Craig Tara Holiday Park

I went to haven with my husband and 3 sons aged 11'8 and 3.
We stayed in the prestige 3 bedroom caravan which was extremely clean and tidy and checked in within 3 mins. We had central heating in all the rooms.
The pool changing areas needed to be staffed and cleaned better as they were slippery under foot and dirty. Lockers were mostly broken and like gold dust to get.
The full pool was never open fully and only 1-2 levels were available- under staffed for the life gaurds. The flumes were not on for for long and if you blinked you would miss it.
The payed activities for the pool were thoroughly enjoyed ie aqua jets. water walkers and pool party. free entry to inflatables party.
Paid for activity pass for 6 activities which was ok. But under staffed and too many kids taking part so my son waited at least 10 mins between shots of archery. very small area for archery and only 1 at a time. (butlins do these activities for free).
Kids enjoyed the free trampolines and bouncy castle in the sports zone.
The beach was very clean and tidy. No swan boats werent on.
Go karts were good and hubby and 11 and 8 year old loved this. Fair was over priced for the few things a 3 year old could do.
The entertainment was poor for the kids. shows repeated 2 times in the 7 days there. Same jokes and the older kids noticed. We tried the show bar as were first told no under 4's but found most families went there anyway and the entertainment was better in there.
My son was a finalist in the talent show and even though he didnt win there was no recognition for sny of the finalists and the winner got a certificate. these kids provided the entertainment for thst evening and they deserved better than this.
The shop was over priced snd the barrel and mashs food and menu want inspiring sng was luke warm. no service with a smile and got our own cutlery and sauces etc.
The vending machines were a joke and it was hit and miss whether they worked and dont think to ask to get your sweet or money back as theres only 1 man that deals with the vending machines and he went home half day. reception and barrel mash staff were very unhelpful and passing the buck was rife.
Outside the park we went to the sea front and had fish and chips. We found all the local supermarkets and shops.
HEADS OF AYR PARK ROCKS......£40.00 for the family ticket and we went in the rain. The kids and staff were amazing and has a blast. The new indoor slides were amazing . My husband was on them more than the kids. We fed the animals and watched lemurs getting fed.
The westher was cold .windy and rained 90% of the time but we had a wonderful time and were told the owner will be investing more money for next year to add even more.
There was the usual ups and downs with the weather but not enough indoor activities and on a friday theres basically nothing for the kids as its all meet and greet for new arrivals.
Overall the holiday was really good and although there was niggles i would go back.
Next year we are booked for further afield to primrose valley and reading the reviews and looking at the site to looks really good.
Your holiday is what you make it and we certainly had fun.

i had a great time at craigtara the only thing bad about it was the weather , lots of things to do and always a great show on in the bonga wonga and the entertainers are brilliant ( especially dan and emma ). the only thing is that its a bit expensive but well worth your money !!!!!!!

We stayed in a disability access caravan and my son who is 20 really enjoyed it.
First off the restaurant was very canteenish and the food was poor although there were many choices and the breakfast was good.
The sports zone was magic and the staff there were excellent. very patient and helpful. There is access via a lift from Turnberry Gardens and the staff are more than willing to open up out with the times of the canteen. I had 2 disabled people with me and the sports zone helped them to make the most out of the holiday.
The security staff were very good and helpful. Always on the ball 24/7.
Swan lake was a bit of a let down as all but 2 of the swans were working and the rest of the pedaloes were inoperable.
The beach was too pebbly for my 2 to get onto was it appeared to be clean.
There is no need to rip people off at the cash machine but until they sort that out get money at the cash back till.
Over all my son enjoyed it and would go back next year!

2 readers found this review helpful

while on our hoilday during july in this so called hoilday park which is souly based on carvans and not on activies to do for the whole family it was very disappointing and not worth the money you are charged...a swimmingpool tenpin bowlin go karts £5 for 5 laps amusements are a joke..and a so called lake with swan pedal boats which wasnt even open durin our stay..we spent 2hrs cleaning our prestiage caravan so wudin like to see the standard caravans..we were also asked when we booked in on our info or so called welcome leaflet that if some of our beds were not selpt in we should leave them the way they were when we arrived at the caravan..which would suggest that they dont change the beding for each new family arriving..a totalwaste of money

