Bluestone National Park Resort...The REVIEW!

Over the past couple of weeks you might have read a few posts about our trip to Bluestone and what we got up to on our break. It was a much needed little holiday after a rather stressful beginning to 2015. Now comes the review, what we really thought about our getaway to  Bluestone.

Check In

We arrived late Monday night, after half eleven! I'd had a bit of a panic on route about whether or not we'd actually be able to get in. So the other half called ahead to let them know and we were reassured by a very pleasant member of staff that check in was 24 hour and that there was no need to rush.

When we did rock up there was no need to park up and find reception, someone had the genius idea of a drive through check in which was perfect! I just gave the booking name and was handed a map, booklet and timetable of events for the week. We followed the one way system for cars to our lodge which almost took us back to where we'd started. Cars should be parked in the car park once you've unloaded unless you have permission to park it outside your lodge. There are bikes and buggies available for hire if you don't fancy getting around by foot every day.

 

The Lodge

Our Gateholm Lodge in Preseli View

We stayed in a Gateholm, a three bed, two bathroom lodge which sleeps six people. Two of our friends were meant to be joining us but unfortunately couldn't  due to sickness. A bit of a bonus as it meant we had the lodge to ourselves.

As soon as we stepped in to our lodge we were highly impressed, it looked immaculately clean and felt very homely. All lodges come with a travel cot and highchair as standard, which I think is great as other holiday parks we've been to or looked in to have charged extra. If there's more than one baby/tot staying in the lodge all you need to do is let them know when booking.

I'd been looking forward to experiencing the 'upside down living' and the open plan kitchen, dining and lounge area did not disappoint!





As you can see it is very spacious with plenty of room to cook, eat, play or relax! I adored the modern purple kitchen which was fully equipped with everything you needed should you wish to make a cuppa or to cook 'proper' meals. There is also a dishwasher so there's no pressure for anyone to be standing at the sink doing the washing up. A nice touch that was awaiting us was a little pack with a mini bottle of washing up liquid, dishwasher tabs, rubbish and recycling bags. Eliot was forever in the drawers and cupboards so safety locks in the kitchens could be something that could be added just to make it that extra bit family friendly.

 

There was a large dining table with six chairs, which would be great for family or friends to have dinner round. I think if there were six adults sharing it would be a bit snug on the sofas but otherwise fine for relaxing in the evenings. As well as a TV there's also a DVD player if you have time that is!  WiFi is included too, ideal for us bloggers. At first ours wasn't working so I mentioned it to a member of staff who said they'd send someone round to have a look ASAP. In the meantime I discovered a cable was out which  I hadn't noticed when I first looked...oops. Someone came round to fix it when we left the lodge. They left a note to let us know that there weren't any issues.

Downstairs was one double bedroom with an ensuite, two twin rooms and another bathroom. All of the bedrooms came with a wardrobe and chest of drawers, giving ample storage for your belongings.The bathrooms had one toilet roll each and a small soap. They were very good sized bathrooms with plenty of space. My OH is quite particular about showers and the amount of pressure they have, he had no complaints about the one we had in our ensuite!



Eliot enjoying bath time in the ensuite



We all slept very well during our stay, the bed was comfy with plump pillows. Once I fell asleep I was asleep for the night.

We were extremely happy with the Gateholm lodge, the only issue we had was with the safety gates at the top and bottom of the stairs. The one at the bottom of the stairs was one you pull across and I couldn't work out how to do it. The one at the top had a part on the hinge side which kept coming out  every time we tried to close/open it. It was simple to fix but a pain as it was repetitive. I'm sure if I'd reported it to staff they would've popped over to try and sort it as they did with the internet.

Here's a nose around the lodge if you fancy it...

