Five-star self-catering: Shorefield Country Park, New Forest

The words holiday park still (unfairly) have a whiff of Hi-de-Hi about them. Five-star holiday park, on the other hand, conjures up some entirely different images – so I set off to Shorefield Country Park to find out if they were true.

review stay*

Lodges with a hot tub – yep. An Elemis spa – yes again. An outdoor and indoor pool, plus a string of play areas, restaurants and bunnies hopping gently across the grass? Tick, tick and tick.

Where the New Forest meets the sea, near Milford-on-Sea, Shorefield Country Park had somehow passed under my radar, despite being less than two hours’ drive from London, until I was invited down for a short break.

Every time I’m near the New Forest, I berate myself for not visiting more often. Some of England’s loveliest lush woodland, classified as the ‘new’ forest over 950 years ago, horses roam wild, cycle tracks wind through the trees, and ridiculously picturesque villages pop up along rivers and tucked away under the trees.

For those with car fanatic husbands (yup), Beaulieu’s National Motor Museum has a unique collection dating back to some of the earlier motor vehicles but that’s only the start of the things to do in Hampshire with kids.

But with so much to do at Shorefield Country Park, the day trips are a bonus. After checking in with the friendly receptionist, who valiantly tried to distract Minnie from destroying all the interestingly rustly brochures and pamphlets, we got a map directing us to our lake-side lodge, Amberwood 45.

The whole 100 acre park (one of five across Hampshire and Dorset) is divided up into different areas, with varying types of chalets, lodges and static caravans. Some are owned, some rented out to holiday guests, some (like ours) a dark wooden style, others in a seasidey white New England finish.

Passing a sign pointing to a beach path (our quick stay and lack of baby carrier meant I didn’t get chance to investigate any further but the thought of the beach 10 minutes away was very tempting), our ‘Milford’ lodge was in a quiet corner, a few minutes drive from the site’s shop, indoor pool, bars and restaurants, and about 15 minutes walk to the outdoor pool.

The high chair – a lovely wooden one, extra points there – and travel cot were all ready and waiting for us, and I landed the double bed while my friend and her two-year-old took the twin room next to it.

First stop, the stylish Shorefield Country Park spa – the Reflections Day spa. Tucked away up the stairs from reception, it’s a little oasis. All the treatments and products are Elemis, and by the end of my half hour back massage – with four choices of oils – I was almost dribbling with relaxation.

Then swapping pampering for childminding duties as my friend headed for her treatment, we started to explore.

From reception, we could see into the lovely indoor pool, with its shallow side for babies and children, sweeping round to a deeper pool for adults.

As the heatwave was showing no sign of stopping, we had to give the playgrounds a miss before we all frazzled, and went in search of Cyril the chipmunk’s den instead – sadly, it turned out to be a games arcade rather than the hoped for soft play area, but even the toddler was enjoying herself enough not to mind.

Once the heat of the day had passed, there was no chance we’d miss the outdoor pool. In fact, there’s two – an adult pool and a smaller baby pool, which our girls adored, splashing happily in the late afternoon sun until it closed for the night at 6pm.

Bliss – it’s hard to think of the last summer when we’d have had the chance to do that.

Then, once they were tucked up for the night, we picked up a takeaway from the Cheers bar, broke open a bottle of bubbly and headed to our hot tub.

I’d had visions of chilling out under the stars, but instead – even better – we got the long balmy July evening, streaks of red across the sky as the sun set, and a couple of rabbits companionably munching on a verge as we experimented with the Jacuzzi jets.

Inevitably there were a few minor downsides – a shower that alternated between scalding and freezing, a DVD player which seemed to be connected up but wouldn’t show a picture (though had we stayed longer, I’m sure someone would have sorted that), the exciting sounding Italian Bistro which was closed on Sunday night, and most nights out of school holidays.

And while the lodges are clean and comfortable, don’t expect boutique decor to go with the park’s five stars – although when the sun is shining, the lodge is really just a place to sleep and eat anyway.

But with some fantastic offers, especially visiting outside peak season, it’s a great price for a family holiday with preschoolers.

For more things to do in the New Forest with kids, check out my top picks

Disclosure: My stay was hosted by Shorefield Country Park

Images courtesy of Shorefield Country Park/copyright MummyTravels