woodland lodges

STRIKING GOLD WITH AA FIVE-STAR GRADING

Posted on July 31, 2025

LOVE2STAY JOINT MANAGER Charlie Ward with the new AA Five Star grading plaque.

Shropshire’s Love2Stay touring and glamping resort is celebrating after earning a prestigious Five AA Gold Star rating in the 2025 AA Caravan and Camping Awards. Located in Emstrey, Shrewsbury, the luxury resort received an impressive 95% quality score following a recent inspection by AA Hotel and Hospitality Services.

AA inspector Stephen Wilkinson praised the site’s thoughtful layout, top-tier facilities and scenic setting, stating: “The BBQ and pizza oven areas are a great feature, and the open water pool, beach and paddle pool were well used and clearly enjoyed by guests during my visit.”

AN AERIAL VIEW of Love2Stay resort.

Joint manager Charlie Ward welcomed the award as “fantastic recognition” of the team’s hard work and investment. “We pride ourselves on our high standards, customer service and range of facilities that allow guests of all ages to unwind, stay active and reconnect with nature,” he said.

Celebrating its eighth birthday this year, Love2Stay has recently invested £750,000 in five new Severn holiday lodges, adding to its glamping village of safari and woodland lodges. The 22-acre site, set next to parent company Salop Leisure, offers panoramic countryside views and access to a bio pool, cinema, wellness services and outdoor activities.

DEMAND SURGE FOR PINELOG’S DOG FRIENDLY TIMBER LODGE DESIGNS

Posted on August 7, 2024

Pinelog Ltd has seen a rise in demand for its dog-friendly timber lodges, driven by increased dog ownership during the pandemic and a growing staycation market. Chairman Nick Grayson attributes this trend to pet owners viewing dogs as family members, prompting them to seek accommodations that cater to pets.

He noted that holiday park customers are capitalizing on this trend, resulting in more orders for pet-friendly lodges. Dog boarding can cost about £125 for seven nights, so bringing pets on holiday can save money for owners. Research from Verdant Leisure supports this trend, showing 40% of people look for pet-friendly facilities when choosing UK holiday destinations.

Pinelog’s lodges feature amenities like stable doors, vinyl flooring, dog showers, and ‘Mucky Pup’ hoses to cater to pets. Kelling Heath Holiday Park in Norfolk is introducing dog-friendly Woodland lodges in 2024, designed and built by Pinelog with external dog showers among other features.

Similarly, Darwin Forest Luxury Lodges Holiday Park in Derbyshire, owned by Pinelodge Holidays, offers pet-friendly lodges with spacious verandas, outdoor washing facilities, and utility areas with stable doors. The Coppice Spa lodges also feature a unique doggy shower. These lodges, introduced in 2018, have been popular with guests.

Caroline Povey, Associate Marketing Director of Pinelodge Holidays, mentioned that pet-friendly lodges have broadened their market. Lodges with hot tubs and pet-friendly features, especially the Coppice Spa lodges, have the highest occupancy rates.

Nick Grayson added that these designs are ideal for parks like Darwin Forest and Kelling Heath, which offer ample dog walking opportunities. Pinelog’s pet-friendly lodges can be customized to meet the needs of holiday parks. Designed and built at their Chesterfield facility, these luxury timber lodges are an attractive option for holiday parks looking to tap into the staycation market.

Pinelog
01246 942842
www.pinelog.co.uk

THE GLADE by Pinelog are all bespoke and can include a dog shower.

GLAMPING OFFERS STAYING POWER

Posted on April 27, 2022

GLAMPING OFFERS STAYING POWER

THE LOVE2STAY location is set in 22 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds.

The rise in popularity of UK staycations has inspired the impressive Love2Stay resort, on the outskirts of Shrewsbury, to invest further and offer a collection of luxury bespoke lodges to complement their existing Glamping portfolio Celebrating its fifth birthday, the Love2Stay resort is set in 22 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds and enjoys magnificent views over Wales on one side and the Shropshire Hills on the other.

The resort offers 122 hardstanding touring pitches and 11 Safari Glamping Lodges with private hot tubs, glamping site bookings were up 60 per cent, the fifth straight year of growth. “Glamping was already on the upswing throughout the UK before the COVID-19 pandemic started,” shares Chris Skitt Love2Stay, General Manager. “Last year, Love2Stay saw bookings explode, with families experiencing and enjoying glamping for the first time.

“All signs point to continued growth in the coming years. We believe that luxury and comfort should not be sacrificed while enjoying the great outdoors,” ,” he continues. “So, we decided to expand further with our new Black Barn Lodges. Glamping with us is simple. We combine the need for modern comfort with a desire to be as close to nature as possible.”

