Parkdean Resorts Sandy Bay Holiday Park, Northumberland

Staff on site were excellent and helpfull. Every morning they were out clearing up, cutting the grass etc. Staff in the arcade were very helpful and went the extra mile with our little lad. We got scammed on a caravan via a private renter on Facebook, the lovely ladies on reception helped us sort a caravan to stop in. Whilst the location and beach is great, its the staff that make the place extra special. We would definitely recommend here and will be staying again.

Overall a nice site. Perfect location for beach access. Our only issue was the lack of drainage. After raining on the day of arrival in end of July, the site held the water most of the week. The caravan was full of mud & grass, as there was no path to our van. Our shoes were soaking wet every day. We actually went into town and bought wellies it was that bad. They appear to be renovating the reception, but should concentrate more on the lack of drainage. To top it off whilst walking down a path you find you're in another puddle due to a van being based over the pathway you need!

We've just had a 4 night stay at Sandy bay. It's getting into out of season so we naturally had a different experience than if we'd stayed in summer. As others have said when there is a lot of rain the site gets flooded. Not much can be done being so close to the sea. However maybe some straw or other absorbent material could be put down in front of the caravan entrances as you have to walk over the grass to get into your caravan and it's becomes a swamp.We booked a privately owned caravan via airb&b but could use the facilities. The WiFi is chargeable. You need to pay for this to access your own netflix etc in the caravan however you can register upto 10 devices so we thought it was worth it. The staff around the resort are super friendly and helpful. We went to reception a few times for some info.Amenities:The soft play is small and the flooring is damaged. The foam underneath where it's been 'repaired' with tape is coming loose which is a choking risk to smaller children. I hope they get this fixed for their next season.There's 2 cash machines onsite but they charge to use them.There's a small arcade, we had a go on the 2p slot machines and we got tons of sweeties, they paid out well.The launderette is £4.70 for a wash and £3.70 for the drier..some machines were broken but seemed to be fixed quickly.There is a pool but it was quite busy while we were there. You have to book in advance.We did fancy fish & chips for our last night but the chippy on site is shut on a Tues, weds and Thurs so if you're there midweek you can't use it which is a shame. The onsite shop is very overpriced. I went to look for nappies and they sell a small pack of pampers for £6!The nearest village is cramlington which has an Aldi, Sainsbury's with an Argos, Asda and small retail park. We went there for groceries. There's tons of free things to do nearby. Northumberlandia is worth a visit to burn off kids energy. We went to Newcastle center one day to 7stories a children's book museum which easily kills a few hours. Parking nearby on street is super cheap, 60p per hour.The sea is really close and you can hear the waves crashing which is soothing.We didn't use the restaurant onsite because there's so many bad reviews about the food. We looked at a few menus when the kids used the softplay and the menus on the tables hadn't been wiped clean and were dirty.There's lots of planned kids activities to book and we were given a guide when we checked in. However I do think some were overpriced. £8 to do pumpkin carving for example is a lot for families on a budget.We saved our leftover bread and crackers and took the kids to the pond onsite to feed the ducks instead. The outdoor play area is very good too.It's a great base to explore nearby areas and wella maintained. I didn't see any litter during our stay and the grounds were kept well.

Me and my family have been coming to this site for years. This caravan site is not for everyone as the main complex is a lot smaller than others it had no pool tables and it was better for us when they had the touring site and If you don't know, the area then I would say it can be boring the arcade area for the kids is tiny good for adults bad for kids

Caravan was lovely, very clean, warm on arrival, which was welcoming. We were in a caravan that was suitable for disabled/wheelchair access. The path leading to the caravan was very muddy on arrival, so hubby brushed it away, or we would've trailed it into the carpet, good ramp upto door. Lovely & wide inside & rooms very spacious, only drawback was the sliding doors were very heavy/stiff (had my mil (86) been with us, there's no way she would've been able to slide them open, need a bit of oil. Lighting in the caravan was good (too bright actually) would have been nice the option of a little table lamp in sitting room & bedroom.We have family who live in Newcastle, so there was 9 of us went to the on site restaurant for dinner, it was a complete disaster, we waited just over 1 & half hours for our food & it was barely eaten, totally tasteless, steak overcooked, spaghetti bolognese tasted, out of a tin, chicken/rib combo was awful, we complained & the reply we got was I'll tell the chef". During our visit

Excellent holiday park in a beautiful location with lots of walking on the sand dunes and beaches. Nice quiet park which is extremely well kept. Thoroughly enjoyed our stay and will return. Thanks and enjoy your break here.

