House Rules
The site will be regularly monitored by the management team. Please call Richard 07500068030 if you have any concerns or questions.
Your arrival
Check in/out of Safari Tents
Check in is between 4pm and 7pm on the day of arrival and check out is by 10am on the day of departure.
Arrivals and departures
Please can all guests contact Richard 07500 068 030 at least 1hr before their approximate arrival time. We will be there to greet you at the car park of your chosen accommodation and show you around your Safari Tent and its facilities. On request we can offer a remote check in.
Please drive ONLY on the tracks to the site – there is a Golf Course to the right on approach so please be aware of golfers and respect their play. Do not drive over fairways or greens. Also when walking near the golf course please use the footpaths and tracks provided.
All guests should exit the site the same way they came into the woodland which is the entrance via the golf course. There is no vehicle right of way on any other routes.
Vehicles
The speed limit is 10mph when driving along the tracks to the site and in between car parks for each Safari tent. Please adhere to this during the day times and after nightfall as we do get wildlife emerging after dark across the tracks.
Please DO NOT drive on the grass in the arboretum and cars CANNOT be driven up to or alongside the tents on arrival and departures. The car parks are approximately 50 metres walk along the stony paths to each tent. The pathways are well lit with LED lights and an automatic security light on approach to your tent to avoid accidents or tripping in the dark. There are also decking lights and the switches can be found to the side of each decking.
Camper vans, caravans, tents and trailer tents are not allowed on the site. We do not allow the pitching of extra tents in between our Safari Tents.
Guest books
There is a leather guest book in each tent and we welcome guests to write their feedback about their stay in here. Please refrain from allowing small children to use this as a colouring pad! Please keep the first page clear.
If you have any lovely feedback or equally concerns or complaints please email info@thelostgardenretreat.com.
Additional visitors
Extra guests are allowed to visit and stay as long as the number of people per unit does not exceed 6. If they are day visitors then we please kindly ask you to add them to the visitors notebook which is situated inside the Honesty shop. This is necessary for Fire Regulations and ensures the safety of everyone on site.
Departure information
All units to be vacated by 10am on the day of departure.
On departure please place all rubbish into the bins provided in or near your unit car park as well as any bottles into the designated tubs in the same area.
All crockery, cutlery, glassware and kitchen utensils etc that are used during your stay are to be washed and put back and left as you found them. Now due to new covid-19 cleaning procedures we now require you to run one load before you leave – so please fill the dishwasher with crockery and cutlery and place on a 70 degree cycle.
All facilities inside and outside the units are to be left as found and the tent door to be zipped up on departure.
Any excess ash waste to be placed into the metal bin provided on the patios and any cigarette waste to be left in the sand buckets only not on grass or decking areas surrounding tents. Please do not empty ash waste if the fires are still lit. Please therefore leave to go out naturally. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PUT THE FIRE OUT YOURSELVES. THIS IS A FIRE HAZARD AND CAUSES LONG TERM DAMAGE TO THE WOOD BURNERS.
BBQ’s to be left as found.
Water in the Hot tubs to be drained – this can be done by turning the blue tap 90 degrees to open position. Please also make sure the covers to the hot tub are firmly replaced. IN THE EVENT THAT YOUR HOT TUB FIRE IS STILL LIT PLEASE DO NOT DRAIN YOUR HOT TUB! WE WILL DO THIS AFTER THE FIRE HAS GONE OUT COMPLETELY DURING CHANGEOVER – THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO NOTE AS IT WILL CAUSE PERMANENT DAMAGE TO YOUR ECO-TUB IF THERE IS NO WATER IN IT AND THE FIRE IS LIT.
Please fill in The Honesty Shop form if you have purchased any items during your stay. Add up the column and mark the total owed. Take a slip provided with our bank details on in order to make an online payment once you leave. If you prefer to pay with cash place in the brown coin envelopes and mark it with your name date and Safari tent.
