I stayed at one of the UK's best holiday parks - it is 2.5 hours from Bristol and so worth the drive

It is all the way down the M4

I am not a fan of long car journeys. Not as a passenger, especially not with toddlers. I struggle with travel sickness - which has gotten much worse since being pregnant - which adds to the joy that is a car journey with young children.

However, a few days away - to enjoy somewhere new, to relax and recharge - makes the effort of packing and travelling worth it. This time, we were heading down to the end of the M4 to west Wales to stay at Bluestone which describes itself as "a 5* luxury holiday destination located within 500acres of wild Welsh countryside in Narberth, Pembrokeshire".

Bluestone has also been named as the number one holiday park in Wales - and third in the UK - for the third year running by Which? Magazine in the UK’s best & worst holiday parks 2024/25. Keeping that in mind, we were all very ready for our Welsh trip.

The journey there, on a Monday afternoon, turned out to be very smooth and with no traffic jams. It was just a long motorway drive in beautiful sunshine with me reminiscing of my time living in Wales; working at WalesOnline, the M4 felt like a second home at some points.

Arriving at the site, we accidentally queued for check in. It turned out that the platinum lodges had a different check in area and, once we were in the right place, check in was quick and smooth.

We drove up to 23 Merlin Crescent - our home for the next four nights. The property we stayed in was a "St Govan Lodge", a three bedroom home which sleeps six people, and it certainly exceeded my expectations.

The spacious lodge, which had the living area upstairs, had a very modern interior and was done up to a high standard. It has that unpretentious luxury feel that so many places seem to go for these days and I immediately felt this would be a lovely home for the next four nights.

I couldn't help myself and claimed the gorgeously, but simply decorated large master bedroom; the king size bed looked extremely appealing from the moment I saw it from the hallway and it simply had to be mine.

However, the best was yet to come and the master bedroom featured a huge ensuite - certainly bigger than the bathroom in my house. This included a shower, a clawfoot bath and a double sink vanity unit; that bathroom was the stuff of dreams (or mine at least).

Also downstairs were two further bedrooms with two single beds each, which we easily moved together to have two more double beds. The lodge also had a second bathroom with a bath and shower.

A small detail that impressed me straight away was how child-focused the lodge was; there was a nappy bin in the bathroom, as well as stair gates at the top and bottom of the stairs. There were also two travel cots as requested, together with a potty (which came in handy as we start to dip our toes in the world of potty training with my two-year-old).

Upstairs, the large lodge was just as impressive. The open-plan living area featured a lovely kitchen with everything you will need, and more. From plenty of plates to cooking equipment and from a dishwasher to a microwave, the kitchen was certainly well equipped and a pleasure to cook in.

We all loved the large wooden table and benches and, as much of a boring adult this makes me, I have to admit I had big envy of their huge bin draw. Don't we all need one of those in our lives the moment little people come into our lives, with all the mess they make?

The huge living space also included a big sofa, a TV and a cosy electric fire. There was also a small snug with a TV, which we didn't get a chance to use, as well as a sun room with huge windows where we relaxed a couple of times.

With Bluestone being a car-free site, once unpacked, I was left on child duty as my two very excited friends went over to collect the golf buggy. Driving the buggy around turned out to be, probably unsurprisingly, one of the highlights of the holiday.

After a day of travelling, we decided to stay in that evening - cook some food in that lovely kitchen and then relax on those comfortable sofas before a good night sleep.

Tuesday

We started our first full day at Bluestone with a swimming session at the indoor water park, known as Blue Lagoon. Not having had much of a chance to explore the site by this point, we got lost trying to find it and it felt we took the buggy round the whole site before we found it.

This meant we got to the Blue Lagoon late (and a bit frazzled), but what was to follow made the early morning stress worth it. The swimming sessions are at 8am, before the pool opens to the general public, so there was only a handful of families in attendance.

There was also no music on, which made the space felt calm and welcoming - which is particularly important for children who may be nervous around water, like my friend's son. Unsure about how this would go for my friend's two-and-a-half-year-old, we were both so happy and impressed with him when he got in the water.

He was able to walk in, with the water getting deeper very gradually, which meant he was able to take things at his own pace. He was able not rushed or pushed by the teacher, which is what he needed.

The lesson itself was fun and centred around play, and made me want to sign up my water-loving toddler to swimming lessons again now that we are no longer going from bug to bug. Most importantly, since then, my friend's son has been able to relax in water a lot more so only for that the early morning rush and stress was all worth it.

The pool itself was huge, and there is a smaller toddler area to the side with lots of toys - similar to Bath Leisure Centre. Come 9am, the music came on and a few early risers already arrive.

After our time at the Blue Lagoon, we visited the Serendome - the park's "indoor-outdoor adventure play area". I was particularly excited to visit this area, thinking it was an excellent idea in a country where it feels it often rains.

We spend a bit of time in the playground before having a chance to play with Bluey and Bingo. This was high quality entertainment and my son absolutely loved it. We then had to queue for quite a while for the meet and greet itself, but my son's happy face when seeing Bluey up close was priceless.

Feeling a bit tired and ready for a rest, we then headed back to the lodge for lunch and a short nap. Our day finished with a short trip up to the village for an explore and the children enjoyed playing in the large playground there.

We are back at the lodge by 5pm, tired after a busy but good day. Cooking some food in the lodge, we then spent the evening relaxing on the comfortable sofas.

Wednesday

Unfortunately, on our second day, we had to have a slower day as I woke up with an awful migraine. All I could manage was a little walk around and a trip to the playground and shop.

I was trying to keep my energy for our meal at the Farmhouse Bar & Grill that evening. This being a family-friendly place, the restaurant was fairly busy when we got there at 6pm.

We started our meal with some delicious nibbles, including sweet corn rib fritters which is something I had not tried before. They were full of flavour and the lime was a good touch.

This was a good, filling meal of comfort food - which is just what I needed.

Thursday

On our third day at the site we spent the morning at the Hive - which is Bluestone's newest centre for activity and play. The space is huge and packed with different activities.

While we were extremely lucky with the weather during our stay, this would have been ideal for a rain day. I liked the climbing frame for young children, while it was extremely hard to get my child off the inflatable park.

We ended our morning with a messy play session, which was lots of fun. Full of colour, the room really reminded of Bristol's own amazement park Wake The Tiger.

It is so creative and full of things for explore to explore. They have different areas set up and, while my toddler was unsure of the slime table, he was a big fan of the water station as well as the sand one.

I then spent the afternoon at the site's spa, which was the perfect afternoon of self-care that I needed. It is so quiet when I first arrive that I only see a couple of people.

I have to admit I started my time at the spa with a much-needed nap in the meditation room, followed by a little explore of the spa area. The saunas were very hot, as they should be, and I enjoyed how there were plenty of areas to just lounge around and relax.

Verdict

Set in 500-acres of countryside, Bluestone certainly felt miles away from the rest of the world. We were so impressed by the quality of the accommodation itself, as well as the the range of activities and things to do.

Bluestone is truly child-friendly and focused, and a highlight for me was being able to have the space and time to truly connect with my son, and my friends. We all live such busy lives, sometimes a few days away is what we need to connect with those we love the most.

You can find out more about Bluestone here.