Canada Lodge and Lake

Great place for a quick getaway

I am very disappointed after staying for what we thought was a specal Valentines event and emailing a complaint, over a week later, not even a sorry from them. So I have copies/paste teh complaint I'd sent to them. To Whom It May Concern We booked for your Valentines event for Friday 14th February 2025 and stayed in Lodge 3. It was lovely to see that on arrival to the lodge for it to be laid out nicely with a bottle of Prosecco and box of chocolates. Unfortunately, that was where the niceties seem to end. 1. The TV had a very weak signal and kept breaking up, unable to watch the TV 2. The Wi-Fi was very intermittent and kept fluctuating to being on/off 3. No welcome pack to explain how to call reception or use the digital safe, went to reception to find out the code for the digital safe and they told me, I should have rung, I explained I would have, if I knew the number. 4. Only 1 coat hanger to hang clothes in wardrobe 5. This is where it get worse, heating wasn’t working, when we had our evening meal, we said about this and someone went and set up 2 fan heaters, unfortunately we were unable to leave on over night for the noise they made, not very warm during the night nor when we woke up. 6. When we arrived back after our evening meal and entertainment, which we will say was very good, we both had showers, water was very lukewarm and happy to get out and get dried in front of fan heaters. The bathroom however was nice. Shame we couldn’t really enjoy it. Also on way back to lodge in the evening, lack of lighting, this came on when the security light on lodge 2 activated. 7. We also didn’t have a very good night’s sleep; the mattress was very hard and my wife said she could feel the springs through it. 8. On Sunday 9th February at 11.24am, I rang to check, that I was gluten intolerant and my wife was vegetarian, and asked if the sausages were GF, I was told she would check and if not, they’d make sure they would be available. When we went for our breakfast, was told no GF sausages available, but could have vegetarian sausages, which were awful. No GF bread available to toast, given 2 GF rolls, which were originally untoasted but even when they were toasted in the kitchen, texture was that of plasticine. The scrambled eggs seemed to be made up from a powder mix, the hash browns from being stored in a Bain Marie, were mushy, bacon was nice and thickly sliced. No GF cereal available. As you can image, breakfast wasn’t a hit either. I am really sorry to say, that we weren’t impressed with the event and certainly not value for money that we paid. The only positive was the evening meal and entertainment. Sorry to say, the content of this email will be my review on TripAdvisor and other review sites. May I suggest you having a welcome pack with information, especially with opening times for Rhodri’s restaurant. Regards

On its website Canada Lodge “Boasts some of the finest lodge accommodation in South Wales”. Heaven help my homeland if this is the case. My wife and I needed to stay near Cardiff to attend a Sunday anniversary service at a Church on the Ely Estate on the western edge of the City. We decided to combine it with a Saturday afternoon trip to the Arms Park to watch the Rugby. The location of Canada Lodge seemed to fit the bill I was not reassured when I rang in advance to find out the nearest rail station (for our Saturday afternoon trip). The person answering at reception told me that the nearest was Cardiff Central – my intended destination station. When I told her that there were nearer local stations she offered to ask or look on the map. Radyr, a commuter station with trains to the centre every 15minutes and adequate parking, is just two miles away. On arrival the Lodge proved to be hopelessly understaffed with one pleasant, polite but harassed young man appearing to do everything (receptionist, barman, breakfast chef). We were not shown to our room and had to return for details of Wi-Fi. The room itself (described as a subterranean apartment for no obvious reason) had a pleasant balcony and a good view over the lake. However, it was clearly tailored for summer visitors: it was very cold with inadequate blankets and a curtain falling off its rails. My wife was very annoyed that there was no hairdryer in the room – something we had never experienced at other hotels. There was no-one to ask since the staff member was busy at the bar with a long queue of people waiting to attend the event at the ballroom – I suspect that this sort of activity is now Canada Lodge’s speciality. I had an exchange, in which I indicated my dissatisfaction, the following morning with a pleasant and polite young woman who described herself as an events manager. The biggest cause of my dissatisfaction, which prompts me to write this full review, was an extra charge made at breakfast. We had paid £165 for the room, bed and breakfast. We are choosy on our coffee and asked for a strong espresso with milk on the side. We were told that if we exercised such discretion, we could take advantage of a machine which offered ‘designer coffee’ (!); we did so and were charged an extra £8.50. It turned out , incidentally, that the Saturday night activity was a mediumship event in which a psychic presumably communicated with the departed: I was not present in body or in spirit to witness what happened but any visitors from the afterlife were quiet and, despite the cold, we had a reasonable night’s sleep. Whether any of the visiting spirits were charged extra for coffee after their performance I don’t know but, if so, I hope they will add appropriate wails and moans to this complaint.

