Liv Retreats Anmeldelser 

I stayed at the Black Bull Retreat in Barmston (25th–27th September) and the experience was dreadful. The oven did not work due to a broken seal, the doors wouldn’t lock (leaving belongings insecure), and the dishwasher leaked badly enough to flood the kitchen.

I raised these issues with Liv Retreats/Black Bull Retreats directly but received no response whatsoever. For a stay sold as a premium retreat, this was completely unacceptable — what should have been a relaxing birthday trip turned into a survival experience.

Avoid this place. Poor standards, no communication, and no accountability.

From booking our stay to arriving we have had nothing but hassle. I booked a 3 nights stay at the wood lakes retreat to celebrate my birthday and wedding anniversary. This was via wowcher. The deal said a stay with hot tub, prosecco and chocolates. When the confirmation came through it advised it may be a jacuzzi. I contacted Liv retreats and said they had missold the deal. Jake advised me he would upgrade me as it was my birthday and anniversary.
We arrived early Sunday evening, told our lodge number and directed us. The lady was very friendly. When we got in to our lodge it was clear this wasn’t what we were promised. When we returned to the office it was closed. We didn’t call the number on the door as it was a mobile and for emergencies. There was no welcome pack in our lodge and we had no WiFi. We couldn’t call anybody, we couldn’t contact anybody and we were literally stranded in a pokey caravan with no oven, no WiFi and pretty basic amenities. I contacted liv retreats 5 times, I had to walk to an area where I could get WiFi (in the rain and dark) and still no reply. I called their number and it didn’t answer. I had to wait till the morning, when the office was reopened. Thankfully the people in reception were amazing. Alex and carol stepped up and cleaned and serviced a lodge for us so we could move. We are now in the lodge I was promised initially. I felt for the staff here as they had no communications from liv retreats about this and said this has happened before. This is really unfair for them as they are trying to run a business. I have still not had a reply from “Jake” or liv retreats. We wasted an evening in a caravan we would never have booked, had to unpack our car in the rain and wind and re pack the next day so we wasted a whole evening and day. Customer services is awful. I am disgusted I was treated this way. I am still waiting a reply. Many thanks to the staff on site as they literally pulled out all the stops for us but shame on you liv retreats for promising something you didn’t deliver and not being there when a customer needs to contact you.

Just came back from our third visit in two months absolutely love the place we love the retreats and the staff are all amazing freindly and very helpfull we met the lady in reception Donna and also the maintained man David I think well what amazing two people they are freely experienced and both happy to chat but both very very busy but that dident stop David still stopping in his van having a kwick chat and anything we needed he was on it there great assetts to the park and it's people like that that make us want to visit again and I hope to see them both next year also hot tub staff on it straight away if need to solve any issues and polite we absolutely love the secret gardens 😀

We stayed for 2 nights at the Lincoln site
In cabin 28 at a cost of £417
The cabin and hot tub where clean and nice looking and the staff we came across were amazing,
The pub on site is also really good with nice staff,
But the mattress was so uncomfortable with springs coming out so it was impossible to sleep,
There was a party on the second night in cabin 27 Nextdoor until 2am and both contact numbers where turned off so we couldn’t contact anyone to complain,
I have contacted customer service on our return home to bring up these issues and they are extremely unhelpful refusing any sort of part refund for the poor stay we had

I've been desperate to try Liv Retreats Kings Lynn for a while now and despite the high price tag for a weekend break we bit the bullet (ignored all the negatives reviews - that FYI are spot on!) as it had (according to the sales pitch!) everything we needed. Fishing on site, enclosed garden area, a hot tub and stargazing dome and not far from home 👌

Sadly having just arrived home I can confirm the only positive was it not being far from home 😔

On arrival the road on site is enough to take the bottom off even an SUV - pot hole heaven!

