Thank you to Bluestone for providing us with our accommodation free of charge for the purpose of this review.
A couple of weeks ago we spent a wonderful week in Bluestone, Pembrokeshire. We've visited a few times before, you can take a look at our previous posts here, here, here and here.
Because we knew what to expect from Bluestone we were so excited to be heading there for a week. We hadn't been since Little Boy was a baby so I was looking forward to seeing him explore the place and enjoy swimming in the pool.
We headed down after school on Monday, the traffic was non existent so we made really good time. We stopped in Tesco Haverfordwest to pick up our food order and headed straight to Bluestone. Check in is really quick and efficient, you just drive up to a check in window and are given your lodge key, a map and given directions on where to go.
As we arrived later in the day we headed straight to pick up our golf buggy which we had pre-hired. You don't 'need' one of these but it does make it easier to get around, the kids love them because it's a novelty and if it is raining you'll be really glad you got one!
We then found our lodge and as fate would have it, it was exactly the same one we had stayed in before! It was a Tenby Connect lodge and I actually filmed a little tour of it for my YouTube channel - you can watch it here. The lodges come really well equipped and we had a dishwasher, plenty of equipment for cooking which was good as we were planning on self catering rather than eating out. There is a decent sized fridge for the week and a small freezer. We had three bedrooms and two bathrooms and it felt like we had lots of space. I really like the open plan feel of the lodge because it's easy to keep an eye on the children while you are cooking and it makes it feel like you are spending lots of time together.
The only thing to bear in mind is that the wifi is sketchy at best. You can pay to upgrade but I just brought along our wifi dongle for working on the laptop and then it was nice for everyone to have a break from their devices while we were away anyway. The children played together outside and didn't miss the wifi at all. Bluestone is a car free site so it was lovely to let the children play outside without worrying about traffic.
One of the highlights of Bluestone for us is the swimming pool. The Blue Lagoon pool is amazing for the children and we went swimming three times while we were there. The changing rooms are really family friendly, there are two baby / toddler areas around the pool, there is a cafe and deckchairs to lie in and there are slides, waves and a lazy river too. It literally has something for everyone. Make sure that you take ยฃ1 coins for the lockers and read up on their rules on adult to child ratio because they are strict on it which is a good thing. They have inflatables out in the morning so get there early if your little ones like those. Bluestone residents get to use the pool exclusively from 9-12 so make the most of that, especially if it is the school holidays.
We also loved the Adventure Centre. We played crazy golf, the children played in the soft play and on the bouncy castle and on the arcade games and E went on the sky trail which she really enjoyed (costs extra). There is a cafe inside and lots of the activities run from here too. We didn't book onto any activities because we just wanted a more relaxing week but there is so much on offer. Make sure that you book any activities well in advance though as they do book up. You will be sent a link to book activities when you book your Bluestone break. You can also book any spa treatments. Next time I will try the spa!
On the Wednesday the weather was a little cloudy so we set off for a morning out to Narberth which is only about a 12 minute drive away. It's the cutest little market town with lots of nice cafes and independent shops to pop into. We browsed the shops, looked at antiques and stopped for a delicious lunch. We then headed back to Bluestone for some more swimming!
On Thursday morning, you guessed it, we went swimming again! It really is such a great pool! The weather was gorgeous so we then spent the afternoon walking around the lake and in the outside play area for the children. There were so many baby ducklings at the lake, it was a real highlight of our day!
We all treated ourselves to something from the coffee shop (they have dairy free milk and a vegan option for cakes) and were just so content and happy with life! There was also a great atmosphere here in the play area in the early evening with music playing and you could grab a drink from the Tafarn and sit outside in the sun while the children played.
On Friday we checked out by 10 and headed over to Tenby for the morning. Tenby is absolutely gorgeous, we wandered around the shops, had lunch with a stunning view and walked along the beach. It was the perfect end to the perfect week away.
Apart from when we ventured outside of Bluestone we mostly ate in our lodge - and outside too because the weather was gorgeous and we really made the most of the activities that were included in our stay like swimming and the Adventure Centre. I know that people think that Bluestone can be an expensive place to visit but you can really make it as expensive or as cheap as you like. I'm planning another post all about how to have a great time at Bluestone even if you are on a budget so keep an eye out for that!
We honestly had the best week at Bluestone, we absolutely love it there, the location is perfect, the accommodation really great quality and the activities are fabulous too. It has something for everyone and we managed to have a really relaxing break which was so lovely! If you haven't been before I highly recommend booking!
You can watch our week at Bluestone in this video on our YouTube channel now
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