Dad wanted to take ‘future mom’ on a long weekend to celebrate her birthday. Just by chance, he saw an advert by Forest Holidays on TV, which looked fun

Forest Holidays offer nature-friendly holidays similar to CenterParcs but with fewer facilities. They have camps around England but dad chose the Forest of Dean on the English/Welsh border to make it seem like a proper trip away

Coming west along the M4, there’s a choice of route. Theres a longer route along bigger roads but the satnav took us cross country through small country lanes, which was a shorter route but a little more stressful for dad, who was driving. Having paid the toll to cross into Wales on the old Severn bridge, dad was then perturbed to find that we were staying back in England! Hehe

The entrance to the site is signposted but quite subtly – don’t expect the huge signs you get with CenterParcs. Located in the forest setting are cabins and a campground. There’s a common check in building, which also houses a small shop and they also serve some light food options

  
The site isn’t too large or hilly and walkable but with a bike, you can extend your range to places like nearby Symonds Yat. There are bikes for hire as well as some pre-bookable activities like archery, rope assault courses, Segway rides, canoeing and helicopter rides

Dad booked a Golden Oak Hideaway cabin, described as the perfect decadent getaway for couples (and me in the case of dad and ‘future mom’!) These are their top class cabins and are cleverly positioned so that none of them are overlooked and give the feeling of seclusion even though the cabins are a few metres apart. Unlike CenterParcs, you can park your car right next to the cabin all the time

  
 First impressions on walking through the door were excellent. You walk through the large kitchen and dining area to a big sitting room with comfy sofas and cushions. A couple of small steps lead up to the comfy and snuggly bedroom, which connects to the giant bathroom with separate shower and a sunken big enough for probably 4 humans but the perfect size to be a generous sized teddy bear swimming pool

There’s a skylight to view the stars from the bath. They also make full use of the forest location by giving great views of the surrounding nature from the bedroom and living room – it’s open plan with subtle design to separate the areas

You also look out onto the outdoor deck, where the outdoor jacuzzi (complete with yellow duck) and hammock are located. Having your personal jacuzzi is definitely the definition of decadent and dad and ‘future mom’ had a midnight jacuzzi just because they could!

 

 The furnishings are top notch with a Nespresso coffee machine, a Bose sound system and a large TV. By the way, mobile coverage is very patchy and dad paid extra for their entertainment package, allowing access to premium TV channels, a library of on demand movies and most importantly, wifi

There was a squeal of delight from the kitchen from ‘future mom’ when she found another luxury in the fridge – a bottle of champagne and a packet of Rolos. This air of romance was carried through in the little surprises we kept discovering like Green & Black’s organic chocolate and marshmallows to use in the mini chocolate fondue, romantic style cushions and a roll of love heart sweets by the bedside. Dad and ‘future mom’ also enjoyed having a cozy fire using the wood burner and the snuggly bathrobes and slippers were perfect for padding round the cabin

       
Forest Holidays have truly tried to make this cabin the ultimate couple’s luxurious retreat and they’ve succeeded. The well equipped kitchen was perfect for cooking lovely meals to eat in but in the second and third part of this travel review, dad and I will cover activities and places to eat out from this location

www.forestholidays.co.uk