Sunday, July 09, 2017

Peace & Quacks At Bluestone Wales



After an amazing holiday last year, we were delighted to be invited back to beautiful Bluestone Wales again last month to review the resort and all it has to offer. Bluestone is a 5* National Park Resort located in beautiful Pembrokeshire, close to the coast in a gorgeous forest setting.




This year, we had a mid week at Bluestone which meant four nights and five whole days to take in our surroundings, relax and enjoy being together as a family. This could not have come at a better time as we had been feeling so stressed and run down with the every day routine. We were given a lodge near the lake this time in a section called Bartholomew Rise, consisting of two bedrooms, a wet room, outside area with picnic table and large living area with dining space and a beautiful modern kitchen.




With Soph being a whole year older this year, it made a huge difference in terms of what we could explore, no longer having to think about fitting naps in or having to have the pushchair in tow everywhere which was really nice. We started our visit by exploring the play areas much to the excitement of the kids as it features lots of brilliant things to climb, ride and explore. Their favourite had to be the wooden pirate ship!

There is also a tree house type play area which we had found last time which tends to be surrounded by wild rabbits and things to look for like an old hidden church.







Both visits to Bluestone so far have been pretty rainy, but it really doesn't make a great deal of difference to the fun on offer and aside from drying our golf buggy seats off`it hasn't affected us one bit! The golf buggy is my favourite thing about Bluestone, they are so fun and cost around £90 for the 5 days (handing back by 10.30 on day 5). If you are visiting there and wondering if it's worth it, it really is and you won't regret it! It's a lovely place to walk around but so much more fun in a buggy, which can take up to 4 adults and 2 tots.

Another favourite which we only discovered this time round was the fairy houses in the forest! This was so magical and the kids as well as us thought it was fascinating seeing all the little doors and windows. You could tell the kids really believed the magic of it all and it's such a nice touch and a thoughtful addition for younger visitors.






There are various places to eat at Bluestone, but the place that we love most is Camp Smokey, a tree house type BBQ restaurant which is worth it for the atmosphere alone, eating BBQ food in the middle of the forest, surrounded by wildlife. You can even toast marshmallows on their open fire and make smores! I was a bit disappointed that all the food is prepared out back now instead of on an open BBQ like last year, but we still loved it and think it's a must for all visitors. A meal for 4 with drinks cost around £40 which included a couple of little extras. We even had a couple of birds visit near to our table which the kids loved.







The inside adventure zone is just brilliant and if you need to get out the rain for a while and grab a cuppa, you can relax on the sofas while the kids play or get up there too. There's lots of play equipment to use, an under 5's soft play section, bouncy castle, arcades, diggers and lots of climbing wall activities you can book. You may want to bring some change for the arcades, but there is a fun mini golf section which is free to play.








Staying at Bluestone, you couldn't be any closer to nature. With the lake on our doorstep, we had a whole heap of ducks headed to our door every day for bird seed which you can buy in the village shop. The best thing about going this time of year was that there are lots of baby ducks! The ducks aren't shy and it was a lovely experience for the kids waking up to cute baby ducks asking for breakfast. We really enjoyed this aspect this time and enjoyed being so close to the lake, ducks, moorhens, baby moorhens and lots of little birds too.






For family holidays and quiet getaways, I can't recommend Bluestone Wales enough, it's so welcoming, the lodges really feel like home straight away and on arrival you will find a welcome back with all the cleaning bits and bobs you could want, some toilet roll and really useful maps and guides. The staff are all extremely friendly, there are a whole host of activities you can book such as pond dipping and bike riding, as well as of course regular bike hire for use in your stay and the golf buggies.

We had such a great week and even made it our of the site this time to visit Tenby, a local seaside town which is a must visit if you're staying at Bluestone! We had the best fish and chips ever and found a giant jelly fish!





A big thank you to Bluestone for having us back for another much needed family break, I honestly can't fault it and as I still haven't made it to the dreamy spait's top of my to do list next time and I may just have to take a trip to Silky Smooth Beauty when I'm closer to home. We can't wait to go back and try out everything we missed!


Have you been to Bluestone or Pembrokeshire before?




We were invited to Bluestone in exchange for an honest review, all words and images are my own.