Cedar Retreats West Tanfield is an exclusive holiday park with 37 beautiful lodges, set in the tranquil surroundings of the North Yorkshire countryside. Based just outside of West Tanfield, each luxury lodge is designed to suit different group sizes and we found the quality to be excellent. Read our complete review and guide for Cedar Retreats below to decide whether it’s for you. We certainly had an unforgettable experience! Their lodges are private but managed by Hoseasons and we recommend booking directly through the Hoseasons website.
View Cedar Retreats West Tanfield Lodges on Google Maps
Book a Cedar Retreats Lodge on Hoseasons.co.uk
They offer different types of lodges, that vary in size depending on the number of guests you’re on holiday with. As it was just the two of us, we stayed in their smallest lodge (1 bedroom) and even then, there was plenty of room and it was incredibly spacious.
We visited Cedar Retreats West Tanfield for 4 nights for New Year’s Eve and booked via the Hoseasons website. For what’s included and the whole experience, it’s definitely worth the money. Top tip: If you’re looking for a lodge stay with a hot tub, we recommend staying during the quieter months of the year (i.e excluding Valentines day, Easter, Christmas and school holidays) as you’re more likely to get a better deal andvalue for money!
Read on for an extensive review of Cedar Retreats lodges and our overall experience 🙂 Please be sure to comment down below, or send us a message if you have any other questions!
Holiday park overview:
Cedar Retreats West Tanfield is located just off the main country roads and is really well hidden – you won’t be disturbed by any traffic noise whatsoever! Upon entering, you’ll drive past reception and the other luxury lodges, until you arrive at your new home.
A small lake occupies the centre of the holiday park, where you’ll find a variety of birds playing in the water, or going for a lakeside stroll. It’s a nice site to wake up to on a morning, especially if you have a lake-facing lodge. The scenery of the lake and path that leads around the site is a great place to walk your dog.
The luxury lodges
Bedroom
The bedroom was located at the back of the lodge, which provided us with a lot of privacy.
The king-sized bed was extremely comfortable and the pillows were just the right amount of firm. Unlike some lodges, the bedroom had ample storage; one large wardrobe, a chest of drawers and 2 bedside tables. There’s also room under the bed for you to store your suitcase/ other luggage if need be!
It was wonderfully decorated and had a very modern, yet chic feel to it. If you like lazy mornings in bed over a cup of tea, then you may as well make the most of it, as there’s a small TV in the bedroom too 🙂
Outdoor area – hot tub!
Now, the most exciting and best part (in our opinion) was the outdoor decking area. Why? Because of the hot tub! The North of England gets extremely cold during the winter months, so what better way to stay warm by spending time in the hot tub?
The hot tub was situated at the back of the lodge overlooking a forest. There’s a main road at the back, but it’s blocked off by trees so it’s difficult for passers-by to see into the holiday park.
The hot tub is a 3-person hot tub and comes with three different settings; off, medium power and full power, for that real jacuzzi experience. Here are some of our top tips for the best hot tub experience:
- We found 38 degrees to be the perfect temperature (not too hot – not too cold).
- As we visited in December, the evenings got really cold. It was too cold to go in the jacuzzi past 5pm, as it would only heat up to around 32 degrees. This still sounds quite warm and would be fine during the warmer months, but when it’s less than 0 degrees outside, it’s not very comfortable!
- Set the temperature half an hour before entering to give the hot tub time to warm up or cool down. It should then stay at that temperature throughout your stay!
- Always put down the cover when you’re not using the hot tub so it maintains its temperature and you don’t have debris falling inside.
- Enjoy a glass of champagne as you relax. 😉 The hot tub has holders for your drinks.
Bathroom
The bedroom had an en-suite bathroom, which was beautifully designed and decorated. There was a separate bathtub (so don’t forget to bring your bath bombs) and a separate shower.
They provided us with enough towels to last us for 4 nights – but if you require any more towels, you can speak to reception and they will be able to organise this for you.
