Craig Tara Reviews 45

A was at craig tara from the 5th to the 9th and it's went down hill in the passed 2 years, sorry that was from May, the beds where full of springs the shower was broke not the right table and chairs for the patio, the carpets where all stained, there was a horrible smell from the rooms, the pillows saw better days, a was so disappointed I won't be back and wouldn't recommend it.

Disgusting run down dump of a place.
Like a step back in time 30/40 years ago with how out dated it is.
Every walkway, pavement and sitting area is full of dog crap and used fag ends.
Swimming pool is absolutely vile, full of dirty plasters and grime, cleaners are useless and need proper training as do most of the staff employed.
Soiled nappy's in the changing rooms and floors so dirty you could barely get changed, what more could you ask for.
Worst experience ever on a holiday, came home early and would never return.

Very late entry was supposed to be 5pm we waited till after 6 before it was cleaned with a tired 3 year old. Cold food .overpriced drink .no air conditioning at shows . The heat was unbearable.entertainment was the worst ever for kids and adults .there was nothing free apart from beach and play parks the rangers place was so dirty the toilet was minging .the decking outside was full of metal stuff and was so dirty.when we went swimming they wanted us to let our small child go down slide alone we wanted him to be safe on our knee so had to leave que.everywhere was overcrowded do they not have a limit as was so busy.overpriced and overrated.will not go back ever.ps.linen was outside dirty for 3 days was minging.

Booking in was simple, just drive past main barrier and stop at the wooden hut. Upon checking in, the caravan had sticky surfaces and the bedding looked used and missing a double duvet cover. Luckily we brought our own so dealt with that issue. The single bed mattresses were tiny, not full size on the bed which left wooden spars visible. No phone signal throughout entire place made booking activities impossible and missing calls from family and friends. The children were unhappy as no phone signal for apps on their devices. The price of food and items was extortionate, staff that didn't smile or say good morning, afternoon or evening back when you smiled and spoken to them and just scanned your items looking depressed. The only place that had WiFi was the Brig of Ayr restaurant, which itself was London prices for food and drinks. The food was low quality and a microwave meal would have been better. The activities for smaller children 0 - 3 years old, were limited and can't be done as a family with older children, which made it difficult to enjoy ourselves. The domestic fights nightly that went on all hours had kids awake and frightened and the smell of weed all over the place was sickly. Save your money and look elsewhere.

Not enough Bedding so spend most of the day stressed and going back and forth to customer services. Bedding finally arrived at night but without sheets and was damp. Shower head was broken. Didn't receive deposit back for the rubbish iron I hired. No welcome pack so want even sure how to work the heating. Booked for 8 people, given 2 toilet rolls (luckily brought my own). Nothing else supplied although that was expected but had to argue to hire towels even though the website said they offered this service. All in all, an overpriced and stressful weekend.

Arrival Issues:**
Upon arrival, we discovered that the heating in the caravan was not working and remained off for quite some time. This caused significant discomfort, especially for my asthmatic partner, as well as for my two young children and my 6-month-old baby, who were left in cold conditions. For my partner, who has a history of severe asthma, cold air is a well-known trigger that can exacerbate symptoms. Given these health risks, this issue should have been addressed before our arrival to ensure the caravan was properly prepared and suitable for occupancy.

**Incident at Aqua Inflatables:**
During our visit to the aqua inflatables, my sister-in-law experienced heart palpitations and sought help from your first aid team. Shockingly, no one offered her any assistance or even something as basic as water. When I informed a lifeguard that she was lying on the floor unwell and asked if I could take the children with me, he showed no concern whatsoever. It is unacceptable that a trained team displayed such disregard for a clear medical emergency.

**Evening Entertainment Incident:**
Later that evening, during the entertainment, we encountered another issue. We briefly placed our children at the edge of the stage to take a photo, and instead of politely asking us to remove them, one of your staff members—Lewis, I believe, with blonde hair—rudely announced over the microphone, repeating multiple times, "Get down off the stage, it’s not a bench," even as we were already removing them. This public embarrassment was unprofessional and unnecessary, as we were in the process of resolving the situation ourselves.

