Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask your opinion of Haven Holidays?

29 replies

Dolphinswim · 23/08/2020 12:21

We haven't been in 2 years. DD wants to go and DH thinks we should. Has it changed much in the past 2 years?

OP posts:
Original poster
Dolphinswim · 23/08/2020 12:31

Anyone?

OP posts:
cardibach · 23/08/2020 12:33

No idea over last couple of years. Worst break I ever had was a weekend at a Haven place though. Came home early as couldn’t stand it any longer.

Miffycat14 · 23/08/2020 12:35

It was so awful in 2004 that I never went back, so I'm no help really!

Beachbodylonggone · 23/08/2020 12:38

We have taken 4 xdc every year for 4 years now.
We don't do evening entertainment though!! Full days of activities, pool evey day and evening meal in the caravan and sensible bed times! No crabby dc for us!!
Dc love it!!
Dd's even do the washing up which they certainly don't do at home!!
We take full shopping and dc help meal plan nice things before we go! Take away 1 night!
We go to Craig Tara in Scotland....

Winter2020 · 23/08/2020 12:38

Like most British Holidays I think getting Lucky with the weather makes a big difference. If the weather is good you can enjoy the beach and outdoors with an activity or two thrown in each day. If the weather is terrible the activities can't make up for the fact that you are in a caravan in the rain. My kids like it and going with other famiky (in their own vans) love the socialising.

Dragonglass · 23/08/2020 12:40

We've always enjoyed them but we don't bother with the entertainment much, just use the park as a base for exploring the area. The onsite restaurant, takeaways and crazy golf are useful too.

KarmaStar · 23/08/2020 12:40

Hi op,went a good few years ago and it was a disaster.the play area was run down,dirty,paint chipped rusty swings,rubbish strewn about and the security staff were dealing drugs.
But!that was a while ago now and things may well have changed for the better.During lockdown they might have had a revamp and it was only one site,the others may be fabulous,this was just our experience.hopefully you will go and have a brilliant time.

Fairybatman · 23/08/2020 12:43

Like any holiday it’s a bit of luck and a bit what you make of it.

We’ve been a few times for caravan or lodge breaks whilst DS is small and going again in a few weeks.

We use the caravan as a base for beach, days out, swimming etc. we don’t really do the entertainment etc. would rather have a bottle of wine, some cheese and picky bits and a film in the caravan.

lpchill · 23/08/2020 12:49

We went start of August to Nodes point on the Isle of Wight with our own caravan but in previous years we stayed in statics. We don't use there own entertainment much but our 4 year old is starting to get involved.

It's great for exploring like others have said and having a comfortable base of operations. They have nice outdoor playgrounds/ football pitch/ basket ball court. Some are next to the sea with east access. Ours had an amusement arcade which we all love.

Depends really what your after for a holiday.

Zoflorabore · 23/08/2020 12:50

we used to go to Butlins and stay in the gold apartments where a cleaner would come in every morning when you were out, make the beds, clean bathroom and kitchen etc so when we went to Haven 2 years ago I knew I would have to adjust my expectations.

We went during the heatwave when it hit 33 degrees in Wales so that helped a lot and it wasn’t too bad but quite shabby in places and a lot of the food/drink was very expensive.

We stayed at Pwllheli but I preferred Prestatyn to be honest. It was much cleaner and not as big. Also both times we went in a large group which was nice.

I couldn’t do 5 days or a week there but a Friday-Monday would be ideal. I’m sure lots of the activities are shut though and they’re the things that attracted us there in the first place ie the swimming pools.

newmobile · 23/08/2020 12:51

We go alot just book the best accommodation you can afford and then use it as a base to walk to the beach etc. There are some great lodges with hot tubs etc as in life you do get what you pay for.

Cocomarine · 23/08/2020 13:06

Apart from the obvious around Covid measure, why would it have changed in 2 years?
What did you think of it then?

For some people, Haven is shit.
For others, it’s great.

