We recently visited Woolacombe Bay Holiday Park for part of the October half term. Here’s what we thought, as well as some handy hints and tips if you’re planning a break or have already booked a stay.
Stay gifted in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
I want to start by mentioning that we had some exceptionally bad weather during our stay. There was a yellow weather warning in place for wind and rain, and it rained non-stop all day on Saturday, our one full day at the park.
Unfortunately, this meant we couldn’t do a lot of the things we planned, and all of the indoor areas were (understandably) jam-packed throughout our stay.
Terrible weather aside, I want to start by saying how beautifully kept the site is. Everything is clean, tidy and well maintained.
Despite the 70-mile-an-hour winds, I don’t think we saw a single piece of litter flying about during our entire stay!
The next thing I want to mention is the wonderful staff.
Everyone we spoke to was lovely – from the ladies working at the reception desk, to the Entertainment team, to the people manning the till at the shop and the chap who delivered our takeaway.
Everyone was so nice and genuinely seemed like they wanted to be there.
The park is set slightly back on the cliff tops, with stunning views down to Woolacombe beach. While our stay was rather a wet and blustery one, I can imagine how amazing the beach and views would be during the spring and summer.
As we stayed near Halloween, there were lots of spooky decorations dotted around the park.
Woolacombe Bay Holiday Park – Caravan Review
We stayed in Gold caravan A62 and overall couldn’t fault the caravan at all.
Some of the highlights for us were;
- Beautiful modern and well-maintained caravan with decking area and outdoor planters
- Clean bathroom with a fantastic shower
- USB and plug sockets next to all beds
- Sleek and modern, well-equipped kitchen
- Easy-to-use heating system
Caravan First Impressions
The caravan looks lovely from the outside, with lots of shrubs and plants along the side, almost making it feel as though you have your own little garden space. It also wasn’t packed in with lots of other caravans, making it feel a little bit more private than some other caravans we’ve stayed in previously.
The double doors and outside decking area are lovely, and I can imagine they’re even more enjoyable on warm summer evenings.
‘A’ field is situated on the very edge of the caravan park, and we found this area to be lovely and quiet – other than our immediate neighbours arriving, we didn’t hear noise from anyone else all weekend, so definitely consider this area if you prefer a quieter break.
The Living Area
The living room was light and bright and had plenty of space for everyone to relax, and there was also a DVD player included along with the TV.
There was plenty of room for us as a family of four, although I think for eight people it might feel like a bit of a squeeze.
We brought a wipe-clean tablecloth so the kids could colour and draw at the table without me stressing about a mess!
The controls for the heating were in the living room and were very easy to use – quick button push and it was straight on and made the caravan lovely and warm
The Kitchen
We loved how sleek and modern the kitchen felt, and it had everything we needed. The only additional things I would perhaps take are some tongs, a chopping board and a decent knife, as well as washing-up liquid and kitchen roll.
There is a small pack with a tea towel, sponge, cloth and dishwashing bar included but you’ll need to bring any other cleaning products you might require.
There were also three black bags in our accommodation, which was more than enough.
The fridge is a fantastic size – plenty of room for groceries if you’re staying for a whole week.
The freezer, while not huge, is also a really good size for holiday accomdation – so often it’s just a tiny freezer inside the fridge, so this was much better, especially if you plan to do a lot of self-catering on your break.
The Bathrooms
The bathrooms (main bathroom and ensuite) were both very clean, and I particularly loved the shower – it was actually better pressure-wise than our shower at home and has made me think I seriously need to upgrade!
The heated towel rails are handy for drying swimming costumes after a trip to the pool or beach.
The Bedrooms
The bedrooms were as expected for a caravan, small but perfectly functional with a good amount of storage space. I really liked that they all had USB ports as well as plug sockets, all right next to the bed.
Outdoor Decking Area
It’s fantastic to have outdoor space with a caravan – it’s just a shame that the stormy weather meant we couldn’t make more use of it during our stay!
The only small issue we had with the caravan was that the Wi-Fi didn’t work inside, although it was fine out on the decking and on the road in front of the van, so I think this might have been specific to our van rather than a sitewide issue.
