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On arrival we had to wait for what seemed ages, their computer had problems. Not given site map, just shown where to go, informed it was the old entrance to the storage area, we were told the ground was hard, but not concrete type!
However due to all the hard rain it was a good site, water tasted funny, toilet block ok but being in school holidays, kids can't aim need more toilet facilities for kids, basically it smelt in mens block, large patches of black damp in shower block, otherwise ok.
Shop on site expensive, local shops miles away, site takeaway food expensive, fish and chips £6.90*** and expensive compared to previous owners.
Just returned from a 2 week break at Merley. Overall the site is clean and well kept. Showers and toilets we used were always clean and while we were there the site was very busy. The outdoor pool could do with the heating turning up as well as the water cleaning in the mornings, some mornings you could tell that it had not had the net moved around it, due to the debris floating in it.The shop is well stocked and the staff very friendly and helpful. Fresh bread and newspapers are available daily.
The bar was a disappointment. We went there the first night we arrived and had a meal which was poor. We paid £24 for 4 basic , very basic meals. We were then told that we could not sit in one section of the bar as we had children, we had to eat in the family section. The best of it was that there was not one person in the adults only area and the family area was full( as it was the middle of the school holidays:). I explained this and the girl came out with the classic ' I'll need to check with my manager'. In the end we sat on chairs with the dinners on our laps. Really bizzare set up as this is meant to be a family site. The site can be a bit loud at night, but again it was august and it was very full with both campers and caravans.
Just behind the site is a shop called ' Hitch & Pitch' which is probably one the best caravan and camping supplies I have seen, again the staff are really friendly and helpful. They supply just about everything. I needed a part for the water system and they had sold out, but they managed to get the part to the shop by the end of the same day, from their other shop in Poole. Really impressed.
Overall. Very clean. Big pitches, nice local area, supermarkets close by, very friendly staff, good shop on site. Loads to do locally.
P.S you also had the opportunity of using the sister site for indoor pool, entertainment etc etc. We did not use this as people either side of our pitch had and did not recommend it.
This was our second visit to the site. All pitches are of a good size. We were on pitch 37 which is at the top of the site near the small toilet block which has been refurbished and now has (in the gents) 3 cubicles that have a toilet, sink, seat and shower in there is also one toilet cubicle and some urinals and sinks. This was a great idea except when it was busy and three people were showering there was a queue for the toilet. The ladies had a similar layout. The site has two other toilet and shower blocks that are a lot larger.
The staff are very helpful and the park is very clean. The swimming pool is excellent although outside it is heated and a proper trained lifeguard is on hand.
The bar and terrace area is also very good with food available. The main issue we had was the kids entertainment, this was only on Friday and Saturday. On Friday the girl came down from the larger park but could not get the sound system working, so at nine o'clock she gave up and did musical statues with a CD player. On Saturday no one showed up and there was no information about what was happening.
The kids' play area is excellent and it has a short woodland walk which is interesting as there are two old graves for family pets and the foundations of an old house, again no information.
We visited the park in May and had a great week with nice weather (makes a change considering the British weather)
This so far is the best park we have stayed on, well kept grounds, the pitch was a fair size with space for a awning and for the car, clean toilet blocks, showers tend to get full quick during busy times but there was always plenty of hot water. The was a bit of road noise from the main road that can be heard but wasn't too bad. There is a small shop onsite which is well stocked but can be a bit expensive. My daughter loved playing on the play area which looked like it had been newly built. Great woodland walk onsite to take the dog. The park is centrally located for Poole, Wimborne etc, with Tescos extra supermarket 10 minutes drive from the park.
I would definitely return to this park and would highly recommend it to anyone.
Set in 15 acres of breathtaking countryside,right next door to the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, this site offers stunning views of the Chesil Bank, Fleet Lagoon, and Lyme Bay. Welcoming tents, motorhomes and caravans, this family friendly site offers spacious grass pitches with or without electric. For kids there's an outdoor heated swimming pool, 3 acre playing area including slides, swings and more.
