Aria Resorts Reviews 

Colwell Bay

Dreadful place not worthy of 1*.

Promised a refund on the back of being mis-sold luxury cottage. Tried to call 4 times today - no response and no response to my e-mail. Don’t buy into the glossy pictures and their promises. Sub-standard properties and NO customer service. If no response I will be taking them through the small claims court to recover our monies.

Do not stay here. The beds are broken, the carpet saturated in dog wee, the electrics are buzzing and the service non existent. Reception admitted this place is in an unacceptable state with the carpets needing complete removal due to the offending stains and smells but refused to do anything about it or move us. This place is an enormous health and safety risk. No response at all from management.

Newquay Bay resort Cornwall, was excellent.
Great location, site, amenities, cleanliness, friendly staff. Some nice welcome gift sets for bathroom and kitchen.
Caravans were reasonably new and had everything we needed.
The pools were at a great temperature for swimming with my toddler and baby. Clean and tidy site. Nice play park. Beautiful views. We will definitely be return next time we visit Cornwall.

I would just like to start by saying I am neurodiverse, and both my friend and I have anxiety and depression. This can make going away quite stressful at the best of times. I want to be thorough in my review as there are many families out there with neurodiverse children as well as other neurodiverse adults. They need to have a full understanding.

We booked The Lakes Rookley (an Aria Resort) through Ho Seasons. After such an awful year, with personal stresses above and beyond the pandemic, my friend and I desperately needed a break away to destress. The pictures of the “typical” Premium Cottage 2 VIP (Pet) seemed like the perfect spot for a Fri-Mon weekend break.

Unfortunately Red Funnel had large delays on the way out, so we arrived on the island 5 hours later than expected. Reception had called when they closed and sent an email advising the cottage (C15) would be open for us. As we were arriving so late, we picked up a takeaway to eat as soon as we got to the accommodation. Only to find that it wasn’t open, which meant having to eat in the car (luckily food that could be eaten by hand). There was no obvious sign of how to get help and the telephone number provided on the email (01983 721606) was unmanned. Eventually we drove around to the bar to see if anyone was there. Thankfully it was still open because of the football. It turned out that someone had forgotten to leave the cottages unlocked and there were other confused guests in the same situation. We didn’t get into our cottage until around 10pm and just wanted to get straight to bed.

The next morning, we took stock. The property was so close to neighbours you could see your reflection in their mirrors. Everyone is right on top of each other and it really feels like it’s lacking in privacy. There was a little deck out of double doors in the front of the property with no furniture and rubbish in the grass. Worst bit was the “VIP” hot tub. It’s highly misrepresented in advertising. I shared photos with friends and family who all agreed. Rather than a lovely relaxing spot, you need to go out of the main door at the side, through a gate and around the building into a very bleak small patio with weeds and stones that the bedrooms look out onto. On Sunday a random guy walked into the patio area in the middle of the day to check the chlorine levels. My friend was changing in her room at the time and had to hide. It wouldn’t have taken much to knock and ask if it was ok to enter. We just didn’t feel comfortable using it which was extremely disappointing as the hot tub was our main reason for booking the accommodation.

The décor inside is very modern and bright which is nice. Well equipped kitchen with regards to crockery and white goods. Good sized shower in the bathroom. Unfortunately, neither of us slept well through the weekend as the beds and pillows were very uncomfortable. The single beds are very small for adults. The phone signal wasn't great and there's no wifi/internet, which is unusual these days. The sofa in the lounge was weirdly tilted, we couldn’t work out what was happening, but it felt like we were sliding off the front all the time. Just awkward to sit on and seemed more for looks than comfort. The big clock on the wall had the wrong time and the ticking gets very annoying. There were no mats to dry feet off on entry, so you end up with wet patches in the hall (especially with a dog) and damp socks.

The accommodation is pet “friendly”, however, nothing was provided for a pet (not even a water bowl). The essentials pack is a lovely touch, but it’s not made clear what will be provided. We were under the impression that the pack would cover the weekend and didn’t bring certain things with us. We had to buy some extra toilet rolls and hold off on setting off the dishwasher. There was also nothing like kitchen paper, cleaning products or hand sanitiser. We had a spillage but when we got the bucket out of the cupboard, we found there was no mop attachment on the end of the pole. We had to wipe it up using toilet roll and a little pack of antibac hand wipes from my car.

