Wakes Hall Lodges — Hotel in Braintree

My fiancé booked Wakes Hall Lodges as a Christmas present for me along with a zoo experience at Colchester Zoo. When I seen the pictures on here I could not wait to go. Due to a health condition that I suffer with, if we are going to be staying anywhere more than two nights we always book a lodge. We arrived on the 26th of August around 1.40pm. We called head office to let them know we were there and even though we were early they allowed us to go into the lodge as it had already been cleaned and was ready for our arrival. When we first entered the lodge it looked amazing, modern and very clean. As we nosed around the lodge we noticed there where a lot of dead flies on the floor of the kitchen and living area and when we went around the rest of the lodge they were basically everywhere. We put this down to the heat and the fact the lodge had just been cleaned and there was a nearly empty bottle of fly killer by the sink. We went to the local shops to get some BBQ food for later so went on a hunt for some citronella candles as this is what we use in our garden at home when eating in the garden. We also bought some bug repellent cassettes for inside the lodge. We went back to the lodge, put the cassettes out and my fiancé hovered all the dead flies up. We went out for a drink and got back about 7pm to have our BBQ. Unfortunately the fly issue around our food was unbearable so my fiancé called the number provided and spoke to Marie-Anne who said she had thought there was a lot of flies in our lodge when cleaning it but due to the time she was unable to do anything about it but she would get the owner to call us at 8.30 the next morning. Fair enough. By this time we were a bit fed up and just decided to go to bed. As it was so hot and there was no fan provided in the lodge we had to have the patio doors in the bedroom slightly ajar. We had flies landing on us all night so had little sleep. We got up 8.00 and I started to vomit straight away which lasted a couple of hours. I put this down to lack of sleep, lack of eating and the thought of flies everywhere. We had no call back from the owner by 8.50 so we called them. We had to cancel our zoo day as I was still being sick. Marie-Anne came to the lodge and agreed there was a lot of flies. We informed her we were going home as it was just not enjoyable having flies landing on us all the time and on our food. Now I must stress that we know you get flies in the summer but this was excessive. My fiancé counted 18 before we went to bed on the Friday. Now we understand that Wakes Hall Lodges could not have predicted this situation and it was not because of he lodge itself but there was no way we could stay the rest of our duration of the holiday and at no point was any other solution to the situation given so that we could stay. The service we have had has been appalling. We have been called liars, which we are not. We have video's and pictures of the flies. We both work full time to afford nice things. The owner has not even had the guts to speak to us about this situation. Very greedy and unfair. We were willing to just swap the holiday and go back in cooler weather which they are refusing to do. It cost my fiancé over £700 for 3 nights and we could only stay the one due to the situation and this is the way we have been...

Daily unannounced visits to check the hot tub, not always within the times given, which having a nervous dog with us made this a nightmare. Gardeners around properties all day cutting bushes, grass cutting, so very little privacy or relation. Main issue was infestation of flies. This was on another level. It was too hot to have doors and windows shut which we had to most of the time, even then there were flies appearing from nowhere inside. Most of out time was spent killing flies. I have stayed in these sort if lidges before, near stables and never experienced flies like it. Having a wasp nest in the eaves treated as well. We arrived on a Saturday for 7 nights and left after 5 nights as we couldn't bare it any longer. Complaint has been made and I am waiting their investigation. Will never go back. I don't normally read reviews and did so after our experience and it would appear this is a common theme with flies which clearly has not been addressed. Not the place to go for privacy, relaxation or hygiene...

We stayed in the Ramson Lodge and it was an absolutely beautiful place to be. It was very spacious, modern, luxurious and calming. The extra touches on arrival were very thoughtful including a basket of useful items including jams, bread and cereal. We really appreciated them. Both Jordan and Steve were incredibly helpful during our stay. They even updated our TV whilst we were there! They were so friendly and accommodating. Sitting outside in the morning with a cuppa watching the deer and pheasants was wonderful. I think we even saw a hare! A great place to get away if you love nature. Great location if you have young children as Colchester zoo is short drive as well as a railway museum. We visited Poplar Nurseries and went on their mini train which definitely entertained our toddler. I would recommend taking your own travel cot mattress if you choose to use the travel cot as the base board is quite hard as it's all that's allowed to be...