Doniford Bay Holiday Park

just came back from a break 19th to 23rd sept with children aged 8 and 14 doniford haven is hard to get to from taunton if your not driving 35 pound in a cab from the station.well where do i start haven was like a ghost town ..the swimming pool was at least 30years old and very small ..the beach is awful looks like its been hit by a nuclear bomb.. there were no activites for the kids unless your 5 or under and then ther was a 5 hour gap when nothing was going on ...there is paid activites you can do fencing and archery ect but haven say they have free activites but dont deliver what they promise the spar shop is a joke nothing in it fride freezer broken two trays of bad mince in the fridge all week and told by numerous people but still there they day we were leaving..if you dont drive this is not the park to stay in there are lots of places to see around the area but if your on a budget it will cost a fortune as you have to pay to get ever where and why should you pay to go other places when haven promise all the activites and dont deliver myself and my two children were bored the whole week couldnt wait to leave bit of a shame as it was are first break in 3 years ..the food from the chip shop was awful but food in cafe/bar was ok the only good thing was the caravan sunsetview 9 it was lovely and the night before we came home we saw 5 badgers just walking around by the caravan which was cool haven had lots of complaints from familes staying here all with the same complaints ..i would never stay at haven again thank god for leigh parker sports instructor for doing the paid activites with my kids he really was a god send i have made a formal complaint to haven and am waiting for reply

I stayed with my wife and two children (5 and 9) early August 2011. The thing I have to say is, there are bad reviews, but dno't listen to them. It is a lovely park, kept very clean. The beach is shingly, but there is better ones up and down the coast. There is lots to do in the surrounding areas, you can even go to Minehead, about 20mins drive, and get a day pass to Butlins if you want something a bit different. As for the site, there is one shop, a Spar, which is more expensive (as you expect for a caravan park) but there are Tesco's, ASDA's and Morrisons in Taunton and Minehead so you can go supermarket shopping. The prices for the bars are typical pub style prices (around 3.10-3.40 for a pint of beer) and the restaurant has typical pub style prices. Drinks and food all prepared with great care and always cooked well. As for the entertainment, the Funstars do their best, but I would say the one who really stands out for me is Funstar Kevin. He is full of enthusiasm and always works hard with the kids, to make sure they are always happy and smiling. Compared to him, the rest of the Funstars seemed dull in comparison, although they work hard. The shows are standard entertainment shows, featuring the characters, such as Bradley Bear, Rory the Tiger ect. Great for the younger kids, the older ones might get a bit more bored, espec teenagers, but the Funstars always try their hardest to entertain everybody.
All in all a nice park and one I would reccomend going to.

1 reader found this review helpful

We have just returned from a 7 day holiday here. We were greeted very well by the reception staff.We arrived early and were made most welcome. All the staff here are very friendly and nothing is too much trouble. Our caravan was fantastic, I booked a superior 2 bed, and we got a prestige, the caravan was very spacious with a veranda. The caravan was very clean and had everything we needed, all the fabrics matched and were spotless as were the beds. The beach here is very rocky,(sandy beaches nearby) our kids loved it as we went fossil hunting and found loads!. swimming pool was warm and clean.Plenty of lifeguards. Pools were not huge, but perfectly adequate.We visited nearby Dunster, Watchet and Minehead and the Steam Railway. Caravan site clean, quiet and constantly being cleaned by staff- never saw any litter !.Food in retaurant was very good. We would certainly return.

1 reader found this review helpful

My wife and I stayed in Sunset View and were amazed by the caravan,We have never stayed in such a posh caravan before it seemed more like an apartment, and how quiet it was, also the uninterrupted sea views were amazing, We witnessed some glorious sunsets, All the staff were very pleasant and helpful from security staff to management level, The Spar shop was a little more expensive but that is what you expect on a caravan site, Such as the drinks in the bar,But you do get free evening entertainment!The swimming pool is clean and warm,The Lifeguards kept a good watch and were very Professional,There seemed to be a lot of activities going on for the children, Also families were taking their children down to the beach to do some rock pooling,There is a thin strip of sandy beach you can walk along,We will definitely be returning again, Well done all the staff at Doniford bay and thank you for making our stay a memorable one.

1 reader found this review helpful

we booked for one week from last monday with a party of 8, after reading reviews of the chalets we upgraded to a 3 bed prestige caravan, we arrived on site and were shocked, only way to describe it is for old retired couples who want nothing to do but sit there.....the sales guy words to us were....we have 460 caravans 390 are owned so theres not many holiday makers here so no need to rush to get a seat for entertainment!!!! we therefore went straight to reception and got transferred to a proper holiday park for families DEVON CLIFFS, would never book another holiday with HAVEN unless we were going back to DEVON cliffs, that place is truly amazing!!! We even got a 30 pound refund to change parks to a better one!!! Well worth a transfer guys if you have booked doniford bay and are after an action packed fun filled holiday, get stright to devon cliffs!!!

