advice for family visiting Haven Hafan Y Mor

LaDiva_2

Hi guys
Just looking for advice. We are off to Haven Hafan Y Mor and was wondering of anyone can tell me what the entertainment passes cover?Is it worth us having linen from Haven or taking our own?
Lastly, is there any local attraction we shouldn't miss?
TIA

Diva

artichoke

hi

we went to Hafan Y mor last spring - entertainment passes get you entry into the swimming pool (which is great - big with lots of different areas for different ages / abilities)

and into the show bar - which is good for kids with character shows from 6pm...

the beach is great, and there is a good childrens playground as well...

What ages are in your family? there is a lot to do on park and off so if you say what ages i am sure people can give advice..

art

LaDiva_2

Sorry i should have said its a group of three adults and a 9 month old. None of the adults ho go bars etc either.

artichoke

hi

there are two separate entertainment / bar areas at Hafan Y mor

the one nearest the entrance has the showbar in (where they do the childrens entertainment,) and the over the bridge in the other half of the site there is more of a pub that serves meals etc..

You need passes to get into the showbar in the evening.

Re linen - we usually take our own sheets and duvet covers to save money, it depends on if you have the space in the car to take them or not?

There is a lot to do in the area if you have a car - Snowdonia is nearby with lots of walking, the zoo, the mountain railway..beaches both on the site and nearby for the 9 month old..

art

Quidzin

Bear in mind if you take the linen its £10 PER ROOM at Haven not for all of you.We take our own.
Best day out if you get good weather is Portmeirion which is not far away. Portmadog is also a very nice place.

greenface

I like the other way and Abersoch & Abereron whistling sands & Nefyn are favorites of mine . Portmerion IMO is a little Marmite been a few times but once there i always just want to go to the stunning beach or back to the car.

OneYorkshireLass

The Festiniog and Welsh Highland Railways (better than Snowdon IMO) http://www.festrail.co.uk/

Portmeirion, there's more to it than the village - walks through the woods (big pond, pet cemetery (creepy), views over the estuary). HALF PRICE ENTRY 3.30pm - 7.30pm

Porthdinllaen - http://www.tycoch.co.uk/ pub right on the beach. Stunning even if you don't drink.


Llanbedrog is a nice beach with car park/toilets/cafe/shop - just down the road from Pwllheli.

Criccieth - lovely little town with beaches either side of the castle. I recommend the Blue China Tea Rooms (it's painted blue, below the castle - staff can be a bit surly but we've used it for years), Cadwaladers ice-cream shop and cafe just up the hill towards the castle.

FatAndy

Hafan-y-Mor has 3 entertainment venues, the Showbar (mainly for adults), the Boardwalk (kids) and Bonga Wonga (which I`m currently sat outside to take advantage of the free wi-fi) which is grossly underused. Entertainment is usually rubbish, a half hour 'Zoo Troup' show at 6.30 is the highlight for kids. It's usually possible to get into the Showbar without a pass if you sneak in through Burger King rather than via the main entrance but not much happens before 8-9 o'clock. The swimming pool is very good though.

I can add a bit to the above as I've now got access to a proper keyboard so I don't need to peck out a reply on a Blackberry.

We visit Hafan-y-Mor quite a bit as my parents own a caravan there so we get free holidays, in fact this year we've almost had as many holidays as the Camerons and hopefully will catch up with them before the end of the season. I really like the place, it's a huge site (a former Butlins) and there's loads to do there, admittedly most of which comes at a cost. The site is well laid out and nicely landscaped and in a really nice area. It's split into two parts, seperated by a railway line and the two parts are connected by a bridge in the centre of the park.

The swimming pool is great with a 'baby' pool, wave pool, rapid pool, jacuzzi and some great slides. The only downside is that it can get busy if the weather isn't too good.

The entertainment is rubbish. On the the 'land' side of the park you have two venues, the Showbar and the Boardwalk. The Boardwalk is effectively the kids entertainment venue but there's not much expense or effort spent. At six pm you get "Meet The Characters" which basically means your child can stand next to someone in a fancy dress costume and you'll then be given the opportunity to pay over the odds for a copy of a photo of that great event. At six thirty you usually get a "Zoo Troop" show featuring the likes of Roary The Tiger, DJ Ned, Anxious The Elephant and friends (and there are a number of shops offering Zoo Troop merchandising to further part you from your cash). At seven you get Tots Disco, which is just someone playing a few records and at seven thirty you get everyone's favourite, Family Bingo (hooray). There are other things after the bingo but we've never managed to last long enough to see any of them. Last night they had a circus act from six thirty until half seven which was actually quite good (they were from Moscow!) but that's an exception rather than the norm.

Just opposite the Boardwalk is the Showbar. This is a big and well equipped venue but the entertainment doesn't live up to expectations. Most nights start at six with "Family Bingo Sales Open", followed at seven by "Family Bingo Sales Close" and at seven thirty by "Family Bingo". Not much happens before half eight (unless you like playing bingo) and the live shows usually only start at ten. On Fridays there's a panto which we saw once and was better than I'd expected so that's probably the best day to go there. I'm not sure why the security people have never cottoned on to the fact you can get in without a pass if you go in through Burger King but to be honest most nights there's little worth paying for.

The Bonga Wonga Beach Club is "over the bridge" on the beach side of the site and next to the boating lake. It rarely seems to used for entertainment but contains an amusement arcade and a slightly pricy Weatherspoons type pub called the Mash and Barrel.

Overall the swimming pool is worth paying for but the entertainment isn't.

I've added this link as it includes some photos I uploaded earlier this year which should give an idea of what to expect - http://www.qype.co.uk/place/1097366-Hafan-Y-Mor-Pwllheli?p_listing=30960


Off site the two local towns are worth a visit, i.e. Pwllheli and Criccieth. Porthmadog will be nice once the bypass is completed and there isn't a constant traffic snarl up in the town centre. Pwllheli, about four miles away, is the place to head to if you're self catering as there's an Asda (a small one but good enough) as well as Iceland, Co-op and Lidl as well as a Home Bargains. Just off the Maes (the square in the town centre with the car park in the middle) is a little funfair. It's not great but reasonably priced, most rides are a quid, some are fifty pence and the dodgems are two quid for a car.

The castle in Criccieth, which is about four miles away in the opposite direction to Pwllheli, is worth a look. The castle itself is quite small and there's not much to explore but the views are fantastic, on a good day you'll see pretty much the entire west Wales coast all the way down to Pembrokeshire. Just outside Criccieth in Llanystumdwy you'll find the Rabbit Farm, which isn't actually a place where rabbits are grown but rather a farm park were you can up close to various farm animals including chickens, sheep, goats, pigs and horses. There are also rabbits, guinea pigs, sheepdog puppys, budgies, llamas, rheas, red deer and that ever common farmyard animal the meerkat! www.rabbitfarm.co.uk/

Enjoy!