Last week we went on a little family trip to Bluestone National Park Resort as a 30th birthday present and it was brilliant. It’s been quite a while since we have visited; I wrote all about our last trip here and last time it was just the two of us. This time we were about to take Finley with us and enjoy some different facilities that we hadn’t used before. Luckily it’s not far from us in Pembrokeshire National Park and it is surrounded by beautiful countryside.
Bluestone Accommodation
We stayed in a 2 bedroom lodge, which had a large open plan kitchen, dining and living area with patio doors that opened out onto a paved and grassy area with a wooden picnic table. Our lodge had a wet room, so we didn’t have a bath which wasn’t a problem for us, but maybe something to consider (a lot of the other lodges have baths). The lodge had a full kitchen with dishwasher, oven, fridge (with a mini freezer) and every pot, pan, dish and utensil that you could need. The lodge came with a little starter pack with dishwasher tablets, a mini bottle of washing up liquid and a cloth/tea towel. Each lodge also has a travel cot with mattress, an ikea high chair and stair gate. Each of the lodges were surrounded by a car free zone, so once you have unloaded all your things, the car goes back to the car park. We hired a gold buggy to whizz around the resort, but you can easily walk everywhere too.
Things to Do at Bluestone
Where do I even start? There were so many things to do the list was endless. There were complimentary activities included within the booking price. This included entry into Blue Lagoon; Bluestone’s own water park, the Serendome with various play zones, seating areas and food places all under one big umbrella type roof and the Adventure Centre with mini golf, bouncy castles, soft play areas and climbing frames. Blue Lagoon and the Adventure Centre both had a designated under 5s area; both of which Finley loved. There were also plenty of outdoor play areas, again each with a designated toddler area, nature trails, guided walks and pub quizzes.
On top of all of this, there were plenty of additional activities for different ages with various price points. This included things such as messy play, children’s games night, archery, a high ropes course, zip wires, a mini 4×4 track, raft building, paddle boarding and loads more.
Obviously, Finley wasn’t quite at an age where he can take on a high ropes course just yet, but we did make use of the Baby Senses Class. This was an hour-long baby sensory session with foil blankets, pom poms, ribbons, musical instruments, bubbles and lots more. Our class only had 4 other babies in it and Finley loved it and it was definitely worth the money.
On top of all of this there is the Bluestone Spa. We were unable to make full use of this during this visit, but we have been before. It was one of the best spa’s we have ever been to. It has a thermal suite with 6 pods, which each have different therapeutic benefits. They offer an extensive range of treatments and if you have the opportunity to go, I would definitely recommend it.
Eating Out at Bluestone
There were quite a few options when it comes to places to eat at Bluestone. There is a farmhouse grill, coffee shop and pub in the village. There was also a food court in the Serendome with different options to choose from. We have eaten at both the farmhouse grill and the pub on a previous stay and they were both lovely. This time the only place we used was the coffee shop which was the perfect place to take shelter from the rain, give Finley his lunch and have the most delicious hot chocolate or two. This time, we made the most of using the facilities in the lodge, which meant that we could eat what we wanted, when we wanted, and it suited us perfectly for this trip. Whenever we stay anywhere in the UK, I always do a click and collect food shop order to the nearest supermarket, and we pick it up on the way. It works so perfectly as I know we have everything we need, including those all important evening snack supplies.
There were very few downsides to our trip and my main one was that our nappy bin in the wet room smelt quite a bit before we had even put anything in it. I think they are emptied by people staying in the lodges, but not properly cleaned perhaps. The second thing was that I thought the golf buggy hire was quite pricey for the time we were there. We didn’t get one until 3pm on our first day and it had to be back by 10am on the day we left. Like I said it is completely optional and not necessary at all, so this is something we could have changed ourselves, but still something to bear in mind.
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip away and I couldn’t recommend Bluestone National Park enough, if you are looking for a family trip in the UK that has everything you could possibly need on your doorstep. It has something for all ages and interests and is somewhere that we will definitely go again. We have already said that we would love to go again when Finley is a little bit older.
Have you stated at Bluestone before, or would you like to visit? Let me know in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.