Description: Me and my friend decided to get away for a short break for the first week of the Easter holidays with two twelve year olds and settled on Blackpool as our destination. After searching the web for accommodation in the area we decided to go for Marton Mere holiday resort. Based on the outskirts of Blackpool it looked like a good base for us to explore the area and we were hoping that the kids would enjoy the onsite facilities too.
Most people book directly with Haven holidays and get an all inclusive deal for accommodation with entertainment passes, this would have cost £300+ for the week in April 2009 that we wanted to stay. Another option is to hire a caravan directly from a private owner on the site, this was the option my sister took last summer so we knew that the landlord was one we could trust and we got an 8 berth caravan for just £150 for 5 nights.
The caravan itself was basic but clean and comfortable. The living room and kitchen were one open plan space; we had a bathroom and second toilet and three bedrooms. I know when you book directly with Haven you need to pay extra to have bedding provided but we arrived to find our beds fully made up. Me and my friend tossed a coin to see who would get the double bedroom and I was the lucky winner. There was barely enough room to walk around the bed but I slept like a log and had adequate space in the wardrobe for all of my clothes. The single bedrooms each had twin beds with a tiny space between them. The beds were an odd coffin type shape with the foot of the bed being thinner than the head but comfortable enough for a few nights.
One of the reasons we chose to stay in a caravan as opposed to a bed and breakfast or hotel was the fact that my daughter needs to eat a special diet and my friend is vegetarian so eating out together can be a bit of a nightmare. The kitchen came equipped with a small fridge freezer, a full sized gas cooker and everything else we needed to cook and eat our meals and prepare packed lunches during our stay. The onsite shop sold a limited range of mainly convenience food but a quick trip to Asda got us everything we needed to feed ourselves for a few days. Self catering can really keep the costs down for a group of people and I also felt better knowing we were eating decent healthy meals. The living room had a dining table and a couple of stools so we had enough space to sit together during meals. We were also lucky enough to have a barbeque and picnic tables with our caravan but it was never hot enough to use them.
The caravan had central heating and hot water when we wanted it. The rooms were small but adequate. The shower cubicle was tiny but with a better flow than my shower at home. The only real gripe about the caravan was the lack of soundproofing. The walls are paper thin and I could hear every giggle and snore from the girls bedroom next door and the noise also travelled outside the caravan much to the girls disgust when they realised I could hear their conversations when I was sitting outside in the evening.
It would have cost us £17 for an adult or £9 per child to buy entertainment passes for our stay. A day pass could also be bought for £5 and the receptionist advised us that if we bought it in the morning it would have been valid until 6pm the following night. The entertainment complex houses a swimming pool, eating areas, play park, kids clubs and nightly entertainment. We decided that it was not worth buying the passes but the bouncers let us into the complex anyway. To get to the bars you need to pass through the massive money hungry amusement arcades. The Haven mascot is some kind of giant tiger and there are nightly shows featuring him and his buddies. The kids clubs are aimed at kids under 11 so people with kids in this age group might appreciate the passes but we went out during the day and watched DVDs and played games at night.
The park itself is set on a nature reserve and we really enjoyed going for a walk around the lake and stopping and watching the birds from one of the hides. It really is a beautiful area and not what you would expect to find on a Haven resort. Instead of the seagulls whose population ran amok at Craig Tara* there were geese and ducks and other rare birds soaring over the park. I really enjoyed my midnight cigarette sitting outside accompanied by the noises of the geese and during the night baby bunnies ran around too.
Overall, we really enjoyed our time at Marton Mere. Personally, I’m not a fan of the Haven entertainment but with the parks proximity to Blackpool and all the main attractions being a short drive away it was a good place for us to stay. The park itself was clean, pleasant and well maintained and had a laid back family feel to it. Although we didn’t use Haven directly when we interacted with the staff they were polite and friendly. We were lucky and had really nice weather during our stay and after our days out it was nice to come back to the caravan and cook a meal and relax. When you stay on a Haven Park, you know it’s not the most sophisticated place on earth but it’s a great place for a family break.
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