Very picturesque, some shortcomings that would make it 5*
Motorhome - Electric Hardstanding PitchesOct 2023The positives. Very good value for money. Reception team and site maintenance are a very friendly bunch. Great facilities for families with children offering well maintained park play equipment, 2 swimming pools and a games room with a pool table. Entertainment most evenings even in low season. The toilet and shower block was spotlessly clean and the access for disabled guests is great. Some nice touches like hands free on/off for the sink taps.
Negatives were that some areas of the site are immediately beneath overhead power cables and close proximity to towers. The shop was poorly stocked at times. It's a shame that local produce such as sausages, bacon, cheese etc isn't stocked. It doesn't help that the closest food shop is a few miles away, so more reason to cater for guests. On the first day, there were no vegetables, fruit, bread or milk. The following day there was bread and a few more frozen items but inadequate if you were relying on the shop to provide healthy meals for the week. If you wanted stuffed crust pepperoni pizza every night, you're in luck.
The restaurant was a major disappointment. The food was slow to arrive and the quality of the items was mediocre. When you spend £14.99 for the Whitehill Burger, you expect it's going to be premium. No such luck as it was
two patties with onion and other ingredients. The lettuce was limp and the relish sparse. The fries were ok but the onion rings were overcooked and almost inedible. The burger meal was supposed to come with coleslaw but that was missing and no mention was made. My wife chose the Chicken Korma and she said it wasn't like any Korma she's had before, with a very sweet taste and not very pleasant. The rice was more of a congealed lump as if it had been kept under a heat source, giving it a hard crust on top. Two meals with a drink came to £38.
The next evening, having had a poor experience at the restaurant, we thought we would try the takeaway. My wife ordered and paid for a £11.99 ham and mushroom pizza. After 5 minutes, someone from the kitchen came out to say there were no mushrooms. Not offering any alternative or a discount for not having all the ingredients my wife asked for a refund. After the missing coleslaw and overcooked food the evening before, you don't get a great vibe. It was a major disappointment that we couldn't rely on any of the sites food outlets for a complete meal.
The approach to the site isn't great as Stoke Road is very narrow on many places with blind corners. It's also extremely busy at most times, not just rush hour or school runs. The road noise near the fully serviced pitches was disturbing.
In summary then, it could be a great place to stay if you can avoid a pitch under the high voltage cables and away from the busy Stoke Road. More importantly, I think that the site owners would have more happy guests if the shop was better stocked with fresh and frozen food for "All paying guests" not just crisps, sweets and alcohol. Our experience of the restaurant and takeaway were disappointing to say the least. It could be a goldmine if the food lived up to the premium price charged.
