Forest Holidays Reviews 

My wife and I stayed here for 7 days to celebrate a special occasion and we booked a valley view cabin especially for the view.
Unfortunately, there is no valley view..
We complained upon our arrival and were told by the manager that this wasn't the first time this particular compliant had been made but despite Forest Holidays knowing about the issue they are still advertising something that doesn't exist.
The cabin was also dirty, the bi-fold doors didn't open properly (despite trying to fix them) the fridge was filthy and the shower full of mould.
The only reason I've given them 2 stars is because of the friendly staff who work there. If it wasn't for them this would have been a 1 star review.
We made an official compliant and they offered us the same discount for what we paid they give for signing up to their emails.
We've reported the company to Trading standards for false advertising.
The cabin was also supposed to be dog friendly. While dogs are allowed there the cabins are definitely not friendly for dogs.
The Brecon Beacons are an amazing location so stay somewhere else.

Stayed at new White Willow Cabin and the cabin itself was really nice, undefloor heating great and log burner. Grounds at Strathyre need improvement, no place to let dogs off and have a good run about. It is not a cheap break but get that running a place not cheap.
My main gripe is the absolutely unneccessary daily fee for dogs. When you arrive the cabins are clean but this is done primarily by the previous occupants (we left it cleaner than when we arrived) but for some unknown reason if you have a dog it costs £15 extra PER NIGHT PER DOG. Now if cabins were being thoroughly cleaned by staff after each visit I could almost see justification for a single fee if dog(s) there but not a daily charge, but to charge £15 each night per dog when occupant has to leave cabin the way they found it is absolutely ripping it.

Helpful and compassionate staff.

Awful, shabby company, avoid! We booked months before our stay, only to get an email on the Friday before we arrived which was one working day prior to arrival, to say the electricity, power and water on the whole site would be off for a whole afternoon of our 4 day stay! The email said this work was ‘scheduled’ meaning they knew well before the day they advised us of this! No compensation, no apology, nothing, we were just told we could go out for that afternoon!!! After we returned to the cabin that day when everything was supposed to be working again, it wasn’t!!! The Tv, movies, casting service we had paid extra for just did not work! What annoys me most is they know about this when we booked but only told us the(working day) before we arrived , so we had no options to arrange alternatives or demand any type of compensation! It was a shabby trick by them and we will not ever be booking again! If you do decide to book with them, look at all the terrible reviews first and then check with the company that no ‘scheduled’ works are planned during your stay!

Absolutely non existent customer service/after sales! I called 4 times trying to contact customer service and was on hold between 9-25 minutes at variable times when called with no answer.
Contacted them on different platforms and email, had 1 email reply but no other replies in 3 weeks, so given up.
A real shame as we'd used them 4 times, but won't anymore, nor shall we recommend.

We booked a Forest Holidays break for my husband and our youngest son’s birthdays.

My husband is also recovering from a recent operation, so I wanted to make the weekend extra special and tried to upgrade our lodge. I was more than happy to pay the additional cost.

What should have been a very simple enquiry turned into a frustrating experience. I made numerous calls to Forest Holidays 2 days before, with several calls being disconnected. Eventually, I was told someone would call me back, only for me to have to keep chasing for an answer.

When I finally spoke to someone, I was told that the available lodges had not been released for upgrade.

We then arrived, and unfortunately the experience continued to disappoint.

My husband arrived first and found the hot tub visibly dirty, with dirt and debris floating in the water. Maintenance attended and initially asked what was wrong with it, despite the condition being obvious. They eventually removed the debris, but then left suction equipment at the lodge for us to use ourselves if we wanted to remove anything further.

We had also been told that complimentary white robes would be provided, however they weren’t in the lodge when we arrived. When they were eventually brought to us by maintenance, they were simply handed over in a white bin bag. This was supposed to be a thoughtful complimentary gesture, but unfortunately it felt very underwhelming.

Then came the most frustrating part.

Reception advised us that there was another lodge available which may have been suitable for us to upgrade to. I was told they would contact Head Office at approximately 8:30am the following morning to confirm whether we could move.

I waited for a call that never came.

I eventually had to call Forest Holidays myself this morning, only to find that the person I spoke to knew nothing about what had happened the previous evening. I was then told that the lodge had now been given to someone else.

I am extremely disappointed.

