Wales, Bluestone (Activity Holiday) Review

Overall Rating

Great food, great staff and service, high quality accommodation

As early middle-aged DINKs we had always felt slightly out of place at Centre Parcs, feeling that the addition of 2.4 children to our Volvo would have made us much more of the right demographic. However after 5 consecutive visits and it ' s increasing commercialisation, not to mention the cost, Sarah and I decided on a change. So after just a three and a half hour drive from Oxfordshire, we were at Bluestone in central Pembrokeshire.

A genuinely friendly greeting from the arrivals lodge staff and a really swift booking in process, followed by and excellent ploughman ' s lunch at the Tafarn helped us to settle in really quickly. These were omens of the great things to come during our weeks stay
I had booked a one bedroom cottage which was located on the edge of The Village. This accommodation was excellent, with high quality fixtures and fittings and more space than the average new build starter home. The only problem was the lack of a mirror next to the dressing table in the bedroom. We did mention it to the guest relations office who within a matter of hours had a beautiful oak framed mirror screwed to our bedroom wall. Great service, but this was NOT the exception, this was the rule.

The food in all the restaurants was outstanding! High quality ingredients, locally sourced, and freshly cooked. We couldn ' t find fault. Bluestone has managed to provide food of a standard that would put some fine dining restaurants to shame and at a significantly reduced price.

I know what you are thinking; this is too good to be true. What about the downsides? During our visit, we really only found one and this is being picky. Our cottage was just on the main roadway in and out of the park. This meant that all the service vehicles, shuttle buses etc, passed our front door. Don ' t get me wrong, it ' s not the M1, but the use of electric vehicles instead of diesel would have improved this no end. I won ' t mention the 80 or so Harry Potter film crew who were staying on site while shooting on location. Suffice to say that some of them had forgotten that this was a holiday park and not a Holiday Inn. It did make the Tafarn a little intimidating and noisy late at night.

In summary Sarah and I loved our time at Bluestone. We have never been anywhere that has had such high quality staff who would go above and beyond to make you feel so welcome. The park was quiet and welcoming of families and couples alike. Would we go again? We ' ve booked another week in the same cottage in September..