A62 is right on the edge of the park, so I think the signal just might not have quite stretched that far, as we had a really good signal elsewhere.
The 4G signal across the park was really good, and we actually did pick up Wifi in places I didn’t expect, such as the children’s play area.
Food At Woolacombe Bay Holiday Park
On the first night we decided to order a takeaway. We did this online and ordered two fish and chips, which cost £13.50 each. There is no delivery charge, just a minimum order of £10, which I liked.
The food arrived quickly – in fact, much more quickly than we expected on a Friday; we expected there to be a bit of a wait with lots of people arriving onsite.
Overall, it was really nice, and tartar sauce and lemon being included was a nice touch.
The food was hot, and the fish was crispy on the outside and perfectly cooked in the middle. We felt the portions were a little on the small side compared with a normal fish and chip shop, but other than that, it was great for a nice easy dinner option.
Activities At Woolacombe Bay Holiday Park
Woolacombe Bay has plenty of activities on offer including indoor and outdoor swimming pools, pottery painting, arcades, soft play, mini golf, a cinema and lots of outdoor sports areas.
Free Activities At Woolacombe Bay
One of the things that really appealed to me about Woolacombe Bay was the amount of free activities on offer.
While you’d typically expect things like swimming to be included, there are lots of activities here that would be chargeable elsewhere that are free here, such as mini golf, frisbee golf and a small soft play, which my three-year-old son visited five times during our short stay (It’s worth noting, though, that it is only for under-fives).
There is also a fantastic outdoor children’s adventure play area which we managed to visit twice despite the rain! My kids would have been happy here for hours – it was me that was cold and wanting to get back to the caravan!
It’s fantastic open space with sea views over the cliff tops and down onto the beach. There are also plenty of picnic benches, meaning you can really make the most of being here for a few hours and even bring a packed lunch along if you want to.
Other free activities include meet-and-greets with Characters and lots more sports areas available for use.
Plus, you can pop over to the sister park Twitchen House and take part in activities there as well as making use of the other facilities such as the swimming pool.
Arcade at Woolacombe Bay Holiday Park
As is traditional for any UK seaside break, we spent some time in the arcade.
The arcade here has plenty of 2p machines, and they were well stocked with small prizes that lots of children seemed to be winning.
I also saw plenty of people winning teddies from the grab machines – it’s always nice to see there is some chance of winning!
Plenty of little steps for toddlers to use everything was a nice touch. My three-year-old particularly enjoyed the Angry Birds themed Wack-A-Mole game, as you can see here.
Halloween Activities At Woolacombe Bay Holiday Park
We booked Halloween cupcake decorating as a last-minute Halloween activity for our two children, which cost £3.50 per child.
After a bit of a chaotic start (I think there were rather more children than they were expecting and the queue was very long!), we finally got our cupcakes and some bits and pieces to decorate them.
My kids absolutely loved this activity.
Both Peter and Rebeckah from the entertainment team were wonderful and made lots of effort to come around and chat to each of the children and see what they had made.
And we were thrilled to win the prize for creepiest cupcakes! My children love this type of thing, so they were so excited to get a certificate recognising the effort they had put into their designs.
This was a fantastic activity at Woolacombe Bay Holiday Park and really budget-friendly too.
Swimming at Woolacombe Bay Holiday Park
If you’re looking for a holiday park with swimming pool, Woolacombe Bay is a great choice.
The park features both indoor and outdoor pools, although visiting in October, only the indoor pool was open; we headed here as soon as we arrived.
The swimming pools are popular and do get quite busy, so it could be worth planning to swim either early morning or later in the day.
There is a great pirate-themed area for little ones featuring a pirate ship to play on, slides, water cannons, and lots of other water features too. Watch out for the big bucket that makes a huge splash when it empties! The toddler pool was also wonderfully warm.
Personally, I did find the bigger pool a bit chilly and only managed a quick dip. I’m not sure whether it wasn’t quite up to temperature yet, or that I feel the cold more than others!
