Ullswater Heights Holiday Home and Lodge Park — Attraction in Great Britain

I booked this site based on them describing themselves as a "5-star luxury holiday park" but in reality it felt closer to a 3-star caravan park. The accommodation is essentially static caravans designed to look like lodges, which I knew in advance, but several issues let it down. We stayed in a Helvellyn Spa pet friendly 'lodge'.| |On checking out, I did explain to the receptionist which areas I felt let it down and meant I would not return to this site. I was told she would email me/contact me that afternoon but unfortunately, she failed to do so which brings into question whether they do anything with some constructive feedback.| |Firstly, there were stains on both sofas in the lodge so the first impression was already quite low. While I appreciate it is previous guests that have caused these stains, if I was operating a self-proclaimed 5-star site, I would have changed these sofas before they became as bad as this (see photos).| |Hot tub – this was more like sitting in a hot chlorinated bath with barely any power to the bubbles so was quite the disappointment. I reported it to reception on the Tuesday morning and was told they would get someone to look at it. It remained the same and when I spoke to maintenance on the Thursday, she offered to replace some jets but explained that due to the size of the hot tub and number of jets, it wasn’t going to be like a jacuzzi type of hot tub. I don’t see the point in having a hot tub that is so poor at generating much more than a ripple on the surface.| |Kitchen/Utility/Cleaning – I felt this was insufficiently equipped. There were 3 pans and 2 lids but only 1 lid fitted 1 pan. The hand soap dispenser was empty on arrival. There only 2 large knives so I had to slice strawberries with a large carving knife. No kitchen roll is provided. The cleaning pack includes a small tube of washing-up liquid, a laundry detergent pod, 2 dishwasher tablets and a sponge/scourer and cloth. For a 6-person lodge, 2 dishwasher tablets aren’t sufficient for a 4 night stay. Also, being a pet friendly lodge, I would suggest some sort of multi-purpose spray is provided so you can clean up any accidents that may happen (who knows what sort of accident happened on the sofas to result in such stains…).| |Despite there being a welcome folder (which was close to falling apart), there were no instructions for using the kitchen appliances. We had to call out of hours security on our second night to ask how the oven works. He said it happens frequently as this lodge has a gas cooker which not many people have at home. He said there were instructions on the Leisure Resorts app but there wasn’t, nor were we even advised on arrival that we should download that app. There also aren’t any instructions on the Landal or Hoseasons app either.| |The kitchen has an integrated fridge/freezer but no-one has bothered to actually connect it to the cupboard door. It did work though so credit on that part. You are encouraged to recycle but aren’t given the means to do so in the sense that you are given one bin liner that fits into the only kitchen bin. You need to either leave recycling on the worktops or visit the recycling bins every day. Perhaps a bin with separate sections would be more encouraging for visitors to recycle rather than dispose of everything as general waste.| |Bedrooms – the beds are quite firm as mentioned in other reviews. On our last day, when checking we had emptied all drawers, we found a dusty pair of men’s boxers in one bedroom drawer (thankfully in a drawer we didn’t use). We were provided with bathrobes but one of them had a hole in it which you don’t expect from a 5-star site. The drainpipes from the gutters outside don’t go all the way to the ground and as there was quite a bit of rain during our 4 night stay, you could hear what sounded like someone emptying a never-ending bucket of water outside of the bedroom, even with the windows closed. Not so good if you’re a light sleeper.| |The few good points overall were the dog agility field, the site itself being well-maintained overall and the restaurant. We had some drinks in the bar on our first night and a meal on our last night. The food was nice and we felt it was reasonably priced for this type of setting. Also, the front of house and bar staff were friendly.| |I understand that they are looking at doing some updates on site according to reception, hopefully replacing dirty sofas and uncomfortable beds are high on the priorities. The main reason given was that they’d had a busy summer but why should people staying after summer suffer the consequences. While the negatives didn’t ruin our stay, they have impacted my impression of the site. First impressions count significantly as does customer service (i.e. if you say you’ll be in touch, make sure you do so). I made the most of my stay but it was disappointing when expectations were set high by the site’s...