I booked a prestige caravan on line at this park and chose this caravan over any other as it looked so good online and I was looking for the most comfortable spacious accommodation for my family of 6. I also paid an additional amount to secure the most up to date caravan for 2011. Upon arrival at Haven we were given the keys for our caravan. We were all very excited and had high expectations. What a huge disappointment when we arrived at our allocated caravan. There was very little distance between us and the next caravan and no view out of our lounge window except for other peoples caravans. It was awful and the caravan itself did not look a 2011 and was certainly not spacious. I went back to reception to complain and we were then given another caravan in another part of the site. It was bigger and had a really good view of the golf course and it was a quite location with good space between the caravans. It was however dirty inside and needed a thorough clean. We went through a right fiasco trying to speak with the Manager to get this all sorted for us and eventually by the end of day 2 we were able to start enjoying our holiday. I am rather confused by the difference in standard of the original caravan to the one we ended up being moved into. Had we not complained we would not have known any different. It was still a prestige caravan that Haven put us into. There should not be differences between any Prestige caravan as you have to pay the same amount. This is where I feel let down. We could have gone to spain for the amount I paid for the week. It was just as well the weather was good. The standard of cleanliness in the pool and changing rooms was poor and actually quite disgusting so I do question this being a 4* resort. It does have a great deal of variety of activities but it could do with concentrating on providing value for money in terms of accommodation and not misleading customers on the website.

Rating of the accommodation should be negative 1! The only plus was there was awesome air freshener called Boom, Caravan was dirty, took wipes to disinfect everything, cleaned the shower,sink,toilet and kitchen area, glad we took sleeping bags as the bedding felt damp! When filling in the guest comments and asked about the accommodation we out hilarious! Entertainment was diabolical, went to see it stayed for thirty minutes to give it a chance, didn't go back. The area around the caravan was littered with the previous tenants rubbish, and the recycling bins were a joke, full of rubbish not bagged and Tennants cans
The plus side is that the scenery away from the park is amazing, visit Crossraguel Abbey, 10 minute drive, take the kids and a picnic so much to see, Culzean Castle is also amazing another pack your bag there's so much to see and the beech near the walled garden is secluded quiet, if you look carefully you might see the seals basking on the rocks, also well worth taking the ferry to the isle of Bute another great day.
Felt totally ripped off by Haven as due to circumstances beyond our control we were left with no option but to change our original destination, we had paid for a supreme deluxe model supposedly less than a year old and despite empty caravans on the site we were accommodated in a draughty box on wheels that had seen better days twenty years ago. Shame on them!

Craig tara is the place to be compared to the rubbish place I live in. The restaurants there are great,my caravan was good except the microwave:L my favourite things were the things you could do such as the amusements which were fantastic, the live lounge bar where bands placed was brilliant especially totally tropical and my favourite was the STAFF that worked there, such nice people (Dan , Stephen, Emma and Jordan, Lydia).They were all brilliant doing there job and I wish I could have met them but hopefully next time. I was really sad that I had to go home because it is a brilliant holiday:) Another thing which was quality was the coke football training with lewis (member of staff) which was much fun BUT I WILL DEFINITELY BE GOING BACK SOON so I can especially see the Staff again:)The holiday for me gets a welll deserved 10/10 and I will hopefully be back in a few weeks.Ben Carmichael aged 14.

3 readers found this review helpful

I packed the car with our 4 kids age rage 15-3years my husband and I headed to Craig Tara with an open mind for a half board 7 night break.
We had a great time. The park had lots for all the kids to do. Our apartment was clean if well worn. The food was ok, good choice and even our picky wee one always found something to her taste. Great value for money.

5 readers found this review helpful

we have been 2 craig tara every year apart from last year.. never had a bad word to say about it, my 3 kids and me and my partner love it.. loads for kids to do, the swimming pool is fantastic and if u go at high season ie the summer holidays (thats when we go) u get al the top entertainment like the circus and the wresaling. the shows are great for the kids and the staff are great up dancing with the children to the party dances.. we are booking for this summer and cani wait to try the new stuff out like the laser quest, roller skating and the night discos. the kids are so looking forward to be going back, we went to martin mere last year and it has hardly anything at it.. im sticking to craig tara from now on.

3 readers found this review helpful

Arrived on 25th April and checked in quickly. Once we got to caravan we unpacked our stuff and went for tour of park. At night we realised the problem our single and a half bed sagged in the middle making for an awful nights sleep, and it was freezing in the bedrooms at night,we were in the deluxe caravan which didn't have bedroom heaters, either take your own or upgrade! The entertainment complex or complex was heaving with 'undesirables.' We only used the park as a base. Good days out are a day-trip to Arran, Visit Culzean castle and visited friends in Glasgow. Overall It was money well spent, but would upgrade to top caravans. There were lots of pubs/hotels/restaurant on the A719 on Ayr.