While reviewing our holiday on the Isle of Wight from Red Funnel we stayed at Rookley Park. This was about 20 minutes away from East Cowes ferry port, and on the first trip there, I have to admit we did drive straight past the Park.
It was sign posted – but neither Mr L or I were expecting it to be just up from a Co-op on a street of houses, and we did completely drive past! We saw it as soon as we had made the mistake and it was very easy to turn around and get into the park.
We had arrived very early to the park, but were impressed straight away. I have grown up with caravan park holidays, and instantly recognised that this was a good one. We saw a fish and chip shop instantly (*beam*) and found the reception room that lead into the bar. This was a gorgeous setting and looked wonderful. The staff at the reception were lovely, explaining that our accommodation wasn’t yet ready, but giving us a map of the site and telling us that we could have a look around and that they may be able to get us in at 2pm instead of 4pm.
We were really pleased with this and went off for a drive around the park. It seemed really quiet, but we were happy with everything that we saw. All of the caravans looked lovely and the bungalows looked even nicer. We were really pleased that we were here.
We decided to eat on site in the bar, and see if we could get into the accommodation early. The food choice was great; there was a vast selection on the menu, and things that accommodated all of our appetites. There was a children’s menu, a normal appetite for me and then some whopper meals for Mr L. The classic was four/five burgers in the bun! The food was reasonably priced and when it came out it was cooked to perfection and we never had a complaint about the food. We loved it so much after that first meal that we ate there for the rest of the holiday unless we were out.
The staff were brilliant and managed to get us into our bungalow earlier than the 4pm and we were all in and ready by 2pm. The bungalow was gorgeous.
Baba instantly made himself at home, putting all of his teddies on his bed. He was so excited that he had a bed for himself and a bed for his teddies in his room. He got out all of the garden furniture in the front garden and washed the chairs and table down so that we could go and sit out there.
He loved everything about the bungalow, and loved that he could run from room to room. We were conscious of him waking up and getting to the front door but they were very easy to lock along with the patio doors and Baba couldn’t work out the locks on either of the doors.
The kitchen was a perfect size with a washer dryer, fridge and freezer included and the lounge/dining room was lovely. All of the furniture was sturdy and strong and all perfectly clean. But the best bit for me was the bathroom. It had a gorgeous bath, with massagers in the bath sides. I loved this bath and it was a real treat to have in your holiday home.
The park itself wasn’t busy which was lovely. There was a massive fishing lake that Baba loved walking past, this did have a nice path around the lake, but we never got time to go around that.
There are also two pools, one outside, (which wasn’t open), and an inside pool. This pool was just perfect. It wasn’t too deep or too big and Baba loved it. Quite a few times we were the only ones in the pool, and in the short time that we were there we managed to swim five times. For a good hour each time. It was perfect for swimming with families with little or big children and just for a swim on your own. And the temperature outside the pool was just perfect, which can be a problem in pools.
There was a small games area with arcades, crazy golf and a play area outside. We went here regularly and played in the arcade and on the crazy golf. All of this was the perfect size for Baba, being a little small meant that we couldn’t lose him in the arcades and that he didn’t get bored on the Crazy golf! It was perfect.
We tried out the entertainment with Baba and the staff that did the children’s party were fantastic. They were really jolly and Baba even got up and had a dance with Daddy at the end of the night, although he was nervous at first. He was soon put to ease. We couldn’t say what the entertainment was like in the evening, but going on the staff that we met it would have only been good, as all of the staff were lovely. They were all really approachable, helpful and all happy to stop and have a chat with you and they all loved Baba.
The whole pack and the entertainment areas and the swimming pool, crazy golf, and arcades area where spotless and could not be faulted on cleanliness. Everything there was spotless. We constantly saw workers and maintenance people around the site as well. Some areas, banks etc were obviously still being planted while we were there, but it really did not distract from the loveliness of the park.
The only thing that we found really strange on the park was that there wasn’t a little shop. I don’t think I have ever been to a campsite without a shop and did find this strange. It wasn’t an issue as the Co-Op was only a couple of minutes away on the opposite side of the road, but we still did find it a little funny having no shop there.
But this really was the only issue that we had with the whole site, everything else about it was wonderful and we had the best stay there. We were all really sad to say goodbye to our little bungalow that was now our little home.
*Thanks to Kerry and her family for reviewing the trip for us. Kerry normally lives over at And then All I Thought About Was You – go and say hello, she’s nice :)
