Haven Holidays - Devon Cliffs

Ivrytwr3

Hey all,

We've booked a week at Devon Cliffs, with Haven, (Super Luxury Gold caravan; ooooooh!!!) And was just wondering if anyone had any hints/tips/stories about the place as we've never been. 2 x adults 2 x children under 3.

Many thanks!!

acemoola

Not wishing to be too negative , but we had a horrendous time.
Make sure you don't get one of the caravans which is literally clinging to the hillside as you will need to absail down to the caravan - really not suitable for small kids or people with mobility problems.
We had to change caravans three times, they were all rubbish - masses of wallpaper hanging off the wall, no door on the oven, literally hardly any cooking equipment or crockery in the caravans and the duvets and bedding were damp. All the caravans are right on top of each other.
I have stayed in caravans, so I knew what makes a decent one and one which is just crap.
We complained and ended up leaving after one day with a full refund.
The site does has lots of facilities however, but there is a huge arcade that the kids will be sucked into. The restaurants were really dirty and you had to wait an age - we ended up having to go to a local chippy.
Maybe we just had bad luck. It was out only proper holiday last year and we were really fed up about it.
I'm sure you'll find that there are lots of people who had good experiences. Depends what you are after. It's noisy, brash. No good if you're used to centre parc or anything.

Ivrytwr3

Oh dear...........!!!!!!!!

black-saturn

I havn't got any new advice but I went there every single year when I was little and always had a wonderful time.

Ivrytwr3

bit better news lol!

sad_gills_fan

I'm the opposite .. stayed in a gold caravan last year for a long weekend, it was superb. Plenty of space, en suite toilet for those 3am waking moments and even a DVD player for those rainy afternoons.

One thing we always do when we go to Devon is visit the Donkey Sanctuary at Sidmouth. It's about a 40 min drive, it's free to get in (donations welcome) and you get to mill around with loads of donkeys. If donkeys are not your thing, the Sactuary also offers many walks around the Devon countryside, some taking you down the coastline, some inland. The maps are all free and each walk has plenty of benches dotted around in case you want to break. Not quite sure the longer ones will be for you though with small children in tow. In the paddock, the children can actually stroke some of the donkeys (normally about 4-6 in the paddock at any one time)

Top tip for Haven Devon Cliffs is to call the park direct now and ask them to assign your caravan. Explain that you don't want to be right on top of the entertainment block but you also don't want to be too far away as it is quite hilly there. We stayed in 47 or 46 Tamarisk Way and we were very very happy with the distances. When you phone, ask them if you can stay in TW (if you choose) then ask them which they think is the best spot within TW ... need a car space, not right next to any bins (may be smelly) and a view if possible. I don't know when you're going so they may not be able to assign your van now, but they can tell you that anyway.

Take a look here: https://www.devon-cliffs-haven.co.uk/devon-haven/Map.jpg
It will show you a map of all of the caravans .. you can judge where you think is best for you ... bear in mind that it doesn't show hills! Most of the areas over the right hand side are down a very steep hill (not good pushing buggies)!

The entertainment is ok .. Bugsy's (the main area) is now all non smoking which is lovely, especially for your children, but the bar where you can watch Sky TV and have basket meals is a smoking area and can get very smelly.

The routine for getting your keys is to park (always chocker so leave one to sit in the car with the children) .. you go to the entertainment block, down the ramp to the left once inside, follow the signs and at your allotted time (2pm for gold?) .. you can get your keys whilst holding a wry smile in for those people who can't get theirs until 4pm!!

Don't take loads of food with you as there's a massive Tesco only 5 mins away by car (out onto the main road, turn right .. you can't miss it).

You'll have a great time I'm sure. The Devon countryside and cream teas will be great at least!! Have fun.

saveapenny

We stayed there a couple of years ago but it was a friends caravan right on the edge of the camp...it took us about 10 minutes to walk to the main area but I think the Gold Van are in a better location...see if you can get hold of a map and choose your van if possibe, some are way out. There is a nice pub just outside the park that does a nice meal at night. Tesco's is about a 10-15 minute drive away DONT use the on site shop unless its urgent. Outdoor pool closes at 1pm till 2pm so if your comfy TOUGH ...Not sure if this was just because it was so busy or if this happend all the time. Take your drinks in at night they are very expensive but make sure you do a rekie and see what they sell first before nipping off to Tesco to buy it at a 1/3 the cost

Ivrytwr3

We stayed in 47 or 46 Tamarisk Way

This looks quite a distance from the beach. With 2 kids under 3 the beach will be a good day out for us, but how far is it from Tamarisk? Looking at the map Apple Grove looks about the best location, yes/no?

stov

We went last May. 2 kids under 6. Very quiet, wouldn't like to go in peak season. We had a top of the range caravan, it was excellent...very clean and all mod cons. Beach on site is clean, lots to do within 30 minutes. On site kids shows were superb (beware..you have to go through the amusement arcade to get to the show!!). Pool clean, good little supermarket.

tanith

Have been to Sandy Bay several times and loved it... it is noisy if you get put near to the club etc but thats the same anywhere , the beach is lovely and the grandkids really love the place especially rabbit watching in the evenings...
The swimming pools are great they have 3 outside but very warm pools and also an indoor one... there are some steep parts to the site but it added to our enjoyment as we are more an out doors family than one that spends all our time in the clubs or arcades..

Enjoy your visit...

sad_gills_fan

Being near the beach is good for the daytime .. just beware though that the hill is steep and to get to the entertaiment block, you'll need to take a rope, some crampons and a new set of lungs!

Seriously, if the beach is going to be your main thing for daytime (fingers crossed for the weather), then that end of the park will be fine and your view may be better too. The beach is reached by a steep slope (can't remember there being steps) and this is tiring on its own ... it's not called Devon CLIFFS for nothing!!

Some areas are for private caravans only so you may not get the vans with the best views. There is a small beach hut and shop down by the beach end of the site and they did quite nice chips down there!! yum yum.. chips and sand ..nothing like it!!

Have fun