Devon Valley Holiday village is in Teignmouth Devon (TQ14 0EY). We went to Devon Valley Holiday park as a family of 6 over the May Bank Holiday weekend on a £9.50 Sun Holiday. Over the £9.50 per person it cost an extra £3 per person for entertainment passes (which were worth it for the 5 of us but my oldest son didn’t use any of it), and £18.75 service charge. This is clearer on the website now, but when we went it said it was that cost if you had a caravan, and a different charge for chalets (we didn’t know which we had until we arrived and they wanted the money there and then).
We really could not fault our accommodation, which had its own allocated parking opposite. We had a massive three bedroom caravan right next to the facilities. In fact it wasn’t that warm but we were so close to the swimming pool that we went there and back in our swimming costumes. It had plenty of storage space for clothes and other things, including a coat/shoe cupboard by the door. There was a good-sized fridge-freezer, a microwave, a kettle, casserole dish, jugs, saucepans, frying pan, colander, toaster, and the usual cutlery. It was all very clean and tidy.
We had selected the park as I wanted to try a different campsite within easy reach of Splashdown at Quaywest. Our love of swimming and pools is pretty big – so we were disappointed to find that the on site pool was only small, without any fun features. The children’s daytime entertainment wasn’t huge. There was a choice of some craft activities or playing on computer games (and only one computer so all the children had to take it in turns). There was the odd competition thrown in and the staff were very friendly. I was disappointed in that my 6 year old went to play in a football competition and because the numbers were so low they got some older lads on the pitch to join in. As the competition was for a holiday they picked one of those older boys as the winner, despite the fact that he hadn’t entered the competition AND said he did not want the prize. For me this wasn’t about a holiday during school time that we would have never taken, it was about a six year old boy who had tried really hard (and I am not just saying that because it was my son) who did not even get so much as a “runner up” certificate. This game of football also clashed with an activity for our older son which was in the swimming pool – therefore he needed an adult to supervise. Not really a problem for us but would have been for a single parent. There was also a small playground area to keep the children amused.
The evening entertainment was not bad for a small camp and the children really enjoyed themselves. One of the benefits of the site was that it wasn’t too busy, this meant that we did not have to get there early to get a seat. Dependent on your accommodation you were either a Zig or a Zag, you could then buy a hat and see how could get the most signatures with the magic pen. I was pleased to find that these only cost £2.50 each, not at all bad for a sun hat. I was also really impress with the child level soap dispenser in the club toilets. The smallness also meant that the children had a good chance of being selected to take part. I was very proud of My Sensory Seeker for his part, and being able to count to 4, not entirely sure how I feel about her reaction to him but guess he doesn’t look like his additional needs.
Overall I think this was a good camp if you want a base, or something small. Obviously it was extremely good value for money but wouldn’t be our first choice of parks in Devon.Devon Valley was a bit of a let-down for us as I had seen two friends saying about how amazing it was before I went. I guess it really goes to show that you have to think about what is important in a holiday for you before you go somewhere.
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I am sorry that it wasn’t all you hoped for. We are thinking about trying one of these holidays x
We did a Sun holiday a few years back, staying in Dorset – we had to pay a few bob on top for passes, bed linen etc, and the park wasn’t all that much – but we tend to travel out every day, so for us it’s a base. There are some fab holiday camps out there, I know we’ve stayed in a few over the years, so it was a shame that this didn’t live up to your expectations – and the football thing is just well off – I would not be happy about that either. xx
You do need to think about what is important to you – and also what you make sense budget wise. I’m going on a caravan holiday next week – will let you know how it goes!
Shame about the football .
I ‘ve never done the sun offer but I am thinking about it.
Sorry it was a bit disappointing but I guess it would suit some people. Certainly a holiday on a budget!
I really hope they read your review and make the a few improvements, it doesn’t sound like they need to do all that much! Love the British seaside pic, made me homesick! 🙂
Sorry it wasnt as good as hoped, but at least you got away for a few days without spending too much 🙂
I havn’t done a sun holiday for some time now as I always found I felt a bit let down by them. You are right to realy consider what is most important to yoru family and not others. Mich x
Thank you for such an honest review Joy – obviously the holiday was good value, but it’s still so important to sure the positives and negatives with people so they can make an informed decision about where they go.
I have never done this offer but always thought it was a bit of a con and cost a lot more when you added on all the extras. Looks like I was wrong!
Great, well rounded review. It looks like as a base for travelling further its an ideal option, especially for those on a budget. With regard to the activities, they need to evaluate what they are doing and what is working, the football comp seemed a little bit unfair!
All in all, I would consider this as a chance for a holiday with a limited budget.
Like Tanya I just assumed that you ended up paying lots more in different ways – seems I was wrong too!
I haven’t been on any sun holidays before but there is always mixed reviews. It sounds like the accommodation was nice and at least there was some form of entertainment during the day and night. I guess everyone has different expectations when it comes to places. Shame about the football match as the older boys will naturally be better than the little ones, seems a little unfair that a boy who never entered the comp ended up winning.
Thank you for a very good review .x
We have never been on a sun holiday, but we have been to loads of caravan holidays and we love them
So nice to see a truly honest review highlighting both the positives and the negatives. Sorry it wasn’t what you hoped for, though.
I haven’t been on a £9.5o Sun holiday for years, they have certainly changed since I last booked one. I know a couple of people that have been caught out by the service charge and I hope that both The Sun and the resorts highlight this better so that families know the true cost of the holiday.
this all sounds very interesting and might try it next year.
I’ve never done the Sun offer before. Thanks for an honest review. We tend to use our caravan or holiday home as a base to explore the area from, but sometimes you do just want some extra things for the kids to do to.
Ooh I managed to book one of these after you posted last time – we had a fab weekend away.
Thanks so much x x
Sorry it was not everything you had wanted. I have been wanting to book a sun holiday, its great to see a post which focuses on the positives and negatives.
We’ve been looking to do one of the sun holidays next Year so very useful to see a blanaced review of one – thank you. Let’s hope they iron some of the niggly issues out!