Facilities include toilets, showers, washing up, launderette, and WifI. There is an onsite shop and off-licence. The Bar in the Barn at the site serves a delicious food and offers a variety of entertainment, including live music. As well as the attractions of Weymouth's beach and harbour, this is a great base to explore family attractions throughout South and West Dorset. Find out more here
I have been a loyal Merley court visitor for over 12 years, holiday every year for 3 weeks every summer but unfortunatatly the last time we holidayed we could see the take over was not going to be the same as the old Merley court days. We had met many friends over the years but I will not be going back until the reviews on this site change, everything about the site was fantastic and most of our family are gutted it has changed so much. Come on Shorefield make Merley Court how it used to be a proper family run site.
What a shame - we returned to this well loved site - only to be disappointed. It has been taken over from a family run venture - and unfortunately you could tell. The site had deteriorated (we had previously been twice with our trailer tent & recommended to our friends also). Although still generously sized pitches -breathable groundsheets had not been used (these were still requested by the site but not being enforced) - which made the ground muddy in the awning area. The site tended to be more noisy at night (something which was not tolerated previously). The shower & toilet facilities were not cleaned as regularly - which showed at this peak time of the summer hols. On the whole the site was still good - on site shop / friendly reception staff / swimming pool / on site pub / food - but the grounds had been reduced and you were unable to access gardens that were once open - something not mentioned when we re-booked. What a shame for such a beautiful part of the world Poole / Bournemouth are about 8 miles away & offer fab beaches for familes - never mind off to Cornwall this year!
We have been to Merley Court for the last 5 years and I must say I do feel that it's going downhill! Shorefield took over last year so they hadn't had time to change much, but this year the gardens and golf etc had gone. (Apparantly they were only renting it from the previous owners).The old play area has gone to be replaced in half the tennis court so anyone who used to book a pitch near the park so they could see their kids play is now out of luck! The takeaway has gone, although you can purchase from the bar. The games room/arcade is now in the old takeaway, which is fine but there is a massive empty space being wasted where they have put an old skittle alley!.
The toilets and showers were not up to the usual standard, in fact I would go so far as to say they were quite grubby looking! Having said that the staff were very pleasant. Such a shame as I really loved going to Merley, but don't think I will return in the near future - not at their prices anyway!
Merley court is a big site with it's own pool a small bar/club tennis court, small amusements. The shop/reception is small and you will need the local Asda or Tesco for anything larger than a paper,milk or tin of beans. There is a sheltered woodland area for tents and the touring Field is nicely spaced out. The wardens are friendly and the shower / toilet blocks were clean (with piped music) The site is well located for local beaches and other attractions plus you get the added advantage of being able to use the indoor pool as well as other facility's at the Oakdean site which is 5 miles up the road. One important point to make. If you book through central reservations they will tell you that you cannot have an awning on a hard standing pitch. This is not correct. We had no problem erecting our awning, nor did many other people or the family with the tent next to us. The wardens had no problem with anyone putting up awnings either. Signal strength for your TV is good on both digital and analogue if you cannot live without the soaps.
We have stayed at this site for a number of years now and this year you could see how this site had gone down even from last year since taken over by shorefields, the wardens were new this year and had only just started a few wks before they seemed to be trying to put things right on the site.
This year there seemed to be hundreds of kids everywhere riding round on bikes like a race track around the site and made so much noise screaming at the top of there voices up and down outside your caravan when we were trying to sleep and this went on every night! we were told by the warden this is acceptable until 11pm, but my kids have a hard day playing and at the beach all day and by 9pm they're ready for bed my kids couldn't get to sleep for the noise.
We have stayed here previously and gone back to this site as it was quiet and a well respected site, but this year the toilet's weren't clean and after all this suppost to be a 5* site.
Another really annoying thing was the pool closed for the life guard to go for lunch so if you had only got in 10 mins before you had to get out and wait for half an hour or upto an hour as he was always late coming back which it's not nice when your cold and dripping wet! and this was in my mind peak seaon JULY!
The bar was hardly ever open only opened in the day at wk ends so there was no where to get any cooked food from in the day!