That’s a lot to do with what you’re looking for, and your child’s age - not the site itself.

So if your daughter and husband liked it 2 years ago, and she hasn’t outgrown it now - then go.

lioncitygirl · 23/08/2020 13:07

Awful for us when we went a while back.

Thisyearcandoone · 23/08/2020 13:10

Are you going this year? I think a lot of entertainment / pools are closed so probably not worth the money

Ponoka7 · 23/08/2020 13:10

I love Presthaven (Prestatyn) but it's got rougher the last few years. There's been violent group fights and stabbings. Which now makes me wary of going again because we like the evening entertainment for an hour before the children's bedtime.

QuestionableMouse · 23/08/2020 13:13

I quite like a Haven holiday. Did Seton Sands near Edinburgh twice and had a good time.

I think I'd go somewhere a bit closer to stuff next time like Thorpe Park. The site is lovely but it took over an hour on the bus to get into the city which wasn't much fun.

crosser62 · 23/08/2020 13:17

Go almost every year, pay for best caravan we can get, use the pool, kids take a tub of change for the slot machines, occasionally go to the entertainment but it’s not really us.
Plan days out daily to explore the area we are visiting, including coffee shops for cake.
Meal plan and a takeaway, lovely lunches, treats and wine in the evening.
Kids have an absolute ball.
We go with another family so the cost is split between the 2 families.
Go to different places each year as I want my kids to see as much of this country as they can.
Suits us.

NatalieH2220 · 23/08/2020 13:20

We love going to Haven! Haven't gone this year for obvious reasons but usually go at least once. We tend to spend a lot of time off site so use it mainly for the arcades and accommodation. I do think some of the sites are getting run down so worth researching different sites. We have two breaks booked for next year already.

Diverseduvet · 23/08/2020 13:22

Having been to several Haven sites I'd agree it all depends which site. I've always found the security good. Some things like the restaurant are poor value but the facilities are usually good for kids. I always found the activities reasonable value, but again what's on offer depends on the park. I found the early evening entertainment for kids were fun for ours, there were games and competitons, disco etc. We never sat through the evening entertainment unless it was something like a magic show, which I happen to like. Be prepared to treat the kids a lot if you do go, but that's part of the fun on holiday anyway.

Beachbodylonggone · 23/08/2020 13:25

They have Haven Hideaways atm. We took an evoucher as a refund on this year's booking and rebooked for next May..

bashcrashfall · 23/08/2020 13:26

We go every year but don't do the entertainment much and take our own food or eat off site. We use the pool every day and go off-peak so the most we have paid for 4 is £250 for 3 nights. I wouldn't say its worth school holiday prices but then pretty much nowhere is worth school holiday prices!

Stannisbaratheonsboxofmatches · 23/08/2020 13:28

Went once, last year. It was fine!

We did one of the safari tents but the caravans looked fine.

It was a smaller, quieter site which was good for us. The pool met the kids needs, and they had a go at some of the boat things. We went to the beaches near by. The kids aren’t mad on organised evening entertainment but that looked pretty standard.

LunchBoxPolice · 23/08/2020 13:28

We’ve stayed in several Haven sites, including Cornwall/Devon/Weymouth/Tenby and loved them all. They have always been spotlessly clean.
Can’t comment on entertainment as that isn’t something we use on site.

Bokky · 23/08/2020 13:28

We just had a few nights at Golden Sands in Mablethorpe and it was lovely. Really clean, tidy and the whole place had been modernised. I'd go again.

OldGreyBoots · 23/08/2020 13:30

We (3 adults and dog) have been going to Haven at Berwick on Tweed for the past few years, and it's been absolutely faultless. We don't use any of the evening entertainment or on site restaurants, we just use the caravan as a dog friendly base from which to explore, so I can only comment on the caravan and general atmosphere of the place, but it's perfect. The Haven site at the lake district isn't as nice though, we went last year and it was very crowded and rowdy. Caravan itself was still nice though!