3 readers found this review helpful

both my partner and i were very much looking foreward to the trip to donniford bay but we had to cancel at the last min because the car broke down, the staff were brilliant right throughout and advised we could re book at any time in the next 12 months. we re booked for the 9th of july 2011 and got there to find the staff on reception very helpful. we stayed at a caravan on waterside, and,being as we had never been to haven before we didnt quite know what to expect. we pulled up outside the caravan and the view just from the patio on it alone was breathtaking. we got into the caravan and it had been meticulously cleaned and smelled lovely. we were both extremely impressed by it. i honestly cannot fault the accomodation. Next thing was where were we going to have dinner and we made our way to the restauraunt and were very pleasantly surprised at the prices of things and the nice selection. 9oz gammon steak served with pineapple,egg,chips and peas for 9.99. Me and my partner dont have kids but i did look at some of the kids meals just to be nosey and they appeared to be well presented. To be absolutely fair we both didnt go to the entertainment, preffering to meander into watchet for a wander. the site was very clean and there were always peoople meandering round with dustpan and brushes etc. The attitude of the staff was impeccable and so very friendly and if they didnt know something they would find out for you. There is a spa shop onsite and things were quite reasonably priced but if in doubt or have kids then i would reccomend stocking up before you go as the selection of food is limited due to the size of the shop ( fairplay they do their best)All in all a wonderful time was had by myself and my partner,highly reccomended. try the starr in for food in watchet, warm welcome from staff and very nice people, the beach isnt a sand beach, its very rocky so if you have kids head for blue anchor or minehead

1 reader found this review helpful

We stayed at Doniford Bay for a long weekend. Initially I was offered one of their prehistoric Chalets. These look old and uninviting outside and no better inside. I went back to reception and was then moved to a 6 person caravan closer to the sea whioch would have been good except for it was only suitable for 4 people. I phoned reception and told them their was no sofa bed only to be told that i had missed it but kept her on the phone to confirm the caravan had a old sof which had been moved in instead of the original furniture with sofa bed that should have been there. I then went back to reception again and unfortunately got another member of staff who told me there must be a sofa bed there at which point i said i would drive her back to the caravan if she wanted proof. To be fair to reception the main supervisor came out very quickly with a third set of keys for a caravan that we were happy with once the intial key they gave me had been sent back again as it did not work and was replaced with the vans master key.
All the reception staff were friendly but busy. My advice is never accept a chalet as you will just wanted to change.
After a bad start though the site was good. The Restaurant area appears to have been recently updated with sofas and normal tables. The Menu was mainly pub favourites but had a few suprises like Chicken piri piri which I enjoyed.
The evening entertainment was on par with other similar sites. When you read some reviews It seems as they were expecting London Theatre professionals but realistically it was of the same standard you get in a Thomason Super Family Hotel. Audience participation and all with some naff magical bits. The staff worked hard and my kids were well entertained and happy giveing me and my wife a chance to relax.
Some other reviews have indicated they felt prices were expensive in the bar and restaurant. My view is the restaurant was a bit more expensive than a pub but we had 5 meals and drinks for less than £50.00. The Bar proces were much the same as pub prices as well and there were several offers on wine and Beer.
The Pool area whilst not massive was adequate and clean. Only one slide but that is clear on the details. There were a lot of liefguards in attendance.
I think this is a site suitable for short stays for younger families. I am not sure there is enough there for older kids but I have three girls under 9 and they were quite happy. I would not stay there a week but would look at doing a weekend again.

5 readers found this review helpful

Hey all, i got to say some of the reveiws are really bad on this sight. This is a shocker i go back every year and Doniford Bay has never let me down,there if fun for all ages you have kids clubs, swimming pools, all weather courts, park, ballpit, bolling, arcades, go karts, zipwires, alsult caourse in the trees, evening entertainment and they also supply wressling matches and pantos in the day time for all ages. This is one of the best camp sights for sight seeing to or for nice long walk in the day or night there hills just behind the camp sight you could go and walk and have picknicks on, there is also beach and placs you can walk your dogs it isa very friendly place everyone gets on and the staff are brill. YOU WILL NEVER BE MORE WELCOME THEN AT DONIFORD BAY!!
ill say book you holidays here enjoy your stay and relax dont liston to bad reviews thanks guys and enjoy yourselfs x

1 reader found this review helpful

I was slightly apprehensive about our stay at Doniford Bay as it was booked in haste and only after I booked did I read the reviews.
We had a slight wait to check in as we got stuck in traffic and arrived after 8pm, but were soon given the keys to our caravan. First impressions were good, the caravan was immaculate and bigger than I imagined AND we had linen, which we hadn't paid for. The whole park was clean and tidy and the staff that we met were keen and helpful.
Only a couple of gripes: The entertainment at the complex went on until v late (some sort of disco) and was very noisy, as were the revellers on their way back to their caravans. Also, we went to the amusements on the 2nd night there and there were kids literally running riot, which staff did nothing about. Not sure I would return as we saw everything we needed to in the area, but I would definitely holiday with Haven again

We have just returned from doniford bay, we got free upgrade to prestige without requesting it was superb, grounds immaculate pool area great staff so friendly could not complain and we are fussy. Would recommend best site by far