A total of 12 custom-built single lodges and two twin lodges have been purchased by the resort’s owner, Salop Leisure, to be used in the new Black Barn Lodges development. After a £1 million investment in the resort last year, the Love2Stay glamping village now boasts 36 deluxe lodges, including the original 11 Safari Lodges and 11 Woodland Lodges, which were added last year as part of the planned phase of development. Lowfield Leisure, based in Marton, near Shrewsbury, designed and created the new Black Lodges for Salop Leisure, Love2Stay’s parent company.

The new lodges can accommodate from four to six guests. Each of the three bedrooms, which include a king-sized main bedroom, a twin mezze room, and a sofa bed in the living area, is equipped with high-quality appliances and a log burner. Every lodge has its own private hot tub as well as an outside fire pit for guests to enjoy. In addition to the luxury glamping experience offered by the custom built Black Lodges, guests can enjoy a range of amenities, including a natural bio swimming pool, splash pool, and beach, as well as an on-site cinema. There are also wellness services, and a huge variety of outdoor activities for the whole family to enjoy. High season rates for these unique glamping lodges are £963 for three nights, while the low season rates are £558, with a minimum stay of three nights.

Love2Stay
Tel. 01743 583124
www.love2stay.co.uk

New Breaks Are A Breath Of Fresh Air

Posted on February 3, 2016

New Breaks Are A Breath Of Fresh Air

A new range of woodland-based lodge breaks for those looking to make the most of the great outdoors has been launched by domestic holiday operator Hoseasons.

Wanderwood is Hoseasons’ seventh new specialist product range in as many years.

Wanderwood is Hoseasons’ seventh new specialist product range in as many years.

Wanderwood is Hoseasons’ seventh specialist product range in as many years and offers families affordable back to nature escapes at six leafy locations across the UK, including Norfolk, Surrey, Somerset, Shropshire, the Lake District and the Northern Highlands.

All lodges are pet-friendly and include complimentary binoculars, umbrellas and wildlife literature. WiFi is also included and hot tubs feature at all locations.
Hoseasons managing director, Simon Altham commented: “Natural escapes that allow people to forget all about the stresses and strains of everyday life and spend time with those who matter most are exactly the type of short breaks our customers are telling us they want. That’s why we’ve put the work into developing Wanderwood and why we hope it will be a popular addition to the Hoseasons product portfolio.”

Energy-Efficient Era For Hot Tub Heating

Posted on March 12, 2015
hot tub

The compact heat exchanger is hidden behind the skin of the hot tub, so is neither visible nor affects the design.

Energy-Efficient Era For Hot Tub Heating

Bowman heat exchangers are helping a luxury golf and leisure resort save thousands of pounds a year on its energy bills while maximising the potential of its sustainable heating system.

The Bowman units are part of a new and innovative heating system for hot tubs, which uses a biomass boiler and heat exchangers instead of conventional electric heating. The system has been installed at the KP Club, a prestigious leisure destination which is set in 180 acres of the Yorkshire Wolds. The club recently opened 24 new luxury woodland lodges which offer guests privacy combined with the facilities of a boutique hotel.

The lodges each have their own hot tub, supplied by Bristol based, Urban Cedar, who are specialists in the design, build and installation of contemporary cedar wood hot tubs. The energy savings of the combined biomass boiler/heat exchanger system are nothing short of remarkable.

“On average, using conventional electric heaters, each hot tub would use around £500 annually in electricity. However, by using the existing heat source of the biomass boiler system, the hot tubs are now heated at no extra cost – saving the KP Club approximately £12,000 a year,” says Antony Perry, managing director of Urban Cedar.

The KP Club approached Urban Cedar when the resort was looking at a greener way of heating the hot tubs. “Having heard that heat exchangers are a highly efficient solution, the club asked us to contact Bowman first, because of its reputation as the best in the industry. Bowman introduced us to GVS, one of their UK distributors, who advised us on the best unit for the application” says Antony.

Urban Cedar fitted the hot tubs with the Bowman units which was simple as just standard plumbing components are required. The compact heat exchanger is hidden behind the skin of the hot tub, so is neither visible nor affects the design.

An added benefit of the new system is the much faster heat up times. Traditionally, electric heaters would raise the water temperature in the tubs by 1-2°C an hour, taking up to 24 hours to heat a tub from cold. The Bowman heat exchangers raise the water temperature by 12°C an hour – so the tub reaches temperature within just two to three hours, giving greater flexibility between changeovers and ensuring the tubs are immediately ready when new guests arrive.

Bowman
Tel. +44 (0)121 359 5401
info@ejbowman.co.uk
www.ejbowman.co.uk