Feb 2023 Half Term Trip Accommodation – Southwell Retreat Glamping Pod

As always I did a long detailed search on accommodations for our family trips. There were not much choices this time that suit our needs. I did not want to stay in the ones that’s a pub and a B&B / hotel. I worried about the noise level. I prefer detached, stand alone ones as I don’t need to constantly remind J to keep his noise level down (he gets a bit excited). Most importantly the location has to be near to the attractions I planned to go. With all these criteria, I came down with the one – Southwell Retreat Glamping Pods .

I booked directly from their official website simply because it’s the cheapest. The booking process was easy and simple. There are 4 pods to choose from ; 3 are pet friendly, 1 is not. I chose the pet free one called Bluebell. A few days before our arrival I messaged the host Lindsay to see if there’s some sort of Welcome Pack providing info such as official check in and check out time, and things like whether we need to remove the bed linen and put them in designated laundry basket when we leave etc. Lindsay replied with the “Pre-arrival information” for me with all the necessary info I was looking for.

On the day of “check-in”, we arrived at the gate and followed the instructions to open the gate but was not successful after a few tries. We thought we did not understand the instructions so I called Lindsay. Turned out she haven’t yet added my info on the computer system so we could not get it. It was fixed immediately and we were able to get in through the gate. Parked our car behind the hedges, and it was a very short walk to our pod.

We got in our pod with no problem. Then Lindsay (and her dog) came and said hello to us. While J was happily playing with her dog, she went through a few important things about the pod e.g. where are the light switches and how to operate the underfloor heating and things like how to set up the bed settee. She made sure we are ok with everything which was very thoughtful and responsible.

J is super excited that we are living in a pod. It’s new to him (and to us) as it’s our 1st time.

Me and Mr. B, on the other hand, were super impressed with how clean the place is. The silver handles on the drawers in the kitchenette look so clean and new. The fridge/freezer was kept very clean and white. The shower cubicle has no limescale marks and sparkling clean. The entire place was actually spotlessly clean. No single cobweb at all. Very impressive!

It has everything as described in its official website .

The shower was very nice with strong steady water supply, which was lovely especially after a day of outdoor adventure! The bed was comfy. The room was warm but not stuffy. The pods are right next to a road which occasionally a bit noisy when a truck pass by but not a huge problem.

The only one problem we had was our second night when there was some very strong winds. They made huge noises in the windows and doors. That kept waking me up throughout the night.

In conclusion, I would highly recommend this place to you.