Customer reviews and feedback
The information taken at the time of booking is required to be collected for the purposes of processing your reservation with us. However how we grow and improve our service to you is important to us and therefore we may wish to contact you for feedback about your stay. If you prefer not to be contacted then please inform us via email and we will make sure our system is updated with your request.
During your stay
No fireworks or Chinese lanterns
Fireworks and Chinese Lanterns are strictly forbidden on site due to their anti-social properties and to respect the local farm land surrounding the woodland.
Honesty shop
This is our little ‘help yourself’ on site shop that has a few essential items in case you run out. Our trust is in the title so please be upfront. You will find it situated near the bottom corner of the main lake (please leave the door locked at all times). There is a combination lock on the outside door so that this is only available to staying guests. We will give you the combination code on arrival. It is not necessary to bring cash for this and we have left the bank detail slips inside for you to take away and make online payments during or at the end of your stay for your convenience. Please fill out the forms provided against purchases made.
Items you can expect in the shop are:
- Ice
- Kindling
- Firelighters
- Charcoal
- Monmouth Coffee (as seen in your tent)
- Plum & Ashby Products (as seen in your tent)
- Toilet Roll
- Kitchen Roll
- Marshmallows
- First Aid Kit
- Accident Book
- Visitors Book
- Free Information on local businesses and attractions
- Map of local Walking and Cycle Routes
- Ordnance Surveys
Electricity
Each tent comes fully equipped with electricity however please try to be mindful of the environment and switch off chargers and lights when not in use. Please avoid leaving the heads of chargers under things such as pillows as these have been known to become a fire hazard. Each tent has its own small fridge/freezer for your convenience. There are reusable ice trays in each freezer section at the top and if you run out of room to store food items there is extra space for each unit in our Honesty Shop. Please use the marked crates applicable to your unit in the communal chest freezer.
Ball games
Ball games are allowed however please don’t crossover into the area of other guests and play safely at all times. Balls may inevitably go into the lakes or nearby ditches, however, please do not let children play in either.
There are also games provided in each tent for your leisure – please try to ensure all pieces are put back before you leave. Any missing or lost items please let us know so we can replace for our next guests.
Walking and roaming the site
Please enjoy use of the surrounding woodland for walking, exercising, cycling or den building. However please stick to the public footpaths outside of the Homewood and adhere to public signs and other users right of way i.e vehicles, farm machinery, golfers and no access areas.
Please also respect the farmland surrounding the woodland and the farmers working in the fields. Please refrain from accessing or coming into contact with farm machinery. Be aware of small children near working fields as the farmers cannot be responsible for always seeing below them due to the height of some of the large machines in use.
Fires
Under no circumstances should fires or BBQ’s be lit anywhere on site except for the designated areas. These areas are:
– FIRE PITS
– ECO-HOT TUB BURNERS
– BBQ’S
– INDOOR WOOD BURNERS.
Your BBQ is to be kept on your patio at all times. Please do not put any BBQs or chimneys directly on the grass or gravel. Each tent has been supplied with a standing Weber BBQ on the patio of each unit so extra BBQ’s are not necessary. Please avoid moving your BBQ and its equipment closer to the tent and do not leave BBQ items or charcoal spread over the grass. Please use ASH BINS provided for any fire waste. Matches are not encouraged inside the tent and there are safety cooks lighters provided in each tent for the lighting of all fires. If yours happens to run out please contact Richard for a replacement. These can be found in the metal buckets next to the wood burner inside the tent.
Firewood
Guests must only burn the wood that is provided on site at all times – no external wood is to be brought onto the site.
Please also note that charcoal should NOT be used to burn inside the Wood burners or Fire pits and are for use on the BBQ’s only.
Lighting your BBQ
There should be a small chimney alongside the BBQ. Also each unit has a set of fire gloves. Please use these for safe and more effective lighting of your BBQ. Take care when handling hot surfaces surrounding hot coals and equally the fires. The charcoal can be found in a metal bin on the patio and then ash waste is placed into the other for when emptying fires or the BBQ.
