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We visited merley court at easter with 2 children we found that all the amenities were absolutley brilliant. 24 hours of the day hot water for the showers, toilets spick and span, wash up clean and tidy and the shop well stocked. The play area was at the time closed for refurbishment but otherwise fantastic site, indeed would re visit. Plenty of pitch space and the wardens were polite and helpful. Plenty of space for the kids to play ball games and run around . Reception staff and shop were also helpful. Garage just around the corner for fuel and other goods camping centre next door and plenty of places to visit loved it.
We had such high expectations with our stay here at Whitsun considering the high cost. Firstly beware of the very heavy traffic congestion at the roundabout at the entrance to Merley Court which apparently is an all year problem. The shop is VERY POORLY stocked even basics such as bread are scarce. The Merley Court Inn welcomes families as long as you dont want to relax in the lounge area, children are banished to the games room. The toilet and shower facilities are acceptable though they could be cleaned more regularly. The five a side football pitch is OUTSIDE of the security barrier at the entrance to the lane. The sister camps are at least 8 miles away along heavy used dual carriageways, not as convienient as you may be led to believe. We had an executive pitch which was spacious compared to most on site, but obviously you have the added cost of this. All in all we were very disappointed and would not recommend this site.
We had previously stayed on this site in 2005. To anyone who has not been here before, you will no doubt think it is great. To anyone who had visited prior to the Shorefield take-over, be warned, things have changed.
Sue and her husband had left the week before, apparently fed up with all the complaints they had received from returning guests not happy with the changes. The deputy warden was left in charge and he was just a little grumpy, to say the least. The reception was staffed by employees from other Shorefield sites, who knew nothing of the Merley Court site, although to give them some credit, they were all brought in at the eleventh hour, following Sue's hurried departure.
We had loved this site for a couple of reasons. It had a giant, sand play area, right in the middle of all the pitches, where the children could go off an play and you could keep an eye on them from your caravan or tent. This play area has gone, and has been turned into more pitches. One of the old tennis courts has been converted into a children's play area, but it isn't anywhere near as nice, and it is well away from all the campers, hidden away near the entrance, and most people we met were not happy for the young ones to go off there on their own. When I did take my daughters down there it had been taken over by the teenagers, who were using it as a place to hide from parents, and the small ones felt quite intimidated asking them to get off the swings. We had previously loved the walled garden, which contained all the free activities, such as croquet, badminton, table-tennis, boules etc. But this has now been shut off, and can no longer be accessed by anyone.
One or two things have improved though. You can now hire your own bathroom key for the week, instead of everyone queuing for the one key to bath the toddlers in the evening. The other nice thing is that smoking has already been banned in the restaurant and bar, ahead of the law in July.
Despite the rubbish weather the pool was open and was very well heated.
The showers and toilets were as clean and spotless as ever.
We did enjoy our holiday and met some lovely people on the site again, but most folk were moaning about the changes. This does now seem a very expensive site, seeing as most of the free activities are now gone. If the site had been as it was before, I would say we would definitely return for a third time, but now I don't think this will be the case.
As I said, if you've never been before, and you don't mind the price, you will probably love the site. Just don't mention the Shorefield take-over to the warden, as I think he was about ready to explode with all the whinging - bless him !
I would just like to say what a great site. We spent the bank holiday weekend here with four other families (friends and relatives). The site was spotless, the staff friendly, helpful and polite at all times and a staff member regularly checked all was well. The only down side was that the pool did not open until the witsun weekend and as it was gloriously hot when we travelled it would have been an added bonus - never mind we travelled to their nearby sister site for a swim, spa and sauna! As an added bonus there is a camping shop located right next door for any little extra you may have forgotten! This site is suitable for all ages and I would highly recommend it, particularly to first timers who may be apprehensive about camping.
This was our first time camping! We chose this site having read the reviews on here and we were not disapointed. We received a fabulous welcome from Sue when we arrived. After setting up our tent my wife and 2 daughters |(aged 13 & 14) set out to check the amenities. The toilets and shower facilities were top notch and very very clean. We didn't use the laundry but checked it out and it too looked very clean and practical. There is a nice little club house with a bar and we ordered some take away food from there and took it back to our tent. The food was great.
We think we have now been spoilt but hope that all our future campsites can live up to this one. Well done to Sue and everyone at Merley Court.
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 had booked at Oakdene for the week and due to the loss of a sub station we were offered this as an alternative by Shorefields who could not have been more helpful.
What a result! Having visited Oakdene to swim in the indoor pool we were so glad for the sub station failure.
This is a great site with lots to do on site if the weather holds. The Castleman Trail is just of site and makes a pleasant walk or cycle.
