Holiday Type:            Prestige Caravan Rental

Where:                        Caister, Norfolk

Tour Operator:           www.haven.com

Travel:                        By Car

Party Size:                  6 (2 adults, 4 children)

Duration:                    4 days

Overall Rating:          We won’t be returning

Total Cost:                 £600

My mum and I decided to take the kids away during the Autumn Half Term Holiday mainly to give my husband the opportunity to get some productive work time at home.  Havens offer a discount to all members of Tamba (the twin organisation) so we proceeded to book a Prestige Van at the Caister Park in Norfolk.

Travelling from door to door was fine although we were packed full in our MPV.  We had gone prepared with our food shop to save time and money.

They say first impressions last and on arrival I wondered if we had made the right choice.  There were lots of people walking to and from the “Club House” with bundles of bedding which was a surprise to me but then I hadn’t had a caravan holiday since I was a kid!  Leaving the kids in the car with my mum I went in search of the check in desk.  This was a dressed up animal character standing alongside Haven representatives also in the “Club House”.  Imagine red patterned carpets, velvet curtains, stale odour of beer and bingo and you will get a good idea of the place in question.  Fortunately, we didn’t have to collect bedding as we had opted for a “Prestige” caravan which meant our beds were made for us.  I was given the keys, a map and a menu of the events and activities to be enjoyed.

I have to highlight the fact that our caravan looked nothing like the Prestige Caravans advertised on their website.  To be honest we really wondered whether they had allocated us to the correct caravan.  I rang to check.  We had the small portable TV and DVD player and we had heating in all of the bedrooms and some of our beds were made up on arrival.  All of these things qualified our caravan to the category “Prestige”.  Havens idea of Prestige and my idea of Prestige was definitely conflicting.

To be honest, if we had gone at a different time of year our experience may well have been a lot different.  Unfortunately, most of the activities were closed and it was a little like a ghost town.  Well that is until we ventured into the swimming pool where we found just about every holiday park occupant splashing around noisily.  Everyone was at the pool probably because there wasn’t much else to do.  The facilities within the pool were terrible.  There weren’t enough lockers to go around and if you did manage to get a locker the keys weren’t even attached to an elastic band or a safety pin for safe keeping.  You had to swim and hold a tiny key.  What’s more the reception door was right on top of the pool itself so the door was inevitably open throwing cold air in on everyone.

Apparently, there is a soft ball play area but we couldn’t find it and it wasn’t for the lack of trying.  We asked at the office and were given the exact location.  We found this to be at the top of some stairs.  Yes we could carry the girls and the double buggy up the stairs but it did occur to me that for such a supposed family holiday venue wouldn’t they have easier access for all those buggy pushers?

We ventured into Great Yarmouth for a day which turned out to be a fun day.  Great Yarmouth is a typical UK seaside resort.  Full of pound shops and cheap holiday souvenir shops, crazy golf, amusement arcades and various other family attractions.  The kids love it and the adults can put up with it for a day.

After being outside in the cold all day the caravan was quite a welcoming place.  It warmed up pretty quickly and after a glass of wine and a game or two with the bigger kids it was easy to fall too sleep.  Getting up in the morning wasn’t so pleasant.  The living area was freezing until the fire got going.

All in all, we managed three nights although we had booked four.  When one of the girls started to wheeze we decided to call it a day and come home.

There were two good things about this holiday.  One, the kids seemed to love the caravan even though my mother and I thought otherwise and two; it was easier to manage four kids in such a small place.  I never thought I would hear myself say this particularly as we have a large house but it was far easier having four kids in one small area with their toys and books etc there wasn’t nearly the tidying up to!

Suffice to say, first impressions did last and we won’t be going back.