 

 Things To Do

There is an abundance of activities available at Bluestone, indoors or outdoors there's plenty to do. As mentioned, in the welcome pack we received a timetable of available activities for the week . Some you  pay for and some you don't. The Blue Lagoon swimming pool and adventure centre are included in your stay. The adventure centre is host to plenty of free activities, mini golf, NRG room, soft play, Lego, the tower and the circus zone. We spent some time in the adventure centre on the Tuesday, Eliot enjoyed jumping on the bouncy castle, playing in the ball pool and soft play. We had lunch in the Wildwood café, you can read more about what we got up to here. 

 

We only visited the Blue Lagoon once during our stay, mainly due to there being so many options of what to do, not only in the resort but further afield too. Eliot LOVED splashing about in the main pool with its fountains and waves. It's really spurred me on to get Eliot to swimming lessons not only is it fun, it's a life saving skill as well. In this diary post you can read more about what we thought of the Blue Lagoon.

As I mentioned before there were plenty of chargeable activities too. From messy and sensory play for babies and tots, to tree climbing and archery for older children and adults, to the well spa retreat. There was so much to choose from, we felt we didn't have enough time to do everything we would've liked to do.

I think how much you can make the most of your break depends on what time of year you go and the weather conditions. We were blessed with lovely weather, cold but sunny during our stay. I don't think I would've enjoyed the experience as much if it had been pouring with rain the entire week!

 

Places To Eat

There were several places to eat in Bluestone. The Village was home to the main places, The Farmhouse Grill which also offered a takeaway service, Carreg Las and the Knights Tafarn. It also had a bakery too. We only got round to trying out the Farmhouse Grill, a family restaurant which offers a variety of dishes from the grill and on Sunday's offers a traditional carvery. I wrote about what we thought of the Farmhouse Grill here.

The Knights Tafarn is a traditional style pub offering 'pub grub' and traditional  & ales. Carreg Las is more focussed on adults and there are no children allowed after 7pm which has it's pros and cons for different guests. I would've liked to have dined here if we'd had a babysitter for Eliot!

As well as the main restaurants there is the Fish Shack in the Blue Lagoon, the Wildwood Café in the Adventure Centre and Camp Smokey outdoors in the Steep Ravine. 

I felt there were plenty of dining options to choose from and if you did need to stock up in your lodge, the Newton Village shop gave you that option, even if prices were higher than your usual supermarket.

 

 

Overall Thoughts...

Our experience at Bluestone resort overall was fantastic and we wouldn't have second thought about booking a holiday there again. The setting is stunning and there are so many activities to choose from, the only problem is doing everything you'd like to do. My tip would be to plan ahead, check what activities you'd like to do and places you'd like to visit outside of the resort. That will enable you to be more organised and get the most out of your break.

 

The Great...

• The scenery is beautiful
• Relaxing as it is quiet and peaceful
• Plenty of activities aimed at different age groups
• Some activities are included
• WiFi in lodges at no extra cost
• Gorgeous accommodation (I can only speak for the lodge we stayed in)
• TV & DVD player in lodge
• Choice of places to eat out (if you want to)

 

The Not So Great...

• Steep walks in different areas of the resort not ideal for older people/people with mobility problems (thinking particularly about my parents) 
• Cost of buggy hire quite pricey (depends on your holiday budget)
• I feel the overall experience could be affected by the weather particularly if you plan on doing a few outdoor activities
• Current building work not the best noise/view for those staying close by (it didn't affect us but thought of those staying very near)
• Safety gates in our lodge were  not functioning properly
• On our visit to the Farmhouse Grill some of the food on the children's buffet looked as though it had been lying out for ages

A video of what we got up to

 

Have you visited Bluestone, what was your favourite part of the holiday?

 

*Disclaimer: We received a 4 night break at Bluestone Resort Wales in return for an honest review









Bluestone Diaries #1

We arrived late last night (Monday) as Eliot had been poorly since Thursday evening and we weren't sure if were going to be able to make it. I didn't spend Sunday packing as I would've done as I wanted to see how Eliot was on Monday morning. He woke up very much back to himself so we made the decision to go on our Bluestone get away. There was quite a lot to sort out so we didn't leave till around 5pm, it was a long way to travel but we figured we'd be able to make more of our break by getting there late Monday rather than on Tuesday.

