Craig Tara Haven Holiday Park - Ayr

The apartment that we stayed in was Silver Half Board (Brig o'Doon), situated about 500 yards from the central complex. This stopped most of the noise at night but regrettably the walls are like tissue paper. My partner could hear the guy next door snoring! It was more rowdy at the weekend with the odd drunken couple staggering past, but I imagine the busier it gets…….

Because we were half board and got meals in the Turnberry Gardens Restaurant, we didn't get the small kitchen and sitting area that was available in the other silver accommodation. This was a shame. For sheer comfort this would have made the chalet more accommodating during the rainy periods (Which were Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed Etc..!!!) - perhaps we wouldn't have returned home…who knows??

The staff at the Turnberry were really hardworking and pleasant. We were provided with a perforated card of tokens to redeem for meals. You could select a 3-course meal from the more traditional meal bar, a Chinese/Indian Cuisine section, a salad bar, omelette bar and pasta bar. The food wasn't Gordon Ramsey but it wasn't rubbish either (which is the feeling that you'll initially get because it served in a huge canteen-but with plenty of seating and plenty of room - so don't be put off) - the guy on the omelette bar is a complete star and his omelettes (made while you wait ) are delish! The place is pricey if you aren't half board however and I think if we had been paying the prices they were asking we wouldn't have been so pleased.

As far as the entertainment goes I really can't comment here. Although we have a 5 year old, we're very much into exploring the surrounding area so the weather being like it was we weren't able to do this. The Splashzone swimming complex was very, very popular with the kids however and our daughter got more than her money's worth out of the Jungle Gym area. There is also a large adventure playground bang in the middle of the park which was always busy. These were pretty much the only things that were free. Everything else had a price tag attached - so be prepared to part with a lot of cash!

The beach lies at the bottom of the park and I thought it was lovely to walk on and explore. It was covered in seaweed and some would call it dirty but it wasn't. It just hadn't been 'cleaned' by one of those huge diggers that take away all the seaweed so that it looks totally clear and pretty. (If your talking about dirty beaches take a look at Troon…it might look lovely but you can smell the raw sewage…not nice!) Beware Jellyfish! We found the hugest Jellyfish we'd ever seen that first night. It was pretty much the same in Ayr…I'm not sure had the temperature even been right we would have allowed any kind of paddling!!! Are these things poisonous?? The beach had lots of rock pools and our 5 year old really loved it.....you can't argue with that!

All in all we are pretty bemused by this holiday. I can't help but feel had the weather been better we would have seen the whole park in a different light. What I will say is that it was our first experience of a holiday park and it isn't something that is for us. I think for the price people pay for accommodation that they could provide a whole lot more things to do within that price. We were given these passes on arrival that were never asked for the whole time we were there - so what's the point. If you are regulars of this type of holiday I'm sure that you will enjoy it.