It’s been nearly 5 months since we packed up the car and drove all the way to Wales to spend Christmas at Bluestone National Park Resort.
I booked our 4 day Christmas getaway in July 2018 and initially booked a cute cottage which was nearer the playgrounds, restaurants and lake. 5 days later paid a small fee and upgraded to a Ramsey Lodge (upside down lodge).
The cottages are all terraced, so you’ll be sharing walls with your neighbours. The Ramsey Lodge is a stand alone property and has some private space outside.
As soon as you book you get inundated with emails to “help” plan your stay and to check-in all of the guests.
Check-in is super easy and I’d advise doing this as it will save time upon your arrival. You may arrive at the resort from 11am and use the facilities and enter your property from 4:30pm. Certain lodges come with early entry from 3pm. You can pay for early entry, I wouldn’t bother though.
We went when they had their Kingdom of the Elves, Sugar Plum Land. The entire resort is beautifully decorated.
Cars are only allowed on the resort for load in and out. They have to go back to the car park for the duration of your stay. This makes it super safe for walks, bike riding and driving the golf buggy.
If you want to hire a golf buggy you should book one ASAP as they go quickly. We left it too late but it didn’t effect the way we got around. Walking did us good, it was cold and wet but if you are dressed accordingly then it’s fine.
I took lots of food and drink so breakfasts and dinners were sorted, we only needed to grab lunches. I’ll do a separate post on tips/hacks on what to take.
Kingdom of the Elves was good fun, my eldest toddler who had just turned 2 loved it. Word of warning , it does get hot so try not to dress with too many layers.
They have a buggy park so you can leave your buggy/pushchair/pram and not have to lug it around.
The elves were great! Always in character and the kids faces were beaming meeting them.
We met Santa, and he read the children a story. The parents got to drink mulled cider (yum) and eat mince pies (double yum) and the kids got to decorate a T-shirt for Prancer the reindeer teddy they got given. You do get a chance to take pictures with Santa, which you can purchase at the gift store.
Jasmine got to do some archery and came 1st out of 10 people!
We went on long walks and took the kids to the playground often.
The swimming pool was ok, we only got the chance to go once, which was Christmas Day. The changing rooms were clean enough and had plenty on places to chill. As the 3 younger ones were under 5 years they were restricted to the baby area. Only my 2 year old was allowed in the lazy river.
I believe there was a cafe in the swimming pool, not entirely sure as I was keeping a watchful eye on the boys.
The entire staff was super friendly and helpful and the entire resort was clean and litter free.
I booked a Boxing Day breakfast, it wasn’t too bad, the eggs looked like runny porridge so we all gave that a miss.
The only downside to the holiday was the hot water tap ran cold in the kitchen, making washing up annoying. Also when using the shower wet room, water would spray everywhere, literally the toilet, sink, walls and floor were soaked. So was the towel I was supposed to use!
Would I go back, yes!
Bluestone is a beautiful resort and I’m sure has loads more to offer in the warmer months.
Bluestone National Park Resort – Review It's been nearly 5 months since we packed up the car and drove all the way to Wales to spend Christmas at…