Primrose Valley Holiday Park

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3 readers found this review helpful

I booked a "Superior" Caravan here last year. I had been going to different Haven sites for about thirty years. We had a long drive and couldn't wait to just get to our caravan and get a cup of tea. It wasn't that simple! We were allocated a caravan; Oak Meadows 117. It was situated under a tree and the windows were so dirty that we couldn't see out of them. The living area was really grubby and the sofa just plain dirty! My wife went back to reception to complain. At reception the staff didn't raise an eyebrow and just swapped keys for another caravan; Oak Meadows 36. When we went there I could not believe what we were seeing - It was absolutely filthy. The carpets and sofas were black with grime - just manky. They also had numerous cigarette burns. The table top was not fixed to the base and it just slid about and was too dangerous for my children to use. It too had cigarette burns and nail polish or glue on it.The whole caravan was just worn out, run down and disgustingly dirty!
I, this time contacted reception and they agreed to send out a supervisor. Some time later a supervisor did appear and I told her we had booked and paid for a superior caravan. I asked her "Superior to What Exactly?". She looked every bit as horrified as we were and asked us to go to another caravan, Oak Meadows 38. So at a glance we just agreed it was the best caravan up to now and just took it - we were all exhausted and fed up.
When we finally started to unpack we realised that this caravan too was just a run down old caravan that had had the carpets ripped out and a new badly fitted vinyl floor covering fitted(that we occasionally tripped over the humps in it). It also had nearly no window buffers for the latches to close onto so the windows didn't close fully and the caravan was freezing. Furthermore it wasn't secure and anyone could easily get in. The thermocouple on the grill didn't work so we had to stand there holding the button in for it to work. The splash guard for the cooker was missing with the four screws just left jutting out of the wall. The fridge had no salad draws, no front to the ice box and no drip tray for the ice box so everything we kept in the fridge just got soaked. The sofas were heavily stained and stinking of cigarette smoke. One of the curtain pelmets was completely missing. The blind in the bathroom was thick with mould. The shower screen, shower flex and the light pull cord in the bathroom was just something else! Some of the door catches were hanging off so we couldn't close the doors. I could not find my camera to take pictures of the first two caravans, but I did take some of the third one; 'The Best One out of the Three!!'. Everything on site is ridiculously overpriced and out to take your money off you. We refused to let them have a penny and went out every day, away from this dirty hovel. I would never recommend Haven to anyone. When we complained - yes you've probably guessed - we were offered an upgrade of accommodation if we booked here again - Something we had paid for in the first place and never got. We will never go to a Haven Site again!!!! Haven need to sack some staff and employ Kim and Aggie although it may prove too much even for them! We have never in our lives, had to complain about anywhere else we have stayed at in the world. I just hope this review saves other people from the sheer filth we had to endure.

12 readers found this review helpful

Reading some of the hilarious previous reviews means I feel obliged to join in.
We have visited Primrose Valley many times over the last 3 years, and much of that time is peak season i.e. shool holidays.
POSITIVES: Beautiful location (park is immaculately maintained), superb clean and safe swimming pools (especially outdoor pool in summer), Blue Flag beach with easy private access, plenty of childrens entertainment, and easy access to Filey, Scarborough and Bridlington (all stunning in their own way).
NEGATIVES: On-site shop is pricey (but plenty of shops in Filey, Scarborough or Bridlington), bars and night-time entertainment very busy and chaotic at times (if you want a seat - go very early), facilities limited outside of peak/holiday times.
As to the argument of expense - please do not blame Haven for your inability to say 'no'. Yes, there are lots of amusements and rides requiring payment, BUT equally there are plenty of ways to entertain your children at no further expense. The beach is close, plenty of grassy areas, swings/roundabouts and activity areas for 'young-uns', swimming and activity pools are free, and lots to do in the local area (Filey is accessible on foot - 20 minute walk along the beach).
Some of the caravans look a little ropey (we have had no complaints so maybe we have been lucky) and the park is increasingly large but the pro's massively outweigh the con's.
I can see that two weeks in the rain may stretch the patience of most families, but - if the weather is kind - Primrose Valley can deliver a brilliant 'old-school' family holiday!

