The Orchards Holiday Park

Sorry but can not understand how anyone is giving this camp site good reviews!!
We have been to several Haven sites in general large pools slides, go karts, places to eat etc.... this site was terrible the indoor pool is tiny no slides to highlight how big it is there is only one gents toilet and one shower! how they get away with that I have no idea!! no go karts or tennis court... owe sorry they do but its for owners only!
In the centre of the site between the caravans is what can only be described as a shanty town run down homes from the 60's. The pub at the end of the site lokks so dated last refurbed in the 70's.
During our stay on touring pitch no hot water for showing or washing up! In fairness we were allowed to use showers in the owners complex.. so kind!
The only thing this site offers is the fishing ang golf family holiday - forget it unless u have very low expectations!! DONT ACCEPT IT

1 reader found this review helpful

just came back and we loved it. it was my hubby , i and two kids under 4. after reading all the bad reiews i was a bit scared to go , but as soon as we opened the caravan door, we realised that it was not a mistake. everything was clean and it looked better than the pic on the brochure. my kids loved the pool and the open space infront of the caravan where they spent alot of time playing. the whole environment was friendly and the staff were great and very helpful. i would say its worth a try.

1 reader found this review helpful

Arrived at the Orchards with 3 young children, 4, 5 and 6. Overall impression looked very big with lots of things to do, how wrong we was! We found no entainment going on in the day for the children , most facilities closed, ice cream, hot dogs, and bouncy castle. Crazy Golf was so old that when you hit the ball it would not go far due to all the ripped felt, thats if you could call it crazy golf! Swimming pool was very dirty leaves all sitting on top of the pool, complained to the manager but did not seem to care. There is very few places to eat you have the pub or pizza in the club house or a delightful chinese takeway! The children have very few play facilities only one in fact which is at the end of the park. We booked for 4 days and went home after 3 as there is nothing to do and spent most days on clacton pier spending a fortune.

4 readers found this review helpful

After reading some of the horror stories on here, it was with some trepidation that we collected our keys and went to our caravan (Superior plus)
It was absolutely fine. It had been vacuumed and the sheets were fine, the toilet was clean and the only real fault we found was that there was spilled sugar in one of the cupboards.
We were right next to the main complex so did not have to walk very far to get to the entertainment, although the camp is arranged in a very linear fashion, with the complex in the centre so some of the caravans were quite a distance from it.
The funstars were all very friendly and engaged the children whenever they saw them and it was nice to participate without them trying to sell you something every 5 mins. At one park we visited after every activity they wheeled out a stall of some kind with plate spinning, juggling balls, flashing toys etc for sale.
The site itself appeared very well kept, although the toilets in the complex could've done with a bit more regular inspection. The showbar did get very busy and usually there was standing room only at around 7:30pm.
The indoor pool was quite small and does not have a porch on the main doors, so got quite cold, especially when people held it open to chat with their friends outside! Probably not a problem in the summer though.
The food from Papa Johns and the Mash and Barrel was of a good standard and the staff in both were really nice, helpful and efficient.
Overall a really good holiday and we would go back.

1 reader found this review helpful

I went to The Orchards last August and stayed on the touring field with my friend. Although it was a bit shabby the kids loved it and we had a good time. HOWEVER, I have just returned from a 4 day break and it was absolutely awful.
I stayed in a Prestige caravan and to be fair it was lovely, and the area of the park we were on was very quiet. But there were huge groups of gypsies everywhere. They took up all the tables in the club ALL night, very inconsiderate to other holiday makers generally. My friend who was on the touring field actually had to call the police to break up a fight involving a father and son with crow bars and a machete, this was after park security had been contacted, but ignored the fight.
Toilets in the club - at least half were out of order or with broken locks, and the ones with broken locks were the same ones that had broken locks last August. I will NEVER be going here again and if anyone has a holiday booked here I would advise you to cancel it and book somewhere else.

2 readers found this review helpful

I had been here before with my family when I was roughly 15 (Aug 2004) and I loved it, went in Peak sesson too, lots of things to for adults and children, we stayed in a standard caravan with a park right on our door step plus a massive field to play on, I have since had a baby and decided to come back with my Fiance, we decided to come back in off peak times (oct 2010) as it was cheaper, due to this we stayed in the prestige caravan, and I was shocked to see how nice it was!! Clean and there was loads of space, I think the only downfall to this caravan if I had to be picky was that one of the dvd players was broke, but we had another dvd player to watch things on! We decided to try the pool this time, and there must of only been about 6 people in there, the pool isnt that big, but big enough for around 30 people maybe.....the outside pool was off limits as it was freezing!!
Bit of advice tho...Dont feed the swans! I was attacked by a family of them (my own fault for feeding them twice everyday with my little boy) they will stalk you and your caravan for hours, altho it was nice to see the ducks and my little boy loved feeding them too!!
all in all another amazing holiday!
Due to go to another haven holiday park at the weekend for a week, it has the same sorta bad reviews as this one but im willing to see for myself!! everyone has different views about places...my advice is dont listen too much to the reviews you read but to go and see for your self

