Candyfloss & Dreams

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Parkdean Resorts Nodes Point Holiday Park Review 2021

Review of Nodes Point Holiday Park – a Parkdean Resorts caravan, pitching and touring site on Isle of Wight. We had a four night stay in July 2021. Please note this post has to be marked as AD (advertisement) because it contains affiliate links where I may get a small commission if you decide to make a purchase – this is at no additional cost to you. I paid in full for my stay at Nodes Point Holiday park and all opinions are my own.

Nodes Point Holiday Park is situated just outside of Ryde, in St Helens, on the North East side of the Isle of Wight. It’s a Parkdean Resorts holiday park, a company we are fully accustomed to staying with now since our first holiday with them back in 2014. We recently stayed in a Freshwater Lodge which was, for the most part, a really positive experience. This is our second time holidaying during Covid times too so the park did have some guidelines and restrictions in place during our stay. With restrictions set to lift today, July 19th, I’m not really sure what the park will be doing differently but they do have an FAQ on their site to explain and reception is still available. I can however, share my experience of a staycation (and by that I mean a UK based holiday rather than staying in my home for a holiday) in a pandemic that really isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

The view from our lodge on Culver View shows the sports court at Nodes Point holiday park and the bay in the distance

Nodes Point Holiday Park – What is there?

Plenty of lodges with hot tubs – we loved ours, as well as space for touring, pitching, caravans, safari glamping tents and a plethora of different sized holiday homes (caravans) to stay in depending on budget and family size. There’s a good sized indoor swimming pool, play park, beach access and arcade. There is a restaurant on site with indoor and outdoor seating, bar, as well as an evening entertainment lounge. There is also a sports court which was very close to our Lodge on Culver View.

Eating at Nodes Point Holiday Park

We had one meal in the on site resturant and it was okay. There is an order to table app which you can download in advance – much like the Wetherspoons one – you select your park, table number and place your order. This can be paid for using apple pay or other credit and debit cards. You can order drinks and food seperately, you can order just dessert or snacks if you like too. The app is simple and easy to use. In terms of choice it’s currently a limited menu and very, very limited on what is available for vegitarians which was really disappointing. It seemed to be either a salad, burger or a wrap. Off the top of my head I can’t remember what else was suitable. We saw some people taking food away in the evening but there is no seperate on site takeaway which was a real shame as some fish and chips would have gone down a treat. It’s very standard pub food at slightly elevated prices but the portions are fairly decent. I wouldn’t say it’s anything special.

If you do fancy something different we did a click and collect order from Ada’s Meditarianean Kitchen in Ryde which had a variety of Italian, Greek and Turkish food on the menu. You can eat in but as we had the kids we thought eating in our lodge would be easier. If you fancy eating out or doing click and collect I really recommend.

On Site Shop and Arcade

The on site shop is a Nisa store which has all of your basics although it is very expensive so I do not recommend filling your kitchen up there. It’s great for the odd loaf of bread, drinks and breakfast food as well as plenty of sweets for the kids pocket money. The daily opening hours are 8am – 7pm at the Nodes Point holiday park shop. The arcade is located just before you get into the show bar and restaurant. It has plenty of games to play. Felix particularly loved the win every time claw machine although at £2 a go you could probably get a better quality toy elsewhere. We also loved the 2p machines and won a few goodies from there including some magic sand – a favourite for Felix.

Felix loved the claw game in the arcade at Nodes Point Holiday Park

Swimming Pool at Nodes Point Holiday Park

The swimming pool is located towards the back of the park, just around the corner from reception. It’s an indoor pool and at the time of writing changing facilities are not currently in place. You can book up to two slots online one week before your arrival, and, if you check in at the swimming pool reception you can check availablity for any extra sessions. They do not encourage spectators and you get a 45 minute swim session allocated to you. The pool is cold and the room doesn’t feel particularly warm so I would advice having small ones in full swim suits. We took Felix in his Konfidence swim jacket which enabled him to float in the water rather than arm bands as they look so restrictive. He really loved wearing it and it was much easier to get around the pool with him. There are two pools in the swimming pool complex at Nodes Point which include a small, shallow 0.5m pool and a larger lagoon style pool with slides. You need to be over 1m tall to ride down the water slides at Nodes Point Holiday Park. If you want to purchase a Konfidence Swim vest for your toddler I have an affiliate link below.

Getting down to the Beach

The beach was about a ten minute walk for us and in the evening the tide goes right out leaving behind loads of rock pools for curious little explorers. We had a walk down there one evening and found lots of crabs, shells and pebbles – a favourite for Felix. There’s a dog friendly area and there are plenty of dog friendly accomodations at Nodes Point holiday park so if you’re taking your pets Nodes Point seems like an ideal location for them. The beach has a mix of sand and stones so I would recommend taking something to wear on your feet. In July the tide seemed to start heading out around 6pm so when we went for our stroll it was still quite wet but lovely to walk around.

The beach at nodes point caravan park

Overall Nodes Point holiday park is a good family friendly destination with plenty of accomodation to choose from. We didn’t see much of the evening entertainment but they had a movie on one night and there was a chance to get your photo taken with a member of the Star Land crew. The night we happened to be in the show lounge we saw Lizzy the Lizard.