BBQ Procedure:
– Take 3 or 4 eco-firelighters to the BBQ (the firelighters and safety lighter can be found inside your tents next to the wood burner).
– Remove lid and top grill of BBQ and place onto the patio.
– Fill the chimney that is sat on the bricks next to your BBQ full with charcoal then lower it onto the grill in the BBQ leaving the top one off for now.
– Leave the chimney of charcoal over lit firelighters on the BBQ and burn for approx 15-20mins – Then upturn and disperse charcoal either side of the vertical grill guards attached to the bottom grill. This will create higher heat on the outer edges and medium in the middle of your BBQ to give options when needing to cook things at a different temperature.
– Replace top grill and then you are ready for cooking.
– If you wish to use the BBQ like an oven use lid and keep all air vents open. – Use temp gauge on lid to check when it’s up to the required temperature you need. – Please ensure that the empty chimney is placed back onto the bricks NOT directly onto the patio slabs.
– *Avoid piling all the charcoal directly into the bottom of the BBQ as this is an incorrect way to light it and causes damage to the BBQ.
– Ash bins – these are next to the charcoal bins – please place ash waste in these bins ONLY.
Noise
The site has a strict noise curfew of 10pm which is enforced. If repeatedly abused this will result in expulsion off the site.
However we do want you to enjoy yourselves and feel free to play games etc on areas near your unit and in your nearby woodland. Listening to music is permitted (as long as it is not super loud), but please quieten down by 10pm.
All BLUETOOTH SPEAKERS should be left inside the holiday unit at all times and kept to a respectful volume level.
Please be accommodating to other guests who want to enjoy a quiet and relaxing holiday. Loud music, drunken shouting, singing and swearing is unacceptable at any time.
We also ask that you kindly respect your neighbouring tents and the privacy of other guests on site during your stay. This is with particular reference to the level of noise in the peaceful setting of the woodland. Due to its tranquillity noise travels far!
During family stays please be accountable for children in your party and ensure they too respect privacy of neighbouring guests.
Pets
Unfortunately, due to other guests who may be allergic, pets are not allowed in our safari tents
* If you require an assistance dog/pet please contact us before booking.
Smoking
No smoking at all times in and near the safari tents.
ALL tents are NON SMOKING inside the units and smokers must place ash waste into the small metal buckets of sand provided only not on the grass or the decking – NO other vessels such as crockery or mugs from inside the tents to be used as ash trays please.
Rubbish and recycling
Please use the rubbish bins, recycle points, cigarette ash waste and ash bins provided. Do not leave cigarette butts or ash waste on the grass or gravel.
Littering is not acceptable and any waste items are to be placed in the bins provided inside or outside the tents.
We care about our environment and therefore have encouraged our guests to recycle by providing separate bins to the left of the sinks under the kitchen unit – these can then be emptied into the wheelie bins in your car parks. These are divided into general waste, recycling and glass. The car park bins then get emptied by us.
There is also a metal SILVER bin alongside your charcoal bin on your patio this is for ASH WASTE ONLY not other litter please. Please do not attempt to empty the ash waste in nearby shrubs, hedges or grass or the lakes – we will get rid of this ash for you. If it fills up to the point of needing emptying during your stay then please call us and we will happily empty it sooner. The other bin next to it is provided for storage of charcoal away from any wet conditions. Please do not bring charcoal into the tents for any reason.
General safety
Hazards
The very nature of camping means that there are hazards to be aware of at all times. Please be careful of your footing over fallen branches, be aware of occasional falling pinecones, watch out on wooden surfaces as they can be slippery when wet and take care wandering round the site at night. Every effort has been made to ensure guests safety but we cannot accept responsibility for any accidental injuries.
