Got married on 10th May - happy at last!! Taking BA Hons Degree in Eng Lit & creative writing in Sep...
Got married on 10th May - happy at last!! Taking BA Hons Degree in Eng Lit & creative writing in Sept so expect practice! x
Member since:03.11.2001
Reviews:42
Members who trust:28
Having not been on holiday as a family since the long age age of 1996, we decided that this year we would go away come hell or high water. Of course money is tight and so we decided to book a Haven Holiday, if nothing else our two little monsters would enjoy it.
I went to the British Holidays website and had a look through the holidays on offer and enlisted the help of 10-year-old Zoe to decide which park which should go to.
After reviewing the options we decided upon Burnham-On-Sea in Somerset as it had all the facilities we required and is also close to many attractions such as Chedder Gorge, Glastonbury, Wookey Hole Caves, Longleat and much more. We reasoned that we would prefer to go on day-trips and not spend all of our time at the park. So we booked for 21st June for 7 nights at the princely sum of £310 with a web booking discount of £5 (wow) making a grand total of £305.
The day of the holiday dawned and we didn't have to check in to the park until 3.30pm so we left Penzance in glorious sunshine at about 1.30pm. The drive went smoothly apart from the time that my other half threatened to stop the car and turn around if our youngest uttered the immortal 'are we there yet' one more time!
The directions given on the booking confirmation were sketchy to say the least but
we found the park with little trouble and proceeded to the reception area to check in. I handed over the form and was given a welcome pack which included our keys, a site map, a bin-liner & information books about the daily activities around the park etc.
We found our caravan, and proceeded to unpack after the little horrors had had a fight over which bedroom belonged to whom, a situation averted when Daddy decided for them. The caravan was a standard, three bedroomed with a kitchenette and living room. The cooker & water worked off gas bottles outside the caravan. The front room was fairly spacious with a portable TV and a dining table and plenty of seating. The kitchen was tiny, but sufficient as I certainly didn't intend to spend much of my long-awaited holiday cooking! The bathroom was small but functional with an enclosed shower and the bedrooms were also small but perfectly adequate for us.
The first night of our stay we decided to stay in as we were all quite tired and wanted to wind down & relax. We went to the complex on the site that contains all the bars etc and visited the on-site supermarket where I all but passed out over the prices! The shop was very expensive for most things but oddly competative for alcohol (which we stocked up on!). We bought a few basic supplies and decided that we would search out a 'proper' supermarket and do some shopping in the morning. Once back at the caravan, we had a wander to the lakes that we had spotted about two rows down from us. The lakes are for course fishing which is free of charge to holidaymakers staying at the park, but if you don't bring you own gear, this can be hired from the on-site hire shop.
The lakes were lovely, very big, surrounded by paths and trees and choc-full of wildlife. Ducks, CanadaGeese, Swans and other varieties of birdlife that I don't know the names of.... they were all lovely to look at and lent a special feeling to the park.
The next day dawned lovely and sunny and we were awoken to the sound of birdy footsteps on the roof and quacking from outside! Upon investigation, we discovered that the caravan was surrounded by a huge flock of ducks and geese; throughly charmed, the children raced to get some bread to feed them and were soon surrounded by quackers! Unfortuanately, my eldest got herself into the middle of the Geese holding bread in each hand and they proceeded to chase her. Five minutes passed and I could hear her shouting from a few caravans away 'mum help'! I went to find her and discovered that whilst running away she had run into another flock who had noted the bread (still clutched in her little fist) and joined the chase! I rescued her and we got on with the day.
The first stop was to examine the on-site complex. This was a five minute walk from the caravan and consisted of swimming pools, two outdoor, one indoor, an arcade, a restaurant & bar called 'The Oasis', a bar for the evening called 'The Showbar', an adults only bar (of which the name eludes me for the moment)and a take-away food outlet. We headed for the restaurant where they were serving sunday lunch (roast beef & yorkshire etc.) for £4.95 per person & £3.95 per child.
That evening we headed for the Showbar to sample the entertainment provided by Haven. This consisted of a show by 'Bradley Bear', the 'leader' of the under fives kids club. This was a little much for us adults but the kids liked even, even Zoe overcame her sophistication for the evening and entered into the spirit of things. Between shows, there was a disco for the little ones to enjoy. The next show was called Bamboozled and was a magic show which was quite enjoyable for all. The Showbar itself was packed full with parents & kids, obviously, like us a lot of parents enjoy the chance to get out whilst on holiday knowing that they can relax even with the kids in tow.
For the rest of the week we sampled all that the complex had to offer and I must say the kids had a whale of a time, even if they don't like the water and refuse to do anything other than paddle! The pools were all lovely and warm, outdoors there was a shallow baby pool and a deeper one and inside there was a water slide, mushroom and spa pool (very nice, warm & bubbley!) the arcade was nothing but a money-muncher which the kids mithered us to death about! The restaurant was ok but expensive and I thought the menu was very limited with not much in the way of choice.
The entertainment at night was a bit hit and miss with a couple of the plays put on by the staff a little painful to say the least but some of it was good and on the wednesday night we were treated to 'Stars of the Old Moscow Circus' which was excellent. The caberet was always enjoyed by the children, as was the disco.
All in all, it was a good week and we all enjoyed ourselves immensly. For the children, there was always something to do and the one thing a would complain about was that it was over too soon! We did a couple of day trips and I will write these up at a later date.
Great- Love that part of the country. Used to take coach trips to Cheddar many years ago.
darkangelwing 20.04.2006 01:41
Good review
Testarossa 01.05.2004 15:34
The food sounds like excellent value. Haven't been to Haven for a while, but my inlaws have just bought a caravan at Hastings, so I guess we'll go October half term with any luck. Another great review by the way. Sam :o)
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Advantages: Excellent staff, very friendly and helpful. Good entertainment Disadvantages: Can be pricey if you like the amusements. Lots of energy needed for the hills.
Jul 11th, 2003
very helpful by (94%):
helpful by (6%):