I had been trying to upgrade before we even arrived and was genuinely prepared to pay more. I was trying to make my husband and son’s birthdays special, particularly because my husband is recovering from an operation. Had I been given the correct information and had my request been followed up as promised, I would have happily paid for the upgrade.

Instead, I have spent a significant amount of time chasing Forest Holidays, received conflicting information, arrived to find a dirty hot tub and then lost the opportunity to upgrade because the lodge was apparently given to someone in a space of an hour before the matter was followed up the following morning.

This was supposed to be a special birthday weekend for my family. Instead, it has been an incredibly disappointing start to our stay.

I have now made a formal complaint directly with photographic evidence to Forest Holidays and I am awaiting their response.

We booked this ages ago, when we got there and went in and the cabin was lovely, nice and clean everything ready for us, the hot tub had been cleaned and refreshed that day so the temp was not quite ready for a couple more hours, which we didn’t mind as it was lovely and clean. Was a stunning location in the woods. The onsite store and bar/cafe was descent but slightly expensive (as you would expect though) we went on 2 day trips to different trails with waterfalls and hikes and the Harry Potter railway and Heartbeat village of Goathland, we even bumper into Tricia Penrose and got a pic with her.. the final night we was down at the bar and walked through the woods in an amazing thunder storm it was absolutely stunning.. if we came again, I’d probably bring my own cleaning sprays, bin bags, robe for getting out the hot tub, and defo my own frying pan as it was a bit old and lost the non stick.. but overall it was a beautiful place.. and I didn’t have no problems at all.. was just sad when I had to leave and go back to reality..

Extremely disappointed after 10 years as a loyal customer

We were due to arrive for our Forest Holidays break today, but last night our home was unexpectedly flooded with sewage.

The flooding was serious enough that we had to leave our home and stay in a hotel, and today we are dealing with the water company, council, insurance company and emergency trades to assess the damage and make the property safe.

We contacted Forest Holidays as soon as we could to explain what had happened. We were not asking for a refund — we simply asked whether our booking could be moved to another date because, through circumstances completely outside our control, we are physically unable to take the holiday we had paid for.

Unfortunately, Forest Holidays have now declined our request twice.

What makes this particularly upsetting is that we have been going to Forest Holidays for around 10 years. We have been loyal, returning customers and have chosen Forest Holidays repeatedly for family breaks over that time.

After a decade of custom, I would have expected there to be some room for discretion and basic compassion when something genuinely exceptional happens.

This isn't a change of mind, poor planning or simply deciding not to travel. Our home has suffered a sewage flood less than 24 hours before our planned arrival and we are having to deal with the immediate aftermath.

We weren't asking Forest Holidays to refund us or lose the value of the booking. We simply wanted the opportunity to move the break and take the holiday at another time.

After 10 years of choosing Forest Holidays, it is incredibly disappointing to feel that our loyalty counts for so little when we genuinely need some understanding.

We had been looking forward to this break, and after what has happened at home it would probably have been needed more than ever. Instead, the way this has been handled has added another upsetting and unnecessary problem to an already extremely difficult situation.

I would really hope someone at Forest Holidays takes another look at this and considers whether this is genuinely how they want a long-standing customer to be treated.

Update 21st Sept 26:
Customer service very poor:
As requested, your complaint has been escalated and reviewed by a Senior Customer Service Manager, taking into consideration the exceptional circumstances you have described and your history of staying with Forest Holidays.

Following this review, our position remains unchanged. Unfortunately, we are unable to transfer the value of the booking to alternative dates and must adhere to the terms and conditions applicable to the booking.

I appreciate this is not the outcome you were hoping for, particularly as the circumstances were entirely unexpected and outside of your control.

I wish i had used this website before choosing and booking with Forest holidays. Issues seem to be well documented. I have paid in full for my holiday in advance. After receiving a link via email to manage my booking, i attempted to log in. I couldn't access my account either on mobile/app or browser. All receiving errors or loading loops. I called customer service (10 minutes wait) which was a little reassuring to hear my booking details are confirmed. The assistant told me they are aware of an issue on the website and this will be fixed soon. It would have been nice if this info was on their webpage so users could be updated.
Anyway, since the call, i have emailed Info@ and Customerservices@ three times over the last 2 weeks asking for an update with no response. A simple acknowledgment of my email or any communication would do. I have no idea what is going on and will keep this review updated with my experience as things progress.

