"Tree House Disappointment"

After spending £670 on 3 nights, which was payable 100% upfront with no refunds under any circumstances, I was looking forward to a magical stay in the Squirrel’s Nest Treehouse (Forest of Dean) and “getting away from it all” for my boyfriend’s birthday. The comms with the owner was great, and all seemed well at first.
When we arrived, we were shown to the treehouse which is set in the back garden of the owner’s house, with no access to the forest without getting in the car.
The Treehouse, while I was not expecting a 5-star hotel, was little more than a glorified shed.
It was absolutely tiny, so once you had a bag or two on the floor, you were tripping over constantly. There was nowhere to put clothes or anything for that matter, so you had no choice but to live out of a bag for the duration of the stay.
It was September, so the weather was wet, which made the whole experience miserable, with wet muddy footprints constantly strewn across the tiny bit of floorspace we had.
There was nowhere to prepare food at all, with zero workspace, meaning that prepping pizzas etc for the pizza oven was nigh-on impossible.
Not that we wanted to spend the time watching TV, but it was the weekend of the Queen’s death, so I flicked on BBC to find the Sky TV didn’t work at all. And the shower was absolutely rubbish, either boiling or freezing, and no pressure whatsoever.
Sadly, on day 2, my boyfriend, whose birthday it was, fell ill, and we had to go home. For 2 weeks, I have been politely messaging back and forth with the owner. He told me even a partial refund was out of the question, and I asked whether we could return to use our dates another time. He told me his hands were tied by Canopy and Stars, and no such arrangements could be made.
I was advised this accommodation is booked up almost every night of the year, meaning it makes well in excess of £70k a year, yet a small refund is out of the question, not even £100. That, to me, is just greedy and unkind.
After what was meant to be a magical birthday experience - which, in the current climate, was a real “splash out” moment for me, I have now returned home out of pocket by almost £1000, and without any nice memories at all.
Utterly disappointing, and I would not recommend to anyone. Get a nice hotel for the same price, or just go camping if you want to be outdoors! Or pick another treehouse (this, by the way, didn’t even seem to be in a tree / it was more of an outdoor lodge?)

"Perfect countryside break."

We spent two nights in a beautiful horse box called Teddy, in the peaceful countryside in Somerset. The hosts were really good, communicated well with us giving us perfect directions and helping us with the TV. The horse box was really comfortable and had all the essentials in the kitchen to make our stay just perfect. The peacefulness of the countryside was so welcome. Thank you Billie and Liam for a great couple of days in Teddy.

"Avoid like the plague......"

My partner booked a treehouse experience for my birthday and although the property was cute the £670 for 3 nights was not justifiable for the size. I fell ill after staying for 1 night and we decided to going home to rest there would be better. The owner was understanding but told us we would need to go through canopy and stars for a refund. Surprise surprise canopy and stars would not give anything back and we should have listened to all the other reviews on here. Avoid this company, they are massively overpriced and have zero understanding with extenuating circumstances. We are now £670 out of pocket and beyond gutted, thanks for nothing canopy and stars. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!

"Disappointing, do not bother to book with them!"

Myself and my husband booked 2 nights in West Sussex at Beneath Branches. It was a last minute booking. In meantime my husband has been diagnosed with severe ankle tendinopathy which got to that stage where he struggled to walk. At that point we decided is better to cancel our booking because he just couldn’t enjoy our stay (he struggles to drive). We contacted the owner directly and explained our situation, she was extremely understanding and she had no issues against cancelling our stay. As per procedure requirements we contacted canopy, again explained our situation we are facing and asked for a gesture as an exemption to be able cancel our stay and ask for refund, they declined! We are very disappointed! Definitely not booking again with canopy and I would advise to stay away from them!

"RAT Infestation - Don’t book with them"

Do not book with this company - Terrible experience and support from
Canopy and Stars. We stayed in the BIG BOX in Wiltshire (BRANDIERS FARM), to celebrate our 3 year olds birthday. The place had a rat infestation and damp in the bedroom. We left the place after a few hours due to the damp causing an asthma attack for my wife and the rats basically staying outside the property permanently, with mainly doors (where the rats were located) and limited window we could no allow air in the property, even the windows had rat droppings and had not been cleaned. The owner of the big box acknowledged all of this, however refused any form of refund, nor did he take any responsibility for rat infestation, poor hygiene and damp, this was all acceptable in his eyes. Canopy and stars was basically useless at helping us, offering only a 25% good will gesture, so basically we have lost 75% of what we paid… what a waste of our money and more importantly our precious time with my wife and son. What a way to ruin our 3 year old son’s birthday.

"Received poor customer service from…"

Received poor customer service from both company and owner after having to make a sudden cancellation two days after booking. It took several attempts for the owner to return contact. The accommodation was disappointing, with broken awning, warm fridge, non potable water in the caravan itself and two very intense liquid plug in air fresheners - for some reason.

Despite a 20% good will gesture I would not book through this company again. They do not provide any level of customer service or empathy and hide behind small print.

"Peace, tranquility and comfort"

Have just returned from a very long awaited stay at Tin and Wood in the ‘Ted’ shepherd hut. Couldn’t fault the service we received from Canopy and Stars, particularly when needing to change the booking due to Covid. The accommodation itself exceeded our expectations… beautifully presented with such attention to detail and comfort, and the log burner heated hot tub surrounded by nothing but wild flowers and peace and quiet was just divine. We really felt that we had ‘escaped it all’ for the weekend. Couldn’t recommend highly enough!

"Having booked several stays via Canopy…"

Having booked several stays via Canopy and Stars, my wife didn't hesitate to use them again to book a surprise get away for my 40th.
Unfortunately a couple of days before we were due to go, we both got a positive test for the dreaded COVID.
My wife emailed the owners of the property we were to be staying in (a showman's wagon in the middle of a field on its own) to check they were happy for us to come. Unfortunately we were told they wouldn't allow us as they are high risk and wouldn't have time to air out the cabin. The latter being odd as there were no bookings after us.
Under the circumstances we of course understood but given the current advise, we neednt actually have told them.
My wife contacted Canopy and Stars to make them aware and hopefully get some help in getting a refund or moving the booking. We were told neither would be offered and to claim from our travel insurance!
Now, I understand cancellations require 10 weeks notice, but as we were not cancelling and it was the property owners who would not allow us to visit, I feel their response was disgusting.
We shall see if they bother to respond, otherwise we will be seeking a charge back through our credit card

"Dishonest reviews on website"

Terrible stay. Initially very helpful trying to rectify issue until owner of site refused to engage with refunds.
At that point I was advised they are only a booking agent so would not refund. They offered me a gift voucher for their site for 75 (I was on a 700 holiday) .
That also advised they have had multiple complaints about the same accommodation but continue to advertise it.
They have not published any negative reviews (including mine) and only publish the good ones - I was advised this is because “ we are not a review website like trip advisor. We try to liaise with them to rectify issues” .
My issue is not rectified . They will not remove the accommodation from the site despite multiple complaints of it being sub standard due to the fact they are a charity- so we all end up out of pocket and then cannot get our money back

"gift voucher purchased as a gift for…xmas"

gift voucher purchased as a gift for us, unable to find any one night stays to use voucher, 2 night min stay in most! very disapointing! looking like our daughter has wasted her hard earnt money. As no refunds given.