4 readers found this review helpful

me and my husband have being going to primrose valley for over 10 years, first with our 2 children now we have 5 children. we go twice a year for a long weekend and we love it, what excellent family time, sports and activities through out the day and on the night we make our way over to jesters to see the rory tiger show. brill entertainment for all the family on an evening, kids love it and so do we.

5 readers found this review helpful

we have just returned from a 7 day holiday our first time at primrose valley. we booked a year in advance and payed half the normal price which at the time we thought was great but on reflection was still too much. we arrived early to be told our van needed its living area carpet cleaned (which we are still waiting for) and one of the 2 sets of steps into the van was broken this was fixed at about 6pm. we looked at the list of activities and entertainment only to read some were possibly closed due to seasonal restrictions the showbar was only open fri/sat night for anything other than bingo. jesters was great for the kids but do they really need bingo in there aswell? if you are aged over 12 there was absolutely nothing to do. the kids pool in the main complex was good but the main pool the aquabar was closed, the funfair was very limited. all in all the kids enjoyed it but next time if i were to go again it would have to be a prestige van or higher, in the summer hols and take lots of spending money.

25 readers found this review helpful

23/8/10. just back from 7 nights at havens primrose valley, i'm quite easy to please but the wife isn't so i booked a 2 bedroom prestige van,£700 for the week. some people complaining about check in times but with prestige van we were able to check in at 2.30, no queues , no fuss. our van was in eskdale, probably the furthest away you could get from the main complex, about a mile, 15-20 minute walk. we took the car so no problems there. the van was immaculate and well furnished, kitchen / diner with integrated appliances, en-suite bathroom, central heating, flat screen tv / dvd player etc.
the swimming pools and parks are free, but you have to pay for all other rides / activities etc. the prices are actually cheaper than we would pay when the travelling fair comes to town, (dodgems £2, twister £2, go carts £5 5 mins etc, some cash some via tokens you buy) so not extortionate as some people claim, i'm not flash with my cash but neither do i go on holiday to save money!
food on site nice enough, nothing flash but does the job,not too expensive, the on -site spar is not as overpriced as i was lead to believe, but if you are that concerned just take a 5 minute drive to filey, you will pass a herron store, selling branded goods at special offer prices.
tried a meal at the plough which we passed on the way in, but uinfortuanately it was rather dissapointing, mis -matched chairs, dirty tables etc, but huge plates of food, cheap and nearly cheeful, but not the best to be honest.
if you want to watch the entertainemnt in jester's bar i suggest you get there early (6pm) as we arrived 6.15 twice and couldn't get a seat, super busy with kids all over, but that's the idea isn't it?
plenty of places to visit locally, scarborough 15 mins, whitby 30 mins, filey 5 mins. peasholm park is beautiful, with naval warfare displays (google it!!) and of course you have to try fish and chips at the seafront.
overall i / we can't fault the place, clean, tidy, friendly staff,immaculate toilet areas and pool areas, good security. jam packed of activities, bars really busy at night times but it was peak time, the entertainment is pretty low brow but it is aimed at kids, standard holiday park style. i would reccomend this place to friends and i wouldn't be frightened to go back myself either.
yes , as reported before the whole place is geared up to make money at every oportunity but nobody forces you to spend it, and if you can't entertain your kids without throwing money at them , well i would suggest that's your downfall, not that of a holiday park...........

8 readers found this review helpful

just back from 10 nights at primrose valley, had read a mixture of reviews but we had a fantastic time. Site was immacculate, and there was plenty of things to do on and off park. Have been goinbg to haven sites for past 5 years and this is got to be the best so far. Swimming pools on site are really good and very clean, amusement arcade is massive with lots to do for kids and adults, thought eating out in complex was really reasonable especially papa johns pizza where you can feed a family of 4 for £20 and is really nice. The beach with access from the site is one of the nicest we have seen (blue flag beach) and you can walk to filey along the beach in 2o minutes and is a lovely walk! Only downside i can think of is the staff ratio, especially in the mash and barrel where there seems to be hardly any staff and sometimes had to wait a while as one boy seemed to be the only one serving breakfast in the mornings, but apart from this would definetly recommend to anyone thinking of going for a holiday!!!!

