Lily Tarn Lodge

This is our 5th (possibly 6th but I’ve lost count!) visit to Lily Tarn. The location of the lodge is lovely, as is the location of White Cross Bay as I’m a massive lover of the Lakes and this park gives you a great view every time you wander down to the marina. We didn’t know what to expect of the lodge and our visit due to C19 however I can’t fault the cleanliness of the lodge, it was immaculate. Big compliments to the cleaners! The lodge hasn’t really changed in the years we’ve been visiting, everything is the same with the exception of a bathroom being modernised. Doesn’t really impact your stay other than showing it’s age with creaky beds, both bedrooms are affected by this and come across a bit rickety as you can feel and hear each other moving in the night but as we only visited as a couple on our own it didn’t affect anything other than our sleep, but this was minimal and we quickly got used to it. The decor is the same and as this is personal preference has no impact to our stay, however I do believe being updated could increase the appeal of the lodge as many others have a ‘wow’ factor inside, whereas although this lodge isn’t the most recent with its interior, it has one of the best positions for privacy and individuality with its little bridge over the beck and fairy lights meaning it is lovely to sit out and enjoy the hot tub on a night once the sun goes down. Great news the onsite pub is now dog friendly, unfortunately we didn’t get to use this as seating wasn’t available for a good couple of hours each time we tried to get in for a meal. The overall facilities and services of Parkdean let the trip down. We arrived around tea time and couldn’t get near reception because of diners queuing and waiting to be seated but because we knew where we were going and the barriers were open, we went straight to our lodge. I visited again later that night around 7.45 and reception was closed even though it was supposed to be open until 8. It resulted in an early visit the next morning (again no reception cover) to ask someone for the code to get out as the barriers were down. We used the Parkdean app to order food but had to return into a queue with another two people in the same boat as they’d got our orders wrong. I really like LDLH’s service as they take care with your booking and give you all the help you need right up to and including your stay. I also love the Lily Tarn Lodge and it has been somewhere we’ve enjoyed staying over the years but this recent visit has meant we’re not rebooking yet for next year and are looking at alternatives for places where we can get better onsite service. This doesn’t mean we won’t be back in the future, just maybe not as often as before.

- Kelley Smith

This was our 5th visit to Whitecross bay (1st in Lily Tarn). The lodge itself is just about 2 mins walk from reception or the lake, off the main road so no traffic passing. The lodge was perfectly clean and had everything that you need. The decking area is ample with plenty of seating, a lovely hot tub and plenty of lights for sitting out on warm evenings. I would definitely return to this beautiful lodge. We were very lucky with the weather too, it was a scorching week with thunderstorms on a few evenings (bonus). One thing that I didn’t know, Whitecross Bay club house is now dog friendly, it’s about time!.

- Simon Hadwin

Great lodge in ideal location on park. Not to far from the lake, clubhouse or refuse/recycling and laundrette

- Matt Nicholson