A FAMILY REVIEW OF HAVEN THE ORCHARDS

Back in July we spent four nights at Haven The Orchards. The park is situated on the Essex coast close to Clacton-On-Sea. 

We have been holidaying with Haven at least once a year since our eight year old Annie was a baby and we visit a different of their sites each time. 

In this review I will concentrate on the site and it's facilities as well as telling you about the local area that we visited. I am also including lots of photos, all taken by us, to give you a real inside view.

My children have also made a three minute YouTube video showing you the site from their perspective, you will find it below and it's worth a watch.

This site was particularly impressive. It is one of the bigger sites we have visited and has plenty of facilities on offer.

We booked a basic caravan, we have been lucky in the past to often be upgraded however this time we weren't. You could tell the caravan was a little older than some we had been in however it was still comfortable and we regularly prepared meals in there and all slept well.

One facility we will always use when visiting a Haven site is the indoor pool. They vary in size and some will have added extras such as water slides. This one was a good size, bright and had a large tap on one side that created a small fountain to play under. It was had a good viewing area. 

As usual there was also an outdoor pool and as this was the first time we had visited during summer, it was the first time we found the outdoor pool open! We normally visit Haven in spring or autumn.

We made the most of the good weather and spent a fair bit of time at the pool. It was a great area with a large pool, Jacuzzi and plenty of sun loungers, bliss.

We always visit the outdoor playgrounds and found it great at this site as they all had tables and chairs by them for us parents to sit at. There were several to be found around the site and were suitable for a variety of ages.

A great bonus of this site is that it is surrounded by a sea wall that you can walk. We only ventured that far on the last morning so only saw a small part of it however we spoke to other guests who said what a nice walk it was.We went to the part of the sea wall that is found at the far end of the site, we had hired a go-kart so wanted to explore. Whilst over there we found that on the edge of the site there is a pub, cafe, burger bar and ice cream hut. The pub has a good reputation, I have it on good authority the karaoke nights are particularly fun. Having these extra amenities really add to the site.

Also on site, as if that wasn't enough, you will find fishing lakes and a nine hole golf course. You will not be bored on this holiday!

Of course being Haven there was also a full schedule of organised activities, both indoor and outdoor so whatever the weather there is always something to do. As well as hiring the go-kart Annie and Freddie also went on aqua-gliders and went to the inflatable party in the pool. The staff were so great with the children. 

If you want to know more about these and other activities available at all sites then see my review of Haven Allhallows here.

As always we enjoyed the evening entertainment on site and the kids always like to see the Haven characters such as greedy the monkey!

We visited two local towns. Firstly was Clacton-On-Sea. We stayed by the sea whilst there and it was a lovely front and had a great pier. The kids loved playing on the sandy beach and we found a playground on the front too. We also had fish and chips whilst we were there in The New Majestic and I can recommend it.  

Our second trip out was to Frinton-On-Sea. Again we stayed on the seafront. It was a very quiet and picturesque beach and seafront. We really enjoyed our time there. I would just say to go on a day when the weather is good and take a picnic as we didn't see so much as an ice cream hut along the seafront.

Overall we had an amazing time on this break and would definitely recommend the site, remember to check out their website here.

Don't forget to check out Annie and Freddie's YouTube video which you can view here:

Get yourself booked in and make sure you take an obligatory giant deckchair picture!

Please note we paid for this holiday ourselves and this post is not sponsored. Haven did however provide us with an activity pass. 

These are all my own and honest opinions. I want my readers to have confidence in my reviews so will always give an honest account.

Thank you for reading.

Kelly x