**Appalling Security and First Aid Response:**
The most alarming incident occurred when my partner, Lewis, suffered an asthma attack during our stay. Asthma attacks can be life-threatening, especially for individuals with severe asthma, as in Lewis’s case. Asthma can lead to a sudden inability to breathe, and without prompt intervention, it can quickly escalate into a critical emergency. My sister-in-law, who is a nurse, attempted to leave the entertainment area to get him some water, but your security staff refused to allow it, even after being told why. She then sought first aid help and was directed to the security team, who informed her that they were also the first aid team. When she asked if they had a nebuliser—an essential tool in treating asthma attacks—they were completely unprepared and unconcerned. Despite knowing Lewis was in respiratory distress, no one checked on him or offered help.

After contacting NHS24, we managed to get Lewis to the Lighthouse Bar, but again, we encountered indifference. The staff member suggested calling security when we had already explained Lewis was suffering from an asthma attack. When we asked if it was possible to get a cart to take him to reception to get a taxi, as he was struggling to breathe, we were told, “No, those are for deliveries only.” This delay in getting him proper care could have had catastrophic consequences, as time is critical during an asthma attack.

**Lack of Professionalism from Security:**
While we were waiting for a taxi to take Lewis to the hospital, we witnessed a blatant display of unprofessionalism from your security team. A guard publicly confronted a group of teenagers about someone giving his friend "something dodgy to smoke," showing more concern for this situation than for Lewis, who was struggling to breathe. This lack of judgment and professionalism is disgraceful, especially when lives could be at risk.

**Impact on the Children:**
These incidents completely ruined our child and his cousin’s final night at Craig Tara. They were excited for their last evening of entertainment, but instead spent the night worried and upset about Lewis’s health. It was distressing for them to witness their father/uncle struggling to breathe and to see such chaos unfold around us. What should have been a fun and special family experience turned into a stressful and frightening situation.

I am deeply appalled by the lack of care, urgency, and professionalism exhibited by your staff, particularly in the handling of medical emergencies. These incidents are unacceptable and could have had far more serious consequences. For a family resort of your size and reputation, this level of negligence is inexcusable.

I am seriously considering escalating this matter unless I receive a prompt and detailed response, outlining the steps you will take to ensure this never happens again. It is crucial that these issues are addressed immediately for the safety and well-being of future guests.

Disappointed all round. Facilities are filthy. The caravan was so unclean when we arrived we went and bought our own cleaning products to give it a once over. The food on site is terrible. There's a smell of weed everywhere. The kids areas are not clean. The whole place needs to be closed and given a serious refurbishment if the cost of staying here is to remain the same. We definitely won't be back. If it weren't for the amount we paid. I would have left early.
The only good thing about the place was the view from the caravan....

Really peed at this, day 1 cupboard door hanging off, day 1 night time getting washed and taps started flooding caravan, day 2 at reception, joined appears but no plumber joined can’t get parts for cupboard, day 3 reception for plumber again still nothing say 4 fixed can try enjoy holiday then they have cheek to offer £50 discount of next holiday biggest joke we upgraded and got nothing for money

Just spent a week at Craig Tara which was a good time for our kids, 5 and 1. (Family lives close by so this place is perfect for us to have a holiday and also see long distance relatives and the second time we have stayed, first time was a private booking so not the haven site).

This holiday was won at an auction for a breast cancer event by my partners Gran who gifted it to us late last year. Ideally we wanted to book it for May/June 2024 because the site is in a beautiful location with a fantastic beach you can spend all day on. Because of managers changing jobs the whole booking became an ordeal with emails being answered then completely ignored to the point we were ringing everyday to be on hold for hours and the line going dead. Even calling the Haven main line they couldn’t help us as the booking was donated by Craig Tara itself. Eventually a new manager was installed and she was very good and got the ball rolling, unfortunately by this time it was well into the year and they could only offer us the last week of summer (end of august). Not to worry, at least we were getting a family holiday.

We arrived at the check-in time and were told our van address. When we found it the surroundings seemed a bit unkept (patio patchy with cig butts here and there, and rubbish bags under the decking) and on opening the door were hit with a damp smell. I assumed this was probably because the couches or carpets had been cleaned but soon realised they weren’t that clean. The kitchen and bedrooms were clean but the toilets had a urinal smell to them (which I bought some bleach from the local shop and mopped myself) some of the kitchen items weren’t thoroughly cleaned but it’s as to be expected when sharing vans, we washed the things we used in the kitchen before and after we used them. We also had no key so had to wait for a key to be dropped off before we could go and get a week food shop. After that it was around 5pm so we made tea and got the kids settled for a day of fun in the morning.