First off the staff and setting was lovely. Keldy Forest. Our issue was with the lodge. It was clean and the hot tub was lovely. The shower upstairs didn't work. It was either freezing or scalding hot. The TV switched itself off after a couple of minutes. Constantly. There was a hole in the outside table which had sharp pieces of plastic rattan sticking up from it. None of the faults were able to be fixed by the on site team. We were offered the cost of one of our dogs ' stay as compensation £45.in retrospect this doesn't seem enough when you compare what other guests hot for their money. When I handed the key in at reception the person on duty said the whole place was tired and needed a face-lift.

We echo the comments of a few other recent reviewers. We’ve been regularly visiting both the Sherwood Forest and Forest of Dean sites since 2014, and sadly the standards have noticeably slipped over the years.

The cabins are now looking very tired, with cracks, dents, scratches, damp and mould staining. Cleanliness has also become an issue. The floors in our cabin were so dirty that our socks were black after walking around inside. We actually brought floor wipes with us this time because, based on our previous two visits, we anticipated having to clean the floors ourselves.

What makes this particularly disappointing is how dramatically the prices have increased. Forest Holidays now commands a genuinely premium price, but the accommodation and overall experience simply don’t reflect that anymore. Given the change of ownership in 2022, it’s difficult not to wonder whether investment and standards have taken a back seat while prices have continued to rise.

Staffing also seems to have slipped. The team appeared noticeably understaffed and struggled even with a relatively small number of people ordering drinks. At one point we heard a member of staff say they had taken cocktails off because they simply didn’t have time to make them. That’s not a criticism of the individual staff, who seemed to be doing their best, but surely points to inadequate staffing levels.

The shop has gone downhill too. There seems to be an abundance of dog-related products and miscellaneous items, while some of the useful basics you’d actually expect from an on-site shop are lacking. At Forest of Dean, bottles and stock being left out on tables also didn’t create a particularly good impression.

Then there are the basics around the site. Large potholes throughout the roads, tired accommodation and generally neglected-looking areas all add to the feeling that maintenance and reinvestment simply aren’t keeping pace with the prices being charged.

It’s a real shame because we’ve enjoyed coming here for more than a decade and know how good the experience can be. Forest Holidays desperately needs some meaningful reinvestment in its cabins, sites, staffing and cleanliness to get standards back to where they once were.

Sadly, our impression now is that demand remains strong enough that there’s little incentive to make those improvements. At these prices, though, customers should be able to expect considerably better.

Extremely poorly maintained, broken cupboards, loose oven, broken blinds, panel loose on hot tub, dirty in places.
many frustrating issues, no staff knew the complaints proceedure until the second to last day. Staff kept telling me they are shprt staffed due to crap minimal pay so "staff phone in sick" activities cancelled and fobbed off by staff. No organisation what so ever. Manager only came to see us just before we left to say she sees all the issues we have had. Maintenance guy already knew about half the reported maintenance issues. Pile of rubbish, will not return, no where near worth the steep prices

I haven't stayed here yet, however, it is disappointing that Forest Holidays do not allow smoking or vaping, even on your own private terrace.

As a wellbeing break, having to walk to a designated area to smoke, defeats the object of relaxing, and forces you into an open area, exposing a private habit.

It would be nice to expect a private terrace to be your own space to relax without leaving your accommodation..

To pay for a room with an outdoor area that you cannot use the way you want is unfair and quite discriminative and seems our comfort matters less than the comfort of non-smoking guests.

I totally understand not smoking inside a property, out of courtesy for the next customer, however the policy makes me feel unwelcome and judged, rather than accommodated as a paying guest, especially at these prices.

For this reason, I would not stay or recommend any of their properties.

We were looking for a relaxing, peaceful style break, amongst woodland and with not much to do apart form enjoy the forest, ride bikes, make dens, and walk the dog. For that, blackwood forest was amazing. The kids loved the hot tub and lodge and the forest ranger activities, bbq afternoons, early evening bike rides, relaxing at the forest retreat, with super friendly staff. All in all, exactly what we were looking for and no complaints.

We used to be regular Forest Holidays customers, staying frequently between around 2014–2019, particularly at Easter and Christmas at Sherwood Forest. Back then, the concept really worked: comfortable cabins in beautiful woodland with a genuine connection to nature.

