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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Haven booking policy.

51 replies

Mucky1 · 30/07/2021 16:59

Has anyone stayed at a Haven park recently?
We are due to go next week and I'm dreading it. We've tried to book activities and they're all booked up!
Not one swimming session left that I can find or table in a restaurant to go out to eat. We've been allowed one session at the evening entertainment for the week and that's it.
I'm picturing a week in a caravan in the rain whilst I do all the cooking or we order in Burger King. 🤯
What exactly do we do all week if all the activities are booked solid!! Il go insane.

OP posts:

Marmitemarinaded · 30/07/2021 17:01

Op this sounds like hell on earth
Don’t do it to yourself
Even best case scenario is going to be… unpleasant

Bjarnum · 30/07/2021 17:01

Try contacting Haven directly and explaining your problem - worth a try

Awalkintime · 30/07/2021 17:02

Go off site and explore the local area.

Marmitemarinaded · 30/07/2021 17:02

Although May force you out of the park lots
Which would be a good thing I suspect

Marmitemarinaded · 30/07/2021 17:02

@Bjarnum

Try contacting Haven directly and explaining your problem - worth a try

The problem being that haven is busy?

TakeYourFinalPosition · 30/07/2021 17:02

What’s the cancellation policy?

I’ve never been but Facebook and Twitter have been full of reminders for people to book early because things are getting full, and it sounds awful.

Janaih · 30/07/2021 17:03

Oh blimey that's really shit. I'd be looking to cancel if you can't do any activities.

iamtopazmortmain · 30/07/2021 17:03

You can only book one evening slot but you can book more when you get there - when we went you could only book on the day. We could have gone in every evening had we wanted to. back in June.

whatismyusername73636 · 30/07/2021 17:04

Sounds awful. Puts me off. Is there a beach nearby? A lot of them are right by the beach aren't they? Hopefully the weather will be nice or pack wellies if it's not! Plenty of walks, parks etc. Do they have outside activities? Sucks. Assuming you paid for an entertainment pass time thing? Should be enough slots for everyone to enjoy swimming at least once! How about restaurants in the wider area?

Fluffmonkey82 · 30/07/2021 17:05

I was at a Haven site start of the month and got the allocated swimming sessions and there was lots of availability at the restaurants. I went to Wales so maybe was quieter as schools not on holiday then. I would contact the park directly as if you have paid for the stay and play option you should at least get the allocated swimming sessions..

theclockticksslowly · 30/07/2021 17:05

Which park is it? Maybe we can help with some nearby attractions/places to visit that are free or pretty cheap? Also see if any local takeaways around - may even deliver to the gates of the holiday park. I hope it’s one that’s near a beach as that’ll keep the kids entertained a good while.

Janaih · 30/07/2021 17:06

Everything is likely to be booked up in the local area as well. And we all know you can't rely on the weather!

Jangle33 · 30/07/2021 17:08

Presumably it’s first come first served and is exceptionally busy. Honestly sounds like my idea of hell.

Thesearmsofmine · 30/07/2021 17:09

We’ve been on a few Haven breaks and usually spending our days off site and have a meal out in a local restaurant. The on-site restaurants aren’t great anyway.

kowari · 30/07/2021 17:14

The problem being that haven is busy?
They should be able to provide activity bookings relative to the number of accommodation bookings.

Original poster

Mucky1 · 30/07/2021 17:14

We booked in feb but they only opened the app to let us book activities last week. We've managed to book archery and a family bike plus crazy golf 😂 hopefully we can book more evening entertainment when there because there's only so much manopoly I can take.
During the day we can explore locally we always end up in a tumbledown castle in the rain on every holiday it's a kind of tradition now.
Wouldn't mind any of this but the weather is going to be dreadful according to the met office it's going to rain constantly.
I really will have to try for some swimming sessions though that's all my DD has spoken about for weeks.

OP posts:

sophs29 · 30/07/2021 17:27

We went in June and it was a nightmare, swimming was fully booked and we didn't realise you had to book soft play too, so all the soft play slots were sold out!
However the evening entertainment was easy to book, and like a PP said, we could have gone to every slot had we wanted! Also the restaurants weren't busy and we could book easily enough!

Calmdown14 · 30/07/2021 17:30

Go straight to the booking area when you arrive, before unpacking. There will be availability. They keep a lot back to stop people claiming it all online.
We got plenty of pool sessions that way

Bagelsandbrie · 30/07/2021 17:30

Google the park and ring the park directly. Not the main Haven number. They should be able to help with swimming sessions. We did this last time in the same circumstances.

MyFirstMyLastMyEverythingBagel · 30/07/2021 18:06

We have just came back from a haven today. Keep checking the activity website for booking as more come up throughout the day. You can go to the activity booking station morning / afternoon as well. We managed to book most of our activities while we were there, loads were added. There was loads of swimming slots you can book from Tuesday before you go, but a fair bit of availability on the days too.

The entertainment / pubs hold tables for 15 mins then let people without a booking in - we noticed a lot of people book them then don't show up. Managed to get in everytime we wanted too.

Heaving busy!! No restrictions though everything at full capacity so hopefully you'll be okay.

One thing to be aware of is they seemed to be very understaffed where we stayed (pingdemic!!)

But they were trying - they seemed to be rotating every thing so although some places were shut they were then open again on different days.

I found you just have to relax and go with the flow - you can't really make a plan you just have to do what you can when you can!

Dee1975 · 30/07/2021 18:09

You can cancel 3 days before no problem. We had to cancel the other weekend due to a person in the party having to SI. So proof or anything was needed.

SlipperFeet · 30/07/2021 18:18

On the website it says only a limited number of slots are available to pre-book and the rest are available once you are there. So try not to panic yet! If you're concerned I would give the park a ring directly

purpleboy · 30/07/2021 18:22

As pp said keep checking and go to the activity station as soon as you get there. We found the first swimming slots always had space as many people found 8am too early. Also the life guard said they usually have about 10+ people that don't turn up for every swimming session so if you just turn up you have a very good chance of getting in. Also many times my DDs went in ahead of me while I parked the car and then I followed on but they never asked me for any confirmation so essentially they wouldn't know if I was booked onto the session or not.
I noticed throughout the week that more activity session became available, so do keep checking. And entertainment you can go and queue every night, we never had a problem getting in.
It was much better than I was expecting.
Hope you have a great time

MoonriseKingdom · 30/07/2021 18:32

Definitely keep checking the website. We have just been on a Haven break and somethings that were initially booked up became available later. I think maybe some people book everything immediately then cancel stuff. I also spoke to someone there that had not been able to book any swimming on the app but got slots on site. It is limited swimming availability though. We did 2x 1 hour sessions as a family of 4. One of the staff in the restaurant told me they were having significant staffing issues like a lot of hospitality which might make restaurant availability more limited.

TakeMeToYourLiar · 30/07/2021 18:47

@Mucky1

We booked in feb but they only opened the app to let us book activities last week. We've managed to book archery and a family bike plus crazy golf 😂 hopefully we can book more evening entertainment when there because there's only so much manopoly I can take. During the day we can explore locally we always end up in a tumbledown castle in the rain on every holiday it's a kind of tradition now. Wouldn't mind any of this but the weather is going to be dreadful according to the met office it's going to rain constantly. I really will have to try for some swimming sessions though that's all my DD has spoken about for weeks.

When are you actually going? Swimming booking only opens the Tuesday before you go

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