Premier establishment let down by rude unhelpful security staff. Stayed for 3 nights with my partner and 3 year old, lovely site with a quality feel. Great to have on site restaurant, park for kids and features like the lake. We stayed in the pods right on the lake which is well equipped and nice with the hot tub and big screen tv. What let the experience down was the whole time we stayed the pod next door had a party of 4 who were drinking every night in the hot tub for long hours until late. This is fine as they are also on holiday the problem lies with the noise which was constant and as the neighbouring pod hot tub is opposite the room our 3 year old was in which is the twin room this became very distributive to his sleep. Even with windows shut we could hear every word of next door and even in the living space with the tv on which had a soundbar you could hear them over the tv. Now I called the desk on the Saturday and they said they would send a polite reminder and do an extra patrol on the evening to ensure they were respecting other guests. This was on the Saturday so the evening comes around again and the talking started around 9:30pm until late after midnight. The hand book states that other guests should be respectful and keep noise down after 10pm. That night I called security they said “we came around and didn’t hear anything but will come again” this was around 11pm then our door starting knocking bare in mind we called about noise disturbing our 3 year old the security felt it was ok to bang our pod at that time 11pm and then say “I’m not telling people off for talking” I said we can here them through the walls and the baby monitor but he refused to do anything and was quite rude. The noise happened every night for 3 nights so this spoiled it really as we came to relax. I think as feedback the booking team shouldn’t be placing a family next to a pod with couples in that are celebrating a birthday and naturally talking loud as they are having a good time. We are both here for a holiday but just a different holiday. I didn’t expect security to tell them off like he said but the talking volume was excessive and relentless for hours all I wanted was security to ask them to turn the volume down a tad as a 3 year old is next door. Not sure on the security guards name but he had a beard and looked like a night club doorman with a beanie hat on. I think better staff should be invested in as everything else feels premier but the site guidelines with noise should be better managed so everyone can enjoy there stay. We would visit again as love the site and area just a...

I'm going to start this review off with a 1 star and build it up to what it ended up being. We have stayed 9 or 10 times, I think, since 2020. We booked the Grasmere this time and were allocated no. 18. We have stayed in this area before so we're happy with it. Prior to arrival, we received a call offering us a complimentary returning guest upgrade to a Blencathra family. This was lodge 56. Again, as we have stayed in this area, we thought, okay, let's take this offer. When we arrived at Ullswater, we took our keys and headed to Lodge 56. Initial impressions were good as normal, clean, and tidy. We always have a good look around before taking our stuff in just in case something is not quite right or clean. What was apparent was that there were no curtains. In any room. Just horizontal blinds you would find in your house, not blackout. This was a concern, given the light that comes in. We have had curtains in all other lodges. What I will say is that the furniture in this particular lodge is now looking worn, and as such, I wouldn't say this was an upgrade.

We had a quick look at Lodge 18, and this looked in better condition. We headed to reception to ask for the keys to lodge 18 but was told that this was now unavailable. However, as always, the staff were exceptional and offered us lodge 105. We stayed in 102, 103, and 104 before, so we were happy to accept this.

Lodge 105, hot tub required filling, but this was done quickly, and we were in it at 7pm. Like all lodges, there are signs of wear and tear and something that I hope gets looked at, so the park maintains its 5 star status. In general, the park looks good, and the grounds are well maintained. The Lake House restaurant serves very good meals and is relatively well priced. Can be busy at times, so it's worth booking. Note it's closed on Wednesday at present.

I'll return for sure. I just hope the park has a plan to start looking a little deeper at the lodges' internal fittings.

Can't fault the staff, very helpful and willing to listen and sort any issues.

Would I recommend? Without a doubt I would still say this place is well worth it. 10 mins from Penrith, 20 mins from Keswick and the...