Our lodge looked beautiful on first sight - I was so hopeful that we were one of the lucky ones and the reviews might just be from unlucky guests...our hot tub still had the hose in - after 2hrs and it almost overflowing we took it out/turned it off and contacted reception to see what had happened/if it was safe to use. The hot tub surround was a wooden frame full of random bits of wood and protruding screws, some of which hubby had to deal with (luckily he's a builder and prepared for all situations with the odd tool kicking around!) same with the weird outdoor table - screws protruding through the surface of that too.

The hot tub was lush for the first day - then it wasn't touched again by maintenance and was gross and lukewarm by the 2nd day, the whole control panel was loose and didn't work (lights, heat etc)

The stargazing dome - which looks bloody amazing in the photos was filthy, didn't light up and the door was broken so didn't slide up to get in properly - no stargazing for us 🙈

The inside of the lodge to be fair was clean-ish, had good appliances, and a few little bits like a tea towel/washing up liquid and an oven glove. The beds were chuffing awful, imagine a crunchy water bed it's the best I can't describe them as. No mattress protectors so the sight of a lovely stained mattress greeted me when I removed all the bedding on departure to be helpful to housekeeping 🙈🤢

And....last but by no means least given it was one of the main reasons we went - out of 5 fishing lakes we could use 2 - that BOTH have blue/green algae VERY present in them! Along with a selection of dead fish floating around! No warning was given of the situation before arrival and we booked last minute so feel incredibly cross about this as it ruined the weekend for our son's who just wanted to fish and chill out.

We did raise some issues while we were there but were also very very scared/cautious having read people's other reviews of how staff had behaved about complaints in the past - I definitely did not want any confrontation 😔

I'm leaving this review as we have been now and wouldn't ever go back - I just wanted other people who maybe like me thought AHH it can't be all bad and maybe the reviews aren't all true - they are!! Please take heed and don't waste £1000 on a weekend away that doesn't deliver like we did.

The principle and look of Woodlakes is lovely but it's trying to be too many things and failing at most. It needs to choose its target market and attributes and get those right - it has the potential to be amazing!

Review for Liv Hideaway

Unfortunately, our stay was very disappointing. Communication was poor from the start — phone calls and emails went unanswered before arrival, and when we did get there, we had to wait around 30 minutes to check in as no one was available.

The lodge itself had several issues. The place smelled strongly of sewage, especially when the hot tub was switched on. The TV remotes had no batteries (and replacements weren’t provided), the sheets were not clean, and there were no mattress protectors. Taos dripped and whistled, and the promised welcome treats (Prosecco and chocolates) were nowhere to be found. General cleanliness was below standard, and the WiFi cut out constantly.

On-site dining was also underwhelming, with poor food quality, and the décor felt very dated. Even the road leading up to the property was in such poor condition it felt like it could damage your car.

Overall, this was not a relaxing or enjoyable stay. I would not return, and I would not recommend Liv Hideaway.

We booked a last-minute family holiday here and, in hindsight, I wish I had read some of the reviews beforehand.

Access to the site is via a single road full of bumps and potholes. I was glad to be in an SUV, but anyone with a lower car should be cautious.

Our lodge (No. 30) was disappointing. There were rips in the flooring, broken blinds, marks on the walls, splash stains near the hob, patched-up shower controls, poor silicone work around the sink, and very messy wiring for the TVs. The hot tub wasn’t filled on arrival, we were only given one sanitising tablet for the whole week, and no daily water checks were carried out. By the end of our stay it had started to smell. The hot tub also lacked privacy, being directly overlooked by a storage area and workmen’s caravans. Seating cushions were missing too.

On our final night, a group of young guests in the lodge next door played extremely loud music late into the evening — the bass was so strong we could feel it through our lodge. This really disrupted what should have been a relaxing last evening.

The on-site pub had very limited stock (they ran out of Guinness, Abbot Ale, and even Pepsi during our stay) and only opened in the late afternoons. While we had one decent meal there, much of the food seemed to be frozen.

Reception wasn’t open when we left around 9:15am, otherwise we would have shared this feedback in person.

Although we made the most of our holiday, unfortunately we wouldn’t choose to stay here again.

I rarely leave reviews, but my experience with Liv Retreats was so disappointing that I feel others should be aware before booking.

