by far I hate to mention this was the worse. I apologise for the negative review but the only positive side was the park itself.

We couldn't find the property initially which took some time to locate.

I don't think the sign posts helped as they were sending us one way and the lodge was in another direction. When we saw it, we kept writing it off as we GENUINELY thought it was derelict! That is how the property looks - derelict! We eventually realised it was our lodge. We were horrified. Half the decking is destroyed as well as the outdoor table and chairs. It is barriered off but why this has been left as it is, I will never know. If this was my property that people are *paying* to stay at, I would have had this cleared up instantly. It is an absolute mess. Shame I can't attach photos here. When we got inside, it is lovely inside, however the cleaning standards are somewhat to be desired (being polite). As we entered, I took off my shoes and started moving our belongings around, I kept standing on food (yuck) and the kitchen floor was sticky. So before unpacking I was on my hands and knees cleaning the floor. When I vacuumed I realised the vacuum is dire which could be part of the problem, however, I don't erase all responsibility from the cleaners as we found many disgusting items that we had to clean ourselves. A pan, container, kitchen doors etc. The blankets and cushion covers were filthy so I removed them and placed them with the dirty towels on our departure to push the cleaners to wash them so that the next guest doesn't have to endure the filth. Also to note, we had filthy windows, a dirty oven and filthy oven trays, and a broken bin. When I was vacuuming we also noticed, as my daughter nearly stood on it, was a large nail on the carpet! Another main complain was the hot water in that there wasn't any! We called an engineer out but he showed more interest in exiting the property than resolving the issue. We had hot water intermittently after this, which we survived with - tip - turn the heating off to get a better chance of getting hot water, even if it is for a short period of time. He told us basically that it was a glorified shed and what did we expect - well for £200 a night I do expect hot water funnily enough!!!! I have since read the reviews on here which I wish I had done before booking. I agree with the lady that stayed before us who complained about the boiler noise and the hot tub noise - it is continuous throughout the night. I am really sorry to say this, but please don't waste your money here, it simply isn't worth it. Put it somewhere else where you will get what your money pays for, as this isn't it. Lastly, I wouldn't massively rate the complex either sadly. We didn't eat there (it didn't look appetising) so I couldn't comment but I saw one lady running around all by herself in the restaurant so I had to wait 10 minutes just to get change from her. The bar was filthy and sticky. The arcade has more toy claw games (the rip off ones) than actual games. The receptionist misinformed us so we ended up buying a swimming pass only to be told this wasn't valid for the pool party we had shown up for (despite my husband checking with her before we went) so had to pay for the pool party session on top, all in all £50 just to go swimming. When we got there, they would only let us in at 1pm - when the session starts, so by the time we got changed and put our belongings in the RIDICULOUSLY small lockers, we had lost 10 minutes. Their clock is 5 minutes fast so they kicked us out early, meaning we paid £50 for 15 minutes of swim when we should have had 30 minutes. They should have let us in early to get changed, even if they don't let you in the pool beforehand that is fine, but then to kick us out early on top, having already been ripped off, we weren't impressed whatsoever. Having booked this for my 40th, we made it what we could. But it was a huge disappointment.

The shower was really cold all of the time with no pressure and shower door didn't close so floor was flooded

Very dissatisfied with the campsite.

Had really bad snow and no precautions were taken at all, no salt, grit or road / walkways made safe. Got our car stuck in snow and all they could provide me with to dig out the car was a dust pan as maintenance had left. Car got stuck while leaving in the exit barrier location and called the emergency helpline several times to no avail. Won’t be going back or recommending. Not worth the large cost, not at all

The log cabin is really nice.

It has all the features that you need to enjoy a stay. Although we did encounter a few problems which we managed to resolve ourselves but did cause little issues. The hot tub is right outside a bedroom which started up every 30 min or so and caused a problem during the night. So we switched it off but obviously it wasn't warm enough to get in first thing in the morning when we switched it back on. The boiler is on the other side of the next bedroom and randomly turns on even when the heating is turned off n the thermostat through the night too so we had to switch this off kn the boiler itself, Then wait untill everyone was up in the morning the turn back on which left the cabin cold. Other that that we enjoyed our stay.

Lodge was lovely and clean with hot tub ready for our arrival.

Lodge was in a good position within park and really welcoming of dogs which was a great plus. Our only gripe was that the hot tub was quite loud during night, wasn't entirely sure if it was possible to switch off and we kept missing the man who came to check on hot tub each day to ask. Other than that would recommend.