July 19, 2021
Lockdown Staycation at Ruda Holiday Park, Croyde Bay – Review
Are you planning on a family holiday with parkdean resorts at Ruda holiday park? Here is everything you need to know before you go.A pardean holiday review of our recent staycation to Ruda, Croyde Bay during the Coronavirus pandemic. Reviewing the caravan and park facilities currently open with Covid-19 secure regulations.
Ruda Holiday Park Review

We paid £560 for a four night break in a 2 bed Mortehoe caravan at Ruda, (you can find a caravan tour below), in Croyde Bay, Devon, for 2 adults and 2 children. This included hiring a high chair and swimming pool tickets. I am hoping to get a refund for as the swimming pool was closed during our visit. This was booked for early July 2020; a week after holiday parks were allowed to open during the coronavirus pandemic. Below you will find a review of our experience at Ruda as frequent ParkDean Resorts holiday goers. I have also detailed how we found the covid regulations in place during our stay.

Ruda Holiday park is owned by Park Dean Resorts and has a mix of static caravans, lodges and a huge pitching for toring and camping with communal washing facilities, electrical hook up points and entertainment passes. The site is pet friendly, including having dog friendly caravans on site so you can bring your four legged friends too. Ruda holiday park has free on site wifi, with the option to pay for an upgrade on when in your caravan should there be a rainy day or you fancy watching Netflix in the evening – providing you bring a laptop or tablet with you!

Staying at Ruda Holiday Park, Croyde Bay, North Devon

We originally booked our trip to Devon last August before COVID-19 even entered our thoughts and loved the look of Ruda Caravan Park after searching for campsites in North Devon. We have stayed with ParkDean resorts many times with our last holiday with them being on the Isle of Wight at Thorness Bay campsite. Obviously, because of Coronavirus we were umming and ahhing about going but as holiday parks opened up the week before we were due to travel we were unable to cancel. This meant no refund. We also wanted to get out of our flat for a bit as not having access to a garden was starting to get tough.

The early morning mist coming down from the hills on Ruda caravan park in North Devon

We selected Ruda holiday park because it looked great. I loved the look of the water park and it was close to a beach. It also has other facilities such as soft play and plenty of choices for food onsite. I can’t say it wasn’t disappointing that the swimming pool and soft play areas were closed during our break. I understand why and we did not let that stop us having a great time. With swimming pools set to open in the coming weeks hopefully, Ruda holiday park soft play area will open again soon too. In the meantime though there are two play parks at each end of Ruda Holiday Park and a gorgeous local sandy surfing beach.

Ruda Holiday Park children’s playground with Croyde Bay in the background at the other side of the caravan park.

Ruda Holiday Park Accomodation

For our ParkDean holiday 2020 we booked an extra long, extra wide two bedroom Mortehoe Caravan which sleeps up to six people. Everything you need is included in the accomodation at Ruda including bed linen. Although we did have to request that these were changed when we arrived due to them smelling of vomit. Sadly, changing the sheets did not really do anything and it may be a cleaning product they are using. We sprayed our sheets with our own perfume and bought some fabreeze from a tesco in Barnstaple to freshen it up. Opening the windows really helps too.

Our living space during our time at ruda holiday park

The Mortehoe caravan is a great size for a family of four and there is plenty of room in the master bedroom, which included an ensuite, for a travel cot. You can lay down the second single bed mattress on the floor in the master bedroom room for a toddler to sleep on. Our toddler is little so a travel cot is ideal but we do not have one. You can hire these when booking. We did hire a high chair for him but didn’t order in a travel cot as we weren’t sure on the size of the main bedroom. The kitchen is fully equipped including a full size fridge and freezer. Seating is comfortable and we found it easy to cook our meals.

Ruda Holiday Park Coronavirus Regulations

Here are what’s changed at Ruda Holiday Park during the Coronavirus pandemic
- You will Check in online. The day before you arrive you will get your caravan number and location alongside a park map so you can familiarise yourself with how to get to your accomodation. When you arrive at Ruda Holiday Park someone will ask your name and accomodation number, give you directions and inform you if there is a red sign you can not enter and need to go to the overflow carpark to wait, if there is a green sign you are free to enter the caravan.
- One way systems in the main venue and limited people in shops and takeaways.
- Spacing out tables and chairs in resturaunts.
- A call and collect menu from the Coast resturaunt. The menu has starters, mains, desserts, snacks, alcoholic and soft drinks for you to call through, collect in around thirty minutes and eat back in your accomodation. The food is packed in takeaway boxes. It’s an excellent option and one we used on our first night. There is also a fish and chips takeaway and pizzas available to take away too.
- Keys and information inside the caravan when you arrive
- Virtual entertainment only – no disco, tabletop entertainment packs etc and various kids clubs which you must book in advance. Some are paid for.
Ruda Holiday Park Site Map

Ruda Holiday Park map

Restaurants at Ruda, Croyde Bay

Onsite at Ruda Holiday Park you will find the Coast resturant adjacent to the showbar and lounge as well as a fish and chips takeaway and an Italian which closes at 9pm. The food provided is varied and there are kids meals options available which is really handy. We tried the fish and chips takeaway one evening which was really nice and affordable. We also used the call and collect from the Coast restaurant which had loads of choices including alcohol. We tried the premixed cocktails alongside our baguettes and loaded chips as well as two delicious puddings. It was a great option for our first night onsite as we didn’t go food shopping until the next day.

