The Lakes Rookley — Attraction in Rookley

We booked an indulgent Island Cottage for 4 nights with the idea we might look at buying a lodge or caravan on the resort with their guarantee income scheme ! Well we did not even bother looking. ||I had a call from someone offering a "upgrade" to a lake view for £72 I tried to get this refunded as it was awful - If you are assigned NO 1 - 6 beware! (We had no 6) then you will find the outside was tatty and weedy and brambles everywhere. Mossy old fence with a tired worn out hot tub that never worked properly! ||The best thing about this resort were the staff - The bar staff and entertainment were great and the Maintaince staff (who we saw a lot!) were also brilliant a shout out to ROBERTO & CO for fixing our tap.||So we arrived and unpacked the inside of the cottage was good and we tried to hop into the hot tub. It was displaying an error code - DO NOT USE too hot! so out came the repair man - He said it will be okay in an hour - It got hotter so 2nd call for repair man - A different one! who said it could be a sensor or thermostat but we don't have any spare parts so leave the lid off and see if it cools down ||No Hot tub Monday and could not get the heating to work! No instructions so ask when you arrive to be shown if its cold||Tried to have a shower it overflowed and flooded the floor not draining so had to mop up! This MUST have been reported by previous guests as it was so bad! just not fixed! Still trotted off to Karaoke - Good night in the bar! ||Tuesday morning - woke up opened hot tub which was now almost stone cold! (Lid was back on) it was now not heating - more repair men - shower now fixed but no HOT TUB Tuesday had enough now - remember I have paid for an upgrade! We are not happy bunnies ||Weds morning by now and still NO HOT TUB! back up to reception again! asked to be moved. Told it would be about 5-7 hours! Had to find something to do while wasting 6 hours waiting to move lodges so hopped on the bus to Godshill and had a pint in the Griffin! ||We got put into no 50 a lovely cottage which was cleaned for us for the last 2 nights - unpacked went to make a cuppa to find the tap lying in the sink! (Girls had JUST left and ignored it) also Gas and electric box covers broken off and left in the garden I would NOT have been happy if we had children with us they could have played with the gas and electric mains boxes and its not waterproof (see pics) ||Out comes ROBERTO and saves the day and he tried to fix it for us - no spares (Story of the week) so sticks it back together and goes off to order parts - A HUGE thank you we can now use the kitchen tap - mains boxes never fixed! ||HOT TUB - was working - but still cold as it was refilled for us (4pm) day 3 still no HOT TUB! Went to Chequers inn for dinner with friends and the food by the way was excellent try the crispy beef and spring rolls !||Thursday morning - woke up and hurray the HOT TUB is hot and is working - I am in there for a good 30 mins - shower also works and this lodge has 2 bathrooms and is very lovely except for the awful lounge coffee table all scratched and vinyl lifted!||Used the HOT TUB in the evening and 10.30 prepared for bed! Next door was a gang approx. 6-8 young ladies (And I use that term loosely) Completely drunk and screaming and shouting and singing Spice Girls songs - Now I was not aware that the site allowed hen and Stag parties as most do not! ||The noise got louder and they drank more - Several other guest shouted at them to shut up and the one behind said their kids were trying to sleep - It was not approx. 11.15 and this was obviously going to be an all nighter! (they ask you to keep the noise down from 11pm every other site its been 10pm as many people have kids) ||My partner popped his head over the fence and asked politely if they would mind keeping the noise down - Wont repeat the reply but it was suggested we close the windows - Oh and they have paid the same as us! ||Went outside some other guests were up and not happy - Eventually found the emergency number (Make SURE you have got it) and phoned and Ian the night man had to deal with the girls ||So made the decision to sleep in a single bed in the front bedroom as I was driving home the next day! ||Friday last day - not much sleep but in the HOT TUB for a final 45 mins with a coffee and handed the keys into reception - We mentioned the noise and the receptionist said they had had many complaints (Not surprised) - Put the hot tub on a timer that goes off at 10.30 and turns off the tub and light! ||Would we return? Not sure - Three days with no hot tub use I did ask about a refund but the chap on the desk did not seem to know anything about us even moving! Told me it was unlikely and to speak to head office (Not very helpful) ||It feels like the cleaning crew are not checked - No can opener in the 2nd lodge and tap left in the sink. Another guest was complaining about dog hair everywhere and on the floor and held up a sock completely covered in dog hair (She did not have dog) they had to sweep up ||Did not use the Pool as it looked dirty and old with cracked tiles. Paid for an upgrade and did not get any value - If we had a lodge without a HOT TUB we would be £120 better off and really not happy they allow groups its always going to cause problems and there are lots of other reviews about noise late into the night from groups of men or women - its either family friendly or not and if there are groups there needs to be tighter security.||The good - The staff, especially repairs and the bar staff |The bad - The HOT TUBS need replacing and the steps up to them are dangerous and rickety and the housekeeping needs more checks |The Ugly - Other guests behaviour - Bear in mind young groups...

Went for a small end of summer getaway with parents, they are retired & wanted a break close to home so decided on the IOW. Booked at The Lakes Rookley, originally were going to stay in a caravan as the pictures looked great, then there was a cottage available so we decided to ‘upgrade’.

Pros: -Location is perfect, pretty much in the middle, allowing easy driving to all attractions. Longest drive 30mins. -Layout of resort was great, easy to understand & signposted well. -Check in was super easy. -Girl on the front desk was friendly & helpful. -Food was delicious, went in the 1st day as given vouchers. -Waitresses serving food & drink were friendly. -The design/layout of the cottage was great, imagined it would be perfect for a first time buyer (obviously not in a resort). -Sinks, toilet & utilities all clean. -Bottle of Prosecco in the fridge on arrival, whether that was provided by the resort or had been left by previous guest we don’t know.

