has anyone visited the Bluestone in Wales and if so what were your impressions?
Also Blue Lagoon water park - is it open? :

Yep - Bluestone is now officially open for bookings, with some guests already on site. The 'soft opening' ramps up to full opening for visitors, including the Blue Lagoon, which is already up to temperature and all going well, by July 18th.

I'll be adding some new Bluestone images shortly to this site, and Take the Family will be reviewing Bluestone later this summer.

Find it interesting that you say it has "Opened" when according to several reports fee paying guests arrive from 18th July and this is when the water parc also opens - see the Wales online report - link below

Holiday village ready for big splash - WalesOnline

I kept looking for big launch press reports for 30 June - the date I was told it opened to guests - so knew something was up....

I think you need to be more accurate with the information provided on your web site.....

Thankyou for updating your message to reflect true position.

Any news on whether it did open on 18th or not?

Hi

We went as a family to the Blue Lagoon (the coracle) on its VIP opening day on 12th July. Generally it was a very good day, the staff couldn't be faulted, extremely friendly, kept asking if we were enjoying ourselves.

I'd originally booked to go at Whitsun, £12.95 per head for 3 1/2 hours, instead of the usual 2 1/2. just for that week. Bit steep, but we were down that way for the week so I thought at least we'd have tried it out.

Had a letter saying that they were having trouble with the tiling so they were having the special opening day on 12th instead, and we could stay all day, and have complimentary food and drink.

Our main impressions were "Could have made it bigger". As a family spoilt by Centerparcs and their rapids at Longleat. we were a bit disappointed at the size of it. The day we went, they kept the numbers down, and it was lovely, but I'd hate to go when its busy. There were chairs around the side of the pool, but not enough, again, when it gets busy, to chill out between dips (are we that spoilt by Centerparcs?) The smaller pools are okay, but a bit boring - they had to shut the middle pool shortly after opening, because they were having trouble with the tiles again, but that wasn't their fault.

We all really loved the Lazy River, it goes outside and you can get out halfway and up steps to a jacuzzi on a patio. My kids are 9 and 7 and we went around and around and around....... The Rapids are disappointingly small, definitely had scope to make them bigger, basically 3 open tubes with Holding ponds between them, plus a circular pool to the side of each (that's what you can see to the right of the publicity picture of the coracle). It was over before you knew. They were having teething problems with one of the slides, sensor was stuck on red, causing pile-ups in the slide.

We don't know why they planned the changing rooms as they have. The lockers are in the middle, there are cubicles that families can go in, but there are also female and male areas that don't have DOORS on them (just panel sides) so when I got lost trying to find the exit, I got an unintended gawp at the mens bit. That was the other thing, no signs to direct you, just signs when you got there "Female changing area" etc. The new pool in Cardiff Bay has one big unisex area, full of cubicles, and Centerparcs has unisex cubicles where you walk in one door and out the other. Much better.

We can forgive them for the teething problems because someone has to be the guinea pigs, but I'd give it a while to be finished before going on holiday there, unless they offer steep discount - the carpark was unfinished and the grounds were landscaped dirt - grass hasn't had a chance to grow yet. We couldn't see where the village was and how people staying were supposed to get from the village to the pool. We had a goody bag with t-shirts and mugs and a 7-Up Rucksack (promotional free drinks during the day). We had to literally drag my 7 year-old out at 4pm (been there since 10am), she loved the wave machine, which goes on for ages - "Just one more go!". I have to say I was impressed with the cork stairs, non slip. The air temperature within the coracle was also great, you didn't get chilly walking around or sitting down.

I have a caravan sited 15 minutes from the park and if the entry was cheaper, we'd love to go again, especially on a rainy day, but at £12.95 per head its a bit steep for 2 1/2 hours. I know of someone who is down there this week for the first week of Proper opening. I'm waiting to get her impressions.

Dear Karen13

Many thanks for your posting on your visit to The Blue Lagoon.

It'll be very interesting to see how things have developed by Take the Family's visit in August.

We'd love to hear of your friend's experiences on her return.

I do know from speaking direct to our Bluestone contact that the reason for the slow ramp up to full opening was specifically to firstly identify, and then to iron out any small 'teething problems'.

We have just returned from a visit today, it was fun! Yes there are a few teething problems but the staff make up for it with their friendly attitude and helpfulness. The village is lovely, it is a sun trap, it was really warm there sitting on the village green with the kids playing in the park (and on the tractors!! Couldnt get our 3 year old off!!)very relaxing!!! We are already looking forward to our next visit!

Beginning to get a bit more confident that we won't be visiting a building site and overall comments are positive.
Is the spa centre up and running?

Have just got back from Bluestone. We arrived on the opening weekend, 18th July. Great location, good design, just not finished. Still a constructuion site, Blue Lagoon closed 3 days out of 7 for technical reasons. Staff great but management seems shambolic. Lots of teething problems with lodges, catering and facilities in general. Will probably be great in about a year's time but we were very disappointed - a long way to go to meet Centre Parc standards. (But area is fabulous - first visit to Pembrokeshire, can't rate it highly enough).

After speaking to Bluestone today, I wanted to update you on their latest news.

The Blue Lagoon is open and fully functioning, as is it's website Blue Lagoon which has some video footage, as well as tons of other information. Family tickets (2 adults 2 kids) can be purchased from £36 in low season. Obviously the Blue Lagoon is FREE to guests staying at Bluestone, as is nearby themepark Oakwood Park.

The Spa building itself is nearing completion, and 'should' be fully open by the beginning of September. In the meantime, all treatments are available, of which there are a wonderful multitude, on site in converted lodges.

Now that the majority of Bluestone's teething problems have been or are being solved, they can really concentrate on bringing you the next generation of family holiday that they planned, with you in mind. Just think - Fresh local produce in shops, bakers with fresh baked bread and patisserie, kids adventure, the blue lagoon, entertainment and tons more, and what a beautiful place .If you haven't visited Pembrokeshire before, when you get there you will wonder why not!

For Autumn you can save 25% for holidays up until October if you book before August 25th or for 2009 you can Save 15%. Remember to Quote 'Take the Family'.