Just came back from a 3 night stay in one of the lodge's. The reception staff were amazing. The staff bent over backwards to help us out. Me and my Girlfriend were extremely pleased with our stay. We will definitely be coming back. Thanks again to the reception staff & the manager for all their support.

I love the beach and the caravans were so cute! The TV wasn't working but they came out straight away to fix it, lovely staff only complaint would be the chip shop never opened even though they had their hours on the store door. But that's not the parks fault.Also the ducks were cute.

Sandy Bay - Park Dean is an ok caravan park. But here are the NEGATIVES and POSITIVES to help people decide if it is the right park for them:** NEGATIVES **1) Many of the caravans DO NOT have a concrete parking space at the side of the caravan, so several small car parks are scattered around the park. This means that you may need to haul your luggage over the grassed areas that surround each caravan, which could be wet and muddy if it's been raining. Many of caravans have quite a bit of space between them, so it's a great shame that the park has not provided each caravan with its own parking space. Driving over the grassed areas is not permitted, but some people did it and I don't blame them.2) The roads that guide you to the various zones and exits is a bit crazy. The road markings are worn out in some areas and seem wrongly placed, resulting in driver confusion. The one way system is a pain as getting to the exit from my caravan involved a 1-2 mile tour of the park! If I broke the rules and drove just 100 meters the wrong way I would have reached the exit in about 15 seconds! Not only would I have reached the exit quicker, I would have saved 1-2 miles worth of petrol and reduced environmental pollution! Something the park should consider.3) The caravan was nice and modern, however, the seating in the lounge looked a little dirty and smelt a bit. But a quick blast with some Antibacterial Fabric Spray sorted the smell and any hygiene issues overnight.4) The shower head mounting pole in the caravan was broken and falling to bits, so getting the shower head to stay in position was difficult.5) The double bedroom in my 8 berth extra wide caravan was very cramped, with only about 10 inches each side of the bed. This made getting in and out of bed quite difficult.6) The bathroom in my caravan was ok, but it had a 6 to 7 inch deep cabinet directly above the sink, so it was easy to whack your head on it when having a wash!7) Sandy Bay is not a good area if you have a mobile phone that uses the Vodafone or Asda Mobile network, as the signal is poor. It's seems ok for O2 though. With Free Wi-Fi on-site this should not be a problem anyway.8) Many of the tourist attractions (National Trust, Angel of the North, Beamish Museum, Alnwick Castle) are a fair distance away from Sandy Bay, so be prepared to drive upto 40 miles if you plan to visit them.** POSITIVES **1) When I arrived my caravan was ready. The woman working in the small reception cabin was nice and friendly. She gave me my keys and plotted a route on a paper map to show my caravans location.2) The WHOLE of the caravan park has Wi-Fi access. You need to create an account, but once done, you have the option to have a FREE 2 Mbps service or a much faster service for a fee. You may need to log into your account daily to keep using the free service, but this takes seconds to do.3) My caravan (8 berth extra wide) was modern and of good standard. It had everything I needed, including a good sized shower, 2 toilets, good heating system with heated bathroom towel rail, a 32 TV with DVD player

Great place to go holiday at the caravans are perfect and the beach is walking distance away with an ice cream vendor at the entrance of it. Drinks are a bit expensive going 3.50 for a soft drink. The show bar is perfect for people at all ages with activities, a bar and a separate shop for merchandise.The arcade is perfect with its own vr set. The staff that work their are nice and they are good help. It has a wide range of activities and has its own pool with the deep end being 1.2 meters. If you are looking for a place to go on holiday this is the right choice for you.