I have been to the wonderful Sandford Park in Poole, Dorset, three times now. I went twice when I was younger, with my dad and brother and then returned as an adult, in 2001, with my husband and our kids. My husbands mum and dad also came with us and I will base this review mainly on my experiences there in 2001.

Sandford Park is set in 64 acres of woodland, close to Purbeck Hills. They cater for all sorts of holidaymakers and their varying budgets.

Our chalet~~

It was a three-bedroom place with a large living area. The kitchen and dining area were open plan onto the main living area and there was a family bathroom. One of the bedrooms was en-suite.

All the bedrooms had bed linen and duvets, which I loved as I hate blankets!

The kitchen was small but adequate for a self-catering holiday. It came equipped with all the niceties, like kettle, toaster, microwave, fridge & cooker. There were also plates, cutlery and cups etc, so we didn’t need anything other than food to settle in.

Outside the chalet was a large area for our car to be parked away from the main road way and an area of grass around the front and back for the kids to play or to have am afternoon drink. The balcony was also pretty large and was undercover which was nice in the October rain!

There are literally loads to do at Sandford Park. During the day, there are both indoor and outdoor pools. Both are really nice and large. When we went in October only the inside pool was open, which was a large pool, with swimming lanes, play area and a whirlpool effect round the edges of one side. There were changing rooms and lockers here too. This was free for people staying on the site, although you had to show your card (which you are given on check in) to get in. The outside pool (which is open May 27–Sept 2) is extremely big and heated when open, and is pretty central to the chalets. It has a kind of “sea” effect in that it gets deeper gradually, with very shallow paddling water at the edges. There is room for sun loungers and so on around the pool. They also have a separate children’s pool with a sandy beach effect around it.

Various clubs for the kids that are age friendly. There is the Tot Stars activity for under 5s and the Star Landers children's club for 5–11s, then the Action Stars activity for over 12s. Our children didn’t join any of these so I cannot comment on their content or ability to keep the kids entertained, however we did get talking to another family who had their kids in the club for 5-11’s and they seemed very happy with it.

There is a large main family room, where most of the entertainment is held. Through the day it just a room where you can meet and have a drink (bar is in the same room) or some lunch but in the early evening the bingo is held, and then it goes onto more of an adult themed entertainment. There is usually some audience participation games played, which are always a laugh and then site entertainers will either do a show of some sort or there will be an outside entertainer brought in for your nights show. In another large, bar/room is where the kid’s entertainment is held. This is where you find Sid and Lizzie, and the kids disco, games, competitions and general craziness if family holidays. The bar in this room is open all day and there a few fruit machines dotted around. They had one of the big pay out ones and we won £57 one day!

Outside the main club room there is a takeaway, serving burger, chips and so on and a pancake parlour inside the kid’s area. These are delicious and well worth the £3 or so for each one.

Pets are welcome at Sandford Park, although we put our dog and cat in the kennels. They cost an extra £35 per week each and you can take a maximum of 2 animals. I think this is probably restricted to dogs but it doesn’t specify. They have a doggy zone with pert friendly exercise areas. Not all the caravans will allow pets though so check before you choose your accommodation.

Sandford Park is located near Poole in Dorset, which boasts many of Dorset’s Blue Flag beaches, both sandy and non-sandy. There are water sports available on some of these beaches and I can remember my dad going wind surfing when I was little here.

Lulworth Cove is only 12 miles from the park and I can remember seeing the beautiful Durdle Door here when I was little. I think my dad and sister swam out there but I was too scared.

Bournemouth is only 11 miles away if you like it livelier and the New Forest is 26 miles away if you feel like a good natural day out.