Ladram Bay Holiday Park, Devon – Review

Luxury, tranquil and fun are not words I would have imagined I would be using to describe a holiday park on the South coast of England. However holidays parks have seriously moved on since I was a child. Gone are dark, pokey caravans (think Fr. Ted), noisy caravan parks and cheesy evening entertainment.

Ladram Bay in Devon is a new generation of holiday park, catering for families who want all the facilities for a fab family holiday but without sacrificing the luxuries of home.

This award-winning family-run holiday park first welcomed campers back in 1943 and it is now one of the largest family owned holiday parks in the UK. Their slogan is ‘A Family Holiday You’ll Never Forget’.

Our family of five stayed for three nights over the Easter break whilst we were visiting the area and we could’ve (and wished we had) stayed a lot longer.

Video

Here’s a video of our experience at Ladram Bay Holiday Park

The Park

The park is big but not too big, you could walk around it in ten minutes. The individual holiday homes have spacious pitches and most have room for cars to park in off the road.

Even though our accommodation was located right at the back of the park, I felt that it was safe enough to let my three children wander down to the shop or the playground on their own. They absolutely loved the freedom of this and would regularly pop down to see if anyone was on the swings!

The accommodation

I see why the holiday park has five stars for its accommodation. The holiday home we stayed in (Peak View) was luxurious with fixtures and fittings that you would expect to see in a top notch hotel.

The kitchen was modern and well laid out with a full height fridge freezer, oven , 4 gas hobs, microwave and plenty of storage.

Having stayed in many mobile homes, I was surprised how comfortable the beds were. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the pillows but I always like to bring my own when possible anyway!

The master bedroom had ample storage, a flat screen TV and an en-suite bathroom which is very handy for large families.

The family bathroom had a large power shower and even the bath mats were from John Lewis!

Everyone’s favourite part of the holiday home was the private hot tub. The water is checked twice a day by the maintenance team to ensure that the water is perfect. We enjoyed it first thing in the morning and last thing at night, the kids loved the hot tub in the dark!

The view

The holiday park is very clever in it’s layout, it seems that wherever you are, most holidays homes have a stunning view of Ladram Bay and the beautiful Jurassic Coast. Be warned, you will lose hours just looking at that view.

What is there to do for families

I see now why families come to Ladram Bay Holiday Park and don’t leave for one or two weeks.

Swimming Pool

This was a big hit with my three kids. It had a decent slide that they must’ve used 30 times!

 The Adventure Playground

Climbing Wall

I was a little nervous about trying this one myself but the kids were keen so we all gave it a go and I’m so glad we did. It costs £6 each for 45 mins of fun and is fully supervised by a qualified climbing instructor. It was great fun and a fab workout.

Jurassic Crazy Golf Course

Instructor led activities

Great value instructor led activities are available for the kids like sea scooters, inflatable canoes, body zorbs, panna soccer and many more.

Kids Clubs and Entertainment

There are kids clubs for all ages (even the teens are catered for) and there is entertainment for all the family too. Our kids aren’t interested in kids clubs so I can’t say if they were good but when I popped my head in, everyone was happy and smiling!

We didn’t get to experience the entertainment in the evening ourselves but there were lots of families enjoying a family quiz in the purpose built indoor entertainment staged area when we walked past one evening.

Private beach

One of Ladram’s special features is it’s own private beach where you can swim, fish and even hire kayaks and paddle boards to explore the bay.

The practical side of things

When you arrive, you receive a very useful ‘welcome pack’ with toilet paper, soap, cloths and washing up liquid until you get a chance to stock on the essentials. The welcome pack also includes a bottle of wine which I thought was very generous of the park.

There is also a laundrette and a useful recycling area on site.

Food on-site

There’s a well stocked supermarket on site with every thing you could possibly need for your stay at Ladram Bay. The kids enjoyed walking down in the morning for the fresh croissants (a bargain at 50p each).

There is a takeaway called ‘Coast’ which opens at noon and stays open till late and a sit down restaurant called ‘Pebbles’ which serves food from 9am to 9pm. We enjoyed a meal there on our last night and were impressed with the quality.

What would I change?

Not much if I was being honest. The WIFI in the holiday home was quite poor so I don’t think I could recommend buying WIFI for the duration of your stay.

However I think that a week without internet access can make this an even more special family holiday.

Things to do in the area

One of the main reasons for our visit to the Devon area was to take the kids to visit River Cottage. James and I went a few years ago and loved it so much, we wanted to take the kids.

Located near Axminster, James did a smoking and curing meat course and we all returned the day after for Easter Sunday lunch which was everything we hoped it would be.

The whole stretch of Coast is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage site. If you’re looking to explore the local towns,  there is a company called Treasure Trails who produce fun trails which lead you around the town while looking for clues to solve a puzzle. A great way to find out more about the town you’re visiting.

Stuart Line Cruises operate from Exmouth, they operate a number of trips along the coast and in the estuary.

We never made it to Escot Park but if we could’ve stayed longer it would’ve made it our to- do list. It looks like a fun and educational way to spend a few hours.

Crealy Great Adventure Park would also have been on our list. It’s based at Clyst St. Mary on the outskirts of Exeter and we think it would be worth a day out.

Visit south Devon have a fab list of 50 free things to do in South Devon from cycling the Exe Estuary Trail to meeting the hundreds of donkeys at The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth.

There’s bound to be something to suit everyone on this list.

What did the kids think?

It was an amazing holiday park with loads of fun things to do. My favourite thing was the climbing wall. The holiday home was very spacious and comfortable.
Anna – aged 11

I really liked my three day stay at Ladram Bay. The pool was great and I really enjoyed the climbing wall.
Fraser – aged 11

I loved all the cool stuff you could do. The beach was my favourite. I would definitely recommend it to anyone and I would love to go back.
Ellen – aged 13

Video

Here’s a video of our experience at Ladram Bay Holiday Park

Check out Ladram Bay Holiday Park for booking information and special offers. Read other reviews on this award-winning holiday park on Tripadvisor.

Disclaimer : we were offered three nights accommodation by Ladram Bay Holiday Park in a Peak View holiday home for the purposes of this review. All opinions and photos are our own. Thank you for supporting Saucepan Kids and the brands that support it too.