Lakewood Plot 5

This was the best choice for our stay.

We celebrated our son’s first birthday here. With a bbq and hot tub you can’t get wrong here. The caravan was very clean, well maintained and we felt very welcomed. Check in was very easy, the instructions were easy to understand. Place was warm, cosy and smelled very good. Would definitely recommend this to my friends. This is perfect for a weekend away or even for longer stay as it has everything what you need, from the kitchen wear to baby high chair.

We recently booked a four-night holiday at Lakewood Plot 5, and unfortunately, the experience got off to a very disappointing start.

Our check-in time was 4pm, although we didn’t arrive until around 9pm. When we arrived, the property had clearly not been cleaned at all. There were dirty towels left on the floor, the beds had not been changed, the kitchen was dirty and the hot tub had not been cleaned. Nothing appeared to have been prepared for our arrival. As a result, we couldn’t even unpack and had to leave our children waiting in the car while we dealt with the situation. I contacted Sykes immediately to complain, and to be fair, the representative I spoke to was very helpful and quickly arranged for us to move to another lodge. We were told that the replacement lodge was clean but that, as it was a brand new lodge and we would be its first guests, a few items were still missing. We were advised that the owner would contact us the following day. The next morning, another Sykes representative called and gave us the option of either staying in the new lodge or moving back to the original lodge once it had been cleaned. We chose to remain in the new lodge. We were asked if there was anything we needed, so we requested towels and bedding for the pull-out sofa. Unfortunately, these were never provided. We also never received any update or contact from the owner. What was particularly disappointing was the complete lack of follow-up. We received no apology, no compensation and no explanation from the owner. Instead, we eventually received an email simply informing us that our complaint had been closed. The site itself also appeared to be unfinished and not quite ready to be open to holidaymakers. There were maintenance workers around the site for most of our stay, and there were no outside bins available for rubbish. When I asked one of the maintenance workers where the bins were, he explained that they were still waiting to be installed. To his credit, he kindly took our rubbish and explained that there was a bin near the entrance to the site. The replacement lodge itself was beautiful, with lovely new facilities, and we had no complaints about its cleanliness. However, the hot tub was never checked during our entire stay, which was disappointing given that it was one of the facilities we had specifically booked the lodge to enjoy. We also wasn't able to use the outside grill due to the recent fire restrictions. Overall, while we appreciated how quickly the Sykes representative arranged alternative accommodation, the experience was let down by the condition of the original lodge, the lack of basic items in the replacement lodge, the ongoing maintenance around the site and, most importantly, the lack of communication and customer service afterwards. In my opinion, the site simply wasn’t ready to be open to the public. There was too much maintenance still taking place, basic facilities such as outside bins were not yet in place. Once the site is completed I'm sure it will be a great place to stay.