I originally booked (and paid for) a wooden lodge with a hot tub — what I actually received was a caravan. Not only was I never informed of this switch in advance, but the caravan itself was substandard and dirty. It completely ruined what was meant to be a relaxing getaway.

The most frustrating part has been the customer service. I raised the issue with Booking.com immediately upon arrival, and they opened a case with Liv Retreats. However, Liv Retreats never responded. Despite numerous attempts to contact them directly (via phone and online chat), I was met with silence. When I finally received a reply by email, it simply sent me back to Booking.com — even though Booking.com had already confirmed that they were waiting on Liv Retreats to engage.

This circular avoidance and lack of accountability is unacceptable. Mistakes can happen, but the refusal to acknowledge or resolve them speaks volumes. A holiday is a significant expense, and guests deserve honesty, cleanliness, and at the very least, a customer service team willing to deal with problems.
Not to mention the deflated dirty swimming pool and the ‘petting zoo’ with donkeys and turkeys with sigs saying ‘animals will bite’.

Sadly, I can’t recommend Liv Retreats. I left feeling frustrated, let down, and out of pocket — the opposite of the relaxing retreat I had booked

I booked a wooden lodge with a hot tub at Woodlakes Park (Liv Retreats) for a relaxing countryside getaway from 16–18 August 2025. From the moment we arrived, the experience was a disaster.

Reception was closed (on a Saturday afternoon, which I find very unreasonable), so we had to call the out-of-hours number to check in – we were told we were in “Sky 15.” When we got there, it was not a wooden lodge at all, but a caravan. After another call to the out-of-hours number, we were then told our lodge was out of action due to an electrical fault. At no point had Liv Retreats contacted me to inform me that my lodge would be unavailable. It felt like we had been scammed, and I was left stressed and frustrated.

The caravan itself hadn't been cleaned properly: crumbs on the kitchen countertop, a dirty sink, stained sofa, and the main bedroom bed had no mattress cover. The “hot tub” outside was a jacuzzi bath with no cover – nothing like what we booked. Kitchen provisions were minimal and careless: oven gloves for a kitchen with no oven, a disposable j-cloth, a tea towel, washing-up liquid, but no sponge.

Beyond this, the general condition of the park was disheartening: the abandoned remains of the old outdoor Asian restaurant, the poor state of the 'swimming pool', and even concerning welfare issues in the 'Enchanted Forest', where pigs were in an enclosure with random loose plugs and a remote on the ground.

Booking.com were very helpful and opened a complaint on our behalf, but Liv Retreats are completely ignoring the case. Don't bother calling them ever – one number tells you to use the online chat function, while another number rings forever yet nobody ever picks up. The online chat function is useless – the agents are rude and can only take bookings. Not to mention that the onsite team supposedly cannot access any online booking information – only head office can. The onsite team said they wouldn't have been able to tell us about the change prior to our arrival or do anything with our complaint. Although the onsite staff were nice, it was disheartening to find they're able to wash their hands of any complaints immediately.

I finally got hold of head office over email. In my email, I explicitly explained that I had already raised this issue with Booking.com immediately upon arrival (16th August). Booking.com then immediately opened a case with Liv Retreats. On the 18th August, Booking.com informed me that they had received no response from Liv Retreats. As a next step, Booking.com advised me to contact LR again in order to urge them to respond to Booking.com.

The email I received from LR was laughable, telling me I need to raise the issue with Booking.com – instructing me to do exactly what I have already done. This circular response demonstrates a lack of accountability and, frankly, further underlines Liv Retreat's poor level of customer service. My complaint is already open in Booking.com's system, and it is Liv Retreats who has failed to engage with it. Passing me back to Booking.com again is not a resolution– it is deliberate avoidance.

This experience was stressful, disappointing, and completely ruined our weekend. I would not recommend Liv Retreats to anyone. If you book with Liv Retreats, be prepared for misrepresentation, poor property standards, and appalling customer service.

n.b. I only wish I took more pictures of the state of the park and our caravan. It seems like Woodlakes Park has almost been taken care of. Some parts are truly lovely, others are horrifying.

