Craig Tara Reviews 45

First time caravan holiday.
The location was up a hill because was situated in arran view fine as wasn't paying £50 + extra to pick location.
Arrived 8pm so was late and there was oven tray with sausages in oven I just binned them and cleaned it thought maybe cleaner forgot to check oven but there were also cereal boxes in bin cupboard beside plastic bin tht had been emptied so dont know if cleaner emptied bin but forgot to go back for cereal boxes. Also full cupboard of Crisps and popcorn and pretzels obviously from previous guest.
There was cup marks on dining table so dont think that had been cleaned either and floor seemed sticky.
I had brought antibacterial wipes so just used them on floor and table.
Unfortunately the hairdryer didnt work either never found that out to a couple of days in as arrived late had shower after swimming first day.
Oven seemed weird aswell as if gap at top and part missing?
So had 2 block it with Tinfoil as a 20 min cook time ended up taking 40 mins.
There was a small leak in radiator in bathroom.
Remote didnt work in livingroom think it needed new batteries.
All of these things were annoying but bedding was clean bathroom was clean could see hoover marks on carpets.
Just think more time spent on checking appliances like hairdryer Remote are working.
Then a check of cupboards and cooker.
I wouldnt say was unclean compared to other people's reviews.
Just thought id leave a review to maybe get cleaning and maintenance staff to take more time on cleans so done correctly. I had a good time though doing pottery with my nephews and swimming and going to heads of ayr next to haven.
Only went to entertainment one night sound was up really loud and a girl was murdering if I was a boy by Beyonce so ended up leaving early as kids couldn't take the noise level.
I think it you only pay a couple of hundred for 5 nights fine but I definitely wouldnt pay anymore as wouldnt be worth it with caravan issues and activities being extra because could go abroad for prices it can be mon to fri in busy season but for a cheap break not in peak times its fine.

Craig Tara is a brilliant staycation holiday and I have went every March ,June, and September for the past 23 years. Sometimes using sun holidays for the first few years as I was a 20year old mother of two under 3yrs old, a wife , a homemaker and full time social carer. For 19 years I have booked directly from Haven Holidays. Craig Tara has always been my ideal destination. I only go abroad maybe once a year so usually in September when I would not go to Craig Tara. Now we have a partially blind 4yr old grandson who joins us at Craig Tara for most of our stays. A few weeks ago we booked our normal silver, random site destination holiday. In short there was a soaking wet duvet, sheet, and mattress in the double room. Only soaked in one section next to the window which was open. I immediately requested new bedding. Nothing came that day so I dried the mattress against the radiator and flipped it over. A single sheet and duvet made for a very uncomfortable night. I asked maintenance to come with bedding, they never responded. From the next morning Saturday until Monday I had been at reception 5 imes, been on hold when calling them for several hours , messaged maintenance and was already halfway into my holiday without basic amenities! The biggest problem was precious time spent trying to get these. A full ruined weekend. I offered to wash the original bedclothes myself but told not to. I requested to attend their laundry department and collect these things myself. Again told that wasn’t possible. I eventually on Monday refused to leave the reception without bed sheets. Again I was told that wasn’t possible. I received a £50 food voucher for the inconvenience but at 5pm the bedding STILL wasn’t there. When I eventually told them I was going home and wanted a full refund for making my holiday un-necessarily stressful and uncomfortable, I told them to take the £50 food vouchers back which they were now calling ‘compensation’ the bedding was delivered within 5 minutes! My grandson went home that day and I was gutted I wasted so much time for something that only took 5 minutes. I have been offered an upgrade on my next booking but after the standard of basic services were so abysmal, I am not sure if I want to go back. It’s as if the staff are saying ‘it’s only your main bedding, you could have enjoyed your holiday without it for a few nights’. But no, my main complaint is that the problem was reported right away, and then took at least 3 hours out of every day trying to get basic comforts for a supposedly relaxing holiday.

Items "Found" by Staff then Vanished
​Review:
We stay at Craig Tara 6 times a year, but our trust has been completely broken. After checking out of 30 Rabbies Retreat (March 13-16), we realized my son's new trainers (£140) were left behind.
​On Tuesday the 17th, staff confirmed via phone that the shoes were found and being held at reception. However, when we tried to collect them, we were told there was "no record" of them. How do high-value items vanish from a secure staff area after being officially recovered?
​To make matters worse, my wife waited over an hour at reception to speak to a manager, only to be told they were "too busy" to see her. This isn't just a lost property issue; it’s a massive breach of trust and integrity. If staff can "lose" found items, how can we trust them in our van for maintenance during our stay?
​We have two more stays booked for April and May, but unless this is resolved and our property returned/reimbursed, we will be cancelling. Emails to Haven are bouncing back, and management is hiding in the office. Unacceptable service for loyal customers.

