Haven Perran Sands Review
Last month with my husband and 3 year old daughter, I enjoyed a 3 night weekend break at Haven Perran Sands, Perranporth. We had a fantastic time both at the Haven park and in the surrounding area, so I thought I would compile my hints and tips for anyone else.
This is not a sponsored post and all opinions are my own.
Accommodation at haven Perran Sands
Being seasoned Haven travellers, we knew we wanted to go for the 2 bed Prestige with decking caravan, as this was a model we had stayed in at other sites. We made an additional saving by booking through KidsPass.
Haven have now rebranded their caravan gradings to Saver, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Signature. This caravan is now classed as a Silver grade.
What features do you get in a Haven Silver grade caravan?
The caravan itself was excellent and I cannot fault the design, space or facilities. The master bedroom in particular is very roomy and comes with its own en suite toilet, built in wardrobes and a flatscreen TV.
The 2nd bedroom is very small as expected, with room for 2 single beds and not much else, but this was perfect for our daughter and there would be plenty of room for another child too. I wouldn’t think it was the best option for adults due to the size of the room but it was fine for us.
The main bathroom featured a toilet, sink and shower but no bath. The shower was really powerful and worked well. One thing not to forget – towels! I couldn’t remember if they were supplied last time so I checked on the Haven website of the items to bring but there was no mention of towels so I wrongly assumed they were provided.
Luckily we had brought our own for swimming so we used them, but I would have brought extra had I known they weren’t supplied.
The kitchen was well stocked with pots, pans and crockery as well as a full size gas oven, microwave, toaster and kettle and plenty of room for all your own food.
The living area was spacious with a large flatscreen TV, DVD player and 2 sofas. The TV was Netflix compatible, however we didn’t get this working due to a poor phone reception. (We only tried this half heartedly as we had brought films with us anyway so there may have been a way to get it to work).
The TV also had a USB drive which worked perfectly for playing our (legally) downloaded films. The sofas can be adapted into a pullout bed to accommodate 2 extra guests in the living area but we didn’t try this feature out.
The decking area was lovely with modern rattan style furniture, we were lucky not to be overlooked either so this was quite a private space.
What to take with you on a Haven caravan holiday
- Towels – see above! Including extra for swimming / beach
- Washing up liquid
- Toilet roll (1 was supplied in each toilet so we didn’t need this in the end but depending on the length of your stay and number of bathrooms you might need this!)
- Kitchen roll
- Teatowels
- DVDs or downloaded films on USB
- Oven glove – depending on how much cooking you are planning on doing this would be handy. We got by with the teatowels but I almost burnt my hand on a pasta bake dish!
- Hairdryer – one was supplied in the room but I would check if all models have this feature.
- Soap / handwash – for each bathroom
what on Park facilities are there at haven perran sands?
Activities
As we were only there for 3 days and wanted to see a lot of the area, we didn’t spend a great deal of time using the facilities in the daytime, but there were plenty of free and paid for kids activities going on each day, although at the time of writing Perran Sands does not have an adventure park like many other Haven sites.
Indoor Swimming Pool
The indoor swimming pool was quite small, it did feature one waterslide and an outdoor lazy river but having previously been to the Hafan Y Mor site with its incredible swimming pool, this didn’t really measure up!
There was also an outdoor pool but this closed for the season on September 1st. We enjoyed our swim but it was definitely nothing special, so if you or the family are big waterslide fans like myself, this pool will probably fall a bit short of the mark.
Arcade
The arcade was in the same building as the swimming pool and again was quite small compared to other Haven sites we have visited.
However it served its purpose and we had a great time on the 2p machines! There was also a small indoor soft play area inside the arcade which my 3 year old enjoyed.
Evening entertainment
We love the Seaside Squad and went to the half an hour show at 7pm on 2 of the nights we were there. My daughter was transfixed by the characters and really enjoyed the performances. There was plenty of seating and the drinks were reasonably priced.
Having a little one meant that we didn’t stay for any of the other evening entertainment but to be honest it’s not really our thing anyway!
Surf Bay Cafe Haven Perran Sands
We chose to eat out at the onsite Surf Bay Cafe and I was really impressed with the quality and choice on the menu compared to the other Haven sites we have been to.
I had locally potted crab as a starter followed by surf n turf with locally caught king prawns, both of which were delicious.
How close is the beach access at Haven Perran Sands?
We loved the fact that once we arrived at the site (having been to nearby Newquay on the way down), we didn’t end up moving the car again until we left!
This was due to the fact that both the beach and the neighbouring town of Perrnaporth were both walkable from Perran Sands although it is a long and steep walk for little ones and would be quite difficult with a buggy.
The park is located on a cliff and there is direct access to the beach via a sloped path – we saw a few buggies struggling with the ascent on the way back – not impossible but you may wish to use a sling instead.
There is also a coastal path that leads from Perran Sands to Perranporth over the cliffs and down a step set of stone steps so again not suitable for buggies, although you could walk to Perranporth along the beach if you used the sloped path.
In summary
Overall – we had a fantastic time at Haven Perran Sands and our accommodation was top notch. Staff were friendly and attentive and the location of the park was excellent. The park facilities were fair compared to other Haven sites but were fine for our needs.
We will definitely return to the area again; I would have no problems in returning to this park based on our experience in the future but next time I would probably prefer to try out another Haven in Devon or Cornwall to see how it compares.