I booked to stay at the hideaway for a child free 2 nights away to celebrate our 10 year anniversary through Wowcher. After booking I read the reviews and started to feel very apprehensive about the weekend and came fully equipped with cleaning products expecting it to be unclean. We stayed in Lodge 24 and I was amazed with how clean and tidy the place was. The hot tub was already filled upon arrival and the chlorine wasn’t overpowering- no hot tub rash afterwards either! The lady at reception and the lady in the pub were very friendly and approachable. I would recommend that the pub purchase some new pool queues though ha! Just make sure to email the place after you book through Wowcher to receive confirmation that they definitely do have availability as the couple before us were turned away, they had booked through Wowcher but it was already fully booked and neither company had let them know.
Some reviews mention the road, it was bumpy but just drive slow and don’t take a lowered sports car and you should be fine, luckily we had an old car! The place is in the middle of no where which is fantastic for peace and quiet but make sure to come stocked up with supplies if you want to cook in the lodge. The pub also does food- at least on the weekend, we weren’t there mid week to advise if it is open then. There is also a little village about 15 minute drive away with a few local pubs and an Indian restaurant which we tried on the first night.

Jacuzzi bath didn’t work, enchanted forest was shut. I’ve had no response to my email of complaint, they don’t answer the phone, live chat or emails.

Say they have acknowledged this via email but they haven’t. Don’t answer any of my calls. Now been over a week since my complaint was sent.

I booked this holiday for my family and unfortunately was shocked at what happened.
Our first day around 5pm We were approached by a lady who requested that we turn down our music which actually wasn’t that loud. Her precise words were “ turn the music down, it’s not acceptable, I’m the park manager (Sam)it’s far too loud” No Please, No thank you, she was so rude.
My brother in law proceeded to turn the music down at that point but to be honest was very put out at her attitude and rudeness she was so unprofessional.
We had a discussion on our balcony as we just couldn’t believe how rude this woman was, she then proceeded to come over again to our balcony and
I could not believe how rude & aggressive she became, and an argument ensued with my brother in law, she spoke to him like dirt, then told my 75 year old mother in law to pipe down.
Unfortunately I was not having that and I made my feelings very clear to her how dare she speak to us like that. 2 other gentleman then came over, which we later found out one was her boyfriend although they didn’t say much.
She then said she wanted us gone and that we needed to leave, I said fine we will leave but I wanted my money back as this was only our first day. She said fine I want you gone but we had no where to go so my brother in law tried to calm the situation. She then proceeded to ask me to come outside which felt like she wanted a confrontation , I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing from a park manager, she walked to our door but was pulled away by one of her staff , she then proceeded to call the police and walked back to her lodge. We were shaking, I had my mother in law there, my 14 year old daughter this was unacceptable.
However my brother in law went over to her again and smoothed things over so we could stay. I really wanted to leave as I just couldn’t believe what had just happened.
Over the next couple of days we were on tented hooks the whole time. We felt we couldn’t sit on our balcony, play any sort of music or enjoy ourselves.
I would like to say this was over however
On our last morning my brother in law, my daughter and I took the key back to reception. Unfortunately this awful woman was on the desk, we were polite and gave the key back and went to leave. She then said asked me do you want our customer service email, I said yes please that would be helpful. She then said to me just be aware that there is a police log, I said thats fine. There was again more heated words and she told us to get out. I proceeded to leave to the car with my family, although there was some very heated words as we left.
Then her boyfriend appeared to follow us out and was looking for a fight with my brother in law.
We were able to leave and this god awful woman shouted obscenities
I just can’t believe this, as this was a park manager, I’ve never encountered anything like it in my life. She was very lucky that I didn’t call the police myself as she was instigating a fight. Since we have been home no one will answer my calls, I emailed and finally got a response that basically they won’t engage in any conversation with me and it was all our fault and they stick by there manager. Even lied and said we were all extremely intoxicated. Strange that as it was 5pm in the afternoon, I had my 14 year old child & Mother-in-law with us and I don’t even drink.
All this aside the lodge we stayed in had ants in the living room, the bed broke on the first night which was repaired and nothing was open there which had been advertised. No petting farm, no enchanted forest, pan Asia was derelict. So misleading. I would advise that you avoid this company at all costs
THIS COMPANY WILL COMMENT ON YOUR REVIEW, BUT WILL NOT TALK TO YOU. FUNNY THAT.
PLEASE BE WARNED THEY ARE LIARS

