The location was lovely but really outdated. The accommodation I stayed in was full of spiders and cobwebs in most of the rooms. The newly fitted bathroom was not fitted properly the toilet wobble and no coving around the pipes. the heaters was almost falling off the wall. No wi fi connection in the accommodationb i had to go up to the main reception. The swimming pool area very shabby. The woodland area was lovely the staff was lovely.

My husband and I (plus dog) have been going to John Fowlers in St. Ives for the last seven years. We take the same route each time and as we turn into the driveway we both say 'home again'. To all who have complained about the smell of damp, the insects found on arrival, the less than perfect paintwork inside and the small bathrooms I would say; for goodness sake people, you're staying in a wooden structure ... in the middle of a wood! What did you expect, the Hilton. It's the closest thing to camping without having canvas over your head, and we just love it.

We have just come back from st ives John folwer,our party was four adults and two children. We had a budget woodland chalet,this was nice well equipet and clean ,only complaint was the bath was extreamly small !!! The whole site is attractive and peacefull. Pool was ok however there are no lockers or changing rooms. The entertainment team work EXTREAMLY HARD to keep every one happy. Close to st ives and not too far away from Hayle. We will be returning thankyou to all the staff who made our stay a pleasent one.

John Fowler Holiday Village St. Ives provides a good economy holiday. The Chalet was clean and newly painted and had all the necessary equipment needed. It is a woodland park and has lots of wildlife to watch.
The Manager and staff were helpful and friendly. The pool was lovely and warm and there was a life guard on duty at all times. Unfortunately the Sauna and flume were not available to use and there are no lockers for belongings.
The club was friendly with enthusiastic entertainment staff, raffles and games, even though we went in the low season.
The shop stocks an adequate range of products and has good opening hours.
The only fault with the chalet was that the windows did not shut properly.

Reading this site a week before we were due to go I decided not to show my wife the negative reviews and had my heart in my mouth as i pulled into the village. I was hoping our only holiday this year wouldn't be as bad as what I had read. My advice to people going is to ignore most of these reviews as we had an excellent time! My wife is a bit of a clean freak and the rooms were clean enough for her so I was happy. Everything under one roof, to cook full english's, chillis, currys and not to mention the beautiful pasties you can buy in hayle and take back to freeze or cook, yum! Our 4 kids had a great time, from our 2 year old who loved kids club at 6:30 to our eldest 14 who was happy enough to make friends and play in the the arcade. Swimming pool was clean, club house was great, evening bingo was good as adults could play for money and kids for prizes. Staff were good. There are a few points which i think could be improved. Main shop was very empty, ok if you need bread milk and a paper. The park was too grown up for our 2 year old, no small swings. The only way you can get into the pool as a spectator is though an old style footwell of water, which means no access to disabled or pushchair access. All in all if you want a nice holiday in a beautiful part of the uk, not pay over the odds and your not expecting 5*, john fowler is the place for you!

We've stayed at St Ives Holiday Village twice so far this year (we've booked again for the October half term) and our Trevacroft accomodation was fine, clean, dry and warm.

The bathrooms were a little small but were clean and smelled fresh. The hot water did take a little while to come through but there was plenty of it.

The kitchen in the Trevacroft Chalets we stayed in was well equipped and clean, there was a lovely new flat screen DVD TV combo to watch in the living area although reception could have been better we didn't go on holiday to sit in front of the telly in a beautiful place like St Ives anyway. There was a selection of DVDs, books and childrens games to entertain ourselves with if we'd decided to stay in for the day.

The pool is great fun, warm and clean.

Entertainment is great for the kids, not so good for the adults but I am fussy, our two kids loved it and keep pretending to be Sam and Steve. Food is pretty basic in the 'restaurant' but there are plenty of other places to eat, the pub at the bottom of the hill is very good and if you want to venture further there is fantastic food to be had in Cornwall. (I highly recommend Cornish Kebabs near Mullion if you want a really good kebab but watch out for the chilli sauce, it burns)

Yes, some of the chalets look like they are from the 70s but they are clearly marked in the brochure as needing renovation and are sold as budget at a very low price.

4 stars because nothing is perfect.

returned last saturday from a weeks stay at j f st ives. after reading other reviews was quite worried but we decided to give it a try myself my partner and three children,while we were collecting our keys a few people were complaining but we were tired after a 300 mile drive we just wanted to unload the car and settle in we found our chalet which was cleanand cosy which was a relief,bathroom small but adequate although as the week went by we did notice the bed getting a bit musty pool was open 10.00-1.00 and 3.00-6.00 bar open all day entertainment 4 kids 10.00-11.00am and 6-7and 8-9pm site shop a little bit dearer than your local spar but handy if u were desperate.bar food served from 6.00pm daily.kids entertainment was good for the kids but drove us mad to be honest. it is about 20 mins drive into st ives or carbis bay both of which are absolutely stunning it is a good central base if u have a car to explore newquay perranporth and even lands end we had a great time and are goin back to cornwall next summer as for jf just think camping but with more home comforts. oh yes a big tip take your own duvets kettle toaster and kitchen utensils and even buy your essentials before u go i.e toilet rolls milk bread bacon and eggs for brekkie lol at ur local asda or tesco and take them with u !!!

After reading the reviews we were very worried about our holiday to St Ives John Fowlers.

We expected the worst, but it wasn't that bad.

If you are expecting the standards of a hotel then i suppose you will be disappointed. If you are comparing the stay to a campsite then you will be pleased.

The chalet was rustic and there were a few mould areas on the outside of the front door but that was it. The rooms were clean, painted and the furniture was ample.

It was very warm and musty when we first got to the chalet, but we put this down to the emersion heater being turned on in advance so we had hot water.

OK this wasn't a top quality villa, but for the price we paid i thought it was very good value.

