Darwin Forest Country Park

We visited after Christmas & over New Year for 7 days total cost£550. The site was easy to find considering it was high up in the middle of no where but within 15 mins you can reach other places such as Chesterfield,Bakewell(lovely town) & Matlock. The cabin itself was a Haddon type and small for a family of 4. It was quite close to other cabins and had no views around. It was literally wall to wall pine inc the kitchen & bedroom cupboards : dated by our standards. The shower was tiny and my husband who is only 6foot 2 couldnt stand straight up in it.He had to go to the pool to get a shower. The carpets required an urgent clean:still trying to get the kids socks clean.The fixtures & fittings were cheap & most likley durable but not welcome for a comfortable break. The curtains were the type that are fit to be dust sheets only. We had to pay for our electric usage which came as a suprise and cost £5.00 minimum per day.The weather was freezing so we used more.The small electric 2 bar fire was working overtime. The on site the gym&pool were a bonus but the steam&jacuzzi were additional.The yoga classes etc were not taking place on the week we went either. Extras you pay for are a walking map of the area,games room,,mini golf,bike hire & internet.I had a back massage but it wasnt the best and fininshed sooner than it should so didnt book anymore treatments. The on site restaurant/pub was a rip off at £8.50 for burger & chips £15.00 for a steak but we were a captive audience,I dont mind paying for quality food (but it wasnt). The main drawback for us & would be the reason we wont return is the LACK of telephone reception on our phones.I had to drive 3 miles down the road to get a signal.The staff told us you could get it by the entrance gates but YOU CANT! I am self employed so it was crucial to be able to receive calls so you can imagine this really was a problem. There is NO alternative either such as a landline within the reception.There are 2 old phone boxes outside but in the freezing cold it was hard to run my business from one of those.The internet is extra and in a seperate room in reception but paying for print offs is 20p per copy! If you have young kids there isnt much to do here on a winters evening.The SMALL playroom is great for kids up to 6 to let them stretch their legs in the day but it shuts at 6.30. There is a hairdresser but that was shut most of the time. You could hire a DVD which was £3.00 per night which was what we had to do. We got fed up with the small cabin came home early on the day before we were due to leave. All in all the area is lovely and scenic but the site needs to bring itself up to speed with modern facilities such as wi fi & getting better facilities for phones.Also the restaurant needs to come down in price to reflect the quaiity of the food is sells.