Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 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...
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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
Friday, 10 May 2013
The One Where We Have A Secret Wedding
I've not been around much this year because I've been a busy little bee. Since we last spoke I've become a married lady - and we didn't even tell anyone what we were planning!
As some of you may know, last August I was lucky enough to win an amazing holiday of a life time on a competition on the Carte Noire Facebook page. The trip was a 5* holiday for 2 to Thailand.
We were ecstatic but with the prize only being for 2 we were in a bit of a predicament - what about our little stars - Little E and Mister A?! After weeks of too-ing and fro-ing, will we, wont we go - we agreed to take my parents up on their offer to take Mister A and Little E off on a holiday of their own so that we could stop fretting and head to Thailand. We eventually selected a date in April to fly out and the holiday was booked.
The weeks went by and then one night, Chris and I started talking about how we'd always wanted to get married on the beach. And that was it.
We decided that we'd do it. Just the two of us - on our dream trip.
We looked on the internet (natch) and then took it from there. We found out all the rules and knew that only one stood in our way...
Hmmm. Questionable. Despite knowing that both of us are in fact slightly insane we proceeded to research online.
In order for two British National's to be married in Thailand they have to visit the British Embassy in Bangkok. Perfect - our trip included 3 nights at the Four Seasons Hotel in Bangkok!
Our remaining 7 nights were at the Banyan Tree, Phuket. We contacted the hotel direct and made all of our plans with them via email. Everything from our ceremony right through to hair & make up and photographer was all done via the Banyan Tree on email. There was never any stress or worry and with no guests at the wedding the only thing we really needed to do ourselves was choose our outfits!
So I chose my dress...
And my Vivienne Westwood Anglomania shoes...
Chris ordered his linen suit (less important - obvs!)
The days went so fast and I was bursting at the seams to share each exciting detail but I couldn't!
Then on Sunday 14th April 2013 at 4.30pm, Chris and I married on beautiful Bangtao Beach after 12 years together (10 of them engaged!).
I walked down the sandy aisle to a beautiful version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow by - Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole.
We had a traditional Thai Ceremony...
... blessed by a Buddhist Monk.
Followed by a traditional Western exchanging of vows and rings.
After the ceremony we walked back up the beach to Your Song by Ewan McGregor from the Moulin Rouge Soundtrack.
We cut the cake...
popped the champagne...
and had our first dance to Come What May by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman also from the film, Moulin Rouge. The lyrics are just beautiful.
After having a million photographs taken on the beautiful beach...
...we headed to the lagoon for our Sanya Rak dinner cruise where we boarded a traditional Thai longboat for the evening.
Once aboard we had our very own private chef to cook us THE most amazing 5 course meal we have ever eaten and a Thai Kim player to play beautiful music.
We watched the sun go down as we ate our wedding meal, drank copious amounts of champagne and Chang beer. After dark we returned to the jetty where we had a Lantern Blessing and Loy Kra-Thong Ceremony – where you make a wish and send your Kra-Thong floating on the lagoon.
It was just a magical day.
We returned to our villa to find candles lighting our villa, petals scattered on the floor and the outdoor bath filled for us with hundreds of orchids added. Another bottle of champagne was waiting and all of our wedding flowers from the beach had been moved to our room. It was such a special touch - they'd even swapped our cotton bedding to silk!
I never wanted the day to end.
Eventually, late that night, we shared our news with our family and friends and now I'm sharing it with you.
THE END
xxx
Monday, 11 April 2011
Matalan: Cheap Holiday Clothes For the Kids
As you know I'm a lover of fashion but I'm also a lover of bargains too. My mum regularly laughs at the fact that I have a maximum amount that I'll spend on any one item - you won't find me spending £60 on a pair of shoes - what a waste - I'd expect at least 4 pairs for that! In fact, most of my purchases are all sale buys, for the kids I buy a season ahead. At the end of last Summer - just after Little E was born, I was already buying the clothes that she's wearing now. All in perfect condition, just end of the season stuff. Baby clothes can be expensive and while they are so young, clothes only last a couple of months before they end up in the loft so it seems daft to go mad buying designer labels. Now that the Summers here and a holiday is planned, I need to make sure that we can all look great on a budget.
Yesterday I hit my local Matalan store, with a £50 voucher to spend I wasn't sure exactly how many items I could get but I was surprised by how far the money went. Take a look at what I bought...
For Little E...
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| Navy Spot Summer Dress £6.00 |
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| Multi Colour Tiered Swimsuit £6.00 |
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| 3 Piece Sundress Set £8.00 |
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| Mini Nautical Romper £6.00 |
and for Mister A...
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| 2 Piece Brazil Football Set £5.00 |
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| 3 Pack of Surf Vests £5.00 |
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| 2 pack Swim Shorts £5.00 |
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| Boys Short Sleeved Stripe Shirt £7.00 |
All of that for just £49!!! I was amazed but, as per, I couldn't leave the store without finding a little gem of a bargain for myself. I managed to get these Summer sandals for just £2 in the sale!
So many great pieces and all really great value. We do shop at Matalan a lot and the clothes wash well and last too - there aren't many places you can get all of that for such a great price. We'll be heading back for more through the Summer - well it's only fair - I need holiday clothes too!
Disclosure: I received a £50 voucher from Matalan to enable me to post this feature.
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