Craig Tara Holiday Park

I felt that after reading all the terrible reviews of this place, after my own holiday I would have to add my review.
I was very anxious upon arrival, but when we got into our Prestige caravan, I was impressed, it was brand new this season and very nice, clean and fairly spacious, plenty of pots and pans etc. I would agree with others that the cleanliness is just on the surface, if you look closely it isn't spotless, but it didn't affect our holiday.
Yes, some of the attractions are a little bit on the shabby side, but they are for kids and they don't care, the park itself is clean and well maintained.
The evening entertainment was great, we went with kids aged 3, 2 1 and a baby and it was great for them all.
The swimming pool was cold, that was our only downfall, but we had BRILLIANT sunshine so we just spent most of our time outside.
One thing that is worth mentioning is Heads of Ayr Farm Park, right next door to Craig Tara, it is fantastic, well worth the money it costs to get in, kids and adults will have a great time there.
The only thing that stopped me giving it a 10/10 was that we went as a group with 2 other families, and even though we requested caravans beside each other, 2 were fairly close and we were at the completely other side of the caravan park, which was a shame as we were all there together.

We stayed in one of the chalets, from the outside they appear pretty bleak. However the inside was alright. The Chalet was clean, as was the bedding. The only downside to the chalets was adjoining 2 others, the walls were pretty thin so you could hear people coming and going.
The halfboard meals were fine. I used to be in the RAF and found the meals pretty similar to eating at the mess. It wasnt all microwaved alot of the food was freshley cooked. The breakfast consisted of bacon and eggs etc, cereal, fruit salads, its all you can eat too. Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, juice and squash were all available at no extra charge.
The activities haven advertise appear all inclusive however, the only free activity was the soft play area and swimming, which is an excellent pool. Everything else is extra, most £5 a time. So we decided to go off for days out. Heads of ayr farm is excellent value for money, there are lots of animals and even more activities for the kids to enjoy. We also took the ferry to the isle of Aaran.
Overall we had a good bargain break, had we had to pay for food on top of all the other expenses it would probably be cheaper to go abroad, as long as you avoid the site you can save money. If money is no object then the kids will enjoy this site.

We visited Craig Tara right at the beginning of the season - heaven help those of you who visit later! This has got to be one of the worst holidays we have ever been on in this Country - the camp is dirty, the accommodation way below the standard anticipated and activities extremely expensive - NEVER AGAIN for us! The swimming pool was really good fun and the children enjoyed this activity but again, the aqua jets etc. are all £5 per session! Soon mounts up on the cost of the holiday with a couple of children. The staff were friendly and helpful although the senior reception staff should have ensured that either problems with the heaters/wet carpets were resolved or kept us informed of progress, as they had promised to do but did not.

Booked a 4 night break here last Sept after collecting vouchers in the newspaper. To be honest I didn't expect luxury but I did expect it to be clean and comfortable.
On arriving I noticed many people complaining in Reception about their accomodation - the staff were looking blankly, bored and unconcerned, stating 'the park is full' to everyone asking to be moved.
One party of around 15 people left immediately without staying a single night which made me wonder what I had come to.
It didn't take me long to find out. I had booked a caravan only to be told we had been moved to a silver chalet. I stated I specifically wanted the caravan as printed on my booking form, but was told they reserve the right to change it, and anyway the chalets are better I was informed by the reception staff. This seems to happen often - people booking caravans then being moved to chalets.
We drove to our chalet which didn't look up to much from the outside, but on opening the door we were greeted by a foul smell, and entered a shabby, dirty and dingy chalet. The shower was tiny - you had to breathe in to close the door, and if you are a little on the heavy side you might as well forget it! I'm a size 14 and it was cramped!!! The windows were filthy, carpet and sofa stained and smelly, blinds missing from windows, fridge leaking so puddles of water on the floor, and creaky floors above. The quilt and pillows provided were dirty and there was an art to getting the toilet to flush.
The food outlets were sparse and not open much, even then, the food was awful from them.
The entertainment was poor and seating area chairs badly stained and shabby. I have tried to think of a good thing to say but can't except that the beach was ok, but at the end of September your not going to be spending your days sitting on the beach!
i consoled myself with the knowledge this holiday had only cost me £52, if I had paid the £600 plus some people have paid to stay here I would have tried to get a refund. Don't book a holiday at Craig tara, that's my advice, its an absolute disgrace and the staff seemed as unhappy as the holidaymakers.

When myself and my family went to craig tara in march, the weather was terrible but we never let something like that spoil our stay. We went in for check-in and the atmosphere put a smile on my kids faces. The first thing we saw were the characters out and about entertaining the kids. The check-in was a little manic but we expected that. We then got our keys and had a quick walk round before going into the van.
We had all the kids dressed and ready and went for our first evening meal. Again the staff were great here too. After being fed and watered the kids were ready for the entertainment and off to the club facilities. The entertainment staff were so friendly, the kids loved them. 3 hours of entertainment was enough for our kids, we went back and they were straight asleep for the night.
The 3 nights we were at Craig Tara were fantastic. All the staff were friendly and always smiling. We were there for the kids and they loved every minute of the entertainment, but the break did the parents good too.
The only complaint is that we were only there for the 3 nights. Definatly a recommendation for anyone wanting a great break away

Have just returned from a great family break. Park was clean, accommodation was comfortable and well stocked. Park has a lovely new restaurant and lots of fresh new faces. Well done guys, we'll be back in June. The Stepsons!

