Name: Danby Lodge, Coleford
Address: Coleford, GL16 7EG, United Kingdom, Forest of Dean, Forest of Dean, Forest of Dean, GL16 7EG, United Kingdom
Rating: 9

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Forest Hills Golf Club

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Danby Lodge, Coleford

Forest of Dean

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kitchen

Given the overwhelmingly positive reviews, I am very surprised to be writing this. My family and I booked to stay at Danby Lodge between Christmas and New Year. We ended up leaving early on the second morning after a disastrous stay. 
Danby Lodge itself is a beautiful old building in stunning grounds (if you ignore the portable toilet on the front drive). It is in woeful need of repair and a good clean. We arrived to find the shower in the main bathroom unfinished and with sharp, broken tiles left on the floor (pretty astonishing given they knew we were travelling with young kids). There was a sign in the bathroom asking for bath mats to be placed next to the shower tray to prevent leaks. The carpets were filthy - not just tired - filthy. There were smudges all over the fridge and crumbs all over the kitchen. Still, we were determined to enjoy ourselves. We awoke the next morning to find no hot water in the main shower. Whilst trying to get it to work (with bath mats in place), water leaked into the kitchen below. My elderly mother slipped on the puddle in the kitchen and injured her arm. This was an utter disgrace - management knew of previous leaks into the kitchen but hadn’t bothered to fix the problem. 

The  maintenance man arrived but said he would not call an emergency plumber as the owner of the lodge would not authorise the payment. 

That evening, we returned after dining out to find scalding hot water pouring out from behind the kitchen sink. We proceeded to spend the entire evening of our holiday rushing around the house trying to work out how to stop the flood (which we did) and trying to minimise damage to the property by putting down towels and mopping up water. To his credit, the maintenance man arrived quickly but asked us whether WE were going to call an emergency plumber?! 

Given the state of the plumbing, most of the water supply to the house was then switched off. We had no choice but to stay at Danby Lodge that night as it was late, we were a large party and had nowhere else to go. So we spent the night with hardly any running water and most toilets not flushing. Hardly a luxurious stay. 

The host has refused to refund us the remaining 70% we paid for that night (Air BnB automatically refunded 30%). We have received neither an apology - not even for the injury to my mother’s arm - nor thanks for spending our whole evening trying to protect his property. Our entire family holiday was completely ruined.  

Under alternative ownership this would be a wonderful place to stay but the current owner appears to be too greedy to take a break in bookings so that he can bring it up to basic health and safety standards.

Horrendous experience

This was a brilliant weekend away at the Lodge open fire , large rooms for the family to play games , cinema room , dog friendly. Had a lovely gift pack of food on arrival. Clean and lovely place would go back again.
Lovely walks with our dogs to the local pub and nice towns near.

What a place brilliant and clean .

What a perfect weekend for our family at this gorgeous lodge - stunning location and beautiful accommodation. Despite being an old house it was so warm, comfortable and very well equipped, welcome package included everything you could wish for - we would definitely recommend and would love to stay there again

Family Birthday celebration

Having read the reviews on Danby Lodge website and others, I knew it was the one for a big gathering of thirteen ladies for a week.

Had a fabulous week, the location was so peaceful and the views amazing. Each morning watching the mist and the beautiful sunrises. Explored the woodlands around and if you are lucky you mught catch the deer running through. Set in its own two acres, within the Forest of Dean, so there was plenty of walks to do and the Sculpture Park is near by very close to GoApe.  

The open fire was a great centre piece and used everyday, there is wood and kindling provided. The kitchen was large with all utensils for a big group and the dining table was big enough for us all. A lovely welcome basket is provided and came in useful till our shopping was delivered, use Ocado as recommended by the team.

As there were alot of film enthusiasts amongst us the cosy cinema room was used all the time, when we were not out walking.

Cosy bedrooms, comfy beds, however, the library room where the sofa bed is, was cold. It does state this on the website, so be aware. Loved the hidden room upstairs behind the door.   

Can imagine being here in summer and using the outdoor space and swimming pool.  
Special  mention to  the  team , Richard, Norman and Jackie.

High recommended.

Fabulous start to 2022 and birthday treat!

