First of all let me make a quick statement- Haven is better than Pontins. No, in terms of entertainment facilities it is MUCH MUCH better. But sadly from there it all goes down hill.
Haven, like Pontins (and the far superior Butlins) is a company in partnership with British Holidays which owns numerous family orientated holiday camps in the UK (and oddly in other parts of Europe.) The parks are usually plotted within areas of coastal popularity and can be found in England, Wales and Scotland. The most well known Haven parks are probably Craig Taraholiday park in Ayr, Scotland or Pwhelli holiday park in Wales, but only because these particular parks were once inhabited by Butlins itself. All I can say from here on is if you are thinking about staying at any Haven
or British Holiday park, then read this review wisely before making your choice...
We stayed for a week at the CraigTara holiday park in Ayrshire, Scotland in a self-catered Silver chalet. Sounds inviting doesn't it? Well if I were you I would tear that invitation up right away. One of the first things that will strike you about Haven is the lack of service you will receive at the reception and check in points. Checking in to your chalet or caravan will be a muddled affair as the people on the front desks greet you with confused looks and shrugs. If you wish to complain they will assure you that you will be seen to before completely ignoring your existance. Twice on the first day me and my wonderful family had to make the dreaded trek to the reception to enquire when light bulbs would be fitted into our chalet. Oh and don't get me started on the chalet. Broken light fittings, dirty urine stained linen, dangerous electric faults, mould on the windows, over-flowing toilets, cold showers, lack of heating, draughts, uncomfortable sofa's, unwashed crockery, overflowing bins outside, rowdy neighbors, paper-thin walls etc etc. In fact it really has to be seen to believed, and who'd have thought we were staying in a 'Silver' chalet? Oh well, quality is much to be desired in these places (see my Pontins review and take note of the good kicking I gave the place for its shoddy apartments.) I will say this now- if you like your home comforts then you may be disgusted by the 'Chateau de filth' that Haven want to shack you up in. I'd say run for the hills. Its not pretty! Anyways, after two days (and still not receiving those light bulbs) we went back to the reception to enquire for a third time. The receptionist apologized quietly (wouldn't what other families to hear our compliants now would we) and insisted they would be fitted later that afternoon- but to no avail did they ever come. We gave up complaining after that, as it seemed Haven or rather Craig Tara were laughing at us (what a joke they had made of it.)
Anyways, on to the facilties. After the monstrosity that was Pontins in Southport we could only cross our fingers on this one and hope to God that the facilities would be somewhat like how they were described in the brochure. Thankfully this is where the park redeems itself slightly. Despite some pretty awful food outlets (a Burger King that was never open, a ridiculously expensive Fish and Chip shop and a completely unorganised restaurant for half-boarders) the things within the resort itself were actually rather good. Though no where near as high as Butlins standards, the shows were entertaining and certainly made us forget about the chalets for a while. The 'Funstars' as they are called (imagine the Redcoats from Butlins painted blue and you'll get what I mean) were enthusiastic about their roles in supplying entertainment and the costumed character shows were a marvel. The evening entertainment was also good with some pretty funny comedy acts and family shows that really had everyone joining in. The amusements consisted of numerous slot machines and cuddly-toy games stalls and are a pretty standard affair. The play area was poor but at least it was clean. The pool was clean and although the showers and changing rooms were cold we had a great time there. Oddly there is a small fun fair within the Craig Tara park, although unless you are aware of it or unless you walk more towards the back of the park you likely to miss it as it is not shown on the park map- I find this very strange. Anyways, in terms of facilities, judging that everything is open there is plenty to do at Craig Tara.
Unfortunatley in order to enjoy a holiday you have to be be able to live at 'home from home' which is where Haven and Craig Tara ultimatley fails. No, it bombs- completely insults your intelligence and forces your face into the mud. The only way to describe the chalet without daring you to go inside would be to ask you to imagine one of those filthy rotten holiday apartments shown on one of those 'undercover holiday' shows. You know, the cockroach infested ones. The ones at Haven (I assume in all the resorts) are similar to that. Achingly similar. This alone will probably drive you away from the admittedly good resort. Its a shame really, that the park has spent so much money on renovating the facilities then to drive people away by not giving the most important aspect (being the accommodation) a seeing to. I have seen many families leave the resort days early due to this, and yes it is a shame because unlike Pontins which is a complete joke Haven does have something to offer. This doesn't really compensate the filthy conditions of the chalets but given some care and TLC I would probably offer the place another star or two had it been a relatively nice place to 'stay.'
And sadly for that reason alone I cannot recommend Haven as it bombs in one of the most important areas to making a holiday enjoyable. The facilities alone almost make up for it, but as it goes you wont want to spend too many nights here. Such a pity.
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Jun 18th, 2009
(Jul 25th, 2009)
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