1 reader found this review helpful

We've just come back from Primrose valley, and ohh! dear, we go to haven caravans every year and thought we;d try thisd one this year!! Family Entertainment wise in the Jesters bar!! well what can i say the entertainment staff need to take a leaf out of the entertainment staff at Lakeland (who never stopped from 7pm-8.45pm)my son is 3 and lost interest on several occasions throughout the week with the evening entertainment, also Mash and barrel pub, now to say this is a flagship site, is just a complete car crash! one one occasion calvary night was stopped at 7.15 due to the food being cold and normal menu people had to wait 30-45 mins for their meal (try telling a 3yr old he has to wait for his tea!)then on a curry night, normal menu people had to wait again 30-45 mins for food! this site needs more staff in the pub, a better set of entertainment staff!!! I think Lakeland is back on the cards for next year!!!!

3 readers found this review helpful

This was our second visit to Primrose Valley. Last year we had booked a "superior plus" caravan but got lucky and ended up in a very nice, clean van with lovely sea views and a balcony (privately owned I think). On arrival, we were greeted kindly and promptly. The entertainment was good and we had such a good experience that we didn't hesitate to book another holiday while we were still on site.
This year we had booked a "prestige" caravan (a free upgrade for booking while on the park last year) and were told at the time of booking that we would probably also get the location we wanted too - we asked for a similar sea view if possible. When we arrived, after a 7 hour journey, we had to wait over half an hour in a queue to get our keys. When we reached the head of the queue we were given our keys by a stressed security guard without so much as a "hello" and sent on our way. Our caravan was almost as far from the sea as you could get, it was cramped and seemed older than I expected. The carpets were stained and the crockery was dirty.
I was unhappy with the entertainment this year too - the programme we were given at the start of our holiday was inacurate - leading to many tears from disappointed children. For example, after a few failed attempts at trying to let my little girl see "Anxious the Elephant" (her favourite character) we arrived early on our last night to see the programmed show starring "Anxious", only to find that the show had been changed to "DJ Ned". You can imagine how upset she was. Another example: On the Saturday evening, our children excitedly got dressed up to go dancing to some "party dances" but we found they were not allowed to dance as the programme had been changed and a game show was now on in it's place. We tried to take the children over to the other showbar to dance, where live music was programmed, only to be met with security guards stopping us at the door because there was now an "owners exclusive summer ball" on in that showbar. In this instance, I must say that after complaining to the bar manager, she managed to get some party dances put back on for the kids, but overall I feel that Haven could make more effort to stick to the programme to save disappointing young children.
Other than those main problems, to be fair I've given this park 8/10 because it is in a lovely location and is generally clean and welcoming with plenty to do on site and (more importantly to us) off site. The swimming pools are very nice, especially the new fun pool with slides etc which the kids loved. The beach is a long walk away but well worth the effort. The surrounding area is stunning with so many wonderful days out to be had. All in all, we had another fantastic holiday, despite our small issues with Haven on this occasion.
So I feel with Haven, it's really a hit or a miss - you could get lucky like we did last year and have no problems, or you might not be so lucky. This year's experience has put me off booking so quickly with Haven again, especially since I had booked what I thought was one of their better caravans so I feel like paying a bit more won't necessarily guarantee anything.

5 readers found this review helpful

just got bk from a week at primrose been there every year apart from last year very dissapointed this time round was situated at beech rise a mile away from main complex not happy about that everything as gone up in price and when u have 4 kids it can be too dear had to shop in filey everyday prices of food at places was disgusting ,had to eat in everyday which was a bore as it was supposed to be a holiday away from cooking.jesters as gone down hill too used to be great night out crap entertainment windsors should have been open more better shows on there,dont think ill be coming bk again.caravan was spotless but way too many flies couldnt sleep on a night because of them

3 readers found this review helpful

what can i say, apart from never again left this morning at 7 am could not wait to get home caravan was a long way from the complex. every thing was a rip off nothing on in the club except bingo.the staff or rude apart from the mash &barrell they were lovley as was frank in poppa johns.i once went to thorpe park in cleethorpes not a 5 star but much better than primrose