Cons: -Accommodation was in desperate need of a proper clean. Cobwebs EVERYWHERE! Had to get rid of loads of spiders they were in every room, webs even in the fake plants! -Floor was filthy! Needed a good mop and vacuuming! Quickly learned to keep our shoes on & had to dust off our feet/clean them before getting into bed. -Outdoor seating was broken, looked old, and needed cleaning. -Dining table was rough and dirty with chips and scratches. -One of the duvets in the twin room had blood stains on them (not huge, like from a cut but was still horrible). -Furniture was fine, but didn’t look like it was put together very well, had nails sticking out of the drawers. -Decor was non existent, no decoration/mirrors in twin room at all. 1 tiny mirror in bathroom which was too high up. -Provide you with washing machine & dishwasher but no tablets/power to actually use them. You’d have to either buy them from the front desk (a fortune) or buy them from a supermarket. -The tea towel, which my mother found hilarious, was not a full tea towel. It looked liked they’d chopped one in half and done a bad job hemming it. -Not enough bowls. Clearly 2 had been broken/stolen, & not been replaced. Can’t exactly eat cereal from a plate, had to take it in turns. -Again, provide you with a washing machine and clothes airer but not an iron. Aware it doesn’t state it provides one, but you’d think it would be a good idea, who’s travelling with an iron!? -No WiFi in the cottages so had to rely on signal, which is bad. Again, aware they don’t advertise WiFi in the cottage just in the main building, but these days might be a good idea. -We can live without WiFi, but then they provide you with a smart tv, meaning you can’t access the smart features because you need WiFi. & the freeview is also fine, we aren’t expecting Sky tv or anything, but sort the signals out! The tv just didn’t work at all. -You’re provided with 2 small toilet rolls, so when you run out you have to purchase 1 roll from front desk for £2. We got extra from the local coop. -States they have a swimming pool, which we were quite looking forward to, but you have to book a slot 2 weeks in advance, which you aren’t made aware of unless you download the resort app. Only open 9-5, we weren’t going to know 2 weeks in advance when we wanted to take a swim!? -Sofa was uncomfortable and annoying. It was almost out of shape and hadn’t been cleaned. -Dead flies/spiders stuck to the wall, which was disgusting. -Music was so loud in restaurant, not in a club. -No soaps provided in the bathroom -1 tiny washing up liquid provided in kitchen, (like a hand cream sized tube). -No other cleaning equipment provided, so if you spilt/broke something you can’t clean it up very well. (Suppose you could use the tiny tea towel) -To top it all off, found the cleaning check list which hadn’t been check off since 17th June, 3 months before our stay!? (See photo)

Overall, it all needs a lot of attention & updating. Looking at a lot of similar reviews as well, Away resorts you might want to look...

I was so worried it was going to be a bad experience, from previous reviews, that I phoned the site to ask some questions. Unfortunately having phoned twice and spoken to the same nice lady, with fairly easy questions, I didn't ever receive a phone call back, as promised twice. This is where the bad experience ended. I'll try and mention everything that was important to me on holiday.||The Luxury island Cottage was lovely and well equipped. Yes, there was a bit of damage and staining which you don't expect in a higher end cottage, but it really didn't detract from our stay. We had 4 of all the crockery and cutlery, which I had read they were previously skimping on. There was a good range of knives and utensils. I always bring my own knife as I hate blunt ones, but there was no need, these were perfect and quite large! The kitchen did have a built-in washing machine and slimline dishwasher, which wasn't expected but useful. They provide you with 2 dishwasher tablets for a 4 night stay, washing up liquid, sponge and bin liners.||The hot tub (THIS WAS THE BEST PART FOR ME!!) was ready for us to step into straight away and was clean, a perfect temperature and not overlooked. As previously mentioned, the hot tub men do just let themselves into your garden to carry out checks as and when, so no skinny dipping! Haha. They were very polite and helpful.||The bed and pillows were perfect for me and I'd have like to have taken them home! There was a shower and no bath. The shower was a good one with a large head and a detachable smaller one. There were 2 loo rolls in the bathroom ready. There is definitely no tv in the bedrooms, only the lounge. One lady I spoke to said they were only in certain cottages, BUT i was told there definitely none on the site at all, something to do with Away Resorts taking it over and not something they provide, but will look into in the future.||Heating throughout and I wasn't cold at all.||The phone and 3g, 4g Internet signals for EE were virtually non-existent. Apparently EE is the best provider on the Island. There is no wi-fi on the site except for the main building. It was like the 90s holding your arm out at silly positions to try and get anything!! As I knew this in advance i took a laptop and these old things called DVDs, as i knew I wouldn't be able to stream or download. I'd be happy to digital detox to an extent, but needed the phone for ill parents at home this time and needed a tv substitute to help me sleep (insomnia).||There is a small Co-op close to the entrance, 3 minute walk maximum. Fairly well stocked, did have a gluten free section and some vegan food, alternative non-dairy milks and yoghurt, fruit and veg, micro meals, chocolate, biscuits, bakery area, non food groceries, alcohol etc. They did have a coffee machine, Lavazza I think, but I didn't try it. TIP - download the co-op app before you arrive (I gave up on site!) for much better prices!||I didn't try the indoor pool this time, it looked nice through the window, not too deep, good for children, but you do have to book it in advance. The outdoor pool wasn't open in March.||Coming from a town where there's a coffee shop on every corner, we found there weren't many around, or that were open early am. Costa in Newport was not too far away and opened at 7 or 7.30, avoid the locals in the window! Caffe Isola round the corner is nice and quirky and serves lovely coffee and opens at 8.||15-20 mins from anywhere you want to go. Really good base. Will...