A Family Holiday in Pembrokeshire (Bluestone) Part 1

Read on for our review of Bluestone Holiday Park and why we think it is the perfect location for a family holiday in Pembrokeshire.

Don't forget to check out Part 2.

A couple of weeks ago we were invited to stay at Bluestone for a week. To say we were excited is an understatement. We have been lucky enough to visit Bluestone before (read about that here) and we loved the place. I'm so sorry I think this is going to be a really long post so I have split it up into two parts, part two will be up tomorrow!

If you haven't heard of Bluestone before, it is a holiday resort in Pembrokeshire (a really really beautiful part of Wales). You can of course read all about it on their website. Accommodation there varies from little cottages to big lodges sleeping up to 14 people. It is the perfect place for families as the quality of the accommodation is really high and there is so much to do on site - you wouldn't get bored if you stayed there for a month!

Where do I start?! We arrived on Monday - check in is late - 4.30 but you can arrive earlier and use the facilities like the swimming pool and adventure centre. At busy times I'd recommend arriving early to beat the queues that can form on the drive in.

Check in is really easy, there is a drive through check in system where they will give you your key, a map and tell you anything you need to know. You are free then to drive to your lodge, unpack the car and then you have to return it to the main car park by midnight as Bluestone is a car free site.

We booked a golf buggy which you pick up from just near the car park. You definitely don't need a golf buggy as the resort is a nice size to walk around, it just makes travel that bit more convenient and meant we didn't need to take the pushchair everywhere. It was great in the rain too! There are charging points for the buggy all over Bluestone, we just charged ours up when we went swimming. If you think you will want a buggy I would definitely pre-book one as they were sold out when we picked ours up.

The lodges are really very well equipped and lovely and cosy. They have everything you need. You can read more about the lodge we stayed in here. You can pay extra I think to request a specific lodge if you want one. We also made a little video tour of ours if you want to see first hand what it was like.

On the first night we headed into the village for a bite to eat rather than cook as we had arrived late. I think other people had the same idea as we had to wait a little while for a table (you can pre-book). We ate in the Farmhouse Grill which was lovely. There is a great little play area for the children and the food arrived quickly and was really delicious. We paid about £30 for all 5 of us to eat there (the baby shared some of our food) and the kids had water to drink and the hubby had a beer so I think it was very reasonable. There are a couple of other places to eat in the Village of an evening - The Oak Tree Restaurant which looks a little more formal and the Knights Tafarn - more of a pub restaurant that has live music some nights. They all look great and I'd love to have tried them all one day!

While we waited for our table the kids played in the outside play area - the Treehouse. It is a huge play area for the children and  they all loved it so it has something for all ages (9, 5 and 1). Having such a great play area on site really is something we were looking for on a family holiday in Pembrokeshire. We saw bunny rabbits running around in the field too which was a real highlight. I think for me that is one of the special things about Bluestone - you are right in the middle of nature and you can really tell. You often see rabbits running around and you can always hear the birds singing in the trees. It gives it such a peaceful atmosphere.

On Tuesday we had a lovely breakfast in our lodge. We had ordered a click and collect food order from Asda in Pembroke Dock which we picked up on the way to Bluestone. This meant we were fully stocked for food for the week and didn't have to take it the whole way in the car with us. Bluestone do a grocery service where you can book groceries to be in your lodge when you arrive if you prefer and they do have a little shop in the village which sells most things, but do expect to pay a premium. Milk and cheese is available 24 hours from a vending machine in the village which is a nice touch!

After breakfast we thought we would explore the local area a bit so we headed into Narberth. It is a really pretty little town with some really gorgeous shops. We whiled away a couple of hours there looking at antiques and having coffee and cake. I also managed to pick up a swimming costume as stupidly I had forgotten to pack mine!

We spent the afternoon in the lodge, as Baby S needed a nap and I had some work deadlines. We paid to have the premium wifi service so that I could do some work and the girls could stream movies on the iPad. It was £20 for two devices so I used it on the laptop and iPad. It was an essential for us really as I couldn't have worked without it and it was nice that the girls could watch Netflix.

While Baby S was napping and I was working Daddy took the girls to the Adventure Centre. This is basically a big soft play place with soft play for all ages, Lego, arcade type games, mini golf and the Wildwood Cafe. He treated the girls to a slush puppy and they had a great couple of hours there playing mini golf and on the soft play.

 

We ate dinner in our lodge that evening. I love how the open plan space makes it really easy to chill as a family while you are cooking. The kitchen is really well equipped too and even has a dishwasher. It meant that I could cook spaghetti whilst still spending time with the children and I didn't even have to wash up afterwards!

I think that's a long enough post for now, come back tomorrow and read all about the second half of our week at Bluestone, or if you can't wait, watch our vlog below!

I'd like to say a massive thank you to Bluestone for providing us with complimentary accommodation for the purpose of this review. We couldn't rate the place highly enough and we think it was one of the best family holidays in Pembrokeshire.

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