 On route I asked the OH to call the resort as I was worried we'd be too late to check in but we were reassured by a very polite member of staff that security were on 24/7 so there would be no problem. We arrived around 11:30pm after one stop off for food. Check in was super easy, we just drove the car up to the check in window where we were given a welcome pack with resort info and the card keys for our lodge. We followed the one way system round to our lodge, when we opened the door we were highly impressed! Everywhere was clean, fresh and extremely inviting. We're staying in a Gateholm lodge which sleeps six. When we booked two friends were meant to be joining us but they couldn't make it due to illness.

We all settled down for the night, Eliot in the travel cot provided by Bluestone and we all had an undisturbed sleep.

 In the morning we awoke to this beautiful view, you can't see here but the mountain top in the distance was sprinkled with snow. We had a relaxed breakfast, Eliot enjoyed looking out of the Juliet balcony and emptying the contents of the kitchen drawers!

We decided to explore the resort and headed to the Adventure Centre first. We all enjoyed the bouncy castle, daddy more so than Eliot!

The Chicken Run soft play for children under six also proved popular, Eliot had fun in the ball pit but was set on attempting to climb up the slides rather than going down them.

 Next we went for lunch in the Wild Wood Café which serves sandwiches, burgers, jacket potatoes and some lighter options. I waited quite a few minutes to be served as there wasn't anyone behind the bar. However when I'd ordered we didn't wait too long for the food to be served. Over lunch we looked over the bookable activities, the OH decided on a couple and we thought Eliot could try toddler sensory. We booked them and ventured off around the rest of the resort. Strolling through the village which is host to some shops and restaurants we browsed the menus for the Farmhouse Grill and the Knights Tafarn which we plan to try out later in the week.

 

Just next to the village is the Bluestone lake which we walked around before heading down a nature trail. We were debating to whether to go thorough one of the gates when I noticed lots of tiny birds fluttering down around us. I've never seen so many small birds so close, it really was a back to nature moment.

 Our first day at Bluestone has been lovely, the scenery is stunning and there are so many activities to choose from. The OH and I certainly feel relaxed and Eliot is enjoying himself too!

Our Autumn Break & Peppa Pig World

Last week we went on a little holiday to Dorset with my parents. The OH couldn't get down until Wednesday due to work but myself and Eliot enjoyed the whole five days! The break was actually booked through The Sun's £9.50 holidays deal after my parents collected tokens and kindly treated us to a little break. You had to pay extra for entertainment passes and for electricity but overall it was a pretty good deal. If you're able to get away during term time there are some fantastic places to choose from on the deal.

We stayed at Parkdean Sanford a caravan park with a good range of facilities. We arrived around 5pm, checked in and drove round to our caravan, which was a luxury one much to our surprise. Everywhere was immaculate, it had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, even a washing machine! It was just perfect for a little break away with all the home comforts which I personally think you need when you have a baby especially if you are sterilising bottles.

 Once we'd  unpacked we headed for a nosey around the main building, Eliot was quite taken by Lizzies Limo ride in the arcade, particularly spinning the wheel! We checked out the restaurant and as it was getting late for Eliot, we decided to eat there. The menu was varied but in our opinion was overpriced. We weren't overwhelmed with the food, particularly my mum. After that we went into the main hall to see Sid and Lizzie (the Parkdean characters) say goodnight before I took Eliot back to the caravan for bed.

 Eliot slept through every night which was lovely and enjoyed having his breakfast watching Peppa Pig on channel 5.

Once we were all ready we went into Poole for the day, had a wander round the quay and shops. My mum and I also enjoyed clotted cream scones, a must when your away by the sea!

Before leaving Parkdean for the day on Tuesday and Wednesday Eliot had lots of fun in the Crazy Caves (soft play) and it was amazing only sharing with one other baby, one time and then having it all to ourselves!

 

On Wednesday we went to Swanage and had stroll by the sea, fed seagulls and I repeatedly failed at winning anything out of the teddy grabber machines! The OH arrived in the afternoon.

