... Through this, we were allocated 'Lower Hyde Holiday Park' in Shanklin, Isle of Wight.
Before we went, I did have a look on the internet for any reviews or information about the park, yet I came across minimal pages with anything to offer, so I thought that I would start the ball rolling ... Read review
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As a child, I regularly visited the Isle of Wight for a holiday and loved it. It has been many years since I last went, so I decided to book up a holiday with my husband, parents and younger siblings through The Sun Newspaper summer holiday deals to visit my childhood. Through this, we were allocated 'Lower Hyde Holiday Park' in Shanklin, Isle of Wight.
Before we went, I did have a look on the internet for any reviews or information ... ...anything to offer, so I thought that I would start the ball rolling and write a review about my own experience.
******The Area******
The Isle of Wight is a popular holiday resort in the United Kingdom, attracting many groups of varying ages from all over. It not only boasts amazing scenery and a peaceful break, but also attractions for all ages, from the highlights of the must see Black Gang Chine, to the Peaceful ... more
As a child, I regularly visited the Isle of Wight for a holiday and loved it. It has been many years since I last went, so I decided to book up a holiday with my husband, parents and younger siblings through The Sun Newspaper summer holiday deals to visit my childhood. Through this, we were allocated 'Lower Hyde Holiday Park' in Shanklin, Isle of Wight.
Before we went, I did have a look on the internet for any reviews or information about the park, yet I came across minimal pages with anything to offer, so I thought that I would start the ball rolling and write a review about my own experience.
******The Area******
The Isle of Wight is a popular holiday resort in the United Kingdom, attracting many groups of varying ages from all over. It not only boasts amazing scenery and a peaceful break, but also attractions for all ages, from the highlights of the must see Black Gang Chine, to the Peaceful walks through Shanklin Chine Gardens.
'Lower Hyde Holiday Park' is situated on the outskirts of Shanklin, and a short walk from the nearest sandy beach and a beautiful old village. It is perfectly placed in the midst of a vast woodland, (yet please don't be mistaken in thinking that you are in the middle of a forest - more a beautiful countryside), and has pleanty of walks avaliable close to hand.
Although there are many attractions nearby, we found it benificial to have a car to travel around the island to even more fantastic attractions.
******Campsite Overview******
'Lower Hyde Holiday Park' is a family campsite with a range of different accomodation types, from static caravans to tent and travel caravan pitches. There are many ammenities upon the site and a supermarket at the end of the short road out of the site.
******Accomodation******
We arrived at approximately 3pm to the campsite and had to wait around for an hour before we could pick up our caravan keys. This was not unexpected, though, as we had been informed of this beforehand.
The caravan site is medium size and it took a short time to find our own caravan as many are off the main roads and between other caravans. This can feel overcrowded for some people, though it was alright for us.
Accomodation varies as to what you booked, such as tent space or size of caravan. We had a eight birth caravan, a decently sized accomodation, especially as there were only six of us.
There was one door leading into the caravan and lead straight into a lovely sized living area with pleanty of seating (comfortable too!) with a small 14" television and radio, small coffee table, fireplace and cupboards. The sofa area is pulled out to make a double bed. Through a small archway, you were taken to a nice sized kitchen and dining area with all the much needed luxuries for self catering. A small table looked out of a large window and seated about 6 people (not very convienient if there are 8 of you). Off of the kitchen area is a small hallway leading to a boiler cupboard, two single rooms with two single beds in each and a small amount of wardrobing, and a small bathroom which included w.c., sink and shower. The shower in this room was very small and comprised of only a hand held shower. Off of the other side of the living room was a double bedroom (which we luckily had) with a comfortable bed and loads of cupboards. This room also had an en-suite bathroom, bigger than the other one, with w.c., sink and nicely sized shower area. There was pleanty of heating in the caravan (electric radiators) as well as a small gas fire in the living room.
Obviously, I can not comment upon all accomodation, though if our caravan is anything to go by, then you wont be disappointed.
******Facilities******
'Lower Hyde' has a fair range of facilities, including;
* Indoor spa pool - A small, heated pool which offers children swimming and fun time lessons, as well as designated times for adult swimming. It is very small and can become crowded. It is overlooked by the small resturant and is perfectly looked after by staff and lifeguards. We did not actually go into this pool as it was too crowded and seemed too small. The depth was minimal and seemed mainly aimed at children rather than adults.
