Fun for the little 'uns (Blue Dolphin Holiday Park)

Member Name: juicy_lucy

Product:	Blue Dolphin Holiday Park
Date:	19/06/08 (272 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: lots of activities

Disadvantages: Some parts look a bit "tored"

Dolphin Park

The power of advertising! Little Miss had seen Haven holidays advertised on numerous occasions and was desperate to experience it for herself. So, when the vouchers in the newspaper once again became available, it seemed churlish not to collect them and let her experience it all.
We had to chose 5 dates and 5 parks and within a few weeks, were allocated Dolphin Park. We chose the Scarborough area because we knew we would be travelling down there after work and wanted somewhere close enough so that the journey wasn't arduous but far enough away so that she felt as though she was off on some adventure.

HOLIDAY PARK DETAILS
Blue Dolphin Holiday park
Gristhorpe Bay
Filey
North Yorkshire. YO14 9PU
Telephone: 0871 231 0893

FINDING THE PARK
We went armed with the usual aa route finder directions, which proved easy to follow, and after a very picturesque journey (thankfully the sun was shining) we got close to the park and from then it was easy because when the directions started to get tricky and we were getting fractious, the park was sign posted.
The park itself is quite ideally located between scarborough 9about 25 minutes away) and Whitby (about 40 minutes from the park), so there was always plenty of potential for some day tripping.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Having never experienced this kind of holiday we had no idea what to expect but as we drove through the large gates, we were pleasantly surprised. The road was nice and wide, things looked clean and tidy and everything was well sign posted. We drove to the admission hut and once we had shown our booking form, we were quickly given our key, and park information, the route to our designated caravan was explained and off we went.
The number of caravans made it quite tricky at first but once we realised that all the areas were named and numbered, finding ours was a doddle!

THE CARAVAN
Home for the weekend. The caravan itself was in a little cluster of about 8 caravans, and what wa snice about it was that they weren't all in rows but rather in some pattern involving a diagonal setting of the caravans. The roads led up to each caravan and right next to the caravan was a concrete parking space for the car- no worries then should it rain (which it actaully did!)
Two doors led into the caravan, but we chose the one which was obviously the front door, and stepped inside, to find a sitting room with a large sofa, wall cupboards, a table with chairs and a fire. The kitchen was to the back of this area and was well kitted out with units, oven and gas hob, fridge, cd player, crockery, cutlery, glasses etc. All very good so far- the only thing was why did they have a cream carpet?!
Inside the caravan were three bedrooms, so it must sleep 6 people, so since there were only three of us, we had plenty of choice, The double room had a double bed with duvet, pillowcases and although we had the option of hiring bed linen, we did actually take all of our own. A built in wardrobe and small unit completed the room, and left just enough room to walk around the bed. The two small rooms were indeed small- definitely child size, with two kind of bunks, one at each side of the tiny room. Himself said that there would be a board to join the two bits together and make the whole area into one whole bed but we didn't try it. With the wall units quickly conatining her things Little Miss was soon delighted with the tiny room she chose for herself and declared it "very cosy"

A toilet and shower room completed the caravan- all clean and functional although the water wasn't very fast flowing.

ACTIVITIES

This is where the real excitement and memories of the adverts started, when we made our way to the main area for the night time entertainment. Once entertainment passes were shown, we were free to enter the huge amusement arcade- every kind of gambling machine imaginable, with a warning- ear plugs not obligatory but definitely recommended. Everyone was having a great time spending their money, and inside the main cabaret/show area, the excitement seemed to continue. Lots of enthusiastic staff selling flashing bunny ears and ties, a shop selling tat, large bar, lots and lots of tables and chairs, spray tattoo people, and a nail bar. Add to all of this everyone having a good time and it was infectious. The disco was loud but lively and very child orientated, with there being on different nights things such as bingo, singers, disco dancing dad competition etc. All exactly as I imagined it to be. Again, what was really nice was the enthusiasm of the staff, and the child friendly atmosphere, whereby no one felt that the children had to be hidden away and off to bed; this place is for the children!
During the day we had a go (for a small fee) on the synthetic ice rink- a small area of what looks like white tiles. This is really difficult to skate on but the man in charge was constantly on the look out for people falling over and was on hand for advice and a friendly arm to hang on to.
The swimming pools (indoor and outdoor) were open- fantastic! The indoor pool featured a big curving slide, lots of pools and at the side, tables and chairs for people not wanting to swim. Although the water was cold, the changing areas were close by, so towels were close at hand, and anyway, given that the door to the outside area was permanently open, the water would have soon gone cold. General swimming in the pool is included in the entertainment pass, and for extra charge, there are things like Aqua gliders ( amust for anyone wanting to try out motorised inflatables), surf Rider, Water Tots.
Inside the big sports hall, there was roller blading with roller discos in the afternoon. When we were there the place was practically empty but anyone wanting to test out their roller blading or skate boardding skills could whizz round the room and try out the ramps
At an extra cost, fencing, archery and football coaching could be booked. All the information about these activities is clearly written in the welcome booklet. We didn't try these out but they seemed to be well organised. Also available are activities like tag rugby, boating, basketball, badminton, table tennis, and mini golf. There is also a large gym with lots of equipment and when we were there it was totally empty. For anyone interested, it could be a bargain at £15 a month for membership! Inside the gym, there is interenet access at £4 an hour, and laptops can be hired.

RESTAURANTS
Although we didn't eat on site there are several restaurants, mainly fast food, and including Burger King, a Fish and Chip restaurant, Alpine Sports Bar and Smugglers Restaurant. The restaurants are centrally located and there didn't seem to be any quesues anywhere which is good news for anyone needing food fast.

VERDICT

We had booked for a three night stay but because of work on Monday, we stayed for only two nights and left the park on Sunday evening.
The park is set out over a large area and thankfully the caravans aren't too much "on top of each other" although I did find it quite disconcerting opening the curtains and seeing into someone elses living room. The caravan was clean and well equipped although there were small things I could grumble about, like no lock on the bathroom door, but that was ok for us.
Himself commented on the pipes etc on some of the buildings saying that the needed some maintenance work, and when I had a good look it was clear that the buildings could do with an overhaul.
The shop on the site was clean and well stocked and unusually for somewhere like this, it wasn't over priced.
There was plenty of entertainment during the day and at night and all of the entertainment was well planned and organised. The staff are friendly and helpful and the activities which had to be paid for were never more than £5. Given that it wasn't busy when we were there, any activities we tried we could stay on for as long as we wanted for under a fiver.
For the money we paid, which was £70 for the three of us and then about another £4 more for the entertainment passes, this was a good value holiday and Little Miss had a great time!

Thanks for reading.

Daniela x

Summary: Holiday park