Amenities:
- Complimentary mini shower gel, body lotion and shampoo
- Toilet rolls (x2)
Open plan kitchen
The open planned kitchen was really spacious and we were amazed at all the facilities that were provided; they had everything you could possibly think of:
- Mugs
- Glasses
- Plates
- Bowls
- Cutlery
- Pans
- Oven trays
- Oven
- Hot
- Microwave
- Complimentary tea bags, instant coffee and Cadbury’s hot chocolate
- Coffee filter
- Tin foil
- Dishwasher tablet
- Washing up sponge
- Dish cloth
- Bin bags
- Washing up liquid
- Large fridge (with a bottle of complimentary prosecco!)
- Large freezer
Top tip: the bowls they provide aren’t very deep, so if you like to have a lot of cereal for breakfast, you could bring some of your own from home!
Living room
The living room screamed ‘ultimate relaxation’ to us. What truly makes it is the electric fireplace and the overhead heating units. It was so cosy, especially on a cold, winter’s evening.
The sofa was big enough for both of us to lounge on comfortably, along with a separate arm chair, which was perfect for you to sit on whilst browsing the laptop/ doing some work.
There was also a small dinner table, where we enjoyed some fantastic home cooked meals during our stay!
Outdoor area – front
The lodge had a small, but modest sized outdoor decking space at the front of the lodge, which could be accessed through the living room. As we visited in Winter, we didn’t have the chance to make use of this space, but it’d be perfect if you visit during the warmer months! It comes with a table and chairs for you to enjoy lunch on, and watch the world go by!
Other key features of the lodge
- WiFi – each lodge has its own WifFi router
- Free parking outside the lodge
- Amazon fire stick
- Netflix app (you’ll need to login to your own account)
- Overhead heating
- DVD player – bring your favourite DVD’s along with you 😊
The top things to see and do near Cedar Retreats West Tanfield Lodges:
Nosterfield nature reserve – view on map
This wonderful nature reserve is located just a 5-minute drive from Cedar Retreats. It’s a great place to visit and go for a walk, especially for passionate bird watchers!
Lightwater Valley Theme Park – view on map
This is a great option if you have children of any age! The theme park is literally on your doorstep and under a 10-minute drive. Lightwater Valley has over 30 different rides for you and your family to enjoy!
Fountains abbey & Studley Royal Water Garden – View on map
Located just a 20 minute drive away, the Studley Royal Water Garden is a World Heritage Site and one of the largest monasteries in England. Take a stroll around this fantastic country park to see a Victorian church, deer park and the adjoining Studley Royal Water Garden.
Ripley Castle – view on map
In just under 30 minutes, you can visit Ripley Castle. With so much history dating back to 700 years ago, it’s definitely a place to Check out. You can make a day out of it by combining your visit with the botanical gardens, lake and deer park.
Hackfall Ridge trail – view on map
If you like going for long, mysterious walks in the woodlands – this one’s for you! The waterlogged river is also spectacular! This is also local and it takes around 15 minutes to get there by car.
The Forbidden Corner Adventure Centre – view on map
Located north of Yorkshire, it’s a unique labyrinth of tunnels, chambers, folly and surprises. It sits within a four acre garden in the heart of Tupgill Park and the Yorkshire Dales.
Harrogate – view on map
If you want to spend a few hours walking around some excellent boutique shops and enjoy afternoon tea, Harrogate is the place to be! We recommend stopping by the famous ‘Betty’s Tea Rooms’.
Our top tips for visiting Cedar Retreats:
- Rent a car. Cedar Retreats is based in the Yorkshire countryside and is essentially in the middle of nowhere. Taxi services are limited, so you’ll struggle getting around without a car. We rented a car during our stay with Sixt Gateshead in Newcastle. It’ll provide you with more flexibility and freedom to explore outside of the lodge.
- Do your food shopping before you get there. There aren’t many supermarkets nearby, so we’d recommend doing your food shop in a large supermarket before you arrive; whether that’s the day before, or the morning of!
