Holiday Haven Swan Lake

The location near Jervis Bay is a real plus. We stayed in a tent, so heard some road noise in the daytime, though nights were quiet. The park sits off a main road on a street with just one way in and out. There’s a good range of facilities for children, including a jumping pillow, pool and small playground with swings. The camp kitchen works fine, but feels dated and the equipment isn’t very modern. A large part of the park is given over to permanent sites, leaving a smaller area for powered tent and caravan sites. We felt the rooms were four-star, though we were camping in a tent.

We probably wouldn’t choose this park again. After an electrical problem in our van threatened our holiday, the office staff tried to help by giving us contacts for mobile technicians. Soon after, they told us we’d pitched on the wrong site, which surprised us because we’d studied the map carefully and couldn’t find a site number. The manager said it was on the power pole and might be under the flap. I’d already looked there, and when she checked, she found there was no number. We accepted that we’d misread the map, but if we’d seen a wrong number we wouldn’t have set up there. She wasn’t apologetic, though she did acknowledge it was partly their fault, and they hurriedly wrote the number on the pole with a thin marker. Then her associate admonished us because our well-behaved little dog wasn’t on a leash. It felt inconsiderate when we were older visitors already under stress. I had to ask the manager to see whether the people who had booked the site might swap with us. She didn’t raise the possibility herself or seem to feel the park had some responsibility because the site had no number. We still wonder what would have happened if those reasonable guests had said no.

The lake is only a few steps away, and the park made for a lovely place to unwind. We stayed two days in an exceptionally clean cottage, with a pool and play area to keep the kids busy. It’s also a handy base for Bendalong and Hymes, both within a 40-minute drive. I arrived two hours before check-in, but the staff let me in with a smile. The no-smoking rule was perfect for us. I’d come back for a week next time. You’re doing a great job, thank you.

We lost half our holiday finding another dog-friendly place, and the refund didn’t make up for the time, stress or disruption. At booking we were clearly told dogs were allowed. After travelling more than 200 km and setting up our campsite, “security” came by at 10 pm and said we could be kicked out for having a dog. The next morning the manager was dismissive and arrogant. She overruled the staff member who had given us permission and told us to remove our dogs or leave. She also claimed we were the only guests with dogs, even though we saw several others in the campground. The communication and customer service were unacceptable. We won’t return.