Haggerston Castle Holiday Park

just back from haggerston castle. booked it for a weekend with a view to booking a caravan and a lodge next year. left a day early. this place is thebiggest dump i have ever had the misfortune to stay in. beds not made up but sheets left on chair along with the notice telling us if we dont use the bed to leave the notice on it. when i complained i was told i had been charged £14 for the beds to be made up so beware when booking as this is the normal charge from this crowd. the cutlery also had a notice over it in the drawer stating it had been washed and sanitised............wot a joke it was filthy. had to go to morrisons the next morning to buy sterilising solution to clean it. gas fire had to be lite with a piece of paper as the ignition wasnt working. shower was filthy and the caravan was damp. stay at this dump at ur peril. ordered a bottle of wine with dinner in the cafe bar. the glasses we were given were filthy. asked for another 2...........filthy took them back next 2 filthy same again. after the fourth time we got glasses a bit cleaner but still not good. cutlery in there filthy too. this place is not fit for a dog to stay in. please be warned. when i complained i got £20 vouchers to use in the filthy park.

3 readers found this review helpful

we were a bit worried about our break after reading some reviews prior to our visit, but we've just returned today and are considering re-booking for October 2011.We booked with sun holidays then took the upgrades to a superior caravan. The caravan was generally clean however the carpet in main living area could have done with a hoover but apart from this the standard of cleanliness was generally fine. Our 2 year old loved the daytime and evening entertainment and the entertainment staff were great with the kids. The mash and barrel was a fab new addition to the complex, the staff in here were very polite, helpful and food was excellent with daily specials on food available.You can spend a fortune in the arcades but you dont have to use them. We didnt bother with the pool but it seemed clean enough and generally busy each day. We will definately go back !

1 reader found this review helpful

We have just arrived back from our weekend in a 'platinum' caravan.....What a dump.
How they get away with it is beyond me.
Have tried to complain to Haven today,but not interested.
I would have gone straight home,but my 7 year old son was devastated as he was desperate for a caravan holiday.
I have to say the staff on site were all pleasant,but the place itself is filthy.
I am not going to let them get away with this.
My advice....Don't bother!

3 readers found this review helpful

Took three grandchildren 9, 8 and 3 to haggerston for a midweek break and they didn't want to go home. They did horse and pony riding, £15 for a 20min ride, with a good ten minutes tacking up as well and a photo (the little one hasn't stopped talking about that first riding experience), quad biking £5 and aqua jets £6, and the large bike for 4 people (you need strong legs to pedal though) £8. The staff sorted out a problem we had, with professionalism, in fact all the staff were polite and courteous. The Spar shop is ok although the kids wanted to spend too much time there buying toys. Better to stock up with food before you arrive or shop at morrisons, asda or the cooperative in berwick. We visited the club only once and it was crowded and not really suited to us, same with the swimming pool,although it was very clean. When we go again we will know to check the board outside the club and mash and barrel pub for details of the dressed up characters appearance time for the kids as they missed one. the mash and barrel which has a nice atmosphere has them visiting the kids having breakfast in there and is well worth it. The amount of traffic on the site is a bit of a nuisance, but most people seem to drive slowly. It's important to be clear to the staff what any problems are and what you want. Hoping we can go again next year.

4 readers found this review helpful

We booked a Friday - Monday stay in a Platinum Caravan that was on a special half price offer deal.
We traveled with other family members including our 3year old and 9month old granddaughters.
Firstly, although all caravans have different 'booking in' times, we found the car park to be quite busy, but the car park attendant was very helpful. Collecting our keys and information from Reception was straight forward enough, and thankfully we had no problems or complaints with regards our caravan. It was spotless, and in a good area of the park - Castle Lakes. This definately equates to - you get what you pay for. Although if this had been normal price - I would have found the price to be quite extortionate.
The park itself is spotless and quite peaceful in places. The Lake is tranquil and boats can be hired, along with bikes [those holiday 'daisy' type bikes that can seat from two people, up to larger versions that can seat 6]. The staff at the boat house are young and can be not so much customer focused as maybe they should be.
Our oldest granddaughter went pony trekking - and although expensive at £15 for a 20 minute trek around the park, she absolutely loved it. The staff here are wonderful with the children, and you do get a free framed photo included in the price.
The main complex can either be your idea of heaven or hell. Lots of machines and kiddie rides geared to extract your money from you. Burger King, the Fish and Chip Shop and the Pizza Place are all situated in here. The fish and chips are lovely and quite reasonable at £6. The Mash Barrel is the main 'sit down' eating area in here. Prices are what you would expect - the food wasn't great but it was ok. The staff again are a bit hit and miss in here. Some outstanding service, along with some abysmal service. Depending on who served you.
The main night time entertainment is what you will find in any British holiday park. Good in parts, and terrible in others. The noise is deafening, and getting a seat is a feat in itself. Our granddaughter LOVED the kids disco...not so much the adults - but it was worth it to see her so happy.
The swimming pool is basic but serves its purpose. I would think this would get amazingly busy during bad weather times. We were lucky in that we had lovely weather for most of our stay.
The Spar shop is well stocked and really didn't seem to be too overpriced. One of the better on site shops we have come across.
We stopped off in Berwick Upon Tweed on our way home and wished we hadn't. We had been told it was picturesque - it wasn't.
Observations: The geese can be an early morning alarm call! Do not feed the swans as these can become quite aggressive. During our stay it was quite warm and there seemed to be a wasp infestation around the park. A pure nuisance!!
All in all we would go back to this park. We enjoyed our stay.

