Doniford Bay Holiday Park

just returned from doniford bay holiday park, what a transformation last year it looked dreary and dated this year it looks modern clean and fresh,gone are the first rows of ageing chalets which most holiday makers moaned about, the area has been opened up giving great sea views, reception has had a facelift the pool has been cleaned up and the area is much more inviting . the staff are all freindy and welcome you with a smile
we booked a privately owned caravan right on the front of the bay,great views excellent caravan balcony, french doors,the lot,even games for the kiddies and dvds for us to use.we got this off directholidayhomes and booked direct with the owner (much better & cheaper)
and you know what your getting and where you are on park.really enjoyed it had some great walks and relaxation weather wasn't bad either, we will definately be booking again.

1 reader found this review helpful

For those considering Doniford Bay, it comes down to what you want for a Holiday. Read Carefully what the site offers on the website. We went last September and have booked to go again this June. We stayed for 2 weeks in a Superior Plus Caravan booked via Haven. Booking for 2 weeks works out much cheaper than 1 week or short breaks. It took 2 minutes to check in, staff were very friendly, the Caravan was only 2 months old, clean, and very comfortable. nicely decorated. The pre-booked highchair and Cot were delivered as we arrived and apart from torrential rain, we were relieved on arrival having read some pretty poor reviews.
If you want an action packed fortnight with endless activities on site/nearby this is not the park for you. Our 16 month old enjoyed the showbar, the amusements, the pool, the soft play areas, the outdoor play area etc.
The grounds are clean, green, and well kept. The setting is great and the local area is very attractive. It's not hustle and bustle. The livelier holidaymaker may be better suited to bigger parks closer to bigger towns. The toilets were fine / clean when we went.
I'd recommend a caravan. if you book a chalet, it looks like you are taking a risk although I heard nobody complain about anything whilst I was there. There is only one restaurant and the only fast food available is a fish and Chip shop. The restaurant was fine apart from a single stroppy retaurant employee although all other staff were friendly and chatty and didn't seem to like her either. The food choice was ok, similar to a chain pub type menu and prices were not unreasonable. The entertainment was pretty good, definitely aimed at families with younger children. Even the drinks were not too expensive.
The beach is rocky so those sandcastle builders beware although there are nice beaches locally. All in all, we had a great time and well, we've booked to go back so don't discount Doniford bay simply as a result of other peoples reviews, read very carefully what it has to offer, decide whether the disadvantages are actually disadvantages to you personally and if going for a chalet, be aware you are possibly taking a risk.

It seems that all the bad reviews for doniford bay stem from the chalets, Ive never been in one but from the look of them I can understand why, they look in a time warp.
We booked a caravan off haven last year which was costly and not as nice as we expected
it was also in the middle of lots of other vans & had no view, we use the park as a base
so as we can enjoy the area, but still had to pay for the entertainment passes which are included in the price even if you dont use them , so we paid for something we didnt need.
This year we are going back to doniford as we love the area & the park but have booked a privately owned luxury caravan which we found on www.directholidays.co.uk it looks lovely and on a prime spot too, we are paying a good bit cheaper than what haven wanted to charge & have the peace of mind that the caravan is what we want .The prices don't include entertainment passes which suits us but if we wanted to, can purchase them extra off haven , a much better deal all round.my advise is book privately if you can
& avoid the chalets.

This was the fifth time we had visited Doniford and again it never failed to impress us. We always stay in caravans ,as i had heard about the chalets being dated.I was shocked to read some of the reviews , but avoid the chalets and make your own mind up. We use Doniford mainly as a base its a very rural spot , but not far away from the a39. You are under an hour away from some great locations. Our favourites are, Clarkes Village ,Dunster, Porlock Weir,Tropiquaria and Minehead. We found the entertainment excellent , but it is a bit pricey in the showbars. But use your commonsense, we use to have a few beers or a glass of wine or two before we went. Then once your in just a couple of top ups done us. For the kids we would smuggle a couple of cans of pop in . Not because we are cheap but the coke was waterdowned rubbish. Our kids didnt get off the dancefloor anyway. This year we have booked a week in july , using a owners own caravan saving us a couple of hundred pounds on the haven brochure price. If you do this option remember you have to purchase your own entertaiment passes from reception.As for the great British weather , you can buy a family day pass at Butlins Minehead if its rainning ,and theres loads of indoor attractions nearby. Roll on July ...!

