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Escape to the coast and enjoy a break on the beautiful Mersea Island at Waldegraves Family Holiday Park. From luxury holiday caravans to great-value touring and camping pitches, there’s something for everyone at our holiday park. Guests can enjoy well-maintained standard grass pitches or a limited selection of hard-standing and serviced pitches, some with hedges to offer a greater level of privacy during your stay. For a holiday or short break with all the comforts of home, stay in one of our luxury caravan holiday homes, fully equipped for your perfect family break. Dogs are welcome on site on leads and have their own exercise area. Park has an outdoor heated swimming pool (open May- September, weather permitting), clubhouse with licensed bar and private sandy beach. Park characters Sammy Seagull & Bonnie Boxer can be found entertaining guests with the entertainment team. Guests can enjoy a home cooked meal in The Granary Restaurant and shop on site at The Wheatgrain. There is always plenty to catch in our well-stocked lakes, or try sea fishing instead. For golf enthusiasts we have 10 bay undercover golf driving range, 18 hole grass pitch & putt, 9 hole crazy golf and FootGolf course.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to VisitEngland.
HOTEL STYLE
Family
Mid-range
Location
Waldegraves Lane, West Mersea, Colchester CO5 8SE England
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Upon arrival I was really pleasantly surprised with the site. I had no idea it was going to be so big, and have the facilities it did. (My husband did the booking and I had a quick look). We were touring and the pitch was good and was really happy that we had the plug right there along with our own tap too. I won’t lie, initially I was put off by the toilets as they were filthy, but I went back an hour later and they’d obviously been cleaned as they were immaculate and were then really clean throughout the rest of our stay. They were cleaned really regularly, along with the showers too! And the shower curtain to separate shower and changing area was a great addition to stop clothes etc getting wet! The park, bar, shops on site were all great, and there was an Easter themed hunt on Easter Sunday and it was brilliant. The prize you got for doing it was brilliant and my daughter was absolutely thrilled! A lunch box, a plate and a big bag of sweets and to do the hunt it was no extra cost. All the staff were really friendly and helpful. The only 2 things that let it down, was the fact the pool wasn’t open. The bank holiday weekend was beautiful weather; and whilst I understand it’s an outdoor pool and very weather dependant, I think it should’ve been opened for the Easter weekend! Second thing was the lack of dairy alternatives at the restaurant. My son has a dairy allergy, and whilst there were things he could eat, the selection wasn’t that big, and for breakfast we asked about alternative milk for cereal and there wasn’t anything which really surprised me, the restaurant food was absolutely incredible but the door bell that rang every time the kitchen needed staff was quite annoying and really Loud! Surely there’s another way to get waiter staff to know food is ready?
It’s made us so much more mindful to use a family run caravan site instead of big chain as it just felt so much more looked after, and a much nicer feel to it. The entertainment staff for the kids were brilliant, and we found everything on site really reasonably priced! If you go in a season where the pool isn’t open, or for a rainy day idea and don’t mind travelling 25/30 mins. The leisure pool in Colchester was brilliant!!
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Date of stay: April 2023
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Had a great time, the sites lovely and clean other than the swimming pool changing rooms generally smelling like pee, guess children are changing in them but even though they are outside they could do with a wash down a few times a day especially when busy. Perhaps they are but personally never witnessed them being cleaned and we went there a lot. The pools lovely and not cold at all.
My little one had so much fun in the park, playing crazy golf, riding a bike, going to beach. Lots to do, never a dull moment. Restaurant staff are lovely ❤️
The site feels really safe and security can be seen driving around. For the most part we had peaceful nights sleep but last night older kids were running round the camp site screaming and shouting until after midnight and at one point did have to go out and ask them to keep the noise down so my little one could sleep. Not really the sites responsibility, you’d think parents may have asked them to be quiet given the time of night 🤫🤔
We will be going back ❤️
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Date of stay: August 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Waldegraves Park, Guest Services / Front Office at Waldegraves Holiday Park
Responded 16 Aug 2022
Hi Lisa, thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I have forwarded your comments with regards to the pool changing rooms onto the pool manager. Our housekeeping team do clean the changing rooms first thing in the morning and around 4pm, our pool team maintain them throughout the day. We are pleased to hear you and your family had such a great stay with us and that your little one enjoyed the park activities. We look forward to welcoming you back again soon Kind Regards Waldegraves Team :)
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1st time on this side as a Motorhomer, we stayed 2 nights over the weekend. Our pitch was very spacious. The holiday park was well maintained. The facilities (restaurant, bar etc.) were very welcome. The staff are very friendly and professional. The pool was closed for the season, which was a shame as the weather was superb. The location is great, near the beach and not too far from the town and marina, 15min by bike. However, the toilets/showers could do with some updating and cleaning. There is no free WIFI and the 4g is very unreliable. Also some tourers were extremely loud until very late in the evening, especially on Friday night, there were lots of birthday celebrations and lots of drunk people about. There was no warden keeping an eye on what was going on. The following day was much quieter in the evening. Being a very busy holiday park, you can expect lots of noise and children running and cycling around. Will we go back? Probably but during the week if we can, for a more peaceful break.
