Excited by the prospect of a relaxing holiday, we made our way towards the Forest of Dean, with illusions of luxury, tranquility and a breath of fresh air in mind, the mood along the journey could be described as rather chipper. We could even go as far as saying upbeat, upbeat until we approach the Forest Retreat.
Don't get me wrong the Forest Retreat itself is inoffensive enough, it's just a shame we couldn't say the same for our welcome, it was enough to knock the wind out the sails of even the most lively of jesters. The rules of the forest were barked at us and other visitors by an over agitated member of staff, lecture over, we made our way to our Golden Oak cabin.
“Forest holidays saving grace was the hot tub outside the lodge.”
Slightly less chipper than earlier, we rambled down the forest path and opened the door of our lodge. The politest way to describe our Golden Oak cabin is underwhelming, we were anticipating luxury and in our opinion the lodge fell short of this word. It would be far too bold to say it's awful, it's not, it's adequate accommodation and an ideal place to stay if your a family looking for a forest experience.
It contains the bare basics, which is fine as long as you don't mind ramming your car full of everything from dishwasher tablets to hand soap. Facilities on site aren't anything to scream about, so come prepared to amuse yourself and feed yourself as we found it hard to scrape together a nutritious meal from the shop, there wasn’t a vegetable or piece of fruit in sight, or on site should we say!
Forest holidays saving grace was the hot tub outside the lodge, situated on our own private decking area it was easy to spend an evening looking out into the forest in awe. On our trip the hot tub was more of a warm bath due to the majority of jets being out of action, but enjoyable none the less.
If your booking a holiday here then it's definitely recommended that you opt for the Golden Oak hot tub option, the surroundings here are idilic and worth exploring.
To book your break, call Forest Holidays: 01594 837165
The Bill: £200 per night