The park was a real let down this yr as my kids loved the park before and I would let them go to it on there own as 1 min away but now the park is near the swimming pool at the front of the site and I wouldn't let them go on there own so my kids were not impressed this yr!
It's a shame this site has changed so much even the general atmosphere here has changed most people had been coming here yrs and most of them said they wouldn't be coming back and it's a shame to say but neither will we! I think we can find a nicer site around this area and for alot less money!
Set in 15 acres of breathtaking countryside,right next door to the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, this site offers stunning views of the Chesil Bank, Fleet Lagoon, and Lyme Bay. Welcoming tents, motorhomes and caravans, this family friendly site offers spacious grass pitches with or without electric. For kids there's an outdoor heated swimming pool, 3 acre playing area including slides, swings and more.
Facilities include toilets, showers, washing up, launderette, and WifI. There is an onsite shop and off-licence. The Bar in the Barn at the site serves a delicious food and offers a variety of entertainment, including live music. As well as the attractions of Weymouth's beach and harbour, this is a great base to explore family attractions throughout South and West Dorset. Find out more here
We were here the second week of the school holidays so thankfully had some decent weather. Overall we were pleased with the site- lots of people we met were on return visits which is usually a good sign. Some people did mention that there had been some changes and, to be honest, I do think that they could have let us know that there were fewer facilities than when we booked. However, everything seemed to be kept fairly clean and tidy, the kids loved the pool and enjoyed looking for rabbits and hedgehogs round the site. The pub / bar had something on most nights but we only went up on the one night it was tipping down! It was a great base for exploring the area with loads of great beaches and places for walks. Lots of National Trust places if you like that sort of thing! Would we go back? If we were going back to the area we would certainly consider it but would probably look a little more closely at their website to choose a pitch that wasn't right next to the path to the loos!
We've just returned from a 5 night stay, which I booked a few months ago after looking at good reviews. The day before we arrived, I'd been checking directions for the site and thought I'd have another look at more recent reviews - mistake! The latest comments were not particularly favourable and I was therefore not looking forward to the trip - particularly as the good old British summer weather was living up to its reputation. I have to say, however, that I was pleasantly surprised - we didn't need an electrical hook-up so were in the 'woodland' camping section - only about 20 tent pitches, all pretty spacious and mostly 'sectioned off' from the neighbouring pitches, all with picnic table/bench set. As the name suggests, it's set in woodland, well sheltered by trees (kept some of the rain off, but bit noisy in the wind!), and it seemed quieter (and less crowded) than the rest of the campsite. There is an 11pm - 7.30am 'quiet' rule, but of course there are those who like the sound of their own voices, but mainly pretty good. A previous reviewer mentioned lots of children - it is described as a 'family' park, so if you want to avoid children, probably best to go out of season. Small outdoor heated pool and also a pub which we only used once - we were in the family room, which had a lot of teenagers in it, escaping from parents presumably! Didn't try food, but well staffed. Reception friendly (worth noting though that we arrived at 12.50pm on a Monday and reception closes for lunch 1-2pm - not sure if that is the case every day), and toilet / shower block good (although the 10am cleaning is a bit of a pain, as other reviewers have mentioned), and park warden around pretty regularly (not sure if he puts in appearance at night though). All in all, good site, and would probably return.
We spent a week at this site in school holidays. It was very busy and felt very crowded, the pitches are not large (including the fully serviced pitches). There was a feeling of packing people in to get as much money as possible. There is a club on site that does reasonable food and was pleasant not rowdy or noisy. There is a small open air pool and a small play area, both are situated near the entrance to the site. The shop (as other reviews mention) is hopeless, woefully understocked and expensive. The showers and loos are fine, the only difficulty is they are cleaned at 10am everyday which does not make for leisurely holiday lie-ins. We visited the sister site to use the pool one rainy day, unfortunately the slides in the pool were closed and had been for some time. The location of the site is good for visiting Poole, Bournemouth and the nearby town of Wimbourne is very pleasant. This site is just ok, not awful but nothing special either.
We had great expectation with this site when taking into account the excellent reviews until recently. This was only my second time camping and my previous visit was to another site in the best of British catalogue.