By 2019 we'd stopped going. Prices had risen significantly, even with loyalty discounts, while the cabins were becoming increasingly tired and cleaning standards had deteriorated. On previous visits I'd even brought my own cleaning equipment and vacuum cleaner.

This summer, with our boys now almost 17 and 20, we planned a UK road trip beginning with four nights in the Forest of Dean. Forest Holidays kept appearing in my searches and, after reading generally positive reviews, I decided to give it another chance.

Sadly, it wasn't simply as tired as I remembered. It was considerably worse.

On entering our cabin I could smell bleach and initially had high hopes. Within minutes, however, I had the vacuum cleaner out. There were crumbs and pieces of food throughout the living, dining, kitchen and bedroom areas. The dining table was sticky and stained, beneath the cooker and kitchen units was filthy, and the sofa was badly stained, grubby and smelled throughout our stay – despite this not being a pet-friendly cabin.

The bathrooms were particularly poor, with mould around sinks, baths and shower areas. There were cracked floor tiles, dirty windows, cobwebs, and dents, chips and scratches everywhere. By Thursday evening there was also an absolutely foul smell coming from the sink.

We told staff we'd had to vacuum the cabin on arrival but received no meaningful response.

Other problems accumulated: no bedroom bins, nowhere to hang towels in the en-suite, no meaningful drying facilities, worn/broken outside furniture, litter by the entrance and a kitchen utensil I considered unsafe. The water also went off for around half an hour.

The hot tub – supposedly one of the highlights – was disappointingly cold with extremely weak bubbles/jets. We also paid extra for internet/casting and found it very poor. With one of us having no mobile signal, reliable Wi-Fi mattered.

The on-site facilities seem to have gone backwards too. What I remembered as a useful shop is now essentially a café/gift shop. We could buy dog treats and gifts but not something as basic as cereal. When we wanted kindling, there wasn't any either.

Staff were pleasant enough when we spoke to them, but customers were frequently left waiting while staff walked past. On several occasions we simply gave up and left without buying anything.

We wanted to hire bikes but they were already fully booked, so hired elsewhere instead. Beyond a handful of bookable activities, there is very little on site.

And that's perhaps the saddest part. Forest Holidays used to occupy a lovely space between a holiday park and an isolated cottage: quieter, more connected to nature and with a strong woodland/environmental feel.

Now it feels as though the cabins have been packed in while too little is being invested in cleaning, maintenance and the basics.

If Forest Holidays wants to position itself as a woodland retreat, those basics matter. A cabin should be properly clean. The hot tub should work. Paid-for Wi-Fi should work. Bathrooms shouldn't have mould. Furniture shouldn't smell. Guests shouldn't arrive and immediately have to vacuum somebody else's food from the floor.

We actually loved the Forest of Dean. Our canoeing and kayaking were fantastic and we enjoyed cycling the old railway tracks. It is a beautiful part of the country and we'd happily return.

We just wouldn't return to Forest Holidays.

It was a dismal start to our holiday. We subsequently moved on into Wales, where we finally started relaxing, having fun and receiving good service in clean, well-maintained accommodation.

After giving Forest Holidays another chance several years after we stopped visiting, sadly I think this really will be our last.

Emailed 3 times and still have not heard back from anyone…

“I’m writing to confirm a list of complaints regarding my families stay this weekend at the Garwnant site. We’ve paid for a “premium” at the white willow lodge and I’m very disappointed as it’s far from it. I’ve raised issues with reception to no avail so here is a list of issues I want to raise. I’ll also send pictures as proof.

The outdoor BBQ has broken utensils and the doors are damaged they don’t close properly. We were missing things for the pizza oven which meant we had to leave site and I raised this with the front desk team and they wouldn’t help saying it’s not their policy even though the paperwork say otherwise.

The hot tub has broken panels that are a health and safety risk, the cover is also green from not being cleaned properly.

I enquired about bike hire and was told to come back tomorrow only to be told they didn’t have anyone to check the bikes safety so only the pre ordered bikes are checked which I found strange. I then asked if we could book disc golf and that we couldn’t as it no longer exists so that needs updating on your website. We are very disappointed so far and there’s a lack of front office staff willing to help because there’s only so much they can do.

