A week at Bluestone with Mumsnet
We were delighted to have a visit from Laurel Whitten from Mumsnet, who brought her family to Pembrokeshire for a five-day break at our beautiful resort.
You can read about how she found her stay at Bluestone below:
Getting Into The lodge
Upon arrival we were given directions to our lodge and a time for entering the site. Once we had unloaded the car my husband returned it to the car park and enabling us to enjoy a car free week (well almost – you are allowed to come and go as you please and we did spend a couple of days enjoying the beautiful beaches and towns of South West Wales).
We stayed in the St Davids Lodge which had 4 bedrooms (1 on the ground floor), 3 bathrooms (1 on the ground floor and 1 ensuite), great open plan living area consisting of lounge area, dining area and separate kitchen and a study (which came with high speed wifi). It was clean, good size rooms and felt luxurious.
We started exploring the site as soon as the car was unloaded, with the first stop the bike hire to pick up our pre-booked bikes.
Into the Adventure Centre*
We started in the Adventure Centre which was a great indoor play area with café/restaurant. There was a mix of free and paid for activities. Free activities included mini-golf, a complex climbing frame and bouncy castle for the kids and for us comfy sofas and wifi to sit back and relax while they played. The paid for activities included “The Big Four” which were action activities – The Swing (a huge swing that takes you to the ceiling and off you go); The Drop (a chance to plumment from 39ft up to the ground); The Wall (climbing wall); Sky Trail (a series of high ropes 20 feet in the air that snakes around the centre). All of these were supervised by trained staff who were very helpful and patient and encouraging when I was too nervous to jump off one of the platforms when doing the Sky Trail!
Plunging Into Blue Lagoon
Our next stop (and most days of the holiday) was the waterpark. The indoor area was pleasantly temperature controlled (much to my youngest child’s delight) and the pool had a wave machine, rapids and water slides (much to the excitement of the older two). Seating around the pool was very good and we were able to read bits of the newspaper while watching the children splash around.
Making A Splash
In order to get the full feel of the resort we decided to do some of the activities on offer, the older children and my husband took to the lake in Welsh Coracles (small one person round boats). They had an excellent teacher and even found it funny when, by the end of the lesson, all three had fallen into the water.
My husband and son checked out the High Ropes (2 hours of high assault courses in the middle of the forest). They came back tired, muddy and full of excited chat on what an adrenaline rush it was. The girls and I took a slightly course and did the lantern making in the craft studios in the Adventure Centre. This was led by a wonderful woman called Victoria and we made gorgeous lanterns which sit in the girls’ room at home.
Dancing The Night Away**
Not only were there day time activities to enjoy there was also evening entertainment. Midweek we went down to the Steep Ravine to enjoy a night at Camp Smokey. When you arrive you are given a team to belong to (red or blue) and shown to your table.
The evening quickly starts off with lively music and a gaggle of host who drum up enthusiasm amongst the diners to the point people are clapping, singing loudly and dancing on the tables.
There is a competition between the teams to decide who gets their food first and after eating a hardy BBQ meal, complete with desert, the band is back on stage and the dancing begins. It was a fun night and we made friends with the family who we shared a table with.
Spa Time
After all of this excitement I needed a bit of time for myself. With my husband taking the children to the Waterpark I went to the Spa for a relaxing facial. After an hour I came out feeling refreshed and relaxed. The Spa area was tranquil and there were quite a few women enjoying the full day treatment and facilities.
Into Battle
On our last day we wrapped up the activities with a Raft War on the lake against another family. We were both given instruction from one of the resort team on materials we could use and were left to our own devices to build a raft we thought would hold all 5 of us, get us to the middle of the lake (before the other family) to scoop a ball out of the water and back to shore. I’m pleased to say that our raft didn’t fall apart until half way to the middle of the lake, we only lost my son overboard during the activity (he swam back to shore) and got the ball with no problems! The other family’s raft came apart as soon as they climbed on with all 4 falling straight into the lake (I know I shouldn’t gloat)!
Take Me Back!
I really enjoyed the week and although it was jammed packed with activities I felt rested by the time we returned home. What would I do differently next time I go? Hire a golf buggy instead of bikes and bring a hair dryer! Can’t wait until our next visit!
*Closed until further notice
**Not currently running