If you’re planning a holiday to Bluestone Wales then make sure you check out their website before you go. There’s everything you need to know about facilities and activities available onsite.

Our holiday earlier this year was absolutely amazing. Well worth the 6 hour drive! We have been to similar UK holiday destinations with Lamb and they just didn’t cater for children his age. Most activities are for children age 5 or 6+, not babies and toddlers. What instantly impressed us about Bluestone Wales is the attention to detail when it comes to infants. There is something to do for all ages. Whether it’s sensory play for 0+ month old babies or tree climbing for adults. Everyone is catered for.

For Babies and Toddlers (0-3) – Mini Rangers 

• Messy play (£7 per child)
• Creche Sessions (£7 per child)
• Soft play – Circus Zone (free of charge)
• Adventure play area (free of charge)
• Treetops Playground (free of charge)
• The Secret Village
• Sensory & Massage
• Pond Dipping
• Beast Hunt

For Children (4-7) – Junior Rangers

• Beast Hunt
• 4×4 Safari Driving
• Mud Mystery
• The Big Four
• Bluestone Buccaneers
• Climbing Wall
• Tree Climbing
• Pond Dippin
• The Secret Village

The Older Kids (8-12) – Celtic Rangers

• Steep Ravine
• Woodland Survivor
• Tournament Field
• The Big Four
• Indoor Woodland Warrior
• 4×4 Safari Driving

Fun For Adults

• High Ropes
• Sky Wires
• Tree Climbing
• Archery
• Rock Climbing
• Kayaking and Raft Building
• Cross Bow
• Laser Cray Shooting
• Assault Course
• The Well Spa Retreat

Entertainment

• Learn, Play, Dance and Sing
• Dinner Shows
• Live Music
• Kids Hour
• Pub Quiz

On our first day we headed straight to the Adventure Centre which was pretty close to our lodge. In here you can find the Circus Zone for babies and toddlers. This was a big hit with Lamb. You can also find the Wildwood Cafe, the Adventure play area (which is a-ma-zing) and lots of activities you can book like messy play etc.

A short walk from here you can find the tournament field and the steep ravine. Here you will find most of the activities for the older kids and adults, like archery and high wires.

In the centre of the resort you will find The Village. This is where you will find the Treetops Playground. This is a really good park for the kids to go wild in. There’s a large section for older children, and a gated, smaller section for toddlers and younger children. Even though Lamb is a toddler he much preferred the bigger bit, so mummy and daddy had plenty of fun running around with him!

Blue Lagoon

A short walk from our lodge was the Blue Lagoon Water Park. This is open to the public, however if you are staying at Bluestone then you get a free pass for the duration of your stay. We were really impressed with the Blue Lagoon. There’s a little splash pool for the little ones, and lots of fun games for kids to play with. Lamb particularly like the lazy river which flows outside and back in again. He found this hilarious and love going out in the cold.

The changing facilities are great for families. There are plenty of family size changing rooms with changing tables for babies and toddlers. There’s a quick dry machine that costs £1, so if you want to dry off quickly then that’s worth a go.

We didn’t eat or drink at the Blues Lagoon cafe so I can’t comment on that, however there were plenty of tables and chairs around the pool.

We were happy to see that the pool was accessible by wheelchair, so if you need disabled access then you don’t have to worry. The staff were extremely helpful to those who were less able.

Finally I can’t write about the Blue Lagoon without mentioning the slides! There are 4 in total. 1 single, 2 singles side by side, and one double. The double was my favourite. It was basically like a rapids and you can go down in pairs. The current is quite strong so keep this in mind if you’re not a strong swimmer. I am confident in the water and I still found myself pulled under with the current at the finish.

Well Spa

I was lucky enough to enjoy a visit to the Well Spa during our holiday (a little treat from my mother-in-law). I have been to a couple of Spas and I have to say I was really impressed with this one. I often expect on site spas not to be as good as independent spas, but this one exceeded my expectations. It was much larger than it looks from the outside, has an amazing outdoor jacuzzi, a relaxing quiet room, and plenty of steam rooms and saunas. We both had a 50 minute massage during our visit to the spa. This was honestly one of the best massages I’ve ever had. They cater the massage to your needs, so rather than offering you a standard full body massage, they ask you what your problem areas are and work on the body parts that you request. The therapists used ESPA products and as part of our deal we both received a sample pack worth £25. I love the products and am using all of them.

We booked our spa day from a promotional email I received before our trip. I was often sent a deal which was only available by a certain date. So if you are thinking of going to the spa, then keep an out on those deals in your inbox. If you aren’t sure about booking before you go, make sure you check out the daily deals on the TV in your lodge. While we were there there was a really good offer available (I can’t remember what it was, sorry!)

Eating

One huge bonus for us was the takeaway service. This is so useful to families with young children who can’t stay up late. We ordered a takeaway curry which was really nice. It was around £10 per person plus a little more for naan breads, so it’s not cheap, however turned up pretty quickly and tasted really good. i would definitely recommend trying out their takeaway service if you’re not on a budget.

We also ate at The Knights Tafarn twice and thoroughly enjoyed the food. I’ve read a couple of comments about the food at Bluestone being pretty standard, but we totally enjoyed the food we ordered. In particularly on one night they served Spaghetti Carbonara and it was probably one of the best I have ever tasted. I was gutted to wasn’t on the menu the second time we went there!

We also enjoyed a lovely cappuccino in Millers Bakery. I’m a big coffee drinker so can be a tad snobby when it comes to a decent cappuccino. Millers Bakery served a decent cappuccino. Fact.

The village shop had a good selection of foods, which were not too badly priced. Of course the prices were higher than your local supermarket but when you take into consideration the petrol cost and effort toy drive out of Bluestone, we are more than happy to pay their prices. Plus my mother-in-law is super organised and made sure we had plenty of food and drink when we arrived.

Finally I can’t write a review on the food at Bluestone without mentioning the amazing Camp Smokey. A brief walk into the steep ravine and you find yourself at the hidden and adventurous Camp Smokey. Lamb absolutely loved it here. You are completely surrounded by woodland. Up in the trees you can see the high wires and all around you is forest. The food is limited but lovely and you certainly feel like you’re in an American style holiday camp. Camp Smokey is a must if you’re staying at Bluestone.

Outside Bluestone

We organised a day out at Folly Farm, which is a short drive from Bluestone. I’m going to be reviewing Folly Farm separately but I just want to say this is by far one of the best days out we’ve had with Lamb. It is so much more than a farm. It’s a farm, a zoo, an adventure playground, an arcade, a theme park all rolled into one! We had so much fun and would 100% go back if we visit Wales again. If you stay at Bluestone you must go to Folly Farm for the day, and make sure you prepare to be there all day lone because you won’t want to leave.

Bluestones is definitely the place to go with a young family. There is so much to do for all ages. If the weather is rubbish, there’s plenty to do indoors, if the weather is amazing there’s plenty to do outdoors! We were so impressed with our whole holiday and would absolutely recommend Bluestone to other families.

If you want to read more about the accommodation and a general review you can read my first post here.

Ax