Wareham Forest Lodge Retreat

This lodge is unfit for purpose it’s filthy dirty scuffed and scrapped everywhere The smell was overpowering when we opened the door the staff at the park have very little interest Be aware the heating can only be used to a set temperature of 20 the park have locked the thermostats so if it’s chilly the lodges are cold This place has been a massive disappointment. I would advise to check if you are booking that you don’t get lodge 38

The lodge we had was absolutely beautiful,the beds were nice and comfy and the pillows were also, well equipped kitchen everything a family needs bonus of decking and furniture, overall the lodge was spotless a very cared for site and very relaxing and peaceful with friendly staff.

Having stayed with Darwin Escapes at Bath (twice), Axminster and Blenheim Palace, we knew what standard we were expecting and the type of facilities and amenities on the park. It didn't disappoint! Where else could you go and have three decent sized bedrooms (one en suite with a dressing room), a washer/dryer, wine cooler, dishwasher, decked area and four TVs? Yes, there's no bar or restaurant and no gym or spa pool but the tranquility is superb. There's a pub next door and Poole is less than 20 minutes drive (Wareham about three miles away). We weren't overlooked and there were no noisy neighbours. The weather was glorious so we were eating on the outdoor patio furniture at breakfast, heading off for the day with a picnic and eating outside again in the evening (accompanied by some alcohol chilled in the wine fridge). Yes, the flush broke on the en suite toilet but the on call person stopped it from constantly filling when she visited in response in the evening and the maintenance man fixed it the following day. We also had one gas ring not working, again fixed promptly. Oh, and we had no cafetiere when we arrived. As we had a cafetiere in other Darwin Escapes lodges, a quick enquiry at Reception resolved this issue. We were able to park two cars outside the lodge without the need to shuffle them constantly and access was easy. If I am getting nit picky then a worktop space either side of the sink to separate clean and dirty dishes would have been nice and a larger drawer for cutlery would have been great. Such lovely problems to have! An option for a later (chargeable) check out, maybe 11am, would be lovely but I can't complain as we were able to check in at 3pm on arrival.

We were initially worried about coming here after reading some of the reviews, but this was eliminated the moment we got there after a arduous 6 hour drive. The lodge was spacious, clean and had all the amenities we needed including washing machine, dishwasher and even a bath. The reception was on site to sort out any problems or give advice with emergency numbers available. The grounds are beautiful, spacious and peaceful. The location is ideal we visited Monkey World,Poole, Bournemouth, Weymouth and Swanage, along with 2 visits to different locations on the Jurassic Coast all just a short drive away. This turned out to be the ideal place for us, relaxing, quiet and peaceful and we will definitely be visiting again,we've now moved on to Cornwall I hope this week proves to be as ideal as the last.

Once again, we’ve had another fabulous stay and absolutely love it here. The lodges are great…… really clean, very well equipped, comfortable and the staff are wonderful. We would thoroughly recommend a stay and can’t wait to come back again

We recently stayed for 4 nights as a family of five (including 3 young children). We had a spacious light and airy lodge (and I don’t believe this was the highest grade accommodation) so we were very pleased with it. The lodge felt modern and clean, with all the bits and pieces included such as clean soft towels, saucepans, plates etc, even a dishwasher which made life easier. Reception staff were welcoming and friendly and the site overall seemed to be very well kept. It’s a great base for exploring, we visited LULWORTH cove, Durdledoor and The Blue Pool, all no more than 25 mins away. The only reason I haven’t given 5 stars is because I can see why the heating could be a problem. It didn’t go above 22, and even when it said it was 22 it definitely wasn’t. We could have missed something, but there didn’t seem to be a way to get it to click on and off after the temp dropped at night so it was really cold first thing in the morning, I’d imagine this could be quite an issue in winter or with babies getting cold in the night. The only other thing that was a little annoying is the road noise, we were very close to the road, it’s was just behind the lodge so the traffic noise at night with the odd boy racer was really loud. However it didn’t wake the kids up and it might just be that we live in a really quiet area so we are not used to that noise level of traffic. We would definitely return and it’s very good value , but I would try and stay in a lodge further from the road if that was possible.