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Date of stay: October 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Quite expensive camping, pitch overgrown and dirty when we arrived (loads of cigarette ends and sweet wrappers).
Mens toilets had disposable vapes in them for the 3 nights we stayed so tells you all you need to know about how well/often they are cleaned.
Swimming pool good and location good due to being near the beach.
Camping area very noisy until late at night and lots of groups drinking all day and riding e scooters at speed so just didn't feel safe for kids. The whole atmosphere was unpleasant.
I've been here since a kid in caravans so kind of knew what to expect but it's a lot worse than I remember.
Graffiti in the men's toilet said it all!
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Date of stay: September 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Having been to this camp for many years now Camping , since its Idea of demolishing the Camping Field for the Introduction of Luxury !!! Cabins in ideal setting , more like building site , The whole camp and its ideals that made it Excellent have sadly deteriorated badly , The Fishing Lake has become a poor shadow of itself since the Bailiff was released in favour of saving money resulting in more rubbish and Beer Bottles etc Cleanliness of the site has dropped , the once infamous Security of the Site has diminished and are virtually unseen unlike other years. All the TLC has disappeared, having paid £15 for an extra car , people in the field had 14 cars over a weekend period with 4 extra Tents on pitches non of which were checked as in previous years . The Restaurant would not serve a Child’s meal on Sunday to anyone over 12 years on Sunday , apparently the Chefs Decision? Even though an Adults price was offered for it ? Yet would serve a child’s portion if you had a sweet ? Inconsistency? It’s such a shame that it has deteriorated as it has for whatever reasons .
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Date of stay: August 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
an amazing stay at Waldegraves a huge thank you all staff when ever any of us had an interaction with any staff member on whole of park, they were helpful, happy polite and nothing too much bless them all. We felt very safe here three females, a nanny, a mum and a granddaughter. the park was full, caravan owners and holiday makers like ourselves but it never felt over crowded or too busy which was wonderful. lots of events entertainment, my five year old grand daughter was over the moon that park was so good trampolining too. something for all ages from toddler to teenager. and parents and grandparents of course. accommodation was wonderfully clean and fresh I always take my own pillow and pillow case needn't of bothered here. kitchen in caravan fully stocked wasn't anything we needed when preparing meals etc. good size fridge and freezer. all clean and hygienic toilets the same as if new. patio table n four seats brilliant plenty of room for our Great Dane she loved the park. we were stationed right next to all amenities and beach front so that was so brilliant for me but to be honest its all co close. ease of booking time slots at pool etc brilliant. on sight shop was brilliant again staff so helpful and friendly catered for all things you would need. that was extremely good as I forgot tea coffee and sugar and our breakfast bacon eggs and sausages fresh bread bag of ice freezer food great selection of wine and alcoholic drinks batteries etc so yes shop very well stocked and not outrageous prices so that was an added bonus and on sight sweet n ice cream parlour £1 bag od sweet old school sweets £3 for cones or tubs of wonderful proper ice cream superb. other ice creams and lollies in shop. all guests we bumped into we spoke with were friendly happy 5 stars for our holiday out of five for sure.