Absolutely appalling service, we have arrived in our cabin and it stunk of weed. Went to discuss this to reception, not even an apology from receptionists, they said they just send a cleaner around. However, the smell would not just go away. They would not compensate or move us, the manager is even scared to come out and speak to us. Supposed to be a present and to recuperate from death of my mother. Such service ruined our holiday and we even travelled far to come here. Childrens are exposed on the smell of weed drugs.

Not what it's made out to be for the price caravan was disgusting smelled like a dirty dish cloth outa date furniture dirty pillows n duvet left below bed I spent nearly £500 for 4 days best thing outa it was way bk home even beach was disgusting and prices crazy be better staying in a hotel in Spain for cheaper

We booked 2 weeks by Craig Tara. As we couldn't book 2 weeks straight in a caravan. So we booked 1 week in a caravan, and 1 week in a apartment. We have came all the way from London which took us 8 hours! We were tired and hungry! Arrival seemed fine, we had access to our caravan straight away. From outside we were happy with the place we got.. nice view and close to the beach. But when we opened the caravan it stank! as well it was dirty and there was even a dried-up noodle on the floor. Like how can u miss that when u clean?! There was still a dirty cleaning grey bowl in the sink, used for cleaning? It was dirty as well. We had to open all the windows. We had 5 kids with us and he had no pillow. But we were hungry so wanted to eat, my husband went to the reception whereby the young men apologised and told us someone who would come out and clean and give us a pillow. The pillow never came and the cleaning team that day neither! As I have 5 kids with me its highly unhygienic, so went out to buy Dettol. Well …when I cleaned the so-called mop… black water came out of it!! It took me over 15 min to clean. And leave it it Dettol. Eventually cleaned the whole caravan myself with Dettol. Next day the cleaning lady came and she was friendly and apologised. She did vacuum clean it. That’s another thing. The caravan has carpet (not everywhere).. but no way to clean it yourself for a week with 5 kids? That’s terrible! Why?! I felt very uncomfortable with the whole experience tbh.. the shower of the caravan was however nice and hard water for a good shower. When it was time to go to the apartment… we go 1st a stupid check in time.. we told them we are already on the part and if the time could be changed. This could not we had to follow the app, the lady said. Everything was on the app, she said and nothing could be done. So there we were from 10 am till 5/6 o clock on 10th of November being practically homeless on the street with our stuff waiting for our check in time with 5 kids in the cold. When it was finally time…..well everything was rubbish! 1st we got a very bad apartment close to a practiacly a swimming pool of water what didn’t drain and we couldn’t even get our stuff like that to the apartment. We ended up driving our car straight in front of the door. I tried to go through the grass and it was absolutely a disaster and almost broke my neck by slipping!. Than the apartment ALSO stank horrible! It stinked like somebody cleaned with a old stayed-to-long-for days wet mop and dirty water.. and the living room..well don’t know what that smell was but they tried to come up with some dirty perfume? We couldn’t really breath.. again all the windows open..in the cold!. Sizing of apartment is bigger , but 1 shower had almost no water pressure at all. So couldn’t use that shower. 1 tap had extremely hot water coming out and cold was dripping only. So couldn’t use that one. Only the other tap from the other bathroom Fridge stank. Again it was DIRTY! Again! I had to clean everything with Dettol as a lots of things were sticky?!..under the sofa was still old candy and rubbish from last guests. Again no vacuum cleaner! and not even a mop to clean! I mean its winter.. u have a swimming pool outside the apartment, its wet! And I cant even mop the floor?! The floor stank so bad! The toilet had PEEstains on it. I don’t know how people go to toilet but that’s nasty! Husband went to the reception, and again the lady wasn’t so friendly and no we couldn’t change anything and everything is done by app. Uhhh…why are u there exactly?! So no help whatsoever from this lady. So we were stuck and that week seemed to be very rainy and meant to be stuck inside. No internet (only Vodafone works there), No smart tv. Which we didn’t mind if the location/view was reasonable and the house was liveable. But Monday evening we arrived, by Wednesday everyone was absolutely miserable and Thursday morning early we left! While I booked till the next Monday!. Meant I lost money and a supposable a nice holiday..and our last holiday for a while as well. So this was double sad for my kids they had to experience this. I have never ever seen such a bad park. As it does have lots of potentials..but this park needs a big shake up and CLEAN!. Specially the cleaning ladies and boys need a cleaning course! This is just a summary from our experience. But this is absolutely a place to catch diseases. I don’t think we will be coming back here.

