Perranporth Coastal Retreat- Sleeps8

We arrived on Monday to a lovely Silver caravan. It was clean, spacious and comfortable. The problem was the travel cot: it had been put in a bag while still very wet, I assume after cleaning, and smelled awful and had mould under the mattress. Our little girl slept with me the first night while my partner used the spare single bed. Reception had closed much earlier than the app and welcome sheets said, so there was nobody to speak to. We went straight there the next morning, and they sorted it as quickly as they could. We weren't expecting the caravan to have almost nothing in it apart from a dustpan and brush. There's a local shop selling Co-op products and quite a lot of everyday essentials, although it can be very overpriced. There are several places to eat, but surprisingly, they don't all open every day. We'd planned fish and chips on Tuesday, but the on-site fish bar didn't open again until Wednesday. The swimming pool was great. My boy loved being able to stand and play in the kiddy pool. My girl liked it too, but the water felt a little cold and she couldn't stay in long. My partner enjoyed the slide. I understood why my boy was told he was too small to use it, for safety, but one woman let other children who also looked too small go down. It was hard to explain to him why he couldn't. The changing rooms needed more regular cleaning for the number of people using them. The changing table was dirty and covered in talcum powder, which we avoid with our children, so I ended up changing my daughter on the floor. We enjoyed the park activities, including Build a Bear and making sand bottles, and the entertainment was brilliant. Some staff struggled to engage with my son, who may have Autism, and he seemed a bit separated from the other children. He waited patiently in line for a ribbon for his bag, but children who joined after him were served first and he was last. I didn't think that was fair. They knew he was waiting and praised him for it, but that felt a bit like praising a dog and giving it a treat. We loved Peranporth, especially the beach, and I recommend Crantock Beach as well. We didn't enjoy Newquay, which seemed very run down. The arcade isn't what it used to be either. You now have to top up a card, and the prices are ridiculous for the number of points you get. We came home four days early because those smaller problems left us feeling out of place, along with the severe weather. We won't return, though we enjoyed making memories during the few days we were there.

It's an older park, set among the sand dunes, but the location is one of the best. The beach is about a five-minute drive away, with an amazing sunset. There are two pools. The outdoor one can be chilly, and both are a bit small, but they're nice. There are several places to eat or grab snacks too. All in all, it's one of the better parks we've stayed at.

We loved our stay at Perran Sands. We chose a Silver caravan, which had plenty of room for our things and space for my little one to crawl and play. It was easy to get around the park, and I could push them to most places. The caravan was perfect apart from the floor, which could have been cleaned a bit better. The baby pool was cold, and my little one got chilly quickly, so we didn't stay in for long, but we still had fun.

We had a great time as a family and will definitely book again. The park's location made it easy to walk to the fantastic beach, and we were lucky to get some beach time in good weather. Staff were friendly and happy to help, food options were good and reasonably priced, and the evening entertainment was excellent. Our grandchildren were especially pleased to see "the tiger club" return.