Guests must take full responsibility for any children in their group.
Children playing in the woodland must not be left unattended and parents or guardians do so at their own risk.
The lakes are off limits to unsupervised children at all times. There is no swimming in the lakes at anytime by adults or children due to the depth of the water.
Please do not allow children to hang off the drinks holders on the hot tubs as they will unfortunately break as they are not designed to take people’s weight.
Please be careful of children running to and from the hot tubs and climbing in and out of them – there are steps provided but we cannot cover responsibility for children launching themselves off the edges.
In the Woodsman’s Lodge please be especially vigilant with children near the edges of the deckings due to the height of these platforms surrounding the tent. Please also be aware on the stairways up to and down from the tent.
It is important to remove BOTH COVERS of the HOT TUBS before putting people inside them. The tubs can get very hot but there are temperature gauges bobbing in them so please keep a check and avoid children getting in them when the temperature reading is over 35 degrees C. Please place covers back on when not in use or unattended for safety. If the temperature needs to be cooled there is a cold tap which is used for filling the hot tub so simply add more cold if so.
The general rule of thumb is to not have the water heated and sat there for longer than 5 hours at a time to avoid the spreading of unwanted bacterias. The eco-tub is designed with no chemicals to be better for the environment so please empty and refill the tubs at your leisure and discretion.
First aid kit & accidents
You will find your unit first aid kit placed in the cupboard to the left of the dishwasher inside your tent. Please use accordingly and notify the management team of any significant incidents or injuries incurred during your stay. There is an accident book in the Honesty Shop. Please try to log injuries and measures taken.
Service cupboards
These are the small zip cupboards to the rear of your tent. This houses the workings for each tent and is strictly off limits for all guests. Please avoid allowing children to use this as an area for games such as hide and seek and in some tents it maybe possible for children to slide into this via the internal canvas from the king bedroom. Please avoid allowing this as it causes stretching and damage to the tent walls.
If there are any problems or concerns with this area then please contact Richard immediately 07500068030.
Alarm system
This is not applicable during your stay however please ask if you have any questions regarding this.
Gas bottle stores & electricity cupboards on site
Again these are STAFF ONLY areas so please do not go into or use any of these for games and avoid people climbing up or sitting on them.
Gas hobs
Please aware of naked flames and gas hobs being turned and not ignited. Please turn all knobs off when not in use and be aware of children near these areas.
Woodburners
WARNING – PLEASE DO NOT PLACE ITEMS OF CLOTHING OR TOWELS ON THE EXTERIOR OF THE WOOD BURNERS AS THIS IS A FIRE HAZARD AND YOUR CLOTHES WILL BURN – PLEASE ONLY USE HEATED TOWEL RAIL PROVIDED IN YOUR BATHROOMS FOR DRYING CLOTHING OR TOWELS.
The WOOD BURNERS can get very hot. We strongly advise letting it cool down and not stacking with too much firewood during hotter months. Equally in the cooler months we recommend frequently adding logs as it gets through them fairly quickly.
Please use the heat proof gloves provided when opening and closing the doors – never open handles using bare skin as you will burn yourself.
Please also note that you cannot cook on the external top part of the wood burner. These wood burners are used for heating only.
Also the burners are attached to the walls of the Cabin Bed – although the burners are installed with an insulated flue, children have previously been tempted to hang over the tops of the cabin bed walls near the top of the flue and tent ceiling. Please try to refrain them from doing this for their own safety.
Please keep an eye on the temperature of the cabin bed whilst the wood burner is lit. It can cause the cabin bed to get quite warm at night. Please be aware for the sake of small children when asleep. Each tent is supplied with fire guards surrounding its wood burner. This too can get hot so please be vigilant with small children.
Lastly, we thank you for taking the time to read all the necessary information about your stay and Safari Tent and we hope it is of use throughout your stay.
Best Wishes
Elisa and Richard
The Lost Garden Retreat Team