Avoid this place. The staff were rude and ruined our stay. During one activity, Katie from the activities team failed to explain the rules and then removed us from the session, seemingly to reduce the number of participants. She was rude and very unpleasant. When we questioned this, we were threatened with security and the manager. We filed an online complaint, but Katie misrepresented the situation and nothing was resolved.

Check in was well organised and quick, it was all downhill from here. Caravan was not that clean, seating area was dirty and all cushions were stained (what was I sitting on) Table was tatty and covered in Nail polish remover, I scratched off the dried bits of food with my nail and bought some spray bleach to clean myself. Bits of food stuck to microwave. Went to adjust spot lighting and clean the hanging cobweb and my fingers stuck to the grime (never touched those again) Bathroom shelf covered in toothpaste. I know this was a basic caravan but there was no bin or just a bin bag would have been nice, no j-clothe, tea towel or washing up liquid, surely these are kitchen basics that should have been supplied. There was no bath mat so every time you had a shower and opened the door the floor got drenched, had to use my own to mop up floor and buy another towel (surprisingly these weren't supplied)
Next the noise, music is pumped out from the reception area from around 10am and then competes with the entertainment noise until 11PM, every day. On one night people carried on partying until after 1am (where the hell were security) and this is November, dread to think what its like here at peak times.
Bin bags (so they do have them) of dirty washing line the flooded and muddy paths for the whole of my stay, workers block you in whilst they fit decking to other caravans as well as a bloody big crane that lifted out and swapped another caravan two down from me,
This place is so bad I am leaving three days early, if only I had read the other reviews first (they make my review looked extremely positive) so NEVER AGAIN HAVEN

After my 14year old son who has got autism put the best part of 20 quid in a 2p machine and got the toy off that wedged onto glass only for 2 boys of similar age to physically push him away the my son told the staff only for them to take the word of the 2 bullies who my lad said they sounded Scottish and of course we are not Scottish . 3 times we've been to craig tara been to haven sites about 15 times and bring our family but no way will we ever come to any haven site again i mean never its disgusting of the staff member who in our eyes is as bad as the bullies we can't wait to go home now

Just spent 3 days in this caravan site first time here. Few things need to be sorted in this site. We just arrived after dropping our stuff in caravan. We went to the chippy up road by car. On way back in the security guard on main gates is bad mannered. Manners cost nothing!! He was shouting about where is your ticket!! To come and off the park. On these emails there is nothing stated about these tickets he was rudely shouting about while my 5 yrs old son sat beside in car. Maybe in future be more clearly on emails regarding this. Where was the security? when twice a woman was running through the caravan park early hours of 17 th October morning shouting at top of her voice drunk. Wi-Fi in caravan Needs to be fixed can’t get proper signal there unless you are down at any of these restaurants or amusements. One good point about it is our van was clean in arran view considering the money we paid for only three days. Improvement need to be made at this site!!

Moldy can in pull out bed funky smell no Wi-Fi add Wi-Fi bedroom to small hallway narrow no lock on bathroom privacy

Not a good start I had to wait ages to check in, there was no directions to caravan we drove around in circles. Caravan was lovely. There were no paths to walk on (or limp in my case) the roads were equal to Silverstone we had to leap on muddy grass every time a car raced past. I can't comment on security we didn't see any. We went for a rest which ended off bored sick, ok for kids but not us. We won't be back!!

