Our First Family Holiday: Bluestone Wales – part 1

At the end of last month, during one of the hottest weeks of the year, we packed our bags, jumped in the car and drove for 5 hours to Bluestone National Park Resort in Pembrokeshire, Wales for our first ever family holiday.

Ian and I have been on several holidays and weekends away as a couple, but since the birth of Little N in 2012 I have not been on holiday and neither have the boys! It was time to change that and the offer of a mid-week break* at Bluestone Wales was the perfect chance. In this post, I’m going to tell you a little about Bluestone Wales and the lodge that we stayed in.

ABOUT BLUESTONE WALES

Bluestone National Park Resort is set in 500 acres of gorgeous land in the middle of Pembrokeshire National Park, surrounded by incredible countryside, beaches, wildlife and history. It’s close to the gorgeous coastal town of Tenby and next to the stunning Preseli hills so it’s also the perfect base for exploring the rest of the Pembrokeshire coast and countryside.

There are nearly 300 luxury lodges, cottages and studio apartments that surround a private village in the resort. The village has shops, five restaurants and a pub. The resort is home to the amazing Blue Lagoon water park, the Well Spa Retreat and the Adventure Centre. There are countless adventure-packed activities and more chilled out options for all ages at Bluestone: from the zip-wire to the spa, bike rides to relaxing country walks, canoeing to relaxing meals.

Bluestone is the perfect luxury short break destination for everyone; whether you’re going as a couple, as a family or with friends, there is something here for everyone. We couldn’t to get there and switch off from everyday life for a few days!

OUR ACCOMMODATION

Bluestone Wales has nearly 300 luxurious lodges, cottages and studios. There is something to suit all. They have 9 different style of lodges and it was one of their Grassholm lodges that we were allocated for our stay. Our address for the week was 24 Preseli View and as the name suggests we had the most spectacular views of the Preseli hills from our lodge.

Our lodge had a total of four bedrooms, with three upstairs and one downstairs. One bedroom had a double bed while the other three had twin beds. One of the bedrooms has an internal window which looks down into the living room; Little N slept in this room so that he would have the light and reassurance from us.

The bedrooms were all fully equipped with plenty of wardrobes and drawers and there was also a Mothercare travel cot provided. There were towels provided on each of the beds meaning plenty for every guest. My only criticism of the bedrooms is the travel cot. The mattress, if you can even call it that, was very thin so J was really uncomfortable and kept waking up. In the end he slept in bed with me! I had ordered a travel cot from Babymoov but I hadn’t ordered in enough time for it to reach us before we left. I wish I had been more organised!

Our lodge had 3 bathrooms – one downstairs and two upstairs, one of these being an en suite. The bathroom downstairs was more of a wet room with a bath and an open shower. The bathroom upstairs had a bath with an overhead shower and the en suite featured a shower. There was a little hand soap and a toilet roll provided in each of the bathrooms - which I totally hadn’t expected so we had arrived armed with our own as well!

The downstairs of the lodge is open plan with a living area leading through to the kitchen/diner. The kitchen is full equipped with everything you can think of – except for BBQ tongs! If you are planning to BBQ at Bluestone, like we did, remember to take some BBQ tongs with you.

The kitchen has all the basics you’d expect such as the crockery, cutlery, glassware and cookware. It also has extras like a cafetiere, butter dish and teapot. There is an oven, hob, microwave and toaster too. You also get a cleaning essentials starter pack which has some dishwasher tablets, washing up liquid, cloths and extra bin bags. In the dining area was a large dining table which seated eight, plus a high chair for Baby J.

I really loved the living room area of our Bluestone lodge. It had three 2-seater sofas so plenty of space to chill out and relax. There was a little coffee table to make it homely and there is a Samsung TV and a DVD player too. The TV has a few channels plus there is the Bluestone information channel where you can read up on information about the resort and check your bill and messages.

Ian felt that the living room could have done with a few cushions. And I was not too pleased to find Baby J’s feet and knees grubby after he had crawled across the wooden floor a couple of times [Bluestone: you need to work on your mopping skills!] But otherwise it was really lovely and so cosy. The living room, like the rest of the downstairs, was open plan. One side had huge windows and French doors leading out to the patio and garden area. I loved that there were so many windows as it made the lodge airy and full of light.

The garden and outside space around our Bluestone lodge was rather special. Directly outside the French doors of our lodge was a small patio area with a garden bench, perfect for al fresco dining. Our neighbours were near but not too close at all. You can barely hear a peep from the neighbouring lodges. Each lodge has its own little path leading up from the “main” road so you feel like you have quite a lot of privacy and aren’t treading on the toes of other guests.

And the views, well, they were simply amazing. Mile upon mile of greenery as far as the eye could see. We actually said we would love to pick up our lodge and move it to our hometown as would be the perfect home for us!

In my next post about Bluestone Wales, I’ll be telling you all about what we got up to during our stay. Have you ever been? Let me know in the comments below!

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Disclosure: We had a complimentary stay at Bluestone Wales in return for our honest opinion.