Billing Aquadrome Holiday Park - Northampton

Steve Hyson

This review is written from the viewpoint of someone who visited this park in a touring caravan.

Plus points

Great service from the friendly staff.

The Venue is great with a good mix of services and entertainment.

The touring caravan area has good showers and toilets, though there's no hooks to hang up coats etc.

There's plenty of activities to do for all ages, my two grandchildren loved it.

It's within easy reach of the main road network.

The MINUS points

TOO MANY NOISY AND ROWDY GUESTS, I appreciate it's not the owners fault entirely, but they do nothing to stop it. Several parties of people had loud shouting and music until 3:30 in the morning. ?

The touring caravan pitches and roads are far too small for today's larger caravans and towing vehicles, this means the grass areas get driven on frequently and when we visited they were a bit of a muddy quagmire.

Because of the above point (the mud) the toilet and shower blocks were quite muddy too.

The changing rooms at the pool inside the Venue are too small for the number of guests using the pool in each session.

The older buildings on the opposite side of the lake from the Venue are somewhat old and tired.

One last view, it appears the updating and renewal work is ongoing so I hope in the future the caravan touring pitch area will get improved in terms of the pitch sizes, spacing and road widths.

Shenda S.

Liked: The abundant wildlife. The little nisa shop and staff
Beverley the wonderful cleaning lady
The pitch sizes if you could work out where you were supposed to be pitched.
This site has so much potential
Would consider going back if under a management that knew what they were doing.
The premier shop just outside the site great food and well stocked
Billing fish and chips shop just outside the site wonderful friendly staff and a huge range of delicious food and the washing machines excellent job and good value for money too.
There was lots of little park areas great for younger kids and lots to do for older kids too.
Lots of swimming activities too

Disliked: The reception staff.the lack of management. The fact they thought it okay to lock both shower blocks and disabled toilets for hours on end saying we could only use the facilities at the venue which was a car drive away from the pitches.
The misinformation on available facilities. The sauna and dip was finally built as we were packing up.
Our biggest complaint really was reception right from when we arrived so rude.
Not just one member the other woman drowned in her own lies. If she had of upfront and honest and just said she was clueless I wouldn't be writing this we did get half hearted apologies several times and the manageress was more concerned with her runny nose and eyes watering than anything on site but did manage to get one toilet block reopened.

Rachel B

We had a wonderful holiday here, our 4 year old son absolutely loved it! We were busy each day with all the activities on offer and the entertainment team were brilliant. All staff were happy and helpful, the pool is great as are the amusements and various parks. The gardens and surrounding areas are spotless with teams out daily obviously improving the area with wild flowers and new trees. ||The only issues we had a) the cleanliness of the lodge, the dish washer was still half full when we arrived, the kitchen tiles were covered in grease near the hob and we found various objects and rubbish under the beds over the week. b) there was a large box of medication in the TV cabinet unlocked which my son found, thinking it was a toy box so we were obviously furious that this hadn’t been moved, could have been very dangerous.

LAURA L.

Liked: Great stay at billing aquadrome.
2 adults and 15 & 11 Yr olds.

We did swimming, golf, buggy and aquasplash on the lake and found all of these enjoyable and at a reduced rate due to staying on site. Arcade was small but had enough to entertain the kids.
Boys also did fishing and found the guys in tackle shop to be really helpful and informative.

Amphitheatre activities and entertaining seemed more young child based and we didn't go much but don't tend to venture out in evening when camping.

Toilet/shower facilities were OK, seemed small compared to amount of pitches but never had to queue and were relatively clean. Found there was always a queue for washing up sinks as there is only 8 of them for entire site.

All staff onsite were amazing, they were always helpful and tried to help if they could. Security were present all day on touring fields and drive around through the night (a 4am toilet break proved that) and they made sure all fires were out by 11pm. Bins were collected daily and the truck did the rounds and cleared anything that was on the fields.

We visited during the Northamptin balloon festival and was treated to some amazing sights in the evenings of the balloons passing.

Will definitely be returning

Disliked: Lack of indoor entertainment in bad weather, stumbled upon the willow bar by chance which was indoor but wasn't open for Monday night football.

Kaylie H.

Liked: So much entertainment for adults and kids. All the facilities were kept clean. Loved the swimming pool and the splash pad outside. Also how late the splash pad was kept on meant hours of fun for the kids. The parks were amazing and liked how there was plenty of seating near the park. The chip shop was delicious. Staff were all friendly. Such good value for money and we will defiantly be coming back. Can really see they are doing it up to be an amazing park.

Disliked: Too much to do and 2 nights just wasn’t enough time.

Anonymous

Liked: Lots of investment going into the site which is great to see.

The pump track/skate park was a big hit with our 10 year old.

Pool and splash pad were good.

We liked that we could choose our own pitch and that there was so much space.

Toilet and shower blocks nearby which were generally quite clean and very well kept.

Disliked: As it’s such a big site, it was very busy and could get very noisy. Lots of large groups so if you want peace and quiet this isn’t the site for you!

Quite a lot of litter around the site although I did see two litter pickers one day trying to keep on top of it! Often the wardens were too busy talking to each other (with some choice language given that it’s a family site!).

It would also have been nice to have a wild swimming pond that you didn’t need to pay extortionate prices for. I understand for the inflatables and equipment but the fact that the outside company has a monopoly on swimming in the lakes too is a bit sad.

Also, be ware of people driving far too fast around the site. There are speed limit signs but they are generally ignored.

Karolina G.

Liked: We spent a weekend at Billing Aquadrome and were delighted. Beautiful views and lots of attractions, especially for children. A great solution is the possibility of renting a standard camping pod instead of a tent, especially on colder days. A big plus is that the cottage has a heater and a socket. We loved the live music and the pool was perfect for cooling off during the day. We will definitely be back next year

Disliked: I wish they could renovate the cottages from the outside

Tash B

Booked a weekend away for half term. We arrived at 5pm, no street lights, drive around for 30 minutes to find the caravan. Went to find food, was unsure if the venue did food as no menus anywhere. Swimming was good, park had lots of social housing, scruffy caravans and rubbish. Entertaining and activities on line did not match what was on. No entertainment guide unless you ask at tha bar. Entertainment is all outside, nothing undercover. Gaz great just feel sorry for him as he is trying but it's raining and windy. ||Day 2 venue didn't open until 9.05, splash park not turned on until 9.20. Sat night evening inflatables advertised and did not happen. Mini golf flooded, not advertised well. You can get clubs and balls from the bar. ||Carpark Is full of pot holes. Really struggled to understand everything that was or was not happening. ||Won't go again. No tin opener in the van. Fire door propped open in swimming pool by fire extinguisher. ?