Riddings Wood lodges — Hotel in Amber Valley

Stayed here for a night in a 'luxury' cabin with a hot tub. We're visiting family in the area in our motorhome, so we had planned on pitching up for a few days afterwards. Luckily we held off booking until we got there, as the place was filthy, falling apart, and the attitude of the management was even worse. Check in was great, the woman on reception was lovely. The cabin was very basic and a little run down, there were mould stains in the bathroom and patch up jobs, but it was generally clean, apart from a little dust. The kitchen was poorly stocked. There was no oven, no way of preparing food: chopping board, knives, etc, only cutlery and a tin opener. The bathroom was bare apart from towels. No shower mat, shampoo, soap or shower gel. There were none of those little touches that most places have these days, particularly ones described as 'luxury'.

The outside area was noisy (next to a busy road), filthy, and clearly hasn't been cleaned in a long time. It was filled with leaves and dirt, and so was the dog bed and hot tub. There was a net to clear the hot tub, and a brush to sweep the AstroTurf, although you would have expected this to have been done before arrival! There was also no privacy, as soon as you step out of the hot tub you are in full view of the path and other guests. There also wasn't anywhere to put your towels, phones, etc. We didn't notice how grubby the hot tub was on til we got in and started the jets. All of the dirt and grime started building up the edges, along with an obvious brown waterline, it was disgusting. My husband nipped to reception but by that time they had left. There was an emergency contact number but we didn't feel like this counted as an emergency so took a video to show in the morning. I cleaned the grime and put the jets back on to try and clear it fully as we couldn't face going back in as it was. I kept nipping out to check but it was just filthy, I noticed that the water wasn't clear as it should be, and in the end we just gave up. When I went to put the cover back on I noticed a part floating in the bottom of the tub. It appeared to be the filter cover. Although it was just a hollow tube, so maybe a part was missing.

When we explained the situation at checkout, but the miserable older woman on reception (who is apparently the manager) was very abrupt and dismissive. I showed her the videos and she told us that there's nothing she could do about it as we didn't tell her at the time. My husband explained that he had visited reception but there wasn't anybody there. She then said that it was our fault for not calling the emergency number as she lived on site, and that was the end of it. We were not told this, and didn't want to disturb anyone in the evening for something we didn't class as an 'emergency'. So we were basically being punished for trying to be considerate! She genuinely couldn't care less, so I told her that I would be letting people know what things are really like there. As we turned to leave she oddly replied, 'ok, we've had threats like that before'. I asked her what she meant, and she said I was making a threat to her business. I told her that I would be sharing the video I showed her, and that it wasn't a threat, I was just showing potential customers what to expect from the place. It was probably the worst customer service we've ever experienced at a campsite, and that's quite impressive as we are living in the camper full time! We later reached out to their parent company, however my email was forwarded to Riddings Wood's manager to deal with, so I received a similarity dismissive, and rather pompous response. She basically told me that I was lying, that nobody could see any grime on the hot tub, and that someone apparently overheard me being rude and shouting at her, which I'm assuming was to cover her back with the parent company. Awful...

Where do I start!!..The lodges here are disgusting, don't waste your money. Yellow stains on towels, stains all over sofa cushions, kitchen sides still had crumbs and food on, cutlery and plates filthy, and greasy marks on cupboards and handles, kitchen sink was dirty and brown, toaster was minging! Bed cushions stained and stunk! The beds were extremely uncomfortable too. Black mould up the walls and blinds which really affected my asthma and you could really smell it! Place was also thick with dust and clearly hadnt been cleaned in months - if ever. Our shower didn't work, when we reported this we were told we had the dodgy shower and we had to blast out the hot sink tap in order for the shower to get warm, but there was no regulator on the tap so it just got hotter and hotter! Not ideal with a little one around. broken shelving unit in lounge with large screws exposed. Hot tub was nice but there was scum marks around the top where it hadn't been cleaned however it was set to 40°c which can be very dangerous to any guests with heart conditions, pregnant women and children, I asked how to lower the temp and was told you couldn't! Ended up having to de-code the hot tub myself having a little experience and turning the temp down, however if you were unable to do this and didn't want to boil alive then you wouldn't be able to use the tub. No WiFi at all on the site even tho it was advertised as having it. It's nowhere near a woodland lodge it's on the side of a busy main road which is a stone throw from your bedroom window. The whole experience was horrendous and within an hour we just wanted to go home! I have since made a complaint which I have received a ridiculous response claiming the housekeeper was off ill this day so it affected the cleanliness, having requested a refund my latest email has been completely ignored! Not professional at all, I would look elsewhere! I will be seeking legal advice regarding my refund as they have rented out a holiday home not fit...

Deffo wanna go again. The cabins are a very cozy four sleeper but if you don't mind that then you will be fine. We was a party of 16 booked 4 cabins could book an hour slot in the hot tub per cabin. Had one of the best all girls birthday bash night out took our boombox and made a night of it. The cabins have all you need to cook or heat up food and store your drinks. I will definitely be going back in the near future not too far away from a co-op if you need anything extra. And the burger van on site for breakfast in the morning before the drive...