We did think the site itself is lovely though. The lake is beautiful to walk around. Facilities seem great, though we didn’t have time to use them. Helpful staff in the activities booth. All the other types of accommodation seemed to be well spaced out. Location wise, it’s easy to get to from the East Cowes ferry and the perfect central spot to explore the island. Honestly, we would possibly consider going to the site again or recommending it to others. However, definitely not in a Premium Cottage.

Have stayed at all of Aria's resorts on the IoW and can't find fault with any of them. Clean, ideally located, good activities and facilities but quiet when you want it to be and excellent customer service. Much better for families who want to spend time together than some of their bigger competitors.

SCAM!!!! DO NOT GO HERE...TOOK TWO PAYMENTS OF OVER £2000!!!

They won't respond to taking two payments for our stay...now out of pocket of £2000!!! Avoid!!!!

so we stayed at bude aria where to start dint get there before 4pm or after your lodge wint alkways be ready the receptionist cant find the cleaners she will say to you on many occasions ill contact you sherarley does ring you back you have to chase her you will be waiting a long time to get in to your lodge
the lodge is clean tidy but our hot water went down 2 guys came looked at it told us we had hot water to hslf turn the tap not to shock the bolier this game went on for 3 days as we list heating again the reception said we are sorting it will ring you back atbthis point as we had no heating and intermitaint hot water we are told you have hot water whats the issue the manger comes out day 3 some words are exchanged and he contridicts what the 2 guys said by telling us to open the taps fully we sort it as i havr issuies bout the bar to so he offers us a free meal to compensate our issues
the bar where do i start a cook who does not know his specials 2 young lads who charge what they want get orders wrong all the time the app has things on that you cant order fr9m the bar and the prices differ be carefull to as sometimes ording on the app takes 2 hours for food to come out as the lads dont allways acknowledge the app and they 9nly have one or 2 cooks for the entire resort we ordered one day 2 pinapple juices 2 single vodkas we got 2 pinaple juices one with double vodka one with out on the sunday we ordered one sunday roast with beef and gamon one with just gammon i got got beef you use the app prices on there differ to what the staff charge you the food is hard over cooked or sometomes coverd in oil our completely meal was steak tge steak was well done allright as asked but it was burnt to a crisp bar staff adked my partner why she liked caffine so much as she orderd sevral coffes in week whoch i thought was cheeky also orderd a large one they did small and dont tell you till they have pourd it
other holiday makers had meat on jacket potatoes when a vegetarian a guy lost a filling after eating a cornish pie the 2 lads there took seprate orders from us once one for food one for drinks to confuse us im sure
also altough it was quiet one night staff were having a drinking party in club and flirting eith eachnother looked like free for all or they are on there moblies texting in the corridoor to the kitchen while peopke wait ages who orderd on the app very professional!!!i think not ash a guy who compares there and does reception and lifegaurding and bar tendering with out him the place woukd go underash is keeping the thing a float to be honest very kind aprocahable professional funny and genuine the others no where near to standerd as the manger said to us there are issues at this time due to covid ect tgats fair enough but the staff dont get any of the basics right my partner has issues i thought this holiday would be good for us both it was not i said things i shouldent have said the experience apart from one dedicated member of stuff was terrible i do not know if bude maangement read this but your bar is being run in to the ground you have customers complaing a lot you hav a lot to learn about handing repiars in lodges and yoyr bar staff need to learn there systems standards and people sklills
i acknowledge the manger goes out 9f his way to defend his team and did help with complementry meal but the overall experience he cant ignore i thank him.for trying to help and change my perception of his resort but i just would not recommend any one to vist there if you do do not use the bar covid has hot hard and i hope teething problems can be addressed by bude holiday camp as say only go if you are eating in bude town thank you for reading

We stayed at Retallack in 2019 for the 6th time after having a number of great stays. This was the first time we stayed under Aria ownership and there were several faults we found glass on the floor, we lost water for two days and had issues with food on the resort. When we complained they offered us a discount on a return stay. As we wanted to stay in 2020 we accepted it and rebooked.
Our stay was cancelled and rebooked for 2021 due to COVID. It was cancelled again and we were told it would be rebooked for 2022, they have put their prices up substantially and then suddenly we were told there was no availability to rebook so we could have a refund.
It seems very much like that they want people to stay who are willing to pay the full price, their customer service throughout the whole experience has been terrible and they have come up with excuse after excuse as to why we couldn't rebook and just want to get more money out of people.