Good points Despite the very bad weather, the pitches in general were in good condition and of good size. The facilities (mainly the swimming pool) at the Oakdean site which are available FOC to Merley court came in very handy with the weather been bad. The water slide was broken at the time of the visit but the staff at the pool had a playing session which the children loved. This was a 15 to 20 min drive
Bad points - The new play area is rubbish. They have turned the old play area into 6 extra pitches (due to the old area being condemned) plus there is no walled garden anymore where games could be played. This sounded like building site during our visit. The result is a complete lack of space for children to play near to the camping and caravan area safely. All these changes happened between booking the holiday in March 07 and the holiday date in July 07 according to there web site. The parks policy is full payment when booking if you don't take out there insurance policy so this was annoying. There is a small football field which doubles up has a late arrivals area and this is outside the park. On top of this, the Merley court Inn was a disappointment. Children are only allowed in a room which in my opinion was an out of date mess which i would not allow my children to eat in. So we didn't. There's a good family pub with a carvery about 10 mins away by car. The toilets were ok but not spotless and not nearly the standard of the previous "best of British" site visited this year. We still enjoyed our stay at Merley court and it was a good base for the week which is what we wanted but apart from the outdoor swimming pool there is a limited amount of space and things to do on site due to the loss of the two playing areas. The cost of the site is not an issue for me but I don't think it offers good value.
We've just got back from this site having stayed seven nights. Overall it was pretty good with well designed and clean showers (the showers in the larger block were much nicer!) Beware that the cleaning of the showers starts at 10am! We had a nice pitch, but did look at the interactive map on the website and changed the one that we were originally allocated. We had to have left our pitch by 10am which seemed quite early. Despite the awful weather, we did have a good week here, I would certainly consider on revisiting. Although not in the school holidays as if the weekends are anything to go on the site will be riddled with children!
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Common Questions
Is Merley Court Holiday Park child friendly? YES, it accepts children & has a playground View all facilities
Does Merley Court Holiday Park have a swimming pool? YES, there is a pool on site View all facilities
Where is the nearest shop to Merley Court Holiday Park? There is a shop on site View all facilities
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
All reviews and comments are the personal opinion of the review author only , and as such do not represent the view of the UK Camp Site.co.uk.
The facilities shown on this website are a guide only, and you should check with the campsite direct before making any booking. The UKCampsite.co.uk will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions
No Tents 
No Caravans 
No Motorhomes 
No Campervans 
No Glamping Units 
Holiday Homes for Hire 
Holiday Homes for Sale 
No Seasonal Pitches 
No Electric Hookups 
No Hardstandings 
No Fully Serviced Pitches 
Families Welcome 
Not Members Only 
No Rallies 
Not Naturist Site 
Dogs Welcome 
No Dogs Allowed 
Groups Welcome 
No Toilets 
No Showers 
No Washing Up Area 
Bathroom 
No Baby Changing 
Laundry On Site 
No Drinking Water 
Disabled Friendly 
No Chemical Disposal 
No Battery Charging 
No Gas Exchange 
Recycling Facilities 
No Kitchen Facilities 
No Freezer / Fridge 
No Motorhome Point 
Wifi Access 
Shop On Site 
Bar On Site 
Restaurant or Cafe or Takeaway On Site 
Kids Playground 
No TV Room 
No Games Room 
No Evening Ents 
Fishing <1 mile 
No Wild Swimming 
Indoor Pool <5 miles 
Outdoor Pool On Site 
Horse Riding <1 mile 
Cycle Hire <1 mile 
Golf <1 mile 
Tennis <1 mile 
Beach <10 miles 
Watersports <5 miles 
Boat Launch / Mooring <10 miles 
No Sea Views 
Not Working Farm 
No Campfires Allowed 
No Waterside Pitches 
Public Transport <1 mile
No Dog Walk 
On arrival we had to wait for what seemed ages, their computer had problems. Not given site map, just shown where to go, informed it was the old entrance to the storage area, we were told the ground was hard, but not concrete type!