With the huge glass windows overlooking the bay, I can imagine it’s much toastier in the summer months, and the outdoor terrace overlooking the pool looked lovely.
The changing rooms were clean, and the cubicles were spacious enough for our family of four to all fit into together, which was great. There were also two cubicles with facilities for changing babies.
We also really appreciated the heated floors after getting out of the pool!
Owing to the poor weather, the pool was exceptionally busy on the Saturday of our stay, with queues to get in at around an hour. With our toddler in tow, we just couldn’t face it, so we made use of some of the other facilities instead.
I do think the amount of people trying to swim at the same time was probably exceptional – if families could have been enjoying the outdoors, I’m sure many of them would have been – ourselves included!
Entertainment At Woolacombe Bay Holiday Park
There is lots of entertainment throughout the week at Woolacombe Bay Holiday Park including kids discos, beach ball parties, game shows, visiting acts and karaoke.
We caught the end of the kids’ Halloween dress-up contest and got to see Billy Beach Ball in his Halloween costume.
My three-year-old is randomly chanting ‘Billy! Billy! Billy!’ almost a week later, so I think we can safely assume he enjoyed it.
The Science Dude
The main kids’ entertainment we attended on the Saturday night was The Science Dude.
A fun and engaging educational show featuring lots of different science experiments, including the classic putting Mentos into a fizzy drink and seeing what happens.
My eight-year-old daughter absolutely loved this show, and it was a highlight of the holiday for her and she’s not stopped talking about it since!
One small thing is that I would really have liked to be emailed a projected list of the planned evening entertainment before we arrived.
I didn’t think to bring Halloween costumes for my children (let alone for myself as an adult!), only to find there was a kids’ and adults’ costume competition on the Saturday night.
Nisa Shop
There is a large Nisa shop onsite which is reasonably well stocked. It definitely covers everything you might need to buy in a pinch, as well as food to go such as sausage rolls and pasties.
I was surprised there weren’t many easy dinner options such as ready meals, although we did grab a couple of pot noodles for a quick lunch.
I know shops can’t stock absolutely everything, but I was surprised there wasn’t anything Halloween-related – if there had been costumes or even some basic masks or face paint, we probably would have bought them for the Halloween Costume Contest.
Family Friendly Site
One thing we really liked here was how well smaller children were catered to throughout, with lots of little steps in the toilets and the arcade for them to use.
Our three-year-old is recently potty trained and can find going into public bathrooms a bit intimidating.
My husband actually commented on how much he appreciated the lower urinals and steps in the men’s toilets for making life easier with a toddler.
The Overall Experience – Would We Stay Again?
We would definitely stay at Woolacombe Bay at Easter or during the summer months to take better advantage of nicer weather and the beautiful beaches nearby.
We’d also love to enjoy more of the outdoor activities over a longer break (work commitments meant we were a bit limited on how long we could stay on this occasion).
There are also lots of lovely outdoor terraces overlooking the clifftops and beach, and I could imagine how lovely they must have been with a cold drink on warm summer evenings.
If you’re looking for a reasonably priced, family-friendly holiday park on the Devon coast, then I don’t think you can go too far wrong with Woolacombe Bay holiday parks.
Things to Know Before You Go
- Three sites for the price of one: Don’t forget you can visit sister parks Twitchen House and Easewell Farm and use their swimming pools, on-site activities and entertainment.
- Towels: Towels aren’t included in most accommodation unless you book them, so remember to bring some from home if you need to.
- Swimming lockers: Lockers at the pool require a £1 coin.
- Booking activities: Activities get booked up quickly, especially in the school holidays, so book as soon as your booking window opens.
- Arrival time: You can arrive onsite from 12 pm and use the facilities, even if your caravan won’t be ready until later.
- Car registration: Don’t forget to add your car registration to your booking for an extra smooth arrival.
- Out-of-season breaks: These are cheaper, but there might be less going on in terms of activities and entertainment.
- Spa: There’s a spa on-site. Mums, book yourself a treat!
- Soft Play: Under 5s only
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