This holiday took the biscuit from the moment we arrived. The brochure boasts such delights as a 12' wide luxury caravan with all mod cons including a full size fridge, a children's indoor play area, great food and entertainment etc etc.
Lets start with caravan:
It was not 12' wide and luxurious.
It had 'top quality stools' around a dining table. Ideal for strapping the chair for my two year old on - not ! Considering you have to put the age of the children on the booking form, you would have thought someone would have checked it.
The fridge was fit for a two pint carton of milk and two plates - see photo. This was supposed to be a full size fridge as quoted on the booking.
The microwave was a joke - see photo.
Complaints to the site owners fell on deaf ears.
We visited the indoor ball pit which smelt like it had not been cleaned for months and funnily enough the certificate that is so clearly displayed at other sites was missing - a sign of the bad things to come.
An owners exclusive ho-down, 50' from our caravan compounded the holiday on the Saturday night, keeping the children awake with loud music. Complaints to the security staff at the site were ignored as they said they had no control over what went on - what a joke !
The food was a disgrace and we only ate on site once - once be once too many times in my mind. The food was cold and greasy and took for ever to arrive. By the time it did arrive the children were crying so much as they were hungry, sending it back was not an option.
Don't bother writing to customer services when you return as they just say that the problems are just tough on us and that there is nothing they can do. Their last letter was so dismissive and said that if I didn't like their response then sue them. Hardly the response you would expect from a company such as Haven.
AVOID THIS HOLIDAY COMPANY IF YOU WANT A DECENT HOLIDAY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE

We had been to doniford on several occasions and had stayed in caravans..mostly privately owned, however as this was a last minute booking they only had a chalet left. We arrived to find the sofa bed broken, the radio was an old car radio in a piece of veneered wood, the television plugs were smashed, there was coffee up the walls (well I hope it was coffee!!) he heater in the twin room was broken and wouldnt switch off. The bathroom was full of mould the shower looked like it hadnt been cleaned in months. After making a complaint to reception at least the sofa bed and the tv plug was fixed. I didnt want to go home as i had travelled there to meet up with family and would have missed out on being with them but I would definately have left normally. The park itself was a disgrace, the toilets in the pool area were full and overflowing, the pool was filthy. No go-karts were working and we were told they wouldnt be for the foreseable future. I decided to cook one night and used the oven..in the middle of cooking the oven door fell off onto my foot! I did complain and was told that they didnt have accident forms (I doubt this was the case though).
I am an MS sufferer and on returning had a relapse..obviusly I am not blaming the park for this but because of this I did not complain until three weeks later and was told that I had to make my complaint within 14 days so it was too late!
Suffice to say we will not be returning and will also steer clear of any holidays with this company.

1 reader found this review helpful

I can not even start to discribe how disgusting our chalet was at the Haven holiday Park in Doniford Bay,Watchet.We only stayed one night and had to leave the next day due to the dirty conditins of the accomodation.The manager at the park said they were the bain of her life and should be knocked down,and yet haven are charging £300+ for a short stay in one of their supposed-"fully equipped to a high standard and well furnished chalets".We did not experience a high standard,the bed settee was standard and filthy,as were the walls and kitchen.The toilet was infested with black mould,the mattress had holes in and the decor was very dated.The fire regulation stickers on the electrical items weren't signed or dated,i think the pictures say it all.I looked on the Haven website at the time and the pictures showed a microwave and other extras that weren't actually in the chalet they provided, i have just looked back now and they have changed all the images for Doniford Bay-if that doesnt't prove they were falsely advetising the chalets previously what does!
I will not be holidaying with Haven ever again.

Looking at all these reviews it appears that staying in a Chalet is not a good thing! When we walked around the site our first thought on seeing them was "if we were booked into one of these we wouldn't bother unpacking the car"! So it's not hard to see why those who did stay in these gave such low scores as it really would impact on your whole holiday.
We booked a privately owned caravan direct from the owners. It worked out a little cheaper than booking direct with Haven. All we could say when we got there was "WOW"! A modern caravan that even had an en-suite toilet! Facing out over the sea with decking the location couldn't be faulted. It was really comfortable with all mod-cons - the owners even left dozens of DVD's and CD's to watch!
The only real let-down for the holiday was the on-site facilities. The toilets in the show area left a lot to be desired. Some elements of the site felt tired.
It's not really a "beach", but if you want some sand head towards Dunster and Minehead. We only wanted somewhere comfortable to stay to explore the surrounding area, so we couldn't have asked for any more.
We really recommend the site to people of all ages, but seriously folks, if you read this BEFORE booking make sure you get a caravan and not a chalet. We also suggest trying to book direct with private owners first, you'll get a more personal service.

1 reader found this review helpful

My family and I booked into Doniford Bay one very busy Saturday in September. Why every on this website is complaining I really don't know. The Receptionist that booked us in was lovely and when we got to our accommodation there was no bedding but after reporting it back to reception it was delivered within 20 minutes. The entertainment team were great, never without a smile on their faces and happy to talk to us at any time. Please take time to read my review and give Doniford Bay a fair chance. It really is a lovely place to go for a holiday.

just came back a day early from doniford bay, having had two liver transplants we couldnt use the cooker as it was thick with grease, there was blood on the walls, in our chalet, the food i wouldnt give to my two dogs who i took, the place smelt mould on the walls wallpaper hanging off, notting to do on the site, entertainment was horrid fell in pool wih clothes on slipped, life guards chatting up young girls, do not go to this place,