Generally very impressed with property and on site facilities.

Found odd that no toilet paper or washing up liquid supplied, though available at on site shop. If arriving later, would not have been open. Also noted shower base slippery, could have done with an anti slip mat for safety.

What a fantastic time we had during our 5 night stay.

The lodge was superb. Clean and very well stocked with all the equipment you could hope for. It was a very tranquil and scenic setting. Even though the park was busy we felt that we were the only ones there at times. Saw some wildlife right from the decking area which the grandchildren loved. Could do with a towel rail in the bathroom but is me just being picky. 4 adults and my two grandchildren loved it. Thank you.

The property is very well described and in a beautiful setting.

We were quite fortunate with the weather and was able to use the hot tub despite the weather forecast making us think it was a waste getting it. The actual lodge itself. The whole of our party were dubious in the actual place having been cleaned thoroughly and personally feel it was cleaner when we left. We had to go round removing approximately 30+ spiders which my step daughter is terrified of, on our last day we spotted where we had missed and there were 3 in the area near the dog at the front door. The beds weren’t the most comfortable but I’m comparing this to my own mattress at home and therefore realise it’s not always possible to have it comfortable for everyone when it comes to the beds. The bunk beds are no where near good enough for an adult and I feel the listing should say suitable for 4 adults and 2 children not just 6 ppl. The seating area is a lovely area but the settee has such large seats that is hard to get comfortable and we sat in the dining room chairs a lot. All in all we had a lovely time and even saw a Deer on our way to the lodge, which was great. It’s a shame that the lodge isn’t in the sun, but we knew this before we booked. The hot tub is great but very noisy in the night for the person sleeping in the room directly next to it. We had a great time but think the cleaners need to actually clean, this includes every crevice as it was full of cobwebs around windows and the amount of spiders. I do t think it’s somewhere that we would return to.

We loved the lodge, felt secluded, and had everything inside we could have needed, loved the hot tub, and impressed that the maintenance for the chemicals was done daily, even the weather behaved (mostly) - would definitely recommend this lodge to family and friends, and if we decide to have another holiday at the Lakes, would consider staying here again.

The cabin was excellent it had everything we needed for a fantastic holiday it was clean comfortable and in a great location for the rest of the park

Lovely place immaculately clean inside and all new kitchen appliances.

2 Twin rooms very comfortable unfortunately the advertised adult bunk beds my daughter was way to tall to acutely fit in the bed it’s ok for anyone that is not much taller than 4ft. The decking area is lovely just a shame it’s not in the sun but the hot tub is great. We thought the outside could do with a little TLC and could have done with a clean. All in all we had a lovely stay and the site is great location would recommend to friends.

Just returned from woodland retreat 41a , great location with a car although there is a bus stop just outside of resort.

Lovely lodge set back practically in forest beautiful setting even saw a deer on our 1st day. I agree with other review on arrival decking looked neglected although it was only leaves it was a build up of them obviously not been swept for some time.I did sweep them,also outdoor table needed a clean. Inside was immaculately clean & tidy all modern appliances in kitchen area & smart tvs, WiFi slow. There is only 1 full shower room the other is toilet & sink..We had a problem on our 1st day with no hot water quick call & guy was with us 10 mins later problem solved. Our group was 4 adults 1 baby & 1 dog had plenty of space. Hot tub is added bonus which we all really enjoyed. We absolutely loved this lodge did not want to leave & will definitely be returning .

Excellent Property and very well appointed.

Initial impression on arrival was slightly disappointing as the decking area looked a bit messy with leaves and twigs. A good sweep would have solved this. Once inside however, everything was clean and tidy. Wifi was a little slow but adequate. Hot Tub was excellent and enjoyed by everyone. Would definitely visit here again in the future.

It is an amazing property and a lovely site, we had a great time, thank you so much.

We also got the leisure passes and enjoyed swimming, sauna and the system room, all the staff here are friendly and helpful. Our only concern is the loose handrail on the way up to the decking but I'm sure this can be fixed. Also it would be helpful to have instruction manuals for the modern equipment (I could not get the hob to work). However, these things did not impact the holiday at all. The site is right next to Windermere which is beautiful and easy to drive to, as well as local shops. Would recommend a Beatrix Potter visit too. The hot tub was all ready and working as we arrived so happily jumped in and enjoyed the moment after traveling. We will definitely consider this holiday again in the future. Thank you!