2 readers found this review helpful

We were had haggerston castle a couple of weeks ago and it was great, We were only there a weekend but we will go back for a week the next time we cant wait. The staff were very frendly and helpful.The music was not to loud in the arcade which was good. We had a really nice caravan in castle lake it was clean and quite.The entertainment in the evening was superp. The food on site was very good , We have been to a few over the years and always had a good time, We are off to marton mare in blackpool on the 22nd of july and are relly looking forward to another great hoilday with haven

5 readers found this review helpful

We went to the Park in March for what was their opening weekend. We paid extra for a brand new van. When we entered the van we realised it was actually flooded and had to call reception. They told us to come up and they would arrange a new van for us. All they had was lesser quality accomodation but said we would get the difference back 'in bar vouchers'. We did not intend using the bar so said we were unhappy at this and wanted a refund in money. The lady dealing with us said that it would take three weeks to send the money back to our bank account but we stood our ground. This by now was 4pm (we had arrived at 2) and she told us to go and get something to eat as they would have to get our new van ready. We returned at 7.30 to a busy reception with a crowd of people complaining about their accommodation. We got our key and went to our new van. When we arrived it was an old van, the tv did not work, there was no running water, the shower was broken and when we inspected the outside realised the waste pipe for the toilet was not even connected. Back to reception where my husband read the riot act. He wanted the name of someone to complain in writing to, or to see the manager. He was told 'the manager doesn't speak to customers'. He asked for a head office address to write a complaint to and was refused. The person dealing with him said he could write to her. Yeah right! It was now nearly 9pm and we had a 2 year old to put to bed and no accommodation. On talking to various other complainers it appeared many were in the same boat. My husband told them he wanted a full refund and that we were returning home. Fortunately we are only 1 and a half hours from the park. I dread to think what others might have done. We were assured a full refund would be in our bank in 2 days ( the 3 weeks had suddenly disappeared!). A few days later a letter of apology appeared (we had not got round to writing one), offering us a free stay in a gold accommodation, in a park of our choice, with a list of clauses so long it wasn't worth the paper it was written on, (no weekend stays, no school holidays or bank holidays). It went straight in the bin.

1 reader found this review helpful

i went to hagerston castle when i was a baby and i enjoyed it so much i didnt go scince then until this year on the 19 aug i am going again and i cant wait yes it may be expensive but it is worth the money every thing ouneed is there but the best things i like are the entertainment complexes and the BEST thing is the funworks amusement i defently give this park a 10/10

1 reader found this review helpful

We have stayed at this park a few times. We also stay at the one in Donniford bay and the difference in the management team is astounding, Donniford clean well kept staff ready to help, Haggerston the grounds are well kept but the caravans are filthy. I watched the cleaning staff one morning, they smoked shouted and screamed at each other one woman entered a carvan with a fag hanging out her mouth, less than ten minutes later she was out with no fag hanging out her mouth. We have made official compliants to haven management but to no avail. We are going back this year but to a Luxury Lodge and my daughter has a pltinum caravan, we are taking a camcorder to film the lodge and the caravan so if it is less than perfect there will only be one complaint - watch dog and the papers. By the way dont eat at any of the resturants, they are past redemption and management couldnt care. You never know they may have fired the old management who by the way told us that cleaning of caravans was secondary to anything else. The shop on site is good over priced but good, eat there. I dont want to generlise about the staff because on the whole they work very hard, just the sight manager lacks any form of leadership I am very tempted to make an assumption about him or her.

3 readers found this review helpful

We had a really good time last year so are going abck this year too...The caravan was lovely and clean, the food is quite good, the shop is a wee bit overpriced, but has everything you need and is packed with toys, etc...I got stuck going up the hill on one of those 4 wheeled bikes and one of the staff pushed me up the hill...they were really good with the kids and all of the staff seem really friendly......We loved it, and are going back this friday.....looking forward to it again ....x