- Bring warm clothing (if visiting during the winter months) and hiking boots! It gets extremely cold in North Yorkshire, so you’ll need to pack plenty of layers. If you’re a fan of long walks, don’t forget to bring your hiking books, as they’re lots of great hikes in the area!
- You may want to bring some DVDs of your own, as there may not be anything you like on Amazon Prime. You could even download some films on your tablet/ laptop to watch during your stay.
- Bring beach towels/ dressing gowns for when you get out of the hot tub. You’ll be ok in the warmer months, but in the winter, it gets really, really cold!
- Bring games to play. There isn’t that great a deal of things to do, especially on an evening so bring some cool games to play with your friends, family or partner.
- There’s a minimum of a 3 nights stay at Cedar Retreats. It may be worth finding out the prices for staying more than 3 nights, as it could work out better value.
- Compare different dates to find the best prices. Weekday stays are often cheaper than weekends.
Checking in and out
The check in and out procedure was extremely simple and we had no issues at all. We wanted to share this information with you ahead of time, so you know what to expect. 🙂
Check in:
- You’ll need to call the holiday company to put down a £150 deposit. This is in case of any damage done during your stage. No money is taken out, it’s simply held from your account until you check out.
- You’ll then receive a text message providing you with details of your lodge number and a pin code to enter. It’ll also give you instructions for check out.
- Check in time is from 5pm*
*you can call them on the day and they may be able to let you in early. You can also arrive as early as 1pm for an additional £20 charge.
Check out:
- Before you leave, you’ll need to strip your bedding and place them in the bath, along with the towels.
- All windows are to be left open, to allow for ventilation
- Bins are to be taken out *there’s a rubbish area at the lodge entrance, next to reception.
- You’ll need to place the key back into the safety box beside the front door And scramble the combination code.
- Check out is at 9am.
Our overall thoughts of Cedar Retreats:
We had such a memorable stay with Cedar Retreats and would highly recommend paying the lodges a visit. We really have no complaints and thoroughly enjoyed every single second – so it was hard thinking of any negatives! Here are our final thoughts, after spending 4 nights in our 1 bed lodge.
Positives:
- The lodge was very well equipped. We were amazed, considering it was only for a few nights! They had everything you needed and more!
- The lodges are very modern and new. Cedar Retreats West Tanfield lodges are all about that ’home from home’ experience.
- The hot tub was without a doubt the highlight of our stay. It was pure bliss! Some companies will charge you extra for using the hot tub, but this was all included in the price!
- Our lodge was in a great location, with the hot tub at the back of the lodge so we had plenty of privacy. Some of the larger lodges had the hot tubs at the front – so if you prefer to have more privacy, make sure you double check this with reception directly before booking.
Improvements:
- The TV was a bit slow to load. Being quite old, it took a long time to load, especially when the films were buffering on Amazon. This wasn’t a huge problem, but a newer TV could have solved this.
- We really enjoyed the beauty of the location – the fact that it was in the middle of nowhere. However, if you don’t have a car, you may feel a bit trapped if you just stay in the lodge all day. It’s not really a place to visit if you don’t have a car.
Thank you very much for reading our complete guide and review for Cedar Retreats West Tanfield Lodges. We hope it’s helped you make your mind up about staying in one of these beautiful lodges. We’d also love to hear about your stay, so leave us a comment down below.
By Susie
Author bio:I’m is a passionate traveller that loves a sunny beach holiday, but also appreciate the cultural side to a trip and checking out undiscovered destinations. I’m the go-to Toucan Traveller for great holiday stories, cool photos and foodie recommendations.
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Top tip. Book a supermarket delivery slot to bring your shopping to you rather than stop to shop on the way. Sainsburys, Tesco and Asda will all deliver and the lodges are numbered so there’s no problem as long as you ask which lodge you are in. Lodge 14 that we always go to sleeps 6 people and is very private; set back at the far corner of the plot. It still has a lake view from the lounge and with a large deck on two sides you can enjoy the sun all day. There are some board / card games in the utility cupboard to enjoy while you are there too.
Thanks for the tips Zoe. Those are great! We didn’t consider doing an online shop but definitely would in the future.