2 readers found this review helpful

Before booking our holiday at the Orchards, my Partner and I were surprised at the largely negative reviews posted here. Nevertheless we decided to give it a go, considering it was a Sun holiday, and a cheap getaway for a few days (we booked for mid-September, after the so-called holiday season.)
Site and Setting:
The first thing that struck me was the location of the site; just ten minutes away from Clacton, half an hour from historic Colchester with plenty to do both off-site and on. I shall endeavour to elabourate; The Orchards is what I would consider an ideal retreat for both young or old couples, not families with exuberant children. If families were to holiday here, they would be disappointed with the facilities on site, and would have to go out to keep the young ones happy. Add to this the heat of summer, and it could be a stressful time! The entrance to the park was well marked and there were plenty of historic sites around such as a medeival priory.
First Impressions:
There was plenty of space to park and the toilets were immaculately clean and spacious. Entertainment was still running and the actors/entertainers worked really hard. The "Mash and Barrel" bar served food to a superb standard, akin to the quality of nearby Wild Duck, another Haven resort we frequent in Belton, Great Yarmouth. The sights around Point Clear are beautiful, and I cannot agree with references to a "shanty town" growing in and around the park.
Caravan:
The caravan, despite being a "Standard," was large and clean. Although we would not spend most of our time within the 'van, it was comfortable and pleasant. The one or two things we didn't particularly like we remedied quickly and saw the positive side, rather than complain about it. A Haven rep even visited us to check whether we were happy with our accomodation! My feeling was that if we weren't, they would have promptly found us another caravan.
On Site:
The afforementioned "Mash and Barrel" bar was staffed by friendly, helpful Haven reps, and the service was incredibly fast and efficient. The amusements and main entertainment complex were refreshingly retro, (this coming from a 23 year old!) However, the pool was small and the outdoor pool unused, which was not surprising considering the time of year (hence my reasoning for recommending The Orchards for couples, rather than families.) There are many beautiful sites to see within the park - the aviation museum and Point Clear walks, which were breathtaking (from my point of view as a city historian!) The best time to see these are just after Sunset and take round about an hour (however the museum has set openings on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10-2pm.) There are lovely lakes and streams dotted around the site and plenty of wildlife.
Off Site:
We didn't have it all our way on this holiday; our car broke down irrevocably in Colchester and we contemplated returning home early - how glad we were that we didn't. Despite this setback we still managed to see the castle and explore this historic town, along with Clacton as well. Again, I recommend the area to couples - a one hour plus bus journey into Colchester will reduce many young children to boredom and tantrums! Clacton is smaller, and has a lovely beach and pier for a nice day out, the closest Waterstones I found is in Colchester.
Overall I once again rate Haven's service highly and hope to return to The Orchards in the future. I recommend it to couples of any age, especially around September time, (my Partner and I were 23 at the time of our visit,) and while of course I appreciate individual experiences vary, ours was a collectively enjoyable one, despite a number of setbacks!

The caravan was dirty, and it was definately how it looked like in the cataloge.

1 reader found this review helpful

Went to The Orchards in Clacton in June 2007 with 2 adults & 4 children.
Arrived at the park, picked up keys. Walked into the caravan we was given and noticed faeces on the curtains and round the toilet seat and a strong smell of urine. Unfortunatly had to clean this up as children needed the loo. Went off and had a walk around the park. Went to the entertament (If you can call it that). Haveing returned to the caravan especting to put the children t bed for the night, we all suddenly started scratching. Children & ourselves was extremly stressted and uncomfortable with the reception being closed as it was Midnight we decied to drive back home and sort it out the next day,It was a 2 hour jounery home. We retuned to the park the next morning and saw the manger. She became rude and unhelpful with our problem, having waiting 5 hours for a differnt accomadation. They finally gave us the keys to another caravan yet to find wires hanging out of the TV, Mouldy fridge & Stains on beds. Got our money back (After a lot of stress & time wasting assistants) and went to Highfield Grange :) Would never go to The Orchards EVER again.

Our first family holiday in 5 years and it was terrible.Arrived and waited in check in area...the toilets stank no toilet roll,ripped chairs need i go on.
After we got to the van we realised we had no bedding so rang reception at 5pm and was told to wait as they were busy!!we wanted to go out as it was our first night so we waited til 6pm still no bedding rang again and got same comment.
So we thought ok we will go out and by the time we get back the bedding will have been left...guess what 10pm comes and it finally turns up to three cranky kids waiting to go to bed.
The dvd player didnt work,only four tv channels,got riddled with flea bites,gas ran out the second night so had to wait for gas and hot water to shower with.
The pools werent big enough to swim in,very small and cramped,no outdoor play area just a climbing frame and no indoor area what so ever.
Thank god we had the car to go into Clacton is all I can say..................never ever go back and would not recommend to anyone