Because we weren’t booked through Haven we weren’t on their system for activities so my partner had to go down to reception first thing to sort this. She was then told to say we were guests of the manager and with the van address given it wouldn’t be a problem, which it wasn’t.

We went swimming in the mornings then had a quick lunch then went back down to see what our 5 year old fancied to do. Sadly he was just not tall enough to do everything as he is 1.1m tall and most activities are for 1.2m+. Crazy golf was fun and we planned to do the mini golf on the Friday but it was closed (we think this is because it’s changeover day). He enjoyed the mini climbing activity and was too tired to play on the trampoline in the afternoon. He absolutely loved the arcade and was well chuffed to have won enough tokens to get a cool toy he’d seen in the token shop. (This was not cheap over 3 days btw). The park area is brilliant with a small and big football pitch with a lot of kids playing nice and having a good time. The main issue with that area is the wasps completely plaguing everyone. One day taking refuge in the brig of Ayr pub which even the staff were suffering from wasp attack.

We found all the staff pleasant and helpful throughout the whole stay despite it being rather busy.

The weather wasn’t the best but we did manage to have an evening down the beach and a swim in the sea. Collected some shells and watched a beautiful sunset on the west coast.

We spent our last day (few hours) down at the park with the weather just about behaving, the kids were sad to leave. We hope to return to Craig Tara with a bigger boy who can do all the cool activities but hope they can improve on the cleanliness of the van, or at least the first impression you get as you walk in.

See you next year (hopefully it’ll be a better summer).

We stayed in 16 Ailsa brea, the Caravan was dirty, blood on mattress in the main bedroom, floors had nerd type sweets on it, and alot of cigarette butt's around the area of our caravan, pillows missing on one bed, the sofa had crumbs and rubbish.
If you do stay bring everything down to a loo roll and dish towel with you it had nothing!!!

We went for Sunday lunch at Brigs restaurant got 2 adult Sunday roasts and a children's roast dinner it was absolutely stinking, and freezing cold. My youngest got quorn dinosaur and chips (2 small dinosaurs and no joke 9 chips!!!) When I complained about the kids meal (served to table 1st) the manager said it was that size because kids eat for £1 with a paying adult. When we got outs and the cauliflower was ice cold and rock hard he did refund us the price of 2 adult meals but daughter couldn't eat hers ethier and ended up paying the 5.99 for the youngest absolutely shocking.

The entertainment was good when others have respect, don't bother to que in early to get decent seats as many will just stand in front of your table and block the view anyway, best going to the raised platforms, they also really push product on the kids numerous times they said on the microphone to get your adult to but you this or that, they go round every night with balloons and crap for 7 pound to 15 quid plus...

The ticket system is okay as you'd expect the 2p machines are the way to win but saw tons and tons of teddy's being won in the machines in the week!

Bingo was the highlight for us, for young ones bring ear denfenders as the have it up so so loud but ofc sell headphones on site.

The fish and chip place I believe it was called cooks was rotten also the chips tasted like metal.

The activities are shockingly tiny! And massively overbooked the indoor mini golf was the size of a small living room and the rest wasn't much better..

The parks around the place was very worn out and an accident waiting to happen.

Honestly scotland was beautiful we ended up doing day trips, which isn't what we where hoping for but the farm beside craig tara is amazing and the safari about a hour and a half away where fantastic!!!

Over all we will be back to Scotland but nowhere near haven again!!!

Dreadful. Didn't get a confirmation email so called Craig Tara Park to ask for one. Put on hold for 1hr 16mins before line went dead. Filled in complaint form but was told 'we do advise calling head office', except they don't. They played me standard upselling and 'we're busier than usual' messages and a no point told me to call another number. I'm. So sad I paid them £1000 for our 1 week fsmily holiday. Not even been yet. Wish we could cancel. Their agents have been so rude. They have no idea what hospitality or customer service is, and they couldn't care less that they are taking our hard earned holiday savings. They just care about the pounds. Just look at the reviews on here. The couldn't give a flying one.