I can only reiterate what others have put, the wardens and staff are very friendly, not like the fun police the caravan club seem to be employing of late.
We stayed here over the Bank Holiday and although the weather was not brilliant, we all really enjoyed our stay. We were lucky when we arrived as it stopped raining long enough for us to erect our tent, the pitches were fantastic. The were a really good size and each 4 pitches had their own water tap. The toilet and showers were kept really clean and there was always plenty of hot water. The small bar kept the kids entertained especially on the kids disco night. Ours made loads of friends as they were always at the play area. The swimming pool was great, as it was outdoors we were not sure how much use we would get out of it, but I must admit we used it nearly every day. We have re-booked for next year and we all had a lovely time.
This is the 2nd year we have visited this site and love it the grounds are beautiful and spotless it is a really good base to explore Dorset near to Poole Bournemouth Swanage but on a short ferry crossing and also Weymouth.
The pool is great there is a life guard there all the time telling off anyone who is jumping in etc. Which is for the safety of other's and at busy time's there was only certain amount of people allowed in which is great not over crowded.
The site is really nice and quiet and great respect for others after dark! everyone is really friendly and all speak to each other!
The toilet and shower block's are spotless they are cleaned twice a day and a credit to the cleaners as you could eat your dinner off the floor when they have cleaned them.
This is a great site and we would definitely return again as many people have been coming for years and years some even 18 year's or more.
We will be returning again this year and having visited other site you realise just how nice this site really is. fantastic
We chose this site after reading the many good reviews and for its location close to Bournemouth and Poole. This was the first camping trip as a whole family, my wife and our 2 boys aged 2yrs and 5yrs. On arrival we received a friendly welcome from the staff at reception. The pitch in the woodland was a very generous size and nicely secluded and within an easy walk to both toilet blocks and main showers. The shower blocks were generally very clean and the water very hot, but no temperature control for a cooler shower. Did use bar for meals on first night but was pretty basic quality,and as my wife said "a bit like school dinners". At least it is convenient and saved us trying to find dinner after pitching late. I never saw the cafe open during the 4 days we were there. The grounds were lovely to walk around and the children loved chasing after the rabbits in the evening. The children's playground was on opposite side to where we were pitched so due to our boy's ages was too far for them to go to alone but they did enjoy it when accompanied. This is a very peaceful site and seemed to appeal to other young families of similar ages. I'm sure the good weather helped a lot but even reluctant Mum enjoyed herself and we would definitely return to this site maybe longer next time.
We really liked this site. We were camped in the wooded area and had a very spacious secluded pitch as did the other pitches around us. There was plenty of wildlife.When we sat out at night we saw a family of hedgehogs scurrying about. In the early hours there were lots of rabbits and a group of about 20 ducks were doing the rounds at lunch time which our son enjoyed feeding. The rangers were all very friendly and helpful which we were impressed by. Our 6 year old had fun using the playground which was like a giant sand pit. We played crazy golf which kept us amused for £1 each for as long as we wanted. The walled garden is good to explore and is really well kept. There are plenty of outdoor sports facilities to keep busy, tennis, volley ball, table tennis, petanque, croquet, football, and basketball. The site has a heated outdoor pool although the day we swam the water was very cold. We found out later it had just been fixed the day before and had not got up to temperature! A life guard was on duty during our swim. We tried out the indoor pool on the Oakdene site which was included in pitch fee. The water flume there was a big hit with all of us! We will definitely be returning to Merley Court and will recommend it to others.
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
Site lovely & clean, toilet & shower blocks spotless.
Large pitches (we chose premier) all appeared to have plenty room
Nice & quiet (but as you would expect noisier near playground)!