I've just returned from a 4 night break at Craig Tara and had a lovely time.
I was worried about some reviews I'd read on this site, but the only problem I experienced was dirty pots, pans & cooker. Not nice but I wasn't going to let it spoil my holiday.
Our caravan was lovely 'gold' or 'prestige' level with central heating and double glazing which I strongly recommend! We had 3 sunny but windy days then one wet & windy day so the heating came in handy.
The new 'Mash n Barrell' bar wasn't cheap, but the food was good and it had helpful friendly staff. It had specials on like meals for under £5 between 3pm-5pm, curry nights and carvery nights.
The fish & chip shop wasn't the best but the chinese was pretty good.
The kiddies entertainers were soooo energetic and the kids seemed to love what they did. (I have to admit to chuckling at them a few times too!) I was disappointed that so many activities had extra fees such as boats, fairground, trampolines etc. but they did have good kids clubs included in the price.
The caberet acts were good also, although I only saw three and they all kinda sang the same stuff, would have been good to see some different type of acts??
All in all, my family & I enjoyed Craig Tara and hope to return for a short break next year.

craig tara is amazing!!!!
we are 16 years old, and we love it there!!! we went with my family. there was loads to do there even though me and my friend spent most of time in the swimming pool.
the company there was great =D that was our 2nd time there and are hoping to go back again really soon!!!!!!!! we have stayed in a caravan both times, both have been clean and tidy when we arrive. really nice! there is so much to do for all ages. staff were great. really looking forwards to goin back

My 4 year old son, partner and myself had the misfortune of staying at Craig Tara for a 4 day stay in an allegedly 'gold class' caravan. We live in South Lanarkshire so know Ayr quite well and thought it would be a nice break, how wrong I was.
Yes, there was a delay at the check in desk but this is to be expected most places and the staff were not too friendly, but we all have off days, as for the caravan that was typical of a caravan, pretty basic but I don't know what we paid the extra money for really.
We never ate in the resort after taking a look around, as EVERYTHING in the park was out dated and very, very grotty!
Granted the beach at Craig Tara isn't great but if you take a short drive into Ayr it's lovely, the apparent entertainment complex was horrendous, it was full of arcades and fruit machines and the entertainment was very, very poor.
The whole place reeked of smoke and stale booze and if you don't drink or smoke it's really not the best place to go, as there's not much else to do. The swimming pool was disgusting and a complete disgrace and after a few minutes we left, as there was mildew everywhere, including on the ceiling dripping into the swimming pools and there were broken tiles all over the changing rooms and the lifeguards were far too hung over to keep their eyes open never mind save anyone from drowning.
The kid’s facilities were not much better, the play park was fine but it didn't have any of the safety surfacing and was in the middle of a park so as its Scotland it was very muddy and wet making it impossible to play on and as for the fun fair, well we called it the Un-Fun Un-Fair Park!
Most of the rides were broken but as we had already bought our tokens my poor little boy had to sit on merry go rounds and carousels which were pushed by a miserable Polish teenager who didn't speak English!
After two nights hardly sleeping in our freezing caravan and going into Ayr on days to Pirates Bay, the beach there and the amazing parks we decided to call it a day and go home.
The only consolation was that we got this through a cheap deal in the Sun Newspaper but we will never be back to Craig Tara! It's a real shame too as I have great memories of going there as a child when it was Butlins and have been caravanning a few times which I've enjoyed, particularly at Haggerston Castle.
If planning a holiday to Ayrshire stay well clear of Craig Tara and book into any of the gorgeous seafront B & B's.

We found Craig Tara to be a very nice place. The huge queues at the reception were very quick to move down, check in was very prompt and we were given the quickest route to our caravan. Our caravan was a 4* standard 2 beds, we found it adequate. It was very cold even with the fire on.
The caravan itself was clean and did not smell - our only fault was a light bulb needed changing. We are a family of 4; my 5 year old loved the entertainment, pool, and indoor play area and sports court. The indoor pool was huge; my one year old could stand up in the shallow areas, he loved it. However I found parts of the complex to be scruffy, the indoor and outdoor play areas and crazy golf needed hoovering, it was not cleaned at all in our 4 night stay, it was full of crumbs and stones.
There was a building that looked derelict, it was marked as a kids club building on the map.
I couldn't stay in the pool for very long as the chlorine made my eyes sore.
Don't be fooled into thinking caravan holidays are cheap and cheerful they are certainly not cheap! We did enjoy the kid’s entertainment, even the bingo! I don’t know what the entertainment was like after 9pm as we were not there, but I was told the cost of drinks goes up after 9pm. We have been to several Haven Parks but will not be returning to this one; the journey from Newcastle was horrific. I would rather be at Haggerston Castle or Primrose Valley - closer to home.