The entertainment was good, the children loved it and the drinks / food was reasonably priced.

The main negative for me was that we only had a bath and no shower, not even a shower hose we could fit to the taps. They tried to charge to rent this tube, but we made do for 4 nights.

The indoor swimming pool was OK, nothing special but again the children loved it.

We would go again for short break in the summer, it's much much better than camping in a tent!

Have just returned from a 4 night stay at JF in St Ives. After reading through some of the reviews, my partner and I were really worried, so upgraded to a woodland gold chalet. On arrival the grounds were lovely, the check-in was smooth and the staff very pleasant. The chalet was very spacious, clean and warm. The pool was lovely (although the slide and sauna wernt working)and there was a shallow pool suitable for the children to play in. We didnt eat at the resturant or use the shop (tesco not far) so couldnt comment on either. The evening entetainment was great and our children (4 and 6) loved the foxy shows and bingo (childrens bingo as well). Overall, went with poor expectations, but had a thoroughly brillant time. Would recommend it to others, and wouldnt hesitate to go again!

Just got back from a 4 day break at JF's in St Ives and i was impressed with the place. I was realy worried about going there after reading some of the reviews on this site. We've stayed at Pontins at Brean Sands and Butlins at Minehead over the past few years as we have 2 small kids. The accomodation at St Ives was better than either Pontins or Butlins. Butlins of course offers much more entertainment but all we wanted was a few days on the beach (Carbis Bay is beautiful but get there early as the parking is limited) and some basic entertainment for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening and that's what we got.

Checked in very quickly at 4.30pm on Monday afternon. We booked the Forest Gold Chalet and it was clean, quiet and comfortable. Analogue TV worked ok but the signal is poor so the kids digital channels didn't work - bring a few DVDs to keep them entertained.

One big advantage over Butlins and Pontins is that you can park your car right outside your chalet - great for unpacking and packing.

Had 1 meal in the restaurant which was a bit pricy but was served quickly and was very tasty.

The shop has the basics but Tescos is only 5 mins drive away.

Just returned from a week in St Ives Holiday Village 10 of us in total three chalets between us and not one complaint, beds were comfortable everything was clean, ok things are a bit worn but for what we paid I certainly had no complaints showers worked perfectly no mould in bathroom overall not bad at all. Set in woodland lovely and peaceful no noisy neighbours each chalet detached, if you did need anything extra staff were only too willing to help you, they were all lovely from the guy who works in the laundry to the reception staff and the bar staff. Bus service from the Park takes you to most places. Went swimming a few times pool could have been a bit warmer, didn't use the restaurant so cannot comment on that, Will be going John Fowler again next year as we have done the last four years.

we have just come back from a weeks stay at this park...and we had a lovely time!!
before we went i read alot of the reviews on this page and panicked even said to my hubby should we cancel??he however managed to talk me out of it so we went with open minds and im so glad we did,we booked into our oakleigh bungalow an hour early(with no probs)infact the people that checked us in couldnt have been nicer!we went to our bungalow/chalet and it was very clean and tidy smelt a little bit musty but once we opened the windows it soon went and as my hubby pointed out its only really just the start of the season so they havent been used much!.

the only complaint that i have was the evenings entertainment...it was awful tho the young girl doing it was clearly trying to do her best but i think more training on how to deal with kiddies would be advisible!!

in complete contrast to some of the reviews i can not praise the staff enough in reception,my little girl was poorly whilst we were there and when i went to reception to ask for a number for a doc...they rang them for me,gave me directions and followed up to see how she was(could anyone ask for more??) In addition, we required some extra bedding for the sofa bed, we asked at reception and were immediately provided with the bed linen pack, no delay or messing around. We also needed a high chair for our youngest, we asked and less than ten mins later, the high chair was delivered to our bungalow.

i think if you are due to go to this park go with an open mind and dont let some negative comments put you off!!

THIS HOLIDAY AT JOHN FOWLER ST.IVES VILLAGE WAS DEFINATLY VALUE FOR MONEY THE ONLY THING I WOULD ADVISE ANYONE STAYING HERE WOULD BE TO HAVE YOUR OWN TRANSPORT TO HELP EXPLORE AREAS AROUND CORNWALL,THE ONLY THING I FELT LET THE SITE DOWN WAS THE NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT WHICH SEEMED TO CONSIST OF THE STAFF TRYING TO DO THERE BEST BUT MAYBE NEEDED SOME MORE EXPERIENCED SINGERS,COMDIENS ETC...THEN MAYBE WE WOULD NOT HAVE TO HAVE TRAVELLED OUT TO PENZANCE SO MUCH FOR THIS PART OF THE HOLIDAY BUT OVERALL THE ACCOMODATION I CANNOT COMPLAIN ABOUT IT WAS CLEAN AND TIDY ON OUR ARRIVAL .WE STAYED IN THE 8-10 BIRTH COPSELAND CHALET.

Considering the general negative reviews before going were frightened.We had just back from St Ives holiday and found it to be good enough. If your objective is 'Value for money' and want to see surrounding area (instead of sitting inside the Chalet whole time) then this is the place for you.Our Chalet (on 50% discount) was absolutely clean.Entertainment is not so good.Foxy show is talkative and foxy is trying to afraid kids in the show.Electricity has blown away for few hours because of people overusing the Elec. heater. But still I would recommend for short stay and want to live with nature.

On visiting St. Ives Holiday Village i realised we had got lucky and had a good chalet (274) it was clean and well equipped and from the information inside it belonged to a private individual that let it out through john fowler (and also privately which i would do next time cheaper!!)
it was very cosy and had the added advantage of having lots of videos (over 40 ) which kept the kids happy when it rained it was well placed for the beaches and attractions the park itself was ok swimming pool/bar etc but the accommodation was excellent