Booked a family holiday for 7 nights at Craig Tara, Ayr in Scotland.
Arrived on site fine and checked in with no issues.
Arrived at our caravan.
Initial look about it wasn't the cleanest. There was an open half eater tube or Pringles in a wardrobe. Obviously not cleaned/removed from the last visitors.
Crumbs on the sofas and floors.
Within 5 minutes of entering an ant was found crawling around the caravan. Got my kids sorted so we could unpack the car. Another ant.
Seen down the back of the sofa where there was a half eaten burger and a dozen chip.
Other food. It was disgusting.
I didn't bother unpacking the car at this point.
I headed to reception to discuss this and see about swapping caravans.
They told me there was no other available ones. They asked if I would like a cleaner to come out who could clean the livingroom and place ant traps, I said yes. They gave me a leaflet about the ants and said it's a common problem.
No wonder by the state of the caravan.

Went back to it and decided to unpack the car. 4 hours later a cleaner came. Said she would come back with a hover and to clean. She never came back.

We found a lot more cleanliness issues. Dirty dishes. Sticky sweets left opened in kitchen drawers. Labels in different areas and stuff to walls.
I general the caravan didn't even look like it had been cleaned between visitors.
No wonder it was ant infested.
Later that evening found 4 more ants. Even crawling in the kitchen cupboards.
Went back to reception and they offered a cleaner again. I told them I could not stay in that environment. I ended up getting a full refund and leaving.
Had to stay the night as my younger daughter was already in her bed. But I could not get any sleep for the thought of ants.

Turns out the caravan next door ended up doing the same thing as theirs hadn't been cleaned either.
Parkdean holidays at sundrum Castle in Ayr ended up saving the day with a last minute booking the next morning and we had our weeks holiday there.

DO NOT GO HERE!!!

FOOD IS RAW AND WILL MAKE YOU ILL, MANAGERS AND HIGHER UPS DO NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR STAFF OR CUSTOMERS AND WILL ABUSE BOTH.

STAFF TURNOVER IS SKYHIGH AS THEY DO NOT PAY STAFF FAIRLY AND PRACTICE ILLEGAL WORKING HOURS, SAW THE SAME MEN AND WOMEN AT 3AM AND THEN THE SAME DAY ON SITE TIRED AT 1PM BEHIND BAR!!!!!

RATS AND ANIMALS LOOSE AROUND EVERYWHERE AND A DISGUSTING POO SMELL EVERYWHERE, UNCLEAN AND HORRID…

MANAGER TOLD ME TO “F@@K OFF” AFTER TELLING HER MY PINT WAS LITERALLY BOILING AND BURNED MY TOUNGE???? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE???!!!!!

IF YOU VALUE YOUR SANITY AND SUMMER HOLIDAY, AND EVEN YOUR HEALTH DO NOT GO HERE. SERIOUS HEALTH RISKS AND MORE.

If you want a better caravan holiday away it would be cheaper and cleaner to buy a scrap caravan from your local scrappy and throw it down the dump and stay there the weekend, drinks would be cheaper.

We arrived at this holiday park to a gold class caravan that was absolutely filthy, reception were not interested and it took four adults in our party 2 hours to clean the caravan enough to make it actually habitable.
Urine stained toilet's, plates and other crockery were actually stuck together and stuck to the surfaces of the cupboards, food debris on all worktops, fridge was disgusting and took half an hour to clean on its own, carpets had never seen a vacuum for a long long time.
The caravan itself was stinking of dogs when this van was supposed to be pet free.
We were absolutely disgusted with the cleanliness of the caravan upon arrival and management did not want to know, so it was a case of do it ourselves or go home and disappoint the children. You have to book in advance to do anything on the park and half of the time we could not get booked at all, the places for eating on the camp with the exception of papa johns were at best terrible, food was cold upon arrival and not very nice.
This has to be the worst holiday experience we have ever had in 30 years of going to holiday camps and we would definitely NOT recommend this place to anyone.
We will NEVER return.

Well turned up on the Monday caravan open which supposed to have a welcome pack in caravan with the key iit didn't on Tuesday tried to phone reception as I was working no answer on option 1,2,3or 4 during working ours so tried to ring after hours yet again no answer so finished work early on the Wednesday to get a key sorted so that myself and a work colleague could leave our belongings in the caravan so got back at 5.50 10 mins b4 reception closed not 1 person on the desk and when I found a receptionist told them the situation and tried to phone but got nowhere only to be told reception was closed from 6 pm yet this was at 5.50 and that I should contact after hours yea that was no good yet again absolutely ridiculous not 1 member of staff wanted to resolve problem so that belongings could be locked in caravan got the money and didn't want to know will not be staying here again

Worst site I’ve ever experienced!

