Lakehouse Nursery 49 Beach Road West, Portishead, Bristol BS20 7HX

"Completely let down. I visited the nursery 6 months pregnant and signed up immediately after. I knew when I would have to return to work and I have no family help with child care, therefore, I was keen to be organised and have a nursery booked and ready. I paid £170 deposit. 4 months before my daughter was due to start, they informed me they were unable to meet the number of days I needed per week and the ones they could were the days I didn't need. The waiting lists for nurseries are the best part of a year, it was very stressful. I asked if their sister nursery could help, to be honest, I would have thought they would have explored that option before letting me down but they didn't. I never actually had a response to that request. I had to go back and forth with accounts and the manager to get my deposit returned. They were not forth coming with this. I still am baffled as to what I actually paid a deposit for as it secured me absolutely nothing. Be aware that a deposit should at least secure with the number of days you require from the date you agree with the nursery. Most nurseries now actually confirm the days your child will be attending too. I am not sure why this is not the process at this nursery. Overall, throughout this process there was a lot of back and forth and a lot of chasing for various things from my side. I am not sure what they are like at looking after children but if it's anything like their customer service and admin processes, I wouldn't recommend."

"Very helpful staff who clearly care about the children."

"Great location for kid to play, they go on walks around the lake grounds"

"I would not hesitate to recommend the Lakehouse Nursery. They are very well organised, professional, caring and compassionate. The Nursery is extremely well-led with an established Team including the owner, Manager and Deputy Manager. Access to the management team is easy and welcoming. They have very good staff retention and use a variety of techniques to incentivise staff to stay including training, development and retention bonuses. The turnover is around 4% compared with the industry average of 14%. My daughter is treated as an individual and I recognise everything they tell me about her quirks and behaviour. The food is prepared by an on-site chef and sugar levels are carefully monitored throughout the day. The staff are professional, friendly, caring and clearly enjoy working at the Lakehouse. They do lots of activities throughout the day including lots of outdoor play and exploring. It gives me huge peace of mind knowing how well my daughter is cared for throughout the day."