Made the mistake of not reading the reviews before booking, hired a so called apartment ( more like a council temporary accommodation, booked for three nights at a cost if £350, stayed one night, no hot water in the kitchen or bathroom including the electric shower that was not working, the general area is full of litter , £6 for a pint, certainly wouldn’t recommend this complex, think refugees are better accommodated

Dangerous,Filthy, absolutely the worst place we have ever visited!
I am writing this on 15/8/25, I arrived here with my Daughter and 2 year old Granddaughter at 2pm today ( I paid extra £25 for early check in) oh and £85 extra to book our caravan/location-we are booked to stay till Monday 18/8/25 in a silver caravan but we are leaving in the morning!!
On arrival my granddaughter walked into the double bed bedroom and picked something up off the floor , we noticed very quickly and shouted for her to give it to us, as we did this she ran out of the room and as she did this the whole front of a long drawer fell off and crashed onto the floor missing her feet and legs by probably a millimetre!! There was also another screw on the floor next to where she had picked up the other one. You can appreciate the two issues there, one the drawer but equally the two screws left by most likely the same person who positioned the drawer to look like it was normal but knowing full well it was broken and an accident waiting to happen or in the case of the screws waiting for a child to put in their mouth etc etc! NOT ACCEPTABLE!
Let me outline other issues… filthy outside decking area, cigarette butts, ash and caked on ketchup looking stains ( could be blood?!!) this was on floor and also outside table and chairs.
En-suite- there were brown marks smeared over a towel hoop and in that area on the wall- as we were discovering all of this a team manager ( man with dyed orange hair) arrived to do a welcome check of the level of cleanliness… poor soul… he was so kind but got the full run down of our disgust and shock as to why all of it was like it was ? He actually said go to reception and tell them you deserve to be compensated for this way sub standard dangerous caravan! He actually looked at the en-suite after suggesting it may just be rust and rubbed his hands over the stains ( horrific!!) & said no that’s not rust it needs cleaning!
3 out of 4 mugs had hardened tea/coffee stains and dried caked on debris on them. Plates stuck together!
The fridge smelled pungent like cabbage!
Carpet is badly, badly stained, my granddaughter’s feet were black within minutes, we had brought her slippers but after using them for around 2 hours they’re filthy and we will bin them / leave them !
The tv remote doesn’t work, The HDMI facility on tv doesn’t work either.
The kind cleaning guy immediately cleaned the en suite and as luck would have it the maintenance guy was contacted and he came and repaired the drawer, we were grateful for their efficiency but it was only by good luck and not I suspect the usual standard of service, the maintenance man said go to reception you have not paid good money £500 for this type of thing and it shouldn’t be happening, he said you need to request a refund!
So…2 hours after hanging around for cleaning/ repairs ( total waste of my early check in fee of £25) off I went to reception and politely told a lady called Kelly everything I needed to, she took a while and then walked off with her notebook to the back room to consult a manager, Kelly was very polite , didn’t really ask a great deal but I gave a very detailed account.
After 5 mins a woman walked to the desk and sat down… it looked like Kelly was standing to attention behind her.. this woman ( bearing in mind Kelly had taken her notebook) said to me , I understand you’re not happy with the decking cleanliness, is there anything else.. you can imagine my utter dismay but I again politely explained . The woman ( the manager who I now know to be called Jennifer) she wrote Jennifer on a post it note for me.. anyway she is not fit for purpose, she couldn’t care less, couldn’t even look at me and said to me you’re talking about something which hasn’t even happened.. by this she was alluding to the fact that it seemed she would only consider assisting me if the drawer had actually made contact with my 2year old granddaughter, but because it missed it didn’t matter??! Who on earth is this woman? She is a total disgrace and said no to everything I asked in relation to how she could help, in relation to the cleanliness she said well it’s sorted isn’t it? Actually at 2345hrs when I’m writing this the outside decking area still has not been cleaned even though it’s outside and could have been done at any stage?!
Back to Jennifer… I am utterly disgusted with her, I am not accepting the way she spoke to me and if she is supposed to be leading by example god help the likes of Kelly having to listen to how she treats customers who have already paid good money but to be met with numerous issues both dangerous and unhygienic.
Jennifer is mentioned negatively in other reviews, she really is a disgrace!
I’m not accepting or tolerating her awful attitude and unwillingness to offer me assistance as to how I would take this further.
However, I will be escalating this , as per Haven App guidelines!

We arrived at Havens holiday caravan home later than the scheduled check-in time, expecting the accommodation to be clean and ready. Instead, we were met with a filthy caravan that was clearly unfit for occupancy. Shockingly, a cleaner was still inside, rushing through the job in a visibly disorganised and half-hearted manner. The cleaning was superficial at best — the chairs were covered in pet hair, as were the bed sheets, carpets, and even the sink. Dirt and grime were plainly visible throughout the space.