I was hoping that St Helens IOW would still be unspoilt and I wasnt disappointed. Lodges and new caravans had been placed far enough apart, trees remained to encourage the birds. It was clean and sanitised and good to know all the contents of the dishwasher had been in a hot wash. The 2 bedroom lodge felt very spacious. When we sat in the hot tub we didnt feel overlooked.
From the moment Nicky handed me the key, to her follow up visit to ensure we had all we needed, I was reassured this was the perfect place to be. its just so peaceful. The Vines pub along the road is a little gem. Its a great walk down to the beach and St Helens is a
welcoming village.
Our long weekend left us relaxed and glowing.

We are residential owners at Glendevon country park, we find it is impossible to communicate with this company, number of emails sent to CEO’s of the company and no response at all, the manager who has been installed has alienated them-self against 99% of the residents on the park! Avoid at all costs

Oh dear not sure why this has should have gone so bad this year - had nice break two years ago same place, but now .... terrible place, can’t wait to leave. Two sleepless nights of cabin neighbours partying (currently 3 am nightmare of shouting drunk laughing loud music - 4x waste time reporting it on phone - just accept no sleep situation and wear headphones.) The following faults are all minor in comparison: No WiFi. No shower curtain. No bathroom mirror. Wafer thin quilts on the two spare beds. Not enough pillows. Do yourself a favour and do NOT book holiday Aria Isle of Wight ...
Update - last night of holiday had good sleep and quiet after 1100 pm (one night in 3) BUT we had been given key and promised other room far from our original location. However, in late afternoon we got phone call saying we could not have other room, missing a toilet seat as reason - we said we didn’t care and there were two toilets and it’s only one night. When we tried to call them 5 pm onwards to discuss, then no reply, not able to leave message, zilch communication available. So we stayed out late, had sleep during the day in car, and hoped we might finally get a good night sleep... so it was with trepidation we returned 10 pm and only two neighbours were making any noise. This subsided at 11 pm and phew ... bliss.

(Actually the place is very clean, good furnishings, very good kitchen and utensils plus excellent TV (which we watched until 5 am two nights to drown out noise next door) ( no WiFi access sadly so had to bounce it off my iPad) and we stayed couple times before and experience was very positive ... staff generally friendly and the security guard did answer phone all 9 times we contacted him (front desk not so accessible) hence upgraded this review to two stars. This break however, was still horrible as Aria totally unable to control other guests having mini rave x2 nights

I booked our holiday Dec 2019 for Easter (April) 2020. Given the options we decided to roll the holiday over to Easter Holidays 2021 for wk commencing April 5th. Alas the resort couldn't reopen till the wk commencing the 12th therefore I opted for a refund as there were no vacancies for the 2nd week and the dramatic price increases for Summer 2021 simply did not make it viable.
Those discussions were had with Aria early Feb 2021.
We are now 11/4/21 and I have a credit voucher (no monies) for a 'portion' of the total paid. The deposit paid in Dec 2019 has NOT been included in the voucher received.
I have sent 2 emails to 'Abigail' in response to her emailing me to advise remaining Easter dates were full when I tried to reschedule from February. I have contacted the company direct from the website and still nothing. And yes to add to everyone's else's experience they do not like answering the phones!

Tried to get through to discuss potential purchase and booking a short break but wanted to check a couple of items . After two days I gave up especially after reading all the poor reviews .
Also how can a company provide any customer service when the booking centre and all other services are closed Saturday and Sunday .
As a follow up the sales manager phoned me to assist and was very helpful but unfortunately it is clear Aria's hierarchy do not care about their customers or have a great understanding of the current situation.

When I spoken on the phone , I was informed I would receive a refund for my holiday ? 12 days have gone and no refund ! Will not answer the phone or reply to messages! Before a refund I did look at moving the break but substantial price increases put pay on that idea

Booked 2 units in April 2020 moved to 2021 - still not allowed to go and to move dates have to pay new extortionate prices despite them having my money for 16 months! Shocking and they’ll get their comeuppance when things are back to normal next year! Getting a refund from this unscrupulous lot !

