Earlier this month we visited Hoburne Torbay as our £9.50 Sun Holiday.
We had wanted to go in the first part of the Easter Holidays so this Monday-Friday break meant we actually left on Good Friday. The reason we decided on this location was to visit Splashdown @ Quaywest – which is an AMAZING waterpark – but unfortunately this was only open on the Friday and it had been raining all week and was very cold.
The first thing that struck me about this holiday park was actually before we had even finished paying for it. I had included my 2 preschoolers on the Sun form to make sure there were enough beds (and well it is the honest thing to do), so was pretty disappointed to find that 2 of my children would have to share a bed unless I was willing to pay another £30 for an upgrade!!
There was a cot that could be put up but this attached over one of the beds (as above).
The initial letter was very negative – saying how there would be 3 steps up to the accommodation and if that was a problem it seemed pretty tough. I was really beginning to regret not just booking Devon Cliffs again.
Once we arrived the staff were very pleasant. And we had a few freebies waiting for us that made our arrival more pleasant.
The caravan was a lot smaller than I’d have thought – but again we did have the option to pay to upgrade before we left. We had brought our own bedding to keep costs down and an inflatable bed for the child who was bedless – but really there wasn’t any room to put it. We were very lucky in that they had good waterproof sheets on the bed. However the laundrette cost £3.20 (I am sure it was but don’t quote me) for a wash – so we hand washed in the shower.
It was frightfully cold with only a bathroom heater, a fire in the living room – which had to be off at night because of the way the bed pulled out and the safety of our youngest. and one in the main bedroom which turned itself off after 6 hours in order to save energy.
I was impressed with the fact that they had recycling facilities but they weren’t as easy to access as the landfill bins. Again they provided bin bags which didn’t fit the oversized bins. Also they had tips on how to save energy inside the caravan.
The entertainment wasn’t as well publicised as what I’m used to at the bigger camps – and it was just a few notes on a board by reception. The pool did have a slide and some things that shot up – but nothing special. However in saying that there was a free sauna and steam room. There was an outdoor pool but this wasn’t open but it did say they would open it on request. There is a local leisure centre right by the campsite too if you do opt not to buy passes. The surrounding area had plenty to entertain in any weather – steam trains, zoo,, beach, park to name a few.
The softplay was over-subscribed with a lady telling those over the height restriction to get out – this was out of season so I hate to think of it in season. I personally didn’t like all the machines with big guns (shot em up games I imagine) that we had to walk past to get to the soft play either.
Around the park there were a lot of information boards about the surrounding nature.
For me I think that we would visit the site again when it’s warmer just because Quaywest is in walking distance – but not buy the entertainment passes. It was a friendly camp but apart from its location I don’t feel it had much to offer when compared to larger camps. It did feel less pushy commercially with less arcade machines etc. Also there was a good park and you didn’t have to go through the arcade to reach the pool and club.
This is not a sponsored post.