Showing posts with label Bank Holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bank Holiday. Show all posts
Sunday, 27 April 2014
Haven Presthaven, Prestatyn Review
The Park
We stayed at the Haven Presthaven site on the coast of North Wales. Arriving at around 5.30pm on Friday evening, we drove right through the park following the signs to check in. The signposting wasn't great and we did wander around the restaurant before being directed to the reception desk.
The lady at the check-in desk was lovely, really taking time to talk to the children and ask if they were excited about the trip. She handed us our key and our entertainment pass wrist bands and showed us on a map the location of caravan where we would be spending the next 3 nights. As well as having each area of the park sign posted by name they also feature a Haven character so Little E and Mister A were always able to locate the character and find their way back (with us obviously!)
The first thing we noticed as we made our way to the caravan was how huge the park was and we panicked a little about getting around the site.
The Caravan
We had booked the cheapest and most basic 4 berth caravan so we were pleasantly surprised when we arrived to find we had been upgraded to a 6 berth caravan. It was really spacious with 3 bedrooms, a lovely living area that included an LCD TV, a kitchen with oven, hob and microwave and of course a dining area...
.jpg)
Things to Do on the Park
The weather was slightly un-predicatable during our stay but there were plenty of things to keep us busy come rain or shine. There are 2 indoor pools on site that the children loved one with a water slide that even Chris and I loved. We stayed during April so unfortunately the outdoor heated pool and lazy river weren't open during our stay.
There are so many activities from a climbing park to go karts to pool activities and sports. Too many to share but all available to view on the website.
There are plenty of kids activities and clubs available but Mister A and Little E preferred to not to join in so we took to exploring the sand dunes and the playground instead.
In the evening there was plenty of entertainment for all of us to enjoy from Character FunTime shows for the children to live acts and bingo for the grown ups. My real bug bear about the site was that to get to the Live Lounge where the children's disco took place, we had to walk right through an arcade that was open to under 18s. It was filled with tweens gambling and I hated exposing my family to it. Immediately Mister A (7) and Little E (3) were asking for 'monies' to put in the 2p and 10p slots, fruit machines and grabbers. It was so frustrating. When we made it though the migraine inducing arcade the lounge was packed and we had to wait for someone to leave to get a seat.
The children loved the entertainment though and we found ourselves singing 'What does the fox say?' constantly for the entire hoilday much to Chris' annoyance! We obviously had to treat the children to flashing toys, Mister A choosing a sword and Little E choosing a light up fish shaped bubble gun!! We were sat quite far back during the show but the enteratiners did make there way around the lounge and came over to talketo Little E and Mister A and asked them about thier toys. Little E even showed the entertainer her dance moves!
By 9pm the children were worn out so we headed back to the caravan, popped them in to bed and Christ and I cracked open the win and played cards!
The VerdictWe were worried the children might get bored but in actual fact we would have liked to have stayed longer. There was so much to do but make sure you do pre-book activities at the very start of your stay as they do fill up quickly. We really enjoyed the weekend and hope to visit Haven again soon. There was a real family vibe there and the staff paid great attention to the children which was lovely. Definitely worth a visit - we made some great memories during our stay.
Checklist
As with most holiday parks, you do need to remember to take your own essential items with you. Luckily this wasn't a surprise to us as we researched before our trip, however a lot of people do get caught out and end up having to head to the shops unexpectedly and spending more than they'd anticipated. Here's a handy list to help you to know what to take on your trip...
Bedroom:
Sheets.
Bedding
Additional pillows if you like more than one
Bathroom:
Towels
Toilet Roll
Toiletries
Kitchen:
Cooking Oil
Condiments
Food if your planning to eat in
Washing Up Liquid
Washing up equipment
Tea towels
If you do forget anything at Presthaven than there is a large Spar on site and a retail park 10 minutes away with a large Tesco supermarket and a pound shop.
Park address: Presthaven Sands Holiday Park, Shore Road Gronant, Prestatyn, North Wales. LL19 9ST Park open: 14 Mar – 2 Nov
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Should We Have to Pay Nursery Fees for Bank Holidays?
This year when I changed jobs we had to move Little E to a new nursery. I was upset to be moving her but it wasn't practical to keep her somewhere completely out of the way (it used to be on my way to my old work.)
Anyways we were lucky enough to get her in to a fabulous new nursery with a top class OFSTED report so we were happy. Little E continued to attend nursery on the same days that she attended her old nursery - Monday and Friday.
The nursery rates are slightly higher at this nursery but we were happy to pay the extra. However last week I happened to notice on our invoice that we had been charged for the recent Bank Holidays. Now this really got me peeved .
Both Mister A and Little E attended the previous nursery on Mondays and Fridays and we were never asked to pay for the Bank Holiday days.
I decided to take this up with the nursery last week thinking that there had been mistake on the invoice. The nursery owner then advised that there was no mistake and that Bank Holidays were always charged for. I explained that this was unacceptable - we pay for a service and during Bank Holiday no service is provided. The owners response really got my back up - "Well I still have to pay my staff."
It's just not on! Why should I have to pay fees for 5 Bank Holidays totalling £200 each year when the nursery isn't even open? What if I still have to work on those days, what am I supposed to do then? Pay someone else to look after my children at a further cost? I also note that I am expected to pay for the days over Christmas when the nursery is closed! As if!
At the very least I would want the nursery to offer an alternative day of care.
In my opinion the cost of paying staff for Bank Holiday's should be incorporated in to the yearly fees and therefore spread across all of the parents fees across the nursery. Unfortunately, the nursery don't agree and that's why I have decided to change the day that Little E attends. But I am really, really annoyed!!!
I understand now (after much googling!) that it is common practice to charge for these days, but what do you think? Do you have to pay your childcare provided for a service that they aren't providing too? Have you even realised that you're paying for Bank Holidays? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)