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Date of stay: August 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:so much so close to park either on Mersea Island or in near by colchester but avoid a12 always a...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We have stayed at this campsite over the last few years quiet a few times and been very happy , However this time we was very disappointed, , I will start with the positives first , bar staff very friendly , entertainment very good . But over the last few months the cleanliness of the place has definitely gone down , it all looks like it needs a really good clean . All the amusement machines were sticky and could do with being wiped over on a regular basis, tables in bar in side and out needed a regular clean , and the toilets were absolutely disgusting overflowing with god knows what all over the floors bins overflowing an absolute health hazard . It’s not the cheapest of sites and if you know you are at full capacity then employ more staff , when that busy all toilets should be cleaned every 30 mins
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Date of stay: August 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Waldegraves Park, Guest Services / Front Office at Waldegraves Holiday Park
Responded 29 Aug 2023
We are sorry to hear that you were not entirely satisfied with your holiday experience on this occasion. We do have dedicated cleaning teams on site that constantly patrol each venue to ensure they are always looking their best. During busy periods, such as school holidays, the number of people using our facilities will increase, meaning that it becomes a challenge to ensure each area is clean and tidy. I will however make sure that your comments are given to the Housekeeping Manager to action.
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We have just got home after 6 nights on the touring site in our 36ft American RV and looking at other reviews I must say that I don’t wholly agree, as from the moment I made the booking I found the staff very helpful and the same from when we arrived. The touring pitch is a fair distance from the bar and restaurant and that was a bit awkward for my wife as she’s getting over a chest infection and found it hard to walk too far, but on the occasion we did go up to the bar, we found it clean and very nice. The showers could maybe do with a little modernisation and maybe the ability to set the temperature, but I found them perfectly usable whenever you went into the toilets they were always clean and the staff always seem to be cleaning something on the site in general the site was really nice, we arrived out of the school holidays on the Monday and it was quite peaceful until Friday but then we expected it to get busy. We had our 2 year old German Shepherd with us who is not too keen on other dogs and got quite noisy. So we had to be cautious when taking him out for a walk. Although there are signs saying dogs must be kept on a lead some people didn’t bother and let them run free we did mention it and they sent a member of staff round to have a word but as new people arrived you couldn’t expect them to keep coming round and telling people. But on the hole we had a great time definitely be going back in the future highly recommended if you do have a large motorhome as they have some large pitches which are suitable the only thing that let it down for me was a couple of days before we arrived they had to close the fishing lakes due to a possible disease in the water as they found a few dead fish but that was out of their control.
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Date of stay: September 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:If you have a large American RV like us some of the roads are a little tight although it’s a bus...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Waldegraves Park, Guest Services / Front Office at Waldegraves Holiday Park
Responded 25 Sept 2023
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review of your stay. We are delighted to hear you had a great holiday with us and that you'll be back for more. It is very unfortunate that our lakes have had to close for the time being, hopefully this will sort out the problem and we will be able to reopen them again soon. We are sorry you had some issues with other people not abiding by the rules with regards to keeping dogs on the lead and we really appreciate you bringing this to our attention so we could deal with it. We look forward to welcoming you back to Waldegraves in the future. Best Wishes Waldegraves Team
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Stayed here in our campervan for 2 nights whilst visiting family in Essex. Large pitches mostly separated by hedges. We found the shower & toilet blocks were regularly cleaned and a credit to the cleaning staff considering how much use they get. The shop was well stocked if a little pricey. We used the takeaway one evening and had a sit in full breakfast 1 day too and food was lovely and reasonable price. The only reason I've not given 5 stars is because although they allow dogs and there were a lot of them including ours none of the facilities are dog friendly. Also they do have a keep dogs on leads policy which seemed to be ignored and clearly not enforced, we have a very small dog and I didn't feel comfortable walking around the site on my own with our dog as there were a lot of large dogs and whilst they may be friendly can easily hurt a small dog if they are boisterous and playful.
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Date of stay: October 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We have just arrived home after a weekend away with our grandchildren in our motor home. All the staff were polite and attentive. There was lots of activities and entertainment for our grandchildren who are 3 and 4. I was really impressed with the cleaning team, they were continually cleaning the toilets and showers. The family showers are a fab idea. Easy access to the beach. The restaurant was really nice too, food was plentiful, nice quality and the staff were really polite and chatty. Wouldn’t probably return as a couple but would definitely return with the grandchildren!
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Date of stay: July 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:It is a busy site, there were lots of groups and was a little noisy!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Mersea Island area.
LOCATION
United KingdomEnglandEssexColchesterMersea Island
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Yes, it offers wheelchair access, reduced mobility rooms, and facilities for disabled guests. For specific enquiries, we recommend calling ahead to confirm.