We stayed here as a family in July 2020 and were really looking forward to the post lockdown break. To be clear, this is a very old house which was refurbished a long time ago and is in desperate need of updating. Upon check in the house was filthy, the kitchen being one of the worst I have experienced in a short term rental, the fridge leaked, the dishwasher didn't work, the oven took twice as long as it should do to cook food, the sink was tiny, the pots and pans were old and not fit for purpose. Outside the pool was warm but we had to ask them to come and clean it as it was more like a filthy pond and the old slabbing around the pool was at best hazardous. The coach house with the so called table tennis table is more like an old garage with with a load of rubbish inside all of which was not fit for purpose.
All in all a big shame as the house itself is a stunning property and the setting is gorgeous but for the money spent it was very disappointing. What is even stranger is the owner is a property developer so it would be fair to expect a higher standard than we experienced. In conclusion I would not recommend!

Very disappointing

This place is amazing. We all got together for my Mum's 80th and arrived from everywhere!! Canada, Morroco, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Although remote, we found it easily with sat nav. Loved everything about the place and location. Easy kitchen to cook in (okay a slightly challenging oven lol) and well stocked with plates, cutlery etc. Just need a large saucepan for large crowd though. TV room was great with loads of dvds. Very comfy beds, I do agree with one review about bigger towels. Great fun in the games room playing table tennis. Norman the gardener was a gem, bringing wood and an axe when needed. The young uns trudged through the mud and forest to the pub. What a great find and so warm and friendly. The walks around the house and estate were lovely. Coming back to the amazing big log fire was great. Any questions we had of our host were answered promptly. Loved the hamper, a lovely touch. The only negative thing to comment on was, it would have been nice to have the  heat on when we arrived. I know it must cost a fortune to heat that place but just to get rid of the dampness. We had a few older folks and they really felt it. Once the heat is on it's toasty but it takes a long time warming up. All the pubs and resturants recommended were great and the little town of Lydney and the harbour were very enjoyable.

80th birthday party

A fantastic venue with the most breathtaking view! The house is hidden along an off road track in the middle of a forest. 14 of us stayed in the lovely Danby Lodge for the weekend in October. Apart from the sofa bed all the beds where great. The showers were powerful and also lovely and hot. The welcome package is outstanding and the oven was fine to use (after seeing others reviews). It was perfect for our Murder Mystery weekend with lovely warm fire.  We went on a short walk through the woods to The Rising Sun for some pub grub, they were very accommodating for our large party. 

Overall a wonderful weekend stay, the only thing I would say needs to be looked at is the sofa bed (not ideal to sleep on for multiple nights) and larger towels and more glasses needed for guests. I could also see how the deep pond would be an issue for children and dogs. Apart from that we would love to come back in the summer to enjoy the swimming pool.

What A Perfect Stay

We visited Danby Lodge as a family to celebrate a big birthday.
The building is absolutely stunning. The gardens are beautiful and well maintained by Norman (who is delightful).
The house oozes history and the children loved the "mysterious vibe"!

The beds were huge, and the rooms were spacious and well laid out. The main bathroom was lovely with an epic shower.

The swimming pool provided hours of entertainment for the children. Although despite being heated it was very, very cold!
Some of the paving around the pool was cracked as was a plastic cover which we had to cover with a deck chair so that the children didnt cut their feet.

There was a play room although when we arrived there were a lot of mouse droppings so we didnt let the children in there.

The kitchen is modern and adequate size wise, however the oven had a mind of its own! You would need MENSA membership to figure out the controls,  but we got there in the end!
It contained everything we needed and plent of crockery etc.

The house could have been cleaner. Given the age of the property, cobwebs are to be expected,  but furniture in the hall was grubby and marked, the fridge was dirty inside (and a drawer broken).
The carpet in the first seating room was pretty grubby and we picked up quite a lot of broken glass (after one of the kids stepped on some).

The TV room was a lovely place to play board games and have family time. Huge squashy sofas and a massive TV.

Lastly, there is a large, very deep koi pond at the far end of the garden which we didnt find initially.
It is sunk into the ground and not covered so not very obvious. We had young children and the pool and subsequently this pond meant that they couldn't play outside without being watched constantly. We did feel that a couple of wooden gates on the entry to the garden with the pool in would have been benefically so that the childre  couldnt just wander down the pool. Interestingly, in an old photo of the house on display, there were gates there once!
We would have also felt much safer if the koi pond had a grill or cover over it. The ooen, unprotected water meant we couldnt totally relax whilst the children were outside.