* Outdoor pool with flume - This outdoor pool was unfortunately not open at the time of our visit, even though it was at the end of May. I am not sure why, though it could be to do with the early summer weather. It is a small pool with minimal depth (non-diving) and is surrounded by a patio decking where you are able to relax with refreshments. It is close to the main road through the path, and so is not as relaxing as you might hope, yet it is pleasent nonetheless. There is a flume at the side of the pool which does not go into the pool, yet is a simple water slide that stops at the bottom for you to climb out.
* Children's pool - The tiny childrens paddling pool is situated next to the main outdoor pool, right next to the flume. It is very small, yet perfect for those younger children, weather permitting.
* Children's Clubs - The park does tend to be aimed at children, making it a perfect family park. There are clubs for all ages and cover a whole range of activities, from dancing to pony riding. These clubs spill into the early evening entertainment in the club house. My younger brother and sister (Age 5 and 3) really enjoyed the clubhouse entertainment, even though they did not participate in the clubs in the daytime, and it was humerous for us adults to watch as well.
* An adventure playground - A small, yet safe, playground situated near the entrance to the park.
* Multi-sports court - An all weather court which was quite often spilling over with children, either through clubs or alone. I rarely saw adults get a chance to play unless early morning before breakfast.
* Amusements - This was a slight let down as many parks I have been to have much bigger and wider range of amusements than this. It is situated right outside the main clubhouse and is open from 9am until late. There is also a ticket winning scheme to trade tickets for prizes, some quite nice prizes!
* Shop - There is a small shop situated near the entrance of the park. It is the size of a corner shop, though prices are not too bad. It is possibly more worth your while, though, to visit the supermarket just 5 minutes walk down the road.
* Bars and Resturant - Hudsons Bar is quite a small bar with both indoor and outdoor seating, combined with sky television and a resturant. It is situated by the pools, clubhouse and arcade in the main entertainment complex.
The bar itself is cosy and friendly, and worth your while buying from here to avoid the queue's in the main clubhouse bar. Prices are quite high, yet this is to be expected in a holiday park bar.
The resturant in combined with the bar and has seating both outside and inside. We ate at the resturant once and whilst most foods were warm, some came out quite cold and unappertising. The prices varied. There were some great prices with the two for one meals (£6 for two meals) and a basic cooked breakfast was perfectly priced at £1.99. Other meals were more expensive, but nothing too outrageous!
The second, and main, bar is situated right inside the clubhouse. It generally opens later in the day and continues to stay open all night through the late night entertainment. Prices are quite high, and queue's vary, though the atmosphere is great, and waiting staff are often dressed up.
There is also a small snack shop to the side of this main bar, selling fair priced food and drink such as slushies, hot dogs and chips etc.
* Entertainment - The entertainment in the evenings begin around 5pm. It begins with childrens entertainment, which is great for the younger ones. This usually lasts until quite late (10pm) and varies from night to night, bringing the children into the entertainment and joining in with everything. After the children's entertainment, there is a varied range of adult entertainment, from cabarets to karaoke. These are often quite entertaining and last until the early hours of the morning.
******Staff******
Staff were very friendly and there were certainly not a lack of them around!
******Nearby Attractions******
Blackgang Chine Fantasy Park. Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary Dinosaur Farm Museum. Sandown Pier with superbowl, dodgems, snake slide and amusements Robin Hill Adventure Park Colemans Animal Farm Sandham Rides LA Bowl Planet Ice Waltzing Waters Needles Park at Alum Bay Westridge Racing Cart Centre Isle of Wight Zoo Amazon World Dinosaur Isle Seaview Wildlife Encounter – Flamingo Park.
******Costs******
Costs can range up to around £1000 for a break, though if you are able to get a break here through the Sun Holidays, as we did, you are more likely to be happy with your choice of stay. Our caravan cost us around £150 (including ferry trip) for four adults and two children in an 8-birth caravan, a perfect bargain!
Caravan Holiday Homes
Short break prices from £126 to £671
7 night prices from £190 to £994(Accommodation ranges from Bronze to Gold caravans)
Touring Pitches(Electric Hook Up’s)
From £6 per night to £32 per night(Prices vary by season)Hard-standing pitches are available at a supplement
Tent Pitches -(Non-electric) From £3 per night to £29 per night(Prices vary by season
Chalets for Hire 7 Night prices from £190 to £684
******Overall******
It possibly was not the best caravan site that I have been to, though i have little complaints to mention (any complaints mentioned above). The entertainment is great, it i family orientated which is great for family breaks with young children, and it is perfectly situated in the lovely Shanklin town of the Isle of Wight, close to all ammenities.
I would certainly recommend this site to others, especially through the Sun Holidays as you will feel you have been given a much better deal this way. I would also certainly go back here again.
