In summary
Set in the beautiful Welsh county of Pembrokeshire, Bluestone is a 5 star luxury holiday resort designed to make family holidays high on fun and experience and low on stress. Right from the highchairs and children's cutlery found in the accommodation, to the abundance of child-friendly activities, the park is set up for parents to relax and enjoy themselves. But aside from the soft play, stage shows, sandpits and playgrounds, there's also a huge range of activities for adults to enjoy. During our stay, we met holidaymakers celebrating everything from fifth birthday parties to Ruby wedding anniversaries - proving that Bluestone ticks boxes for all generations looking for a UK break away. Whether you spend your time packing in activities or connecting with nature in Bluestone's ancient forest, you'll soon discover why it's been voted Wales' top holiday resort.
When did we visit?
I visited with my husband Alex and our daughters, Fleur, 3, and Millie, 18 months, over a long weekend in the spring. The journey from our home in Essex was more than five hours. So, we planned an overnight stop en-route to avoid any meltdowns! My best friend Zahra, her husband Ali and their eight-year-old son Max, made a much quicker journey from their home in Bristol to join us for the weekend.
Accommodation
Catering for different budgets and needs, accommodation here ranges from studio apartments to cavernous lodges. We were lucky to stay in a platinum lodge - a clapperboard style property with a huge sunroom, cosy TV snug (or as the Welsh say 'Cwtch room') and a vast, stylish living space. The 'upside down' design - with bedrooms on the ground floor and communal areas on the sun-drenched first floor are ingenious and will get you mentally re-designing your own home! Platinum lodges come fully equipped with all the pots and pans you'll need for group meals, stair gates, and even a potty. ESPA toiletries give that touch of luxury and the LED ceiling lights in the bathroom will make you feel like you're bathing under the stars. A gold buggy to get around the holiday resort(such a giggle), is also included.
Activities
The Blue Lagoon is the resort's huge indoor swimming pool - complete with four slides, a lazy river, wave machine, and a toddler splash pool. The 'beach-entry' lagoon allows a gradual entrance, which is ideal for nervous swimmers and tots. Our girls loved being able to sit down in a few inches of warm water and have a splash around. If the water babies in your clan want another H2O fix, you can head to the resort's lake for a gentle paddle board or kayak session.
The Serendome (think of a structure similar to The O2 in London), is an expansive all-weather area, where kids can roam free in the sandpit and play area, or take on the aerial sky walk course. For older kids and adults yearning for a vertiginous challenge, we highly recommend harnessing up for the Sky Wires - a zip wire adventure through a stunning ravine.
There's also a sprawling soft play are in the Hive complex, but be warned, no child will ever want to leave - we had to bribe ours out with the promise of an ice-cream). Bluestone is definitely the place to try something different, such as axe-throwing, archery, or bushcraft.
And if that all sounds exhausting, carve out some time for the brilliant value spa. Zahra and I loved escaping from the kids (and our husbands) for two hours of calm. Treatments are available if you fancy a massage or a facial. But if the sun's beating down, like it was for us, just a soak in the spa pool is an unbeatable end to the day.
Food and drink
You're likely to want a few home-cooked meals to make the most of your lodge, and there's a handy mini-market if you forget anything. Zahra did a supermarket run for our group prior to the trip and we pre-planned all meals, which worked well. But when you fancy eating out, there are lots of tempting options. Head to the quaint pastel-coloured buildings of the 'village' and you'll find traditional grub at The Farmhouse Grill, Italian favourites at The Oak Tree, and great coffee (and yummy Welsh cakes) at the Tŷ Coffi cafe. There's even a pub - The Knights Tafarn, which has an outdoor terrace. However, our favourite dining experience was Smokey Joe's Shindig, nestled in the resort's woodland. The wooden cabin of Camp Smokey is accessed via a series of stairs and sloping walkways that lead to an incredibly picturesque ravine (alternatively you can take a longer walk past fairy houses). You'll feast on BBQ food (we hand seconds), toast marshmallows on the campfire and dance the night away to the toe-tapping band. We left with full bellies and pumped with feel-good endorphins! Food and entertainment at Smokey Joe's costs £24.95 per adult and £19.95 per child.
Off-site adventures
It’d be criminal not to discover some dazzling Pembrokeshire dazzling coast during your stay. Sweeping, unspoilt beaches such as Barafundle Bay, Whitesands Bay and Newgale beach are only a half hour drive away.
To see the coastline from a different perspective, adrenaline junkies can try sea kayaking or coasteering– where you’ll climb through caves and jump off cliffs – all under supervision from experienced Bluestone guides. Alex and Ali tried the latter and had a whale of a time.
For a day out with little ones, The Dinosaur Park Tenby, is a short drive away. The excellent Folly Farm – which is part adventure park, part zoo – is well worth a visit, too. We visited on a wet and windy day but fortunately the vintage fairground, barn area and soft play are handily all under cover.
Prices
A 3-night weekend stay in a 6-bed platinum lodge starts from £765. This includes free access to lots of on-site activities such as the Blue Lagoon water park, plus a complimentary golf buggy. For an example of activity prices: a half-day of coasteering costs from £45, a two-hour Wellness spa visit costs from £20, Skywalk Mini costs from £12.95, Sky Wires costs from £32 and kayaking and paddle boarding cost from £15.
Take a Break's verdict
Bluestone really blew us away. It was quite a trek for us, coming from Essex, but totally worth the journey. The setting in rural Pembrokeshire, combined with the sprawling layout make it feel calm and avoided that hectic feeling you get from some UK resorts and holiday parks. The activities on offer were varied, plentiful and good value although some of the pricing could have been more transparent (eg on signs at the activities themselves - rather than only available at the booking office or on the app). The Platinum lodges felt really luxurious, and having the golf buggy was handy - and fun! There wasn't a great deal in the way of evening entertainment so if you're used to Butlin's you may miss their discos and shows - but with tired-out toddlers, we were happy to relax in the evenings! We'd rate our Bluestone break a 4.5 out of 5. Find out more here
By Laura Cole