When we raised our concerns with reception, they offered no meaningful solution, simply stating that they were fully booked and couldn’t move us to another unit. This lack of preparation and accountability was unacceptable, especially given that I was travelling with two young children who were exhausted after a long journey and unable to rest or sit comfortably due to the unhygienic conditions.

Though someone eventually returned to “clean” again, the situation only worsened when I discovered — just before bedtime — that the bed sheets had been made up despite still being dirty. This level of negligence is appalling, and completely undermines any claim of quality or care on their part.

CARAVAN,Fire hazard- THE caravan main door wouldn't open ( Number 8 King's Barn's Links) this was reported when we first arrived. The maintenance man said that
a new door was required on his inspection,
He then left without fixing the door.
The inside of the caravan was smelly, the smell was also lingering outside our caravan
This was probably due to the 2 dumpster's
sitting no more than 5 yards from our caravan. The suite in the living area was dirty with many stains and marks on it.
SHOWER - Waste water was escaping from disconnected waste pipe under our caravan.A private Drain technician who was
working too clear a blocked drain outside
the caravan beside ours, was decent enough to repair our waste water pipe as a
large puddle was forming at the decking entry gate whenever our shower was used.
£750 was charged by Haven for my silver
caravan for a 3 night stay.
Craig Tara manageress Jennifer was as much use as an ash tray on a motorbike!
Jennifer might be more interested when THE HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE pay
a visit to Craig Tara.
I have been informed by Haven customer services it can take up to 21 days for them
to investigate as they are experiencing a
HIGH VOLUME OF COMPLAINT'S !!!

Awful 😞 absolutely awful! Holiday from HELL!! The moment we arrived our apartments stank! Cooking fat splatted all over the kitchen counters! Out of our own money we went and got cleaning products and cleaned it ourselves, the landing has a mass of bugs above the door so you are walking past looking at that daily! Then my toddler lost her duck toy behind the pull out sofa! Yuck it had a hotdog left in the corner a lolly pop stick burst balloons and a piece of chicken! And the skirting had the most dust I had ever seen! The bathroom skirting was filthy dust and mould….. shower was barely working! Then to top it off there’s quite a big screw sticking out the threshold in the living room that my toddler could have stood on! And then we cleaned the window sills and I went to open the master bedroom and the window handle came off so I couldn’t even let air in the room!! The final straw was the new neighbours slamming doors every minute of the night and smoking in their apartment and the smoke coming through! We packed up and left early! This place is disgusting someone is going to get seriously ill!! I’ve taken loads of photos and just emailed environmental health and waiting for a call back next week from trading standards! This has ruined our toddlers first holiday!

Upon check in caravan wasn’t ready even after allocated time. Caravan was was dirty with bathroom radiators with urine splashed up the side, toilet seat was dirty , blinds and windows broke and found two tablets under the fridge door ( when googled was 5mg of diazepam) and the other the manager said it was only a tictac. Mattress was stained , pillow had blood on it and floors were sticky and caravan had a smell. Complained to reception twice and never heard a response after saying they would be in contact .

Did a late check-in and was shocked to find the lodge hadn’t been properly cleaned. There was a foul smell, and an opened Red Bull was just sitting on the table — clearly left from a previous guest. Not what you expect from their “top-of-the-line” Diamond Lodge.

Since it was late, we ordered food, but security wouldn’t allow the delivery driver to come through. When I tried to speak with the security team, they deliberately hung up on me.

For a premium lodge, this level of service is unacceptable. We expected far better, and frankly, we’re very disappointed.

Checked in and we opened the door to the caravan to an absolute shambles of a caravan. Stinking of cannabis, not cleaned, radiator fallen apart, pen marks everywhere, the list goes on and this was supposed to be a silver caravan!
We complained only to be told reception was now closed (6.30pm this was) the woman then said she could put us up for the night in a "crash pad" and clean the caravan which we said no as this caravan needed a lot more than cleaned. We asked to be swapped and she said it wasn't possible. So we had to get back in the car and drive all the way home with two little girls who were very upset...and a full food shop that we got before entering the park all went to waste 🙈
Will never book through Haven again thats for sure! Haven't been able to speak to anyone about it yet cant get through to haven. Not happy we better get a full refund