Haven Holidays, Combe Haven Review

Overall Rating

Staff friendly
Entertainment good if Haven Staff not on stage

Cleanliness
Location
Pool

We read the reviews before going to this site thankfully so went armed with plenty of cleaning fluids and our own bedding which was fortunate because the caravan had been cleaned but they appeared to have forgotten to clean the fridge which was full of large crumbs of food. The smell from the cleaning products was rank. It wasn't a clean smell whatever it was so take air freshener with you! There was what appeared to be blood on a duvet and the pillows were insubstantial and felt slightly grubby, even our six-year-old daughter refused to use the pillows complaining that they smelled too bad. We had taken ready beds for the kids and a sleeping bag for ourselves which we used and had comfortable nights sleep!

The location of the complex is bizarre. Our caravan wasn't close enough to the neighbouring landfill to find it too distracting; it was however easily apparent as you stood at the top of the hill outside the main area and gave a lovely view of tractors surrounded by flocks of seagulls. Otherwise the resort was surrounded by non-descript housing estates and no sea in sight at all. We had read 'easy beach access 'on the website but hadn't hovered our mouse across to read 'the nearest beach is Hastings about five miles away'.

Parking is away from the caravans so it's tricky to unpack and pack, especially with the hilly terrain. It's often hard to park anywhere near your caravan. On the positive side though it does mean that children are a little safer outside the caravans than in places where cars have more access.

The children were desperate to use the pool and after reading the reviews we were prepared to queue. We arrived before ten but the queue was already over the forty minute wait mark. We realised halfway through the queue that it was for the indoor pool only and you could bypass the queue if you wanted to get to the outdoor pool. We had the fortune of one pleasant day so we reluctantly turned our back on the pool with the big slide, which the children had been desperate to go on. It was nice outside but we found out later that the pool was weather dependent so with more cloud cover the next day it wasn't open. Once you were inside you were fully enclosed by fencing with no refreshments accessible. There were lifeguards keeping things in control although when my husband tried to take a photograph of the children the political correctness police descended and said that no photographs were allowed. The staff had been very friendly to this point but this attendant was fierce and there was no signage stating that photography wasn't allowed.

The adventure playground is great for children aged five upwards but for those with a family of toddlers and older children prepare for tears from frustrated, restrained toddlers. The toddlers were desperate to join their elder siblings on the equipment but they had a few springy seats and a token effort of a small slide while the older children had an amazing creation with large slides and high walkways. Brilliant for older children but a complete no-go for toddlers. We only realised at the end of our holiday that there was another building with a soft play area inside. It wasn't at all obvious because you had to read and cross-reference the symbols to find out what was there. We felt disappointed that we hadn't known that from the outset because it may have been better for our young tribe. This building is away from the main complex so we hadn't spotted it and there wasn't any obvious signage for it.

The evening entertainment venue was very good. The room felt comfortable despite the usual mass of bodies. Even at the most crowded time we managed to find spaces for ourselves and five children. The first night entertainment was the what I describe as the usual annoying Haven Holiday one. There was the ticket buying for 'forty pounds worth of goodies' where the audience buy tickets for one single ticket to be won and a stack of stuff from their gift shop to be shoved into someone's arms. There was the 'magic parade' where they get the kids to follow characters around the room and then to sit with them for photographs which you then, of course, have to buy. You can take your own photographs but clued up kids want the fridge magnet, keyring or large picture on offer and it's hard to get them out of that queue to sit with the characters. It's hard for the adults not to give in when you've watched your kid beaming so happily beside those characters. The Haven staff should be banned from the stage I think. When they are doing their DJ routine it's dreadful. The dancing is no better. The only plus side to that is that a few youngsters get to go on stage but there should be more kids on stage and less attempts to be funny by the Haven staff. The upside is that when the Haven staff hand over the stage to professionals it can be really good. We watched their Russian circus there on the Sunday night and it was brilliant and a wonderful entertainment for any age. They had it completely right.

The staff were in the main very helpful and cheerful and answered all questions with a smile. After we had arrived and cleaned the caravan a representative knocked on the door to check everything was okay which was surprising and a nice touch. There were security guards on the gates and on the doors to the arcade. When the electricity went off in our caravan when a gadget fused the handyman was round within ten minutes and sorted it out. It's a shame that the next day the eleven-hour site powercut couldn't have been sorted out as quickly. We had a fridge of ruined food. Haven kindly included a letter in our exit pack to inform us this was an EDF fault.

Would we recommend this site? No. I think the cleanliness still needs work and there has to be a better solution to the pool. I think less caravan owner swimming time and more time for the general holiday maker would be a start. I feel the location is simply not attractive.