How bad/good are Haven holidays?

[NKF]

A friend keeps asking me to go on one with the children. I'm tempted by the price but they look a bit, well, you know...

Even she admits not to leaving the cabin at night. Seriously, how bad are they?

ooo... i forgot about the horrendous bedding...., pretty grim.... glad we took beach towels else we'd have been stuffed for something to dry ourselves on. we took a couple of sheets to to sleep between,which was handy and turned the mattress on the bed and exchanged one large blood stain for a slightly less formidable yellow stain..... we were cheeky and took the 2 single beds out of ds's room and put them in the spare room, and ds slept in his readybed. There was no cleaning equipment either, not even a carpet sweeper.

oh and dont forget to take all your washing up stuff with you, cos it costs a blardy fortune to buy it all in the on-site shop.

Oh yeah, the beds! Horrible uncomfortable and you may as well use a brick as a pillow.
Oh actually, there is no way on gods earth i'm doing that again.
Also just remembered that I was having real trouble in the restaurant getting ds1 to go in a highchair. I was getting all flustered and the more flustered i got the more stroppy ds got. Then I heard the woman on the next table say 'oh some people have got no patience' and at that point I just thought 'this is shit. I want to go home'

That's it. I'm saying no to Haven. It was the bedding discussion that did it.

It was the one near Whitby, I can't remember the name!

I had no problem with check in - in fact butlins was worse as we wnet on the train and the luggage drop off was about 11/2 miles from the check in desk and when we got there (I was the only adult) there was a huge queue with noway to sit down or entertain the children etc. Also, butlins was the one where we had to walk through the arcade to get to everything.

I agree to take own bedding (but I think that everywhere) and I always go to the local supermarket on arrival rather than have to buy washing up cloths (or anything else actually) on site!

Oh, yes, it was the Blue Dolphin Park at Whitby!

HA HA HA!!!!!
The beds are truly horrific but I think it would have been better if the ds's were slightly older.

Actually, who am I trying to kid. I'd rather stay in a hotel or a holiday cottage. The hoseasons one wasnt too bad, compared to the haven one. The nightlife is pretty shocking at all these places though.

I have to say, in all of this, i would def recommend woolacombe bay holiday parks, especially the smaller ones. They were fab, especially if you upgrade to the best accommodation (extra 60 quid a week) the evening entertainment for the kids was brilliant, they put on a different show every night.

We stayed at a Haven Park in Caister and really enjoyed it. We stayed in a silver grade chalet so the accommodation was comfortable but it was quite compact. We went when the DTS were 16 months old and went out and about visiting places. Did not really use any on site facilities other than the play area and spent evenings in the chalet. Our chalet was situated away from the facilities etc so overall it was quiet.

Last two years we have holidayed with Hoseasons and stayed in lodges. The accommodation is superior compared to Haven (more expensive too) and the boys have loved it. They keep asking when we are going back!

I think that if you use these places as a base and stay in the more comfortable accommodation, you can have a very good holiday.

I took a touring caravan to Kiln Pack last summer and would not go again the site floods at the first drop of rain, Haven would not refund the site fees dispite the area being on a flood alert and being advised to close the tour site becuse of this. The management was poor, the entertainment was poor,the toilet/shower block was dirty and mouldy and there was no cold water for the handbasins. The site lighting was poor and most of the lights were not working. The stactic caravans were also dirty and damp so my advice is find somewhere else or stay at home

I went for the first time last year and I was a bit disappointed. We arrived and got the key for our caravan, when we got to it it looked like a building site outside. Where there was supposed to be sand and a path to door there was rubb;e, plastic sheeting, nails bricks etc and ours was the only caravan not to have a balcony when all the ones in our 'road' had. DD was 2 n half and we couldn't let her run around outside while we unloaded or anything. We rang down to the reception and they said they would send someone down...hr later nothing, we kept DD in her car seat as we were convinved there had been a mistake. We phoned a few more times and were eventually told that it was the right caravan and someone would sort it out the next day. Not happy.

The caravan was brand spanking new however and was nice but 3 light bulbs didn't work so we had to be in the dark the first night. Went and complained AGAIN teh next morning. By 3 pm the tractor came and dug it all out and it was sorted and light bulbs replaced.

Food in the 'resaurant' was absolutley gross, it was just the worse microwaved crap I have ever seen and the staff were bored looking and not friendly.

The 'indoor heated pool' was so cold we had to go and buy DD a wetsuit! The paddling pool was full of bugs and there was dirt everywhere and loose rubber mats.

The funstars were ok, just and actually showed a bit of enthusiasm towards my DD.

There was no kids cutelry in the restaurant either.

We had bad weather the whole week so really relied on the complex and it was just shit.

On the plus side DD fell down the steps one night from the caravan and cut her head and I rang the reception and 2 very nice were with us within mins..she had to go to AnE to be on the safe side as it was here head but they we nice,

Most of the guests were just rough.

I wrote a letter of complaint when we got back and when I got a response they said we couldn't get a refund etc as we had stayed the full week.

I thihk if you've got gorgeous weather and you self cater then it would be ok but not if you plan on using the services there.

