I have booked several short breaks in lodges through Hoseasons now, and with the exception of one terrible experience, I have always really enjoyed my lodge breaks away. I only go away to lodges with hot tubs, as I love sitting outside in the winter months in a 40'C hot tub whilst sipping wine. For this reason I tend to book them in the winter months, and usually in January when the prices are often less than half of what they charge in the summer months. On my most recent short break away I chose to go to Dacre Lakeside Park, it sounded great on the website and my mother had been here in the past so I knew it should be good.

Dacre Lakeside Park is situated in Yorkshire, quite out in the middle of nowhere but it does have a small village right next to it. I've stayed in a few lodges in the York area, and they are usually only a short drive away from a Park and Ride into York itself, but Dacre Park is actually a 1 hour drive away from Monks Cross Park and Ride, and it's a similar distance away from Scarborough. The site itself is large, and is also a caravan park. When pulling into the site you come first to the building which is the reception. Check-in isn't until 4pm, and if you come any earlier there is a small bar so you can sit and have a drink and play some pool whilst waiting for your check in time. We arrived not long after 4pm so after giving our name, we were handed a map and told our lodge number (number 6!), the keys would be already inside the lodge. We drove along a short road which is for lodge access only, and you immediately come to the lodges which directly overlook the lake. I was surprised at how close the lodges are to each other, and it's more cramped than other lodge parks I have been to. There is also a cluster of lodges around a pond, and it was here that our one bedroom lodge was situated.

Upon entering the lodge we were greeted with warm, comfortable surroundings with a modern décor. The front door opens directly into the lounge area, and the kitchen is just behind it. The kitchen had everything you could possibly need with plenty of cutlery, cooking equipment and space. There is a small fridge with a freezer drawer, big enough for ice cubes, and we didn't manage to fit a good amount of food in the fridge. You are supplied with a cloth and 2 tablets for the dishwasher and a tea towel. The lounge/kitchen area was small but definitely spacious enough for the two of us. This is helped by the large windows letting in lots of natural light and peaceful views out across the pond. There are two sets of patio doors, one set opens out onto the decking area where there are a couple of wooden chairs and a barbecue. As soon as you step out onto this decking, the ducks that occupy the pond immediately come charging towards you excitedly, expecting you to feed them. The ducks like to circle the pond waiting for someone to come out onto the decking, before making a charge towards that lodge. It was quite amusing to watch them! The other patio door, which is right next to the first set, opens straight out onto the sunken hot tub. We lifted off the cover and were pleased to see the hot tub was already hot enough to be used! Despite the lodges being quite close together, the hot tub was surrounded by the lodge itself and some wood fencing, the other side faced out towards the pond so they do feel private enough. Each morning between 10 - 12 two men would come round to check the hot tub and do a dip test, checking the chemicals in the water to ensure it's safe to use.

Back inside the lodge there is a door which leads into the large bedroom, off which is the dressing area and the large bathroom. The bed was a large four poster and on it were our towels. There was a hand towel and a bath towel each, as we would be going in the hot tub plenty of times, I had brought extra towels with us anyway, however the welcome pack provided stated you could hire more from reception, though it was closed during the time we were there so I would take extra towels. Inside the bathroom was a large walk in shower with one of those lovely 'rainfall shower heads' as I call them! The bath was a huge oval free standing tub, making the bathroom feel very luxurious. In the dressing area is a small desk and chair, and a large storage shelf unit which has a space for hanging clothes. Here we were supplied with two gowns we could use during our stay. There was a welcome pack on the coffee table in the lounge which mentioned we could keep the slippers provided however we weren't provided with any slippers. The welcome pack also contained simple instructions on how to use the oven and DVD player, along with a guide on what's in the local village and recommendations for restaurants a bit further afield. In the village there is a fish and chip shop, Chinese restaurant/take away, a couple of pubs and a cost cutter. We didn't intend to eat out however on our first night in the lodge there was a power cut. We were in the hot tub at the time and hoped it would come back on shortly but when it didn't, and with the sun quickly setting, we thought it would be best to preserve the heat of the water in the hot tub! With no torches or candles in the lodge we were sat in darkness so decided to wander down to the village, but just as we were leaving a man was going around the lodges handing out torches and explaining the power was out in the village too, but explained the cookers in the lodges were gas, or the town of Beverley was just a short drive away. We decided to find somewhere to eat rather than sit in the dark however as we were leaving the site the power came back on!

The site is obviously quite busy in the summer and on weekends, as it was off season and midweek, the reception wasn't open Tuesday-Thursday, and whilst the welcome pack boasted activities such as bike hire, kayak's and tennis, this obviously wasn't available in January.

The DVD player was in one of the kitchen cupboards, and there was a large flat screen TV in the lounge and in the bedroom. The DVD player could be used for both TV's, you simply had to switch the SCART cable over depending on which TV you wanted to use. We had a problem with ours though, we plugged it in for the TV in the living room but the sound came through the TV without the picture. It worked fine in the bedroom so it was clearly as problem with the SCART cable, however as this went under the floor it wouldn't be an easy problem to sort out! We called the mobile number provided and a man came out who admittedly didn't know much about the system, so my partner asked if there was a space SCART cable available and we could just plug the DVD player in next to the TV. Luckily there was a spare SCART cable so the problem was sorted.

I had a lovely relaxing break in the lodges, and you can forget there are other people there. You can see the other lodges on the opposite side of the pond, and indeed you can see into them, but we seemed to be the only ones who actually used our hot tubs, nobody else seemed to use them at all. Around the pond there has been a hill built around the perimeter and some trees have been planted, once they are grown it will make it seem more peaceful as there is a main road just over the hill and you can see and hear the traffic going past. Whilst we were there they were also building another lodge near the entrance, it seems they like to squeeze them in every available space. The lodges are decorated to a very high standard and I wouldn't refrain from coming back again in the future. We paid £210 (combined with NHS discount) for a mid-week break from Monday-Friday, though the prices do rise much higher than this in the summer months especially during the school holidays. I would always check on Hoseasons for discounts and special offers, which are frequent during the quieter months.