I’m definitely not getting what I’ve paid for in terms of a family experience, the last thing I want to do is complain about what should have been a fantastic stay but so far it’s far from that.”

Terrible experience. £3k 3 night break for a special birthday surprise, family of 10, in tree house lodge Brecon Beacons. Hot tub broken, cold whole holiday, tried to rectify it by throwing in lots more chemcials so undiluted chlorine floating on top. Serious health concern with young children and elderly in party. Broken toilet, cracked sink, broken flooring, unusable dishwasher, no toilet roll - the list goes on, photo evidence provided. I raised the complaint with forest Holidays every day whilst there and no resolution provided. I wrote a formal complaint the day I returned - a week ago, no response from HQ as yet. They are saying never received it despite reading back correct email address to advisor. Avoid!

We've been to a few Forest Holidays sites now and things have generally been ok. This review is specifically for the Delamere Forest site. The holiday cabin itself met our expectations. It was clean enough and comfortable enough. There are 2 reasons for the low rating:
1. The 10 minute drive from the main road to the site is a poor experience. It's rough and full of pot holes. A proper off-road vehicle would handle with ease, but given that most cars have tyres and suspension set up for normal road conditions, it was an unpleasant journey every day.
2. The pine trees surrounding the road and cabin 'rained' debris constantly on our car - cones, twigs, branches and clumps of needles. This has caused ongoing damage to the paintwork as it's been left with spots of hard, sticky pine resin that have peppered the bodywork. I still haven't managed to get rid of them all, several washes later and they have left stains. I may have to pay a car detailer to fully resolve it back to the standard it was at before staying at Delamere Forest.
I emailed Forest Holidays to make them aware of these issues. I think they should either take action to help improve the site or at least to warn people about the risk of damage to their cars. After 3 weeks, I haven't even received a response to acknowledge receipt of the email.

Gorgeous cabins at the Garwnant site in the Brecon Beacons, genuinely lovely woodland setting, and the staff on-site were kind and helpful, that part was great. However, during our stay we ran into safety concerns, maintenance issues, a fee we still don't understand, and internet that barely worked. We raised all of this directly with Forest Holidays, not once but twice, in writing. Two separate emails, and to date, not a single reply. Once they've got your cash, they dash. It seems once payment clears, they've got no interest in hearing from you again. Beautiful location, shame the company behind it doesn't care once you've paid.

I hate writing negative as ive been coming to firedt of dean forest holidays since they opend .wen it was a campsite was here drcmber in hideawsy then feb. My sons bought this break on sumday for my birthday so literally had few hours to get ready ..i usually stay in forest jst a persomal choice but more than happy tp stay in meadow jst loves being here! However its 30 degrees wen arrived and my cabin is full facing sun.my dog has not slept all night panting ! Etc
I can try minimise it but this heat in a full sun all day is impossible she cnt evn go out on decking for a wee its so hot..thought i wld try ask if any chance for dogs sake they cld move us to forest of they had any empty at least its full shady no sun..so shecan use outdoor space go toilet and be more comftable its going to be nearly 40 degrees today i love the sun dnt bothr me i got a parasol with me but mycavapoo is literally struggling moving is more hassle for me empty fridge wardrobe etc head office was fine with it but said it dwn to on site manager they did agree if i paid 50 pound admin fee! ??? My dog cannot breath she cannot go outside on decking its a furnace. I dont want to move i want help for my dog..they have droppd a fan whicj can only be in one room at a time.honestly who sits in an office and has no compassion gor adog in full exposed sun and heat and want paperwork money i could never ever be that person.if it wasnt serioysly overly hot fine if it wadnt full sun were we positioned fine if it was because im hot fine if i was rich fine i jst was asking for help for my dog and somone wouldnt do it unless i paid for thst help i dont have 50 pound not in my bank.icame witheverything bread food i knw how it works here so comes prepared.i hope i never become that person .tbere is something so rewarding and nice wen you can help people or animals..hope the manager of retreat os proud and happy with herself. Decmber will be my last time here i dont care about me i wldnt have piked this cabin it genuinly was my sons .if they check booking..but too not help a dog in 36 degree heat wen you able to or can takes a certain level of person..! Yes my dog is worth 50 pound ...i book hideaway and tbey not cheap cabins. Principle...my dog cnt evn go for wee as decking in full sun!