We went to Haven Rockley Park and really liked that site. It was well maintained, clean and in a good spot. We also went to Perran Sands and I would never go there again, it was a right dump (though Perranporth lovely).

Pick your site carefully

Haven at Littlesea in Weymouth is great. Staff very friendly. Nice pub/restaurant. Starbucks. Outside play area. Activities for children were well supervised. Inside and outside pools really nice.Nice walks. Lots to do in the local area. We mainly self catered as there is a good supermarket on the ay in. Would suggest though that yoou choose a caravan away from the main bit as the noise from the evening entertainment was rather loud.

If you go to the Weymouth area I can recommend Monkey World as a good day out.

Spent a weekend at Craig Tara near Ayr. Never ever ever again.

Van wasn't very clean (i.e. previous tenant's peanuts and crisp crumbs all over sofas).

Entertainment area v.depressing. Only took kids up one night to have a look, lasted about half an hour and left. Bar was just a great big bland room with lots of tables and lots of drunk people.

Noise on site was appalling. Didn't get to sleep until after 2 because of drunks staggering round outside shrieking, swearing and fighting. No-one on staff appears interested in noise/crowd control (actually, looking at some of the clientele, I couldn't really blame them).

Have stayed at a couple of small independent caravan parks since, and had a great time so would suggest trying somewhere that doesn't have entertainment/drinking facilities laid on.

I have been to several and have had a great time, just as good at times as when we have been abroad. The kids love it. Yes it can be abit tacky and cheesy but we just take the bits we like from the entertainment such as a few kids craft clubs and a panto, and then do our own thing. Only one park we went to was what others would call 'chavvy' and the police were called several times, youths drinking, little kids out all hours etc. Ones in rural locations are often much queiter as are the smaller parks.

We've been to Haven at Rockley Park & at Burnham on Sea. Both fine, clean, good fun. Would go again. Stayed in basic accom both times but took my own fan heater coz bedrooms not always heated. Also took most of our food + bedding to keep down ££ - supposed to be a cheap holiday after all! If you go with an open mind & relaxed attitude you'll enjoy it

we went to haven twice last year just for weekend breaks as i was expecting but still wanted to take ds away.the first time we went to haven norfolk.great caravan and son really enjoyed it(i was only 16 weeks gone)but we did only really use it as a base because there was so much off site to do. second time we went to black pool.it was a lot more expensive and we were so disappointed,the caravan was dirty,everywhere in blackpool was under construction so we couldnt go to the beach. by this time i was very hormonal at 30 wks pregnant and the staff there were so miserable.we were a party of 15 and the staff did not enjoy us making a noise during the quiz night(bearing in mind it was a quiz where you had to shout out the answers. would never go back to black pool but really enjoyed norfolk

We've just returned from a 4 night stay in Prestatyn.
We stayed in a standard plus caravan and although it was big enough and the sitting/dining area was reasonably clean the bedding was really not very nice.Also its cold my dh had the sense to pack a little electric radiator which we put in ds's room and thank god we did cos there was no heating apart from gas fire in living area.
We spent a lot of time exploring the area and did'nt do the clubs and activities apart from a bit of soft play and swimming.
The staff were very friendly but I was glad to get home to sleep in my own bed!

went to haven primrose valley again this easter. stayed in prestidge caravan. spotless both hoildays. kids clubs were good fun - cake decorating, games, treasure hunt etc

It all depends on the Haven site you go on and the time of year.

Went to Filey last summer (July). The accomodation was fantastic, very clean and spacious. Swimming pool was a bit grotty and the small fair ground was really expensive. My 3 year old son loved the 'club' in the evening as he loves dancing, but I hated it. Full of scruffy chavs getting drunk and leeting their kids do what they wanted. It was awful. The day events wer terrible. The staff did not have a clue what to do with a group of 3 year olds, so I took over and entertained them all for 2 hours.

However we went to Cala Gran in Fleetwood - much smaller than Filey. We booked a caravan through someone we know (privately) and it was brilliant. The evening entertainment was much the same as Filey, so my lad loved it. However, there didn't seem to be as many horible people staying at Fleetwood. Most of the parents actually cared what their children did and ensured they enjoyed themselves but kept an eye on them.

As I said, it all depends on the site and time of year.

I go to Littlesea in Weymouth for a long weekend every year with the Dc and my Mum. I love it

Ive been on loads of Haven holidays.Have been disappointed a few times.Overall have absolutley loved them.I go with the sun tokens.Just myself and VERY POSH Oxford educated dh go.We find it very relaxing.While he reads the paper I slosh about in the swimming pool and we explore the area.We love been in a caravan.Much better than a Hotel room.We are very poor so its the only holiday really.I love going round the supermarket,buying wine,getting away.A big cheer from me for them.My tips:
Take cheap heaters
Don`t go too far away
Take extra bedding
DONT HAVE UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
Avoid the amusements,or hurry through.

Sorry,I think heaters are banned!Just worried H&S might be onto me for suggesting that.Check it out though cos been cold is a biggy-you can upgrade to heaters in the rooms or I suppose take extra duvets and hot water bottles.Once we were freezing and when I asked for extra duvets were told there were none left!So do be well prepared in case it is cold.

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