I Paid £412 for a Weekend at Sandy Balls Holiday Park, Was it Worth it? 

Sandy Balls Holiday Park has a reputation as one of the fanciest lodge and camping parks in Hampshire. If you prefer a more elevated outdoor experience when you venture into the great outdoors, this could be the place for you. Check out my honest review before you decide…

In my experience, most people in Hampshire have heard of Sandy Balls Holiday Park, but it’s notoriety stops at the borders. It felt like anyone local I told that we were going in the three week run up between booking and arriving, had been or knew someone that had but anyone else just fixated on the name.

If it wasn’t ‘we’ve been there!’, it was ‘is that a real place?! Why is it called Sandy Balls?’ [laugh / giggle / snort]

So, just in case you’re not from Hampshire – let me introduce you to Sandy Balls Holiday Park, just on the edge of the New Forest.

According to the website I needed to be prepared to ‘escape into ancient woodlands, open moors and wild heathland’. According to my many friends who’ve been past guests, I was in for an amazing time thanks to the great location and family friendly vibe.

So, off we went.

The New Forest is only a 45-minute drive from our home in Southsea, and Sandy Balls is around an hour. This was an easy to reach weekend, which given the proximity and low cost of getting there, meant we could spend a little more on the accommodation.

But, was the £412 for a weekend at Sandy Balls worth it?

Errr, why is it called Sandy Balls?

According to the Away Resorts website, it’s name actually dates back to the reign of King Henry VII when ‘sandyballas’ – domed sand and gravel outcrops on its western boundary – first appeared on historic maps.

If you go to Sandy Balls, you can walk up to a viewpoint and lookout over these ‘sandyballas’ and see what they mean.

Review: accommodation at Sandy Balls

The three of us (me, boyfriend and toddler) stayed in a 6-person lodge at Sandy Balls. I wouldn’t actually suggest staying there as a 6 though. We had a lovely room with a double bed and en suite for the two of us (definitely missed my SIMBA hybrid mattress at home though). Reggie’s room had a bunk bed in it, and a single too. So, 5 beds, and a large lounge where the sofa could pull out to be a bed.

To be fair, our room was spacious and did have a TV so if you had four kids, they’d be alright, but not 6 adults. As I said, we had our ensuite with a bath (great for toddler) but there was also another shower bathroom next to Reggie’s room.

The kitchen / diner / lounge space was big enough for Reggie to ride around on his scooter, and for us to relax in at the table and on the sofa.

Reggie woke up really early one morning and it was really nice to just cuddle up on the big sofa with a duvet and watch some TV with the sound of the rain on the roof. We definitely need a bigger sofa at home. Anyway, I digress, back to the Sandy Balls review.

Review of the food at Sandy Balls

Each lodge has a little kitchen so it’s easy to be self catered. We had all our breakfasts and lunches this way – using the great stuff from the on site shop. The shop is stocked with yummy locally produced delicacies, from jams, to fruits to meats. You won’t go hungry!

No complaints there.

I do, however, have complaints about the restaurants at Sandy Balls.

There are two restaurants at Sandy Balls, the Woodside Inn and Aubreys. I booked Aubreys for the first night, from home. I’d already been warned by friends that the restaurants get really busy and hard to book so I wanted our spot secured.

We turned up and only a few tables were occupied, although it was for a 5pm booking. Toddlers hey?

In short, the service was slow and the waiting staff seemed harassed, even though it wasn’t busy. The food was overpriced, for what it was. And the whole place was so hot.

It wasn’t the dining experience I wanted for £20 a meal. Or that I expected from a place like Sandy Balls.

The next night we met friends and went to the local pub xxxx.

And then, it was back at Aubreys for the final night. We didn’t particularly want to, but after looking at the Uber Eats choices, and weighing up being late for Reggie’s bed time, we decided to give it another go. The Woodside Inn was apparently booked up, although didn’t seem it when we wandered past.

Things to do at Sandy Balls

I thought it was going to be Centre Parcs vibes. I imagined a timetable of things to go to, and an epic swimming pool for my money. Unfortunately not. This, was the ‘toddler playground’.

I was also surprised at how basic the swimming pool was, especially the changing rooms. As I say, I’d been at Butlin’s in Bognor the week before, for the day, and the facilities there far outranked the pool at Sandy Balls.

I wasn’t expecting the world, but a slide or two might’ve been nice. Oh, and the water was really cold. So cold, everyone in the pool (about 5 others) complained. There were two smaller pools at the top, and I mean small, like a paddling pool – and all the kids stayed in there.

Not my Reggie though, he just kept wanting to jump in the cold pool so muggins here to be there to catch him.

The soft play was dirty. There was at least half an inch of dust, along with discarded food wrappers down the back of it. Some of it was held together and patched up with duct tape.

There was an arcade, where Reggie found this train at £2 a time. He absolutely loved it. On the Sunday night Ben met Little Alex Horn off Taskmaster in here, got a photo and everything.

There were activities, but they all cost and were a little advanced for Reggie. Think, a slime workshop for £12, or walking an alpaca for £25.

We did actually want to rent bikes one day but it was starting to rain and Reggie was NOT happy when we trialled the bike, so we soon ditched that idea.

Things to do near Sandy Balls

I feel I should point out that it was raining at Sandy Balls the weekend we went. Also, my experience was the meat in the sandwich of a day out at Butlin’s the week before, and staying at a Parkdean resort on the Isle of Wight a week or two after. The comparisons were inevitable. I’ll write about these experiences soon to compare.

You’ve got all the delights of the New Forest on your doorstep at Sandy Balls, and it’s close to Dorset too. The perfect location.

Peppa Pig World isn’t far at all from Sandy Balls, about 25 minutes in the car.

Longdown Activity Farm is a great stop nearby if you’re coming from the east. It’s perfect for little ones. We’ve been a few times – Reggie loves a go on the diggers and tractors there, as well as a quick visit to the animals.

Sandy Balls Review

So, what’s my Sandy Balls review after all this chat for 1500 words?

Negatives Sandy Balls

I thought the shared spaces were run down, as in, the swimming pool, the soft play and the restaurants. The changing rooms for the swimming pool were worse than my local leisure centre ones in the 90s (good old Burton Meadowside). When you’re paying more than the usual for a lodge or campsite, you expect better than the usual facilities. I was really disappointed by this, especially as we needed it thanks to our rainy May weekend.

They really need to invest in new soft play equipment (at least even, give it a clean and patch up the duct tape), and spend quite a bit on that swimming pool.

I’ve said all I need to on the restaurants, but they could definitely be improved.

Oh, just remembered – where was my lodge front furniture? I would’ve loved to sit out listening to the rain among the trees. Instead, I had to sit on the floor.

Positives Sandy Balls

The lodge was much better than I thought it was going to be, especially as we’d booked the cheapest available. Plenty of space for us three and two bathrooms is always appreciated.

The check in was welcoming – even though I’d confused things by booking it under Vicky FlipFlop which *SHOCK* isn’t actually my surname.

I’d like to mention the kindness of the bike shop man, who understood when my son had a meltdown and apparently didn’t want to go on the bike that he’d been so excited about two minutes before.

Sandy Balls is in a great location, which is its main selling point.

I would definitely go back to Sandy Balls, but maybe in a year or two, when Reggie can ride a bike and we can explore the local area more, without being tied to his nap.

I hope they’ll have updated those shared spaces by then too!