When we arrived, there was a large and very active bees nest which as soon as I called yhr management company, they were happy for me to arrange to have it removed and they would cover the cost.

The location of the house was fab. It was like something out of a movie! Beautiful views and isolated enough for the children and dogs to be as noisy as they liked without disturbing anyone!

We had a lovely break and the house is more than adequate. There just a few areas that could be improved given the cost of the accomodatio .


Impressive property, a few small niggles

This was our second visit to Danby Lodge and we were not disappointed...this beautiful rambling old lodge is located in the middle of the forest and is perfect for a large family group. Lots of space, nice bedrooms and good facilities. We loved using the swimming pool, games room, croquet set, barbecue and mountain bikes (worth taking some basic bike tools to get them fixed as you like them).  Perfect for a big family reunion - highly recommended - we will be booking again for next year.

Beautiful Relaxing Hideaway

Don’t let the approach via the outskirts of a run down council estate put you off. Once passed this, and the eclectic mix of cars and vans parked behind them, things quickly improve. Half a mile of well maintained gravel road leads through attractive forest aspects to the gates of the walled gardens of Danby Lodge. Once through the gates the drive curves to the left and reveals the impressive front elevation of the lodge that looks out over a spectacular view over the lower Severn valley.

Once you have negotiated the tricky key safe and opened the front door you enter the lobby and meet our old friend the black rag rug. Last year it was doing duty in front of the fireplace, but sadly, now even more dog eared and now filthy, it has been relegated to the lobby. In the living room it has been replaced by an unattractive but adequate rug. The living room is furnished with three two seat sofas, soiled and sagging but hey it’s a holiday rental. Don’t forget to warn your kids about the danger of the shard of glass that is all that remains of the shade of the fireside reading lamp. Sadly, other guests have not been as careful as we over the dark oak dining suite and it no longer looks like the valuable antique that it might once have been.

Desperate for a cup of tea after the long journey?  Well pass straight through the lounge into the initially impressive kitchen, and appreciate the very generous welcome pack provided that includes tea bags, coffee and milk plus loads of fresh fruit. The first cups and saucers that you take from the cupboards will be clean, they probably came out of the dishwasher only hours before. As you delve deeper into the cupboards, things may not be quite so wholesome but this provides you with an early opportunity to acquaint yourself with the excellent two drawer dishwasher.

Elsewhere, carpets throughout the property will have been vacuumed extensively, by sadly no vacuum on earth, especially the rather asthmatic model provided can suck the stains out of the once gold coloured carpets. Bathrooms and bedrooms are quaint but adequate and the bed linen smells clean and fresh but it’s best not to use, or even touch, the toilet brushes.

The children in our party really appreciate the clean and comfortable den with its large screen T.V. They do initially need some adult help to negotiate the complicated AV equipment but once they have mastered it they make it their own space.

The extensive gardens are well maintained and provide both quiet spaces,  great potential for hide and seek and a large lawn for single wicket cricket. But do be careful about sitting on the interesting wooden garden furniture, I can’t guarantee that the green stuff growing on it will not stain your clothes. 

Enjoy the pool!; but please give children strong warnings about pool safety; especially this pool. The crazy paved sandstone surround to the pool was no doubt attractive when new but sadly the years have not been kind to it; frost damage and minor subsidence of the substrate have created numerous trip hazards around the pool edge. However, if your children stick rigidly to the safe routes to the water no accidents need happen. The water this year was an attractive opaque grey, (last year it was clear blue but then there was a pool crawler); the strong smell of chlorine gave us some assurance that the water might be safe. Certainly none of our swimmers suffered eye infections or stomach upsets.

The games room provides various equipment including three bikes in rideable condition, and a table tennis table. If you plan to use the tennis table best bring your own bats, net and balls. Previous guests have not been as careful with the provided equipment as our family and no doubt your party would be.  Unfortunately, the owners have not yet found time in their busy schedules to replace them. However, I’m sure that they are on their list along with the soiled carpets and bake ware, toilet brushes, pool crawler, mop and bucket and broken lamp, etc.

Have a great stay! 

In the unlikely event that you have cause for complaint my advice is just suck it up; the managing agents MeltRelax don’t handle complaints well, although in our case they did promise to replace a toilet brush! In no circumstances embarrass yourself by asking for a partial refund as compensation for enduring any shortcomings. MeltRelax believe that returning your security deposit in a timely manner is compensation enough.

Danby Lodge, Coleford

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