This is our second post on our 4 night holiday at Bluestone, Wales. You can read about what we did during our stay here. 
This post focuses on our thoughts of our Bluestone holiday.
Arrival/ Check In
We arrived at Bluestone at 4pm. Unfortunately we had to queue in the car for 25 minutes to travel 250 yards to reach the check in point. There were no toilet facilities which were much needed after our long journey. There were only four slots in order to check in and everyone seemed to arrive at once. Checking in itself only took five minutes and we were given a welcome pack, two key cards, a car badge and were allocated a lodge.
On check-in day cars are allowed on the resort but have to be parked on the large car park by midnight. This enabled the park to be car-free for the rest of our stay. It took us 10 minutes to drive through the one way system to find our Caldey Lodge.
Bluestone Accommodation
We spent four nights in the Caldey Lodge within Preseli View. Being the cheapest lodge on resort we were not expecting much from our accommodation. However, we were extremely surprised and pleased.
The two bedroom lodge was cleanly decorated, had a newly fitted kitchen with an oven, fridge, dishwasher and effective central heating. The master bedroom had a double bed whilst the other room had twin singles. Each bedroom had a wardrobe, chest of drawers and bedside tables. The bathroom had an over the bath shower which was powerful and the solar panels provided hot water throughout our stay.
The rest of the lodge was open plan with a well equipped kitchen, dining area and comfortable living space. A TV and DVD player were provided but we didn’t use these during our stay.
We struggled with internet connection within our accommodation. It was fine when we were near hotspots within the resort but had limited connection in our lodge. We paid for an upgrade but this didn’t improve the situation.
Getting around Bluestone
The resort is large but there are a range of options to get around. You can hire electric buggies at £29 per day or £89 for Monday to Friday. A variety of bikes can be hired with tag-alongs for young children. There is also complimentary guest transport that you can hail at any of the dedicated bus stops.
However, we brought Adams motorbike from home and used it to keep Adam occupied. There were plenty of off road pathways for Adam to follow and as no cars are allowed on site it was quite safe.
Activities at Bluestone
Guests have exclusive use of the swimming pool between 9-11am each day, with it being open to the public after this time. There are plenty of spacious family changing rooms. Adam adored the swimming pool. The eco-friendly water park boasts tropical temperatures and has many features to entertain the whole family. The under 5’s pool has many water- based shoots, bubbles and even rock pools to play in. There is a section for more adventurous water play suitable for older children as well as four different styles of slides – one of which is open topped and goes outside.
The swimming pool is warm and becomes a wave machine at regular intervals. Adams favourite part of the Blue Lagoon was the Lazy River. This rapid flow of water took us outside, through a waterfall and under several bridges.
The Activity Center contains many activities for all ages in one open planned room. Mini golf, soft play, Lego, a rock climbing wall, bouncy castle and a sky trail. With so many activities in one place I can imagine it could get very noisy during peak times if it was raining. Although there is a Wildwood Cafe upstairs there are no facilities to have a hot drink downstairs whilst watching your child play.
Bluestone offers a wide range of paid activities that will suit children of all ages. These all have limited availability and can be pre-booked before or during your stay. Preschoolers can take part in messy sensory play sessions or go on a variety of beast hunts. Junior ranges (4-7 years) can pan for gold, go on a mud mystery or join a pirate adventure. Celtic rangers (8-12 years) can take part on the celtic challenge or become a woodland survivor. There are also many adrenaline fueled fun activities for older children such as high ropes, sky wires, tree climbing and an assault course.
For families with older children there are water based activities including kayaking and paddling a coracle, a small round raft used by Welsh fishermen.
Food at Bluestone
Adam struggles during meal times and finds it very difficult to sit still when eating. Therefore eating out for us is difficult. Unfortunately there were no facilities available at the resort that allowed Adam to play whilst we ate. The Farmhouse Grill, The Oak Tree and The Knights Tavern were all restaurant based which Adam would have struggled with. We tried The Chippy Van on the first night but had to wait a long time for our chips. We self catered throughout the week. We purchased food from the Newton Grocery Store within the Bluestone Village.
The resort also didn’t have any facilities where we could have a coffee whilst Adam played in a confined space. Adam is a “runner” and needs supervising at all times when he is not in an enclosed space.
Overall, we would highly recommend Bluestone for a fun-filled family holiday. Bluestone provided us with the perfect family holiday. We all had a wonderful time and created endless memories to treasure.
Disclaimer: We were given a 4 night stay at Bluestone to review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.
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