AVOID
We booked this trip without reading the reviews, but god we wish had.
Trip started well but on first night we got into bed and it collapsed! Not something you want at 12am, however was repaired the next day.
On second day about 4.30pm we had music on our balcony which wasn’t loud as I had my 75 year old mother with us.
Extremely rude & Aggressive manager banged on the door to ask us to turn it down, which we did. She then approached again with 2 men aggressively yelling and Asking my wife to step out of the lodge for a confrontation.
I won’t go into the detail but suffice to say we will NEVER use this company again and my advice to anyone would be avoid at all costs.
Since our return we have tried to speak with customer services but they won’t talk to us instead got a rude email to say they won’t engage in any other correspondence.
On another note nothing was open in this place, No Enchanted forest, No petting Farm and pan Asia was derelict.
Website totally misleading AVOID AVOID AVOID

They took a security deposit out my bank 24 hours before arriving with no warming. It’s now been a week and it’s still pending. Customer service is horrendous, you can get in contact with anyone. I tried ringing the reception and no answer, the London number and no answer. No answer to email or enquiry online. The only response I had was form someone on messenger that said it’s released at 72 hours but I still haven’t had it back.
The place is dated. There’s nothing there. It states all these things to do but something is missing from all the activities.
Book with caution.
Would not return.

Please do not go here AVOID, there isn’t anything that related to a retreat

There terms says if any facilities are closed etc they will let you know , which never happened , nothing open in terms of well living , the cabin had the most uncomfortable beds ever the cheapest mattresses , I have tried to complain but they are
Choosing to ignore after telling me you only pay for the room
And not any of the facilities

Please avoid as the wellness is not open at all

Would agree with the person who said false advertising. Booked Woodlakes because of the holistic wellbeing experience advertised. The site was having work done (which we weren't told before booking or before arriving) so we weren't able to access the amenities we expected and paid for. When we asked for a partial refund we were told the price is for self contained accommodation only. Also mattresses are REALLY uncomfortable! Wouldn't go back or recommend. CHECK AND GET IN WRITING WHAT IS INCLUDED AND ACCESSIBLE BEFORE YOU BOOK AND PAY!!

Me and my boyfriend stayed at woodlakes in the oasis 5 lodge. It was the most perfect stay although there was a few issues we didn't let it ruin the experience. Helen our rep was extremely helpful from start from finish and we would highly recommend her to everybody. She is fab at what she does. She raised the concerns that we had with her management team and they managed to sort out a deal for us for our next stay at a different lodge. We would highly recommend woodlakes it is such a beautiful peaceful place with stunning views. There is a bar and a restaurant on site but we are out at arbuckles American diner on the first night which we would 100% recommend. The lodge its self was absolutely beautiful and you feel at home as soon as you enter we honestly didn't want to leave. So once again thank you to all the staff at woodlakes liv retreats and most of all Helen!! Xxx

Stayed at the Black Bull near Bridlington. Booked via Hayley on social media. It’s a great little site, quite small but we preferred it like that. We have a couple of small dogs that loved it and we were so near to the dog friendly beach’s. We looked out with the weather and sat on the hot tub over looking the fields was amazing.

We had a lovely stay in Sherwood Forest in the May half term holidays for 4 nights. Lots to do onsite for children: indoor pool, sports activities, play equipment dotted around the site, etc. My kids loved it and have already asked to go back!

I went to apple grove country park and it was very enjoyable, the lodge was very clean and modern. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay. The hot tub was really relaxing and a great way to unwind. Would recommend