Thursday was my favourite day, I was super excited to be taking Eliot to Peppa Pig World at Paultons Park, as he has recently become a bit of a Peppa Pig fan! Unfortunately the weather wasn't on our side and it rained on and off the whole day but we still had lots of fun. It also meant the park wasn't that busy and we hardly had to queue for the rides.

Entry is free for little ones under one meter so we didn't need to buy a ticket for Eliot. Eliot was able to go on all of the rides in Peppa Pig World apart from one as he wasn't quite tall enough.
There is also a large indoor play area which has different sections for different ages. It was simply fab, by far the best ever soft play area I've stepped into!

We also visited Peppa's house which was pretty cute but a little disappointing on the inside, it would have been nice if they'd made it bigger. Still all the kids were excited and that's the main thing.

 We then had a wander around the rest of the park and found a bouncy castle and trampoline area undercover that Eliot had a bit of play in. The OH and I also had a go on some of the 'older' rides whilst my mum looked after Eliot. We wandered back to Peppa Pig World through the gardens and had a look at some of the birds at a nice leisurely pace.

We arrived back in Peppa Pig World just in time for the last few rides, flying a helicopter, driving a car and sailing in Grandad Pigs boat.

 This was Eliot's favourite ride, he threw tantrums when it had finished on previous go's. Luckily he didn't make a fuss on his final turn!

Wanting to drive again!

I would definitely book a holiday with Parkdean in the future as I was impressed with the facilities and caravan we stayed in. There's no doubt we will be back to Peppa Pig World in the future too as it's brilliant for tots!

Here's a little video of our hol, including a caravan nose and Peppa Pig World!

Have you visited Peppa Pig World/Stayed with Parkdean?

 

Disclaimer-I was not asked to write about Parkdean or Peppa Pig World, all views are my own.

Final First Family Hol Vlog - Birthday Safari

Our final first family holiday vlog is live. It was the OH's birthday and we visited The West Midlands Safari Park. A great day out for all! See what we got up to :)

Part 2 Of Our Family Holiday Vlog-Countryside Goodness!

In my last vlog I mentioned where we stayed, Stoke Bliss, Tenbury Wells if you didn't catch part 1 click here. However I failed to mention exactly where we were staying, which was a holiday park called Wigley Orchard. A fantastic setting if you're looking for a tranquil break as you really are in the back and beyond. It's probably not suitable for older children as there are no activities available but was perfect for us and great as a base. Definitely worth checking out!

We did a couple of country walks whilst away, one near Wigley Orchard and another in Great Malvern. Here's the vlog...

Sherwood Forest Break

A few weeks ago my mum asked if I fancied going on a short break before I go back to work. Of course I was keen and on Monday we headed north to Sherwood Castle Holiday Forest Lodge Park.

I booked the break through Hoseasons via the Teletext website, it was a bargain at £116 for 4 nights! We arrived about 5pm on Monday and I headed to reception to check us in. The medieval styled reception was used at the end of the movie Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves where Robin Hood escaped the Sheriff of Nottingham. 

I got our key and we drove down to our lodge. The lodges have a parking bay beside them, ideal for loading/unloading luggage and boy do you have lots of stuff when you go away with a baby!

The lodge had a lovely rustic feel and we had the view of the trees in front of us.

It had everything you needed, two bedrooms, kitchen and living area with TV and DVD player. Kitchen with fridge, microwave and dishwasher and a bathroom with a spa bath, lovely!!!

My mum isn't the type of person to go away and cook so we had breakfast in our lodge and ate out the rest of the time. On the first night we went to a pub up the road called The Rose Cottage. Which also happens to be round the corner from Center Parcs Sherwood Forest and well worth a visit. The menu offers a range of cusine, British, American and Mexican. We both ordered a pie which was
served piping hot with a generous amount of veg and chips. There was nothing we could fault about this place.

