Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside. (Golden Sands Holiday Park)

Member Name: mumto3

Product:	Golden Sands Holiday Park
Date:	16/08/09 (278 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Things to do on a wet day - good for young children

Disadvantages: run down - dirty - expensive on site facilities - hidden costs

We recently spent a week at the Haven Golden Sands site at Mablethorpe. We usually spend our holiday at Mablethorpe but have never stayed on the site before. This year we were booking late and all the sites we usually use were sold out. My Husband didn't want to go to Haven but I eventually persuaded him that our three children all under six would enjoy it.

We got there a little bit early for check in but thankfully got our keys straight away. We then tried to find our caravan and the only road leading to it had been blocked off by orange cones so that they could herd all the new holiday makers to the temporary car parks. We eventually managed to get to the caravan and were pleased to find that it was in quite a quiet secluded area of the park. Most of the caravans are just in big long rows and some are really close to all the entertainment buildings. I think if we had been given one of these areas my Husband would have gone straight home so I was relieved to see the nice area we had been given.

We got into our caravan van which was supposed to be a superior plus only to find that the seats and carpets were very grubby and looked well worn. The whole van looked a bit old and wasn't what I was expecting. We had ordered a cot rail but the caravan we had couldn't accommodate this type of rail so we had been given a standard bed rail instead for which I paid £10 plus a refundable deposit of £10. If I had known that we couldn't get a cot rail I would have taken my own bed rail and saved myself £10. My 18 month old son had great fun that week either tipping the bed rail up and falling on the floor or constantly getting out of bed and running around until he eventually collapsed at about 10pm. I couldn't be bothered with the hassle of changing caravans so I didn't take the matter any further at the time. I have since contacted Haven about the cot rail and they said that the newer caravans aren't made to have them so they are not available but this is not stated anywhere when you book.

The site is very close to the beach but you do have to cross a busy road and a sand dune to get to it. We have a buggy which is impossible to push on the sand so we tended to walk a bit further up the road almost into the centre of Mablethorpe and access the beach that way. Also by doing this we were closer to all the seaside amusements and donkeys and other things on offer.

The site itself is quite run down although I did notice that they have been some alterations since we went there swimming a couple of years ago. I don't know if this is part of a major facelift as I know has happened at other parks or if they were just adding some new things.

To get to most of the entertainment facilities and the swimming pool you do have to go through the main arcade which is very annoying as your children want to ride on things or put money into things all the time. I found that because of this and going to the Falcon Bar for the nightly children's entertainment what was supposed to be a cheap holiday turned out to be more expensive than staying at a far superior site. We used the swimming pool quite a few times and it is free just to swim but it is often closed for inflatable and aqua jets which there was a £5 charge for. There is a small fun fair at the site but again each ride costs about £1 a go and you have to buy tokens for this. We went to the children's pantomime most evenings and they did show a different thing nearly every night. I think it was just a backing tape doing the music and talking while staff dressed as various characters moved around and did actions but my children seems to enjoy it. The Falcon Bar was disgusting to put it mildly. The carpet was dirty and sticky to walk on, all the tables has sticky or wet patches on them and the seats were as bad as the carpet. Thank goodness it was dark because I hate to think what we were sitting in. We went in June so the season hadn't even really started so I can only imagine it is like that all the time. The drinks prices were very expensive and they charged £2 for a yard of blackcurrant or orange for the children! This came is a big plastic yard that you bought on your first night and then could have refilled whenever you went back but they wanted £2 each time they filled it. We didn't stay for any of the adult or evening shows because the children wouldn't have sat through it and I don't think I could bear a whole evening sitting on a sticky seat listening to music at a painfully loud level.

We did have a few wet days during our holiday so we made good use of the swimming and the indoor ball pit which is about the only other free area. The ball pit had also seen better days and was looking a bit run down with peeling carpets and broken equipment. The kids loved it though and it stopped them getting bored and ratty when we couldn't go to the beach. The swimming pool changing rooms have had a bit of up grading but they were still dirty and smelly. The swimming is free but you have to pay 20p for a locker. I didn't realise that you couldn't get this back and after having to go back to the locker for something found I didn't have another 20p so had to leave our belongings unattended while we swam. If you didn't have to walk through the arcade I would have just gone to the pool already in my swimming costumes and just left my towel at the side of the pool. As everyone is herded through the main arcade I would have felt a bit uncomfortable wandering through in wrapped only in my towel. The pool has a deep area but also a very shallow gradually sloping area which is great for babies and toddlers. My children although not strictly tall enough went on the water slide many times and were never questioned by staff. The outside pool area was hardly open when we were there but on the one occasion we did try it the water was very warm, much warmer that the water inside.

We will probably go back to Haven while the children are still young because there is the swimming pool and the entertainment. We didn't use any of the kids clubs and only tried the food on a couple of occasions. The shop on site was very expensive so we went to a local supermarket instead. We all enjoyed the holiday but the state of the place let it down quite a bit. I think next time we will try a different park. I have heard that Reighton Sands on the east Yorkshire coast has had a complete makeover and it all really nice and new so maybe we'll try there next time.

If you are looking for a family holiday with plenty to do for the kids then you can get this at Haven. Prices do start very low but I think once you add on all the 'hidden' extras it could end up costing more than you'd expect.

Summary: A nice holiday for a young family