Went to book a return holiday to Bude as we have stayed there every year for the last 6 years. What cost £1550 last year for 10 night they have changed to £4000 for 7 nights. Disgusting

Retallack Resport and Spa

Let's start with the positives: it's in a fantastic location. You can get to several beautiful beaches, Padstow, the Camel Trail, Camel Creek Adventure park... all within 15mins. Other than that...

While we totally understand the restrictions given the pandemic we were hugely disappointed by our accommodation and experience here. We sent a version of the below to the Guest Services Manager whilst on holiday. We got zero response and still haven't heard anything FOUR MONTHS later, despite politely chasing several times. Nothing.

The lodge we stayed in is tired and in need of a refresh, and I would struggle to describe it as “luxury”. Ultimately, the standard by no means meets the marketing. ‘Sky TV’ for example is just Freeview box. We weren't able to access any Sky channels at all. We didn’t go on holiday to watch TV, but still...

We were immediately disappointed by the appearance of the lodge on arrival. Sticky tables, a spray-pattern stain all over the kitchen wall, rust-stained radiators which rub off on the kid’s clothes. We spent the first half an hour there cleaning. No view from the garden / hot tub - we get that this would be different in other lodges, we just got a poorly positioned one, but what a come down given that the marketing shows lodges with great views of water.

There was no soap at all and a depleted kitchen pack (not sure of the CV-19 reasoning behind not including teabags, shampoo, soap, when they still included washing up liquid and dishwasher tabs?). Peeling varnish, broken fences, old spider webs, old bird poo and lichen all over the back garden and table. The bedroom window in the small room was blown and full of condensation, so there’s no view through it. The window also wouldn’t shut as it had a screw sticking out. No one answered on reception (they never did during our week's stay), so I had to reach out and fix it myself, so we could secure the place for the day. The TV remotes were held together with gaffer tape...

All very far from “luxury” or "Superior".

The hot tub was cold on arrival and couldn’t be used until the next day. Fair enough they have to change the water from the previous guests, totally understandable, but that could be communicated before we arrived or at the very least when we checked in - we had two kids who were desperate to jump in and “start the holiday” after the long drive, but instead had to be consoled. Not a great start.

The TVs and internet weren’t working, so they couldn’t even do that instead. We couldn’t get through to reception (again), so we went to ask at the desk. Someone came and temporarily fixed things (though we still had to share remotes between the TVs), but the internet was up and down throughout the week. Again, we didn't go on holiday to watch TV, but anyone with kids knows how important internet can be, especially with the unreliable UK weather.

The water pressure went from poor-but-manageable to a dribble. On day two, my wife had to walk up to reception (no answer on phone again) with shampoo in her hair as it was impossible to finish her shower. I would consider this a basic. We returned one day from the beach and there was no water at all - even to refill the toilet or wash our hands. Basic.

We decided to commit to this holiday despite the restrictions and significantly limited access to the facilities (amusements, entertainment for the kids, tennis courts, playground, pool, lake inflatables, etc); we understand the impact this must have had on the company and wanted to honour our commitment. But honestly we’d expect them to then go out of their way to repay that to their customers; the pandemic wasn't their fault, nor the restrictions, but what are they doing to compensate those who still paid with no discount and showed up, but aren’t receiving the full service? The absolute bare minimum in my opinion would be exceptional communication and working basics like internet and water.

We are deeply underwhelmed and unable to recommend Retallack Resort. In fact, as I imagine is clear by now, we’d actively warn you off it until they can get their act together.

Was looking to purchase a caravan and was told finance was available. It wasn’t until they took &1,000 deposit that had to secure it on family home. Not stupid to do this, promised my £1,000 back but still waiting after one month.
Communication really patronising and poor. No sign of refund and always someone else’s fault.
Don’t buy with this company!

Stayed at the resort in Bude. Not as clean as I would expect for a ‘luxury’ resort. Following a non-fault accident on site we found staff to be completely unhelpful and downright rude. All they were interested in was covering their own backs however they could. We never even received an apology. I would avoid at all costs.

Paid to stay in a premium plus accommodation at the end of September but we were given a lower graded caravan, raised the point with reception twice who said they would sort a refund, after being back 1 week we were given a £9 refund!!! After contacting them numerous times no one ever gets back to you, they have told us they have no premium plus vans, blatant miss selling, going to contact trading standards