Disclaimer: We stayed at this Beach House hot tub lodge in Crealy Meadows Resort free of charge in exchange for this review, but words and pictures are mine.
Crealy Theme Park near Exeter in Devon is somewhere we’ve visited before, in pre-pandemic times, however this is the first time we’ve stayed on site at Crealy Meadows Resort. We were invited back for the press launch of Sooty Land, and were offered the chance to check out the accommodation.
Crealy Resort is split between a traditional campsite with pitches for tents and caravans, safari-style glamping pods, and Crealy Meadows where you’ll find the hot tub lodges.
We stayed in Beach House 5 – a hot tub lodge – in Crealy Meadows
The resort is a few minutes off the M5 junction and well signposted so even I had no problems finding it. Check in was straightforward and within a few minutes we were inside our lodge. So far so good!
First impressions of Beach House 5
The hot tub lodge at Crealy Meadows is similar to others we have reviewed. A large static caravan with a decking area surrounding it, it was nicely spaced apart from the other lodges, with room for two cars to park at the back.
Inside the lodge it was really clean and surprisingly spacious.
You enter the lodge via a utility room area which has a washing machine, cupboards and a sink, which opens into the hallway.
At one end of the lodge is a large open plan kitchen/living room/diner area.
In the kitchen there are all the expected appliances, including a microwave, oven, hob and dishwasher, and a large pantry, fridge and freezer.
Cutlery, crockery and cooking implements are all provided for you, and handily we were provided with a small amount of washing up liquid, a dish sponge, a dishwasher tablet and a tea towel to use. This was fine for a two night stay but don’t forget to pack more if you’re staying longer!
The living space has sofas for six people to sit and the dining area, a table with six chairs.
Along the hallway there is a big family bathroom with a bath/shower.
The Beach House lodges have three bedrooms
There are two twin bedrooms and one double which has an en suite shower and toilet, and a walk-in cupboard big enough to store the party’s luggage.
There are two TVs in the lodge; one in the master bedroom and also one in the living room.
Towels and sheets are provided for the entire party.
Outside on the area is a table with chairs, and a hot tub big enough for six people to relax in.
When you arrive, the hot tub is already switched on and the temperature is automatically set so you don’t have to fiddle with it or wait for it to warm up – you can just jump right in! The Crealy Lodges hot tubs are checked twice a day by on-site staff to make sure they are functioning properly.
This was by far the highlight of the accommodation according to my children, who would happily have spent hours in there roasting themselves. Strangely, I preferred it once they were in bed…
On-site facilities and entertainment
Next to the reception there is an on-site restaurant, ‘The Clubhouse’, serving standard pub style food and breakfast by the reception.
The food wasn’t bad; I’d say it is exactly what I was expecting. You wouldn’t want to eat there every night but it was great to rock up late and have somewhere to get a bite to eat and a glass of wine without having to worry about going out again.
I can’t speak for the campsite facilities but I did notice that there are several small children’s play areas throughout the Crealy Meadows resort including at reception/Clubhouse, where you could sit outside and eat or drink and watch the kids play.
The Crealy Meadows site is right next to the theme park, and from 6.30 the gates open to Crealy Meadows residents to provide the entertainment.
Now I’m not a huge fan of this kind of stuff – you can read all about it here – but the kids are, and for the purposes of being a proper reviewer I thought we’d better check it out at least once during our stay.
We stayed for the bingo. It was loud. We didn’t win. The soft play was also open, so the kids had a go on that and drank some awful coloured drinks before I dragged us back home with the bribe of a dip in the hot tub.
The next morning, my son was up in time to go kick a ball around the multisports area behind the Clubhouse with a member of the entertainment team while I drank a cup of tea, having brought with me the milk but forgotten the teabags like a total amateur.
Next to it there is also an adventure golf course, which we didn’t have time to investigate as we wanted to get on to the Crealy Theme Park (review here).
Crealy Meadows: The good
The lodge is decorated to a high specification with plenty of storage space, and everything you could need in terms of kitchenware for a self catering holiday.
It’s nicely spaced away from the other lodges giving you a bit of privacy, and apart from the hum of the hot tub/generator it’s very quite particularly at night.
The shower in the en suite was stuck on a really hot setting; I reported this to the staff and they sent someone out right away to fix it which I was impressed by. You can’t stop things from breaking and being damaged as they’re constantly in use, and it’s a pain when you’re the one that discovers it, but a quick resolution is the best result you can hope for.
It’s only a few minutes walk away from Crealy Theme Park so you don’t have to get in your car to get there, and even though the entertainment is not my cup of tea, it’s provided for you if you like that kind of thing!
The best bit had to be the hot tub though; a lovely bit of luxury especially in the sun we were lucky enough to get with out visit!
The bad
I only had one major complaint during our stay and that is that the curtains in the Crealy Meadow Beach House lodges are AWFUL. They may as well not bother with them.
As we are rapidly heading towards the longest day of the year, the sun comes up about 3am and the rooms become impossible to sleep in without putting extra sheets on the windows – but of course we didn’t realise this until out second day at which point everyone was tired and grumpy already. Not the best way to spend a day at theme park!
It seems like such an oversight considering the high spec of the rest of the cabin, as anyone with children knows, sleep is king and tired children are the pits.
The lodges have three bedrooms so are suitable for six people, however they claim that they’re suitable for up to 8 people as they also have sofa beds. In my experience you’re not going to get a good night’s sleep on the sofa bed – the mattress is extremely thin and uncomfortable. It would be better marketed for six people maximum in my opinion.
My honest Crealy Meadows review summary
With better curtains, I would have no hesitation in recommending the Beach House lodges at Crealy Meadows Resort for a family of up to six people. Without the curtains, you need to bring sheets with you which is a bit of a faff.
You can find out more about the Crealy Resort and staying at Crealy Meadows for short breaks here!