Are Haven Holidays Any Good?

Need_More_Money_2

Can anyone tell me what the Haven holiday sites are like. Are they really tacky Butlins type places or not? Looking for somewhere good to take kids (8 and 2 years old). Which sites do you recommend, looking around Devon/Cornwall probably

TIGs

We stayed at the Haven site in Torquay when my two were a similar age.
Really enjoyed it stayed in an appartment rather than a caravan which was nice and clean and had a balcony which we particularly liked as we could put the kids to bed then sit outside with a bottle of wine to have some time to ourselves but we were still in hearshot for if the kids woke.

Can't really say if they're like butlins cos never been to Butlins but they do have activities for the kids eg, character breakfast where you have a breakfast and Rory the Tiger and Bradley Bear come along and meet the kids, theres normally a show on an evening with games and comptitions for the kids and some activities during the day.

We never bothered with the activities during the day but enjoyed the things on a night which gave the kids something to do while we had a drink (starting to sound like we drink alot ) Its what you make it theres activities there if you want to use them but if you don't then theres other things to do instead.

Need_More_Money_2

TIGs wrote:

We stayed at the Haven site in Torquay when my two were a similar age.
Really enjoyed it stayed in an appartment rather than a caravan which was nice and clean and had a balcony which we particularly liked as we could put the kids to bed then sit outside with a bottle of wine to have some time to ourselves but we were still in hearshot for if the kids woke.

Can't really say if they're like butlins cos never been to Butlins but they do have activities for the kids eg, character breakfast where you have a breakfast and Rory the Tiger and Bradley Bear come along and meet the kids, theres normally a show on an evening with games and comptitions for the kids and some activities during the day.

We never bothered with the activities during the day but enjoyed the things on a night which gave the kids something to do while we had a drink (starting to sound like we drink alot ) Its what you make it theres activities there if you want to use them but if you don't then theres other things to do instead.

Thanks

I haven't been to Butlins either, but I just have this impression that it would be really tacky. Perhaps I'm just being a bit of a snob?

TIGs

To be honest i use to think the same till we went and it was so much easier with there being plenty for the kids to do. Cos if the kids are happy then you're happy and it stops them moaning cos they're bored.

Plus you can still go out on an evening take the kids who have something to do while you have a chill, its not far from your apartment so when they get tired its not far to go to take them to bed.

Some do a babysitting service something i never fancied myself cos i didn't like the thought of a stranger looking after my kids but i'm sure some people use them.

springchicken

We have stayed at a lot of Haven sites and all were really relaxed ,lovely landscaped parks .I would recommend them.
I can see your point about Butlins ,I think Butlins is aimed at families who really want to just stay on site so this is why there is so much to do on them.

lynn44

Hi
yes been to both... Haven very good went last year on sun £60 family deal, but all we took was "gold" caravan near newquay we didnt drink in the on site clubs etc not being snobby but don't like smoking around the children (even though im a smoker) I don't smoke around them at all.
but lovely haven site and close to lovely beach looking for deal again for June on haven site over £200 so will wait for notw ( news of the world ) to go back on line ... fingers crossed

loopylass

We have been to a few haven places the caravan has always been clean and well kept the evening entertainment has been fantastic for my 4 children
Last year we went to devon cliffs thats really nice bit hilly though so you need to get a caravan near the entertainment they have a spa there and you can get pampered
Im sure the torquay one is not haven now as my sister went there last year and was very dissapointed(when she booked they told her but they decided to give it a go) the children were bored hardly any entertainment and even the staff said its not the same as when it was haven My sister could only take 3 days she asked to be moved to devon cliffs but as that was haven there was nothing they could do so my sister rang up devon cliffs and paid an extra £200 so her children could have some fun for the rest of their holiday

zenmaster

One of my best (and certainly the cheapest) holidays ever was at Haven on the Isle of Wight. We have 5 kids aged (as far as I remember) 14, 13, 10, 10, and 5 at that time.

We spent the week camping, with full access to the site facilities. We had a large family tent but there was no extra charge for secondary tents so we put the boys in one and the girls in another. Mrs and I had the big one all to ourselves, except for meal times. For the first half of the week we had the place to ourselves - it was like a private park - but it got busier towards the end of the week.

We would pack the kids off to "children's club" each morning whilst we tidied up, prepared a picnic, then sat drinking coffee and reading a book. When the club had finished we would go off on a day trip somewhere, returning in the evening in time for a dip in the pool while we made the evening meal. Then off to the onsite club for some cheesy, but enjoyable entertainment.

My daughter even won the weekly heat of the "Miss Haven" contest, which chuffed her no end.

All this for £40!!! My brother-in-law had been to exactly the same park the previous week and stayed in a kind of log cabin (we could see it from our tent) and paid over £300.

I'm not suggesting that you should go camping with a 2yo (although we have done it), but the caravans are just as good.

I would think your 8yo would enjoy it. He/she might take some persuading to join in the kid's club the first time but will probably not want to leave at the end of the week. The 2yo probably won't even notice. As I recall there isn't a lot for toddlers, but I'm sure they would have a paddling pool which would provide some entertainment.

Why don't you go for a weekend taster and see how it goes?

PS. nowt wrong with Butlin's either, though that is more suited to 10-16's.

plane_boy2000

Hi,

been to devon cliffs before ad goingback in may. The nice thing about devon cliffs is that the main family entertainment areas are no smoking. Yes, it can be a bit tacky, but they are well placed so if you want you only have to use the site as acomodation

lynn44

hey thanks for that planeboy... Is it all NO SMOKING NOW do you know ?

monkeylugs

We went to Cornwall last year (From Yorkshire) for our main holiday and it was lovely however we went to Blue Dolphin at Filey for a short break and didn't enjoy that so much.

The clientele can make or break your holiday, and in Cornwall we found a "better class of holidaymaker" (cringe @ me saying that), ie the children were well behaved and respectful to their parents and other people, but at Filey the kids seemed to be dog rough and parents seemed to let them run riot.

There was this touring wrestling show and at Cornwall it was great, the kids loved it cheering the wrestlers on, and booing the baddies etc, really getting into the spirit of things. In Filey the kids, as little as 5 and 6, when the baddies came on stage they were all chanting "You fat B*******DS" etc. Also our caravan at Filey was miles away from all the entertainments, and there seemed to be lots of people near us with older kids (12-15) and the parents would go to the clubs on an evening and leave the teenagers on their own, so there'd be gangs of wandering teenagers, which I felt quite intimidated about. Parents left their kids on their own in the soft play centre and there'd be this huge 11 year olds running riot chucking things at each other while there were 2 and 3 years olds trying to play. The staff didn't seem bothered at all, and it was up to the parents of the littlies to tell the older kids off. I wouldn't go there again, but I would go to Cornwall.

BUT I have to say they are okay to use as a base if you're going to be doing plenty of day tripping, and maybe we just had a bad week at Filey and a good week at Cornwall