The next day we popped into the local Tesco in Ollerton, where I picked up some bargains in the F+F sale, which I will do a separate post or first vlog about.
Next we drove over to the nearest big-ish town. Mansfield and had a mosey round the shops. We went for dinner at an Italian restaurant called BB's, which accepts the Tastecard.

The restaurant was based upstairs but the staff were very helpful and assisted us with taking the buggy up. They bought over a highchair and made a fuss of Eliot. To start we had 'Tomato and Garlic bread' which was very tasty. For mains I had penne 'arriabiata' (one of my faves) and my mum had spaghetti dolcelatte. Both dishes were very nice and Eliot enjoyed his share of spaghetti dolcelatte.

On Wednesday we ventured to Newark to have a short nose before driving over to Nottingham.

I didn't take any pictures there but Nottingham is a huge place. I've been once before on a boozy night out when a friend was at uni but never saw the centre during the day. There are some pretty buildings there and I bought a lovely outfit for E in the huge Next.

That evening we went to The Big Fish for dinner which was near where we were staying. My mum ordered homemade fishcakes and I ordered 'Yorkshire' fishcakes. I should have asked what they were as I had no idea. When they came up it was fish in batter between to large potato slices and deep fried. I tried a mouthful of one and a bit of one of my mums fishcakes. I ate most of my chips but my mum barely touched hers, she was pretty certain they were frozen and was convinced the oil was old. None of the staff came to see how the meal was which wasn't good. My mum complained when they eventually came to take the plates. After waiting some more time, a more senior waitress came over and my mum explained again. The waitress told us the fat had just been changed and that they use beef dripping to fry the food. So if you're looking for a heart attack on a plate, this is a good place to visit but it wasn't for us.

The following morning we headed down to 'Animal Corner' at the holiday park which was great to have on site and wonderful for kids. There were sheep, chickens, pygmy goats, rabbits and guinea pigs. Eliot enjoyed watching the sheep in particular!

We then drove to the village of Bakewell, home of the Bakewell slice after Emma from Frugally Peachy recommended a visit. It was over an hour away but such a pretty drive through the countryside. Living in London it's hard to believe there is so much green space in the UK, I always fully appreciate it when I get to experience it! It's such a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of city living.

The first thing we did was head to a coffee shop to sample some bakewell! I wasn't overly keen on the traditional version I tried, I preferred my mums coconut and jam slice.
 Unfortunately it was a rainy afternoon but we braved the showers and had a wander around.

There was a village apothecary called 'Elliot Rose' so of course Eliot had his picture taken underneath 'Elliott' even if it was a different spelling!
We stumbled across a greengrocer which I had to take a snap of as not many exist today. At work
there was a story which featured a greengrocers that I often came across with the children but none of them knew what it was so I'm sure I'll be able to use the photo in work too.
I loved it, Bakewell is worth a visit if you're holidaying in the area!

On the way back to the lodge we stopped for dinner at a Chinese restaurant called China Fong. It had a choice of menus to order from, we opted for the three course menu for £7.50. We shared satay chicken and prawn toasts for starters. There was very little prawn on the prawn toast but the satay
 chicken was pretty tasty. Eliot tried his first prawn cracker and loved it that much he was crying for more!
For main course I had beef with mushrooms and my mum had chicken curry. We shared rice and noodles to accompany the dishes. They were both very nice.
The dessert included on the menu was Black Forest Gateaux with ice cream, which was ok but I was  feeling full for pudding at this point anyway.

When we arrived back at the lodge it was bath and bedtime for Eliot before packing some bits ready to leave in the morning.

On route home we stopped off in Melton Mowbray for lunch in a little café called 'The Elms'. The staff we so friendly and made such a fuss over Eliot. The food was freshly cooked to order, they serve everything from breakfasts to afternoon tea. If you're passing through this would be a great pit stop!

Overall it was a lovely break and so refreshing to escape hectic London for a few days. I would definitely head back to the area we stayed in as there's so much more to see and I recommend the holiday park we stayed in for a base.

Now looking forward to our first family hol at the beginning of April!