Plenty of large Supermarkets a short drive away
Convenient for visiting France, or little villages in locality like Burley , Fordingbridge ( New Forest ) Weymouth, oh & of course Poole( very nice at Tower Park, Sandbanks, Quays etc)
Having read all the previous reviews for this site, I must admit I thought it was great. The staff were friendly and polite and the facilities excellent. Our pitch was huge, by far the biggest and best pitch I have been on (admittedly, this is my first year as a caravaner). There were plenty of toilet blocks, which were clean and well kept. I never had to queue for a shower in the morning and there was always plenty of hot water. The facilities are great, a super playground for younger children (my 3 year old loved it) and a nice pool with toddlers bathing area. I do agree with the comments about the snack bar though, I stayed until the 17th July and was sorry to see the snack bar did not open until a week later. I stayed here with my little boy, mum and my wife. On the first night we didn't arrive until late, so we enjoyed a bar snack at the pub bar. I found this the most disappointing aspect of our entire stay. The meal we all chose was a curry, which appeared to be nothing more than a ready meal served up on an undersized tea plate. The Mango Chutney as described in the menu was missing and when I queried this with the bar maid / waitress she just shrugged and told me they didn't have any. No offer of a refund or an alternative was made. We were not encouraged to eat there again. This small gripe aside, I loved my stay at this site and I will certainly go back again. The glorious weather obviously helped during our stay, but I really enjoyed the peace and quiet, the nice landscaping and the space between pitches. There were lots of Dutch and German tourists staying here, I'm sure they would have been impressed by what this site has to offer. Also, it is well placed for Poole and is only 15 minutes or so from Bournemouth. All in all, great place, especially for young families like mine. I would not hesitate to recommend this site. There are facilities for all ages, the activity garden is great, with a well maintained crazy golf course, a good camp shop, volley ball and pretty gardens. It really is pleasant and the best thing is the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff. Due to some difficulties at home I didn't arrive until a day after I should. No problem for the staff, they let me extend my stay for a night, with no extra charge to pay. This site was a breath of fresh air in comparison to one my sister stayed at during the same time. She came to visit whilst we were there and couldn't believe the difference. If I can offer one piece of advice though to SHOREFIELDS it would be this. Just sort out the bar snacks quality and also the snack bar opening times. Then this site would be nigh on perfect!
Lovely site and very nice helpful staff. The gardens are also very impressive and well cared for. My only gripe was the shower blocks which are quite busy and can get dirty. But I have to say this is down to a few people who seem to think its OK to leave a mess for the next user to clean up. All in all though well recommended.
Booked on this site after being recommended by my parents who stayed there last year. There were six units altogether, 2 tents and 3 caravans. After we booked we were notified it had been taken over by Shorefields, the price however went down from what we were expecting to pay an added bonus we thought. On arrival it looked great, beautifully laid out, toilets and showers excellent, shop (two in-fact if you count hitch & pitch shop which I'm not sure is part of site or separate), outside pool, clubhouse and various sports facilities. However all was not as it seemed, the cafe was not open during our stay at all, they did serve food in the clubhouse (once it opened) which was only in the evening apart from the weekend. We arrived on Saturday and were so busy getting set up, helping everyone in the party that we didn't get to the clubhouse until the evening and obviously couldn't take advantage the next Saturday as we were on our way home. Our first full day Sunday was spent exploring the area, so we didn't spend any time around the pool that day. So we missed our small window of opportunity as although the pool was open you couldn't get a snack or a drink the rest of the week. There were also only 3 sunbeds around the pool the day we spent there, even though we noticed a pile of them behind a locked gate. I asked for more sunbeds and was told that was all there was. We resorted to bringing our own comfy loungers to sit on. There were so many restrictions too, no mobile phones, no cameras, or video recorders, no inflatables, no jumping, blimey its a wonder they allowed breathing. I appreciate health and safety rules but what happened to having fun. Of course on querying the lack of facilities we were told everything opened fully the following week at the start of the kids holidays. They apparently had tried opening everything sooner but no one was using the facilities. I found this a poor excuse as the site was 2/3rds full ( I asked one of the staff).
At the same time last year it was great according to what I've been told. Happy hour early every evening, snack bar open to serve people coming out of the club at night.
There are only two toilets in the ladies (in the club) and one of them was out of order all week. As our party were about the only people in there after 8pm though it didnt cause too much of a problem but it seemed to me that the company that bought the site weren't too bothered about those parts of it that weren't generating enough cash at that time. One of our party had a dog with them and although dogs are welcome on site they aren't allowed anywhere near the bar area not even on the outside terrace. What are dog owners who wish to use the facilities to do? Any wonder the club was empty.
The site is clean and very well kept, the showers are clean warm and well maintained and if you enjoy a peaceful quiet site this is one for you. However I wouldn't recommend it if you are part of a large party or if you tend to stay up after 11pm.
We decided to visit this park after reading the reviews from this site. All of the previous reviews were spot on about this park. We had a Tent with no elect hookup so we had a pitch in the woods. These pitches were huge and we had loads of space for our tent (which is 6mtrs x 5mtrs) and a car and enough space for the same size tent again. A nice touch was that all pitches in the woodland have their own picnic table. Wildlife a plenty especially rabbits which the kids loved watching. A great site for peace and quiet but with just enough for the kids to keep busy. Now that the site belongs to shorefield holidays you can use all the facilities down the road at Oakdene for Free.
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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 
We visited merley court at easter with 2 children we found that all the amenities were absolutley brilliant. 24 hours of the day hot water for the showers, toilets spick and span, wash up clean and tidy and the shop well stocked. The play area was at the time closed for refurbishment but otherwise fantastic site, indeed would re visit. 
