Fairwood lakes holiday park — Hotel in Great Britain

Unfortunately we came away from Fairwood feeling disappointed. From the advertising pictures, it looked like the site we'd been searching for!

Upon arrival we were told our children had to wear a wristband at all times to get into the softplay and park. If it was a removable and reusable wristband I could sort of understand but these were the disposable adhesive type such as you might get at water parks etc. our lively son is 5 and ripped his off with frustration of it annoying him after less than an hour and our daughter is barely 1 so we exempted her. I just don't think this is practical at all for small children, if you are staying for several nights or say a week the children are still expected to keep it on the whole time... at night etc!

Next is the constant rule boards almost everywhere you turn, I completely understand that there needs to be rules of course but it is to the point where you start to wonder if you're even welcome?

Guests have to strictly be out by 10am which you are reminded of a few times before and during your stay, this is earlier than anywhere else we've taken the caravan and simply isn't enough time for a lot of people with young children or elderly especially. We were up not long after 6am and by the time everyone was fed, dressed, showered, caravan and car packed away etc we only just made the 10am. Again, it just makes you feel not too welcome.

Next is the softplay, it is again covered by rules all over the place. It is not a proper building but essentially a large tent with a softplay inside it and therefore gets very hot. You are reminded via more letters on the wall that your child's safety is your responsibility I.e. hydration, cooling down etc which of course is true. However I would argue this structure is not fit for purpose, there needs to be adequate measures taken such as air con units. All of the kids were sweating buckets in there and it wasn't even a hugely hot day. Adults also aren't allowed in to help their kids out or play together and this is policed. Very strange? Seems to be the only softplay I'm aware of to have this rule. It shuts at 5 as does everything else presumably when the staff clock off so don't expect an evening play after dinner.

If you have an awning they want you to lift the groundsheet to let air to the grass every day... and yet the tents destroy the grass areas anyway? Very strange rule. Never heard that one before!

The washing up facilities is a small exposed pergola with a plastic roof, chemical toilet disposal area has no privacy and smells like blocked drains.

To top it off on the last day there was extremely loud forestry work going on close to our pitch with heavy machinery such as excavators and wood chippers. Had we been made aware of this we may have adjusted the chosen dates.

The advertised splash tunnel which sounded amazing was essentially a DIY looking pergola with a water pipe on top with some holes drilled into it and now algae and moss covered rubber flooring. Great idea, poor execution! The mini golf is some old peeling artificial grass patches with mostly loose bricks around them.

The kids park facilities are OK albeit getting old and tired now. The coffee is OK and the lake is pretty, that's probably the best bit. As you walk or ride your bike around the 'island' the footpath is now not maintained, what looked like it was once bark edged with timber so you could walk easily is now just muddy and slippery. We couldn't ride our bikes on it so hopped off and pushed them.

Overall we felt unwelcome due to all the rules and kickout times, frustrated at limited opening times of cafe and softplay, and let down by how it is advertised vs...

This was our first visit to this holiday park and we chose to stay in a treehouse - this exceeded our expectations! It was spotlessly clean, carefully planned layout for ease of use, pleasingly and quaintly decorated & furnished and perfect for a couple who want a bit more than a tent. The overall site accommodations & facilities are set out to be in easy reach whilst providing enough privacy and a peaceful atmosphere. The staff were all amazing, nothing is too much trouble, they are happy, cheerful, friendly and pleasant which in my opinion reflects on the owners of this family run site. All the facilities were spotless and there was an abundance of hot water and tissue in the bathrooms, the staff are attentive in ensuring the washrooms are kept clean but it is disappointing that guests seem to think that it is ok to expect the staff to clean up after them in some cases!! It just leaves you wondering how some people live at home but inspite of some of the conditions the cleaners have to deal with they do it promptly to ensure all guests enjoy using the facilities. The cafe was a huge bonus, again nothing was too much trouble when deciding on breakfast combinations! There is an excellent choice of savory and sweet home cooking/baking and all fairly priced. The cafe was also spotless and well presented. The grounds are excellent and offer something for everyone. The fishing lakes are well stocked and large enough for all to enjoy, the owners have thoughtfully placed picnic benches around the lake so it very much encourages families to enjoy time together. There are plenty of little seating arrangements throughout the park that offer the opportunity for quiet reflection & pondering! The childrens play area is incredible, there is a soft play area, plenty of sit & ride toys, mud kitchens, roller rink, water tunnel and an exceptional wooded area with den making materials provided for the children to explore their imaginations and building skills. There is plenty of comfortable seating for parents to relax whilst watching their little ones enjoy themselves. Overall this holiday park is a credit to the forsight of the owners in the provisions and choices of accommodation & facilities, there is something for eveyone 0-100years old! Also they have ensured there is a good staff ratio and clearly treat their staff respectfully as this has filtered down to a happy atmosphere. We definately are returning but next time with our Son and three grandsons who are 3, 9,12 years as we are confident that all three can enjoy this park as mixed ages are catered for. Finally, I feel saddened that some previous guests have felt vindicated for whatever reason they have to give bad reviews or are 'proffessional complainers!' - I am so pleased I decided to go with my gut and book. I would stress that I would dispute some of the comments! This park has my confidence that it provides a great experience and relaxing opportunities without any of the loud over exuberance of the huge commercial sites. Thank you to all the staff for ensuring we had a...

We decided to book two nights here as a base to visit Longleat, when we arrived I couldn’t fault the reception staff, very polite and showed us where our pitch was, unfortunately even though the site was very quiet when we arrived our pitch was right next to the communal tap so we couldn’t get any privacy with people walking back and forth with water drums all evening!We had travelled 3 hours and wanted to get set up and then decided to get something to eat and a cold drink, and let our son play in the play area. We ordered food with an extremely bored and rude girl behind the counter, paid £9.50 for a baguette and the same again for a toasted sandwich which should have come with chips and coleslaw, and ordered another adults meal. When we received our food and were given an adults meal on a small saucer sized kids plastic plate, and a toastie and baguette on small side plates with no sides, when I went back in to the cafe to query why we had t received the chips and coleslaw we’d paid for as was advertised on the board outside I was then told by some even less enthusiastic extremely rude young man that “you should have told us you wanted it like that”, I said well I’d paid £9.50 for a baguette and chips so I’d fully expect it to come with it! And then his female colleague jumped in and said “did you pay for that then?”. Talk about vile customer service, if I spoke to customers like that I’d very well know about it, I wouldn’t get a chance again. Yes it was eventually rectified but only after the lady in reception had heard what happened and came to ask me what was wrong. We were also over charged for a small can of lemonade, I queried why we were charged for two bottles at £2.50 each and was told they are the same price, that’s absolutely insane for a can. The play area was clean and well kept, but the indoor soft play was absolutely roasting hot and had no ventilation or air conditioning and shouldn’t really have been open for kids to dehydrate in. I used the shower once, that wasn’t very refreshing as the water was roasting hot and so was the weather, again no ventilation in the bathrooms so really unbearable in summer. The waste disposal right next to the dish washing and shower block was absolutely stinking and turned us sick smelling it all the time from our pitch, then again in the play area on Friday evening it was so bad I refused to stay another night, we told reception we were leaving early and were told there is no refund. It’s a shame about the attitude on the kitchen staff and the fact that the food is then pretty sub standard for the price, having young people like that fronting a business with attitude problems towards your customers isn’t a great look. Probably won’t...