Avis Danby Lodge - 6 bed luxury house in the Forest of Dean

Unfortunately, our stay at Danby Lodge to celebrate a 60th birthday with family was beset by problems. Not least of which was the complete lack of communication from the property owner/manager. Like others said the owner could not accept the payment via Vrbo and sent a separate link. I paid but received no acknowledgment of my booking & was left worried that I had been scammed out of a large amount of money. Even on the day we were due to arrive I did not receive the access code as promised and had to make multiple phone calls whilst travelling to the house, thinking that we would arrive with nowhere to stay. Eventually I managed to contact the groundsman at his home who gave me the access code. The house itself and location are amazing, but our stay was marred by an appalling fly infestation in 3 of the bedrooms and bathroom. This was obviously a known problem as there were cans of fly spray left in the rooms, the en-suite was unusable and our three daughters had to share a bed. We contacted the property manager but they did not answer our calls. I have since attempted to contact them again before leaving this review but again I have had no response from, we paid a large security deposit which has not been returned despite me asking when they will do so. This could have been a fabulous stay and I do not like to give poor reviews, but on this occasion feel like we were let down and did not receive value for money.

The property is set in wonderful grounds and is well furnished. We had everything we needed for a 4 day stay. The fire in the lounge was a lovely focal point throughout the time we were there and we would love to return in summer when we could use the pool. Unfortunately Vrbo’s computer system did not appear to communicate with the property agent’s which led to various problems, including the property manager not knowing that we had paid the deposit. A phone call with the property agent easily sorted the issues out but it was a stressful time whilst happening. We paid a large damage deposit which we have neither received back nor been told when it will be repaid, despite contacting both Vrbo and the property manager. Hopefully someone will eventually decide to refund this money but I will never use Vrbo again.

The property has great potential - but as with most old building needs constant TLC. We had a number of issues to deal with, some unavoidable, but others caused by a lack of willingness on the Owner's behalf to spend the necessary funds. After a week of dialogue this was recognised by the property manager and we are due to receive a discount on our stay. It is very reassuring that subsequent guests will have a significantly superior offering to the one we had - and there is satisfaction it that, even though it would have been nice to have enjoyed a cleaner house and pool, among other things ! We hope the owner regularly invests some of the substantial letting fees he is receiving for the property in its maintenance and cleaning - that may encourage us to go back, because overall we did have a very enjoyable holiday.

Extremely comfortable and really well equipped.

Three families thoroughly enjoyed the luxury break for 3 nights. The pool was fantastic, clean, and a reasonable temperature (our Australian friends might disagree). The location was secluded and peaceful with a pub about 30 mins walk through the forest, the food there was average. The rooms were all good sizes and clean. One criticism would be that the top floor bathroom did not have air circulation and with carpets has created a damp smell, may need to be looked into by the owners. All in all we would recommend this place to friends.

Amazing house, beautiful grounds, our group of friends had a brilliant time here. Would absolutely stay again, many thanks for having us!

Driving down the forest track towards the house was magical and when we came through the gates and saw Danby Lodge we were so delighted. Only having an internet image to go on it was a relief to see it was more lovely than we had imagined. 14 of us happily shared the property and there was plenty of space for everyone. The TV room was fab for a chill out and lighting the fire in the evening to sit around and chat was great. The outdoor pool was big hit with the children. There was so much space to run around and play. The surrounding woodland was amazing and we took our dogs walking a few times. They all loved it too! We are planning to come back next year to rekindle the love we had for this stunning home from home. The Wi-Fi was a bit hit and miss, but if you don't want to be 'on' all the time, that's no bad thing. Our family were able to reconnect and enjoy lots of quality time together. Just perfect! I would recommend a stay here if you really want to escape the rat race for a few days.

We were a party of 12 the youngest was 12 weeks. The Lodge was as advertised and we had plenty of space, the main living area and then the TV lounge. All but one of the bedrooms was large and the beds very comfortable. The priest hole bedroom with bathroom was great for the baby and his Mum and Dad as they were away from the main group at night.A reasonably well equipped kitchen but luckily we took our own serving dishes as there weren't any. There were enough oven trays but they could do with a clean, glad we had foil. There were kitchen knives but again they could do with a sharpen. There were sufficient plates and cultlery. They could do with a new set of place mats for the table too.We enjoyed the log fire and there were both logs and coal . Our main issue was the complete lack of hot water during the day. After 11 people have had showers that was it!The instructions mentioned a switch in the kitchen but a phone call on Christmas Day to the manager and we found the switch in an upstairs bathroom...but it takes hours to heat more water. We were aware the heating is on a timer but we didn't know what the times were. It seems odd that the heating was full on all night but off in the day. Internet is not great but that didn't bother us ( well the older ones of the group that is!)but the manager was unable to change the thermostat remotely ( the only way to do it as the thermostat has a lock on it)as the Internet was too poor. Lots of lovely walks and we did have a lovely Christmas. It was an expensive rent as you would expect over a Christmas period and whilst in the main it worked for us the lack of hot water and heating in the day were an unexpected irritation and disappointment.

Amazing characterful house out in the forest, the games room and bikes to borrow were very welcome. Really well equipped throughout with a lovely kitchen and cosy lounge with open fire, and a great cinema room. House is ideally located to visit local attractions such as Clearwell caves and Chepstow castle. Would love to return in the summer months and enjoy the beautiful grounds and swimming pool. Highly recommended!

We were a group of 13 adults and a baby, the bedrooms are really well presents and spacious. The kitchen is well stocked with all the pots & pans you could need for cooking for a large group and it was a lovely extra that the hosts provided us with a welcome pack with bread, cereals, grapes, wine and more! (Also Tesco can delivery here with no problems!) The TV room fit us all in easily though it was a squeeze to get us all around the dinning table, having to use chairs from other rooms but we managed! The fire place was amazing and there was plenty of wood and coal for us to use onsite for all 3 days we used it. We did a couple of walks straight from the house into the Forest of Dean which was lovely and there's plenty to see and do within a short drive. We didn't use the pool as it was November so would definitely come back again to make the most of the outside facilities! The view from the front door is amazing and we really did feel like we were the only ones around for miles. Thanks!