Went for a family wedding. Had a 90 year old with us. After the ceremony the 90 year old lady wanted a cup of tea. After going to the bar and being told that this is a common request but all they could offer was an espresso martini I went in search of catering staff. After speaking to the waitresses I was told that there was no kettle on site and that their hot water would take about 40 mins to heat up. An hour later when I asked again we were told that the 90 year old would have to wait until after food (2 hours later). The 90 year old went to take her seat when it was time and the doors, which had previously been opened were closed and we were told to walk the long way around. When I said that the 90 year old needed the toilet and could they open the doors just for her to go in I was told the doors do not open and that she would have to walk all the way around. After walking around and going to the toilet the staff then opened the doors. Appalling!

Went to a wedding here and stayed for 2 nights. Big mistake. Nothing opens in the actual hotel on other days than the wedding. So there was no bar,restaurant or anything else to get food and drink. The nearest pub is miles away down so serious lanes and really only accessible by car. No good if you want a few pints. Our chalet had no wardrobe. Again no good if your going to a wedding the next day. No WiFi. The telly worked OK if no rain. As soon as it rained all the channels went off. However. The day of the wedding everything was amazing. Breakfast,the wedding meal and wedding itself were great. The scenery is lovely as it is on a lake and the staff were great. Big shout out to Jo being the bar. Great lad. . So all in all. Get there for the morning of the wedding and save yourself the cost and stress of basically camping in a chalet or lodge.

Absolutely stunning venue as we came here for a wedding. The settings and surroundings are beautiful. My only moan about the place was that we all arrived the day before, so we booked all the cabins, lodges etc as it was easier and less stress to stay the night before. The venue had been booked a good year in advance. When we arrived, there was no bar open or no restaurant open. Which in my eyes is really poor. They said "staff issues" You're completely in the middle of nowhere, so not walking distance to anything. We ended up all ordering food and drinks on just eat to be delivered. The rooms were clean, cosy and nice comfy bed. There is a kettle and tea and coffee bits in the room, along with a mini fridge, also fresh towels and toiletries are provided. So come prepared and bring your own snacks and drinks like I did. We also had a nice big tv on the wall with freeview ( when it had signal) Lovely little balcony seating area outside the patio doors, with a beautiful view of the lake. I will state.. bring coat hangers with you. I'm so glad I did, as there wasn't a wardrobe in my room. All I had was a coat peg with 4 coat hooks on. Others had wardrobes , but not in mine. Atleast I was able to hang my clothes as I brought hangers. There is no iron or ironing board either. The room was still lovely though with a nice modern clean bathroom. The restaurant was open the morning of the wedding for breakfast, which was lovely. Fresh and tasty cooked breakfast, aswell as continental breakfast. The bar opened 1 hour before the wedding. IT'S CARD ONLY!! No cash at all. The wedding was beautiful, the room and venue was perfect. The food after the wedding was also lovely. The evening reception was great, dance floor, music, bar and more food. It's a beautiful place. But I wish they'd made us aware on a few things, like no food or drink the night before, card only etc. Luckily I pack the kitchen sink when going away. I would definitely return. But make sure you're well prepared.