Was booked for a Monday to Friday trip, arrived to no parking anywhere near the caravan ( not have a fault quite a few cars ) however lots of them were parked over two bays causing the issue and none of the staff were willing to locate owners to get them to move into bays, the caravan itself was filthy!! There was actually a dirty stained mattress just laying on the grass outside it. You couldn’t see out the windows for dirt and grime, almost all the caravans need a good power wash. The staff at the customer service desk are horrendous! Not even an apology to the multiple people there complaining how dirty everything is. I travelled over four hours for a wasted trip with toddlers and all their response was well go home and we will refund you in 28 days. Never again even consider booking there, haven have many good clean sites but this isn’t one of them

Just returned from a 7 night stay at Craig Tara, have come away with a mix of pros and cons.

Dog friendly apartment was appreciated as it allowed us to bring along our dog, we went in not expecting much in terms of high end as obviously it was dog friendly. The apartment was clean and tidy upon arrival with the beds all made up, our master bedroom mattress was amazing, memory foam mattress, I slept like a baby. Unfortunately for my eldest son the pull out sofa bed was unusable, the mattress with it was stained and too skinny to even be classed as a mattress. He slept on the sofa the first night and we then did abit of swapping and changing and had two younger kids share a bed and brought the other one into the sitting area for him to sleep on.

Apartment came equipped with everything we needed in the kitchen for 6 minus an oven glove and tea towels so please remember to bring your own.

We were 1st floor and the metal stairs could be dangerous, my son fell down them on the first night and the dog was far from keen using them. The entrance led to a door which was accessible to two first floor apartments which can cause problems with ensuring the outer door is secure on a night, own apartments do have key locks so isn’t the end of the world as long as you remember to lock your own.

Plenty of places to eat, the restaurant on the face of it appears to be very reasonably priced but the food leaves a lot to be desired. We bought 3 adult meals and got 3 kids meals for £1 each, the kids meals are the tiniest portions I have ever seen in my life, Think one already mini corn on the cob cut into 4 pieces, a burger about 5cms wide and about 6 chips.

Activities, we pretty much had a go at most of the activities and whilst some felt like good value for money some less so.

The jump, the drop and mini aerial adventures all felt like great value for money £10-£12 each. The nerf battle at £10 per person felt overpriced when registering 6 people for it. Mini golf felt dated and the equipment had seen better days, no score cards and the whole thing just felt neglected.

The entertainment rooms whilst they look the part don’t really make much sense 80% of the seats and tables are high and the chairs are backless which isn’t great for most. If your not there early enough to get the few seats around the front your in for an uncomfortable night. Prices of the beer are what you’d expect from somewhere like this at £6 a pint. Soft drinks at £3.95 hurt much more.

The park and outdoor football pitch are a great way to spend some time not spending money as well as the soft play. Also great access to the beach but as we visited in March it was just a place I took the dog rather than the kids.

Unfortunately I didn’t find any indoor areas of the park to be dog friendly, I appreciate not everyone wants dogs around but even just a small area somewhere indoors would have been nice during the constant rain we had.

All in all it’s what I expected it to be, it cost me a fortune all in and in hindsight I could have gone abroad for what I spent. The younger two kids had a blast with all the activities but again given the choice they’d probably also choose somewhere all inclusive with the sun.

Don’t be sucked in with the cheap price of the accommodation as we were, understand this holiday will cost you a fortune if your plan is to emerse yourself in it.

Between constant domestics and caravans being busted for drugs this is hell on earth.

So 2 years ago we where here other half 7 month pregnant went to bits of ayr horrendous service ordered katsu curry looked like was launched from a catapult cut chicken in half was pink thru and thru the response o well am finished back this year decided to go in for my birthday to what was the coldest welcome tobget told we couldn't order for 30 mins because of breakfast change over so we sat down me my other half and our 3 boys oldest 8yers old with autism a 5 Yr old and 2 year old no menu given for the kids went to get high chair they where dirty not been cleaned so left them got back to table couldn't get anyone to take our drinks order 30mins gone by no waiter in sight still couldn't order our kids where fed up so where we had to leave and go into burger King next door this place is just a joke tbh been years of bad service horrendous food and over priced microwave food at best avoid at all cost there Loads of reviews of how bad this place is

Shineys caravan @ Craig Tara first time for me in caravan in years! Site was busy , caravan was excellent , everything you need. Owner very friendly even met me at reception point as I got lost ! Very clean , very comfy and the decking lights made it extra special will come again !
Thanks Craig