There is a small Nisa shop on site too for essentials and sweets although it’s quite expensive but has lots of options should you forget anything or fancy cooking when you arrive. It’s also got some great sausages for breakfast if you fancy something hot before you start exploring the local area.

Our Holiday in North Devon

I’ve put together a little holiday vlog sharing some of the times we did on our trip to Ruda Holiday Park and other activities we did including visiting The Big Sheep & Exmoor Zoo which are both around 40 minutes away. We also did our food shopping at the Tesco Extra in Barnstaple but there is a smaller Tesco at Brauton around five miles or so away.

Spending a few hours down at the beach was really nice on the Thursday. From our caravan it was about a five or ten minute walk down to the beach which has lifeguards, a surf school, an ice cream shop and open toilets. Croyde Bay is a really beautiful beach and we saw some pretty awesome waves whilst there.

Felix enjoying a sandy ice cream at Croyde Bay, the beach closed to Ruda holiday park

I was surprised with Evie who has never really swam in the sea but she dove in and had loads of fun playing and building sandcastles. It was so nice just to let her play after so many weeks of being stuck inside. The beach alongside the park allowed her to play properly. It was nice and quiet and the park equipment was really spread out too so there was lots of space for families.

Evie after jumping through the waves at Croyde Bay at Ruda Holiday Park in North Devon

Should You Have A Staycation During Pandemic?

Ultimately, this is up to you. My advice would be to take masks, hand soap and hand gel. Practise good hygiene and stick to big open spaces. A staycation holiday during the coronavirus pandemic will not be the same as the holiday you are used to having. It will have more structure and regulations which you might find hard to deal with if you want to relax.

We feel we had a positive experience at Ruda holiday park and the staff worked really hard to keep everyone safe. I regularly saw cleaning and they had a track and trace system in place for everyone entering the main entertainment complex alongside the one way systems. Everyone was polite and friendly, helpful and whilst we didn’t get to use all of the facilities we came home feeling good.

A staycation is a great way to have a holiday as if you do feel unwell you can easily get tested locally and you can come home. Having self contained accomoation made me feel better too. Most importantly my kids still got their summer holiday. A chance to play at the beach, in the park and just let off a bit of steam. If you’re cautious and responsible, I don’t see why you wouldn’t have a nice holiday at Ruda holiday park.

If yuo found this helpful wh not check out our other ParkDean Resorts reviews.
Thorness Bay, Isle of Wight
Mullion, Cornwall
Landguard, Isle of Wight
July 18, 2020
Isle of Wight Holiday 2019

Last week we had our usual summer holiday caravan trip at Thorness Bay holiday park on Isle of Wight. It’s our third time there and we still love it. It was really nice to explore a different part of the island too. We had a day out in Shanklin which is a beautiful seaside place to visit and a day out at Blackgang Chine which is a small theme park on the southern part of the Island close to Ventnor.

Thorness Bay had everything you need really but it’s not a park I want to return to. It’s not that anything was bad as such it was just a park in the middle of nowhere. It felt a little bit too quiet for us as a family and I think we prefer the resorts on the eastern side of the Island. However, it was a nice break away and had what you would expect on site including an entertainment lounge, bar and resturant, swimming pool, play park and multisports court. There was also walking access to a private beach and bay.

Driving there from the east cowes ferry terminal was fairly straight forward and took around 30 minutes or so. We got to the park, checked in around 3.30pm and unloaded the car before heading back into Newport and going to morrisons for a quick food shop. We also had some dinner in the cafe there as we were all pretty peckish. We decided to skip the evening entertainment on the Monday night as Felix wanted to move around the caravan. We also had trouble fitting the travel cot in any room other than the living room so we had to co-sleep on the first night then we made a sort of makeshift bed on the floor for him. He actually slept pretty well, it’s just a shame Adam and I didn’t.

The surrounding countryside was beautiful to wake up to I have to say and the whole park was really quiet which was nice. We had an early drive down to Shanklin in the morning for a walk along the beach, had fish and chips for lunch and then spent the afternoon at the Sandown zoo. We got back for some time at the indoor swimming pool which Evie and I did alone as Felix wanted to move around again after lots of time in his car seat and then push chair. We went to the evening entertainment that evening after dinner and it was nice to have a little stroll around the park.

Wednesday was spent on site, we had a pretty chilled out morning and then a late morning swim. Felix had his first time in the pool which was really nice for him. He really enjoyed being in the water. I liked the fact that you could walk down into the pool using steps rather than trying to climb down a ladder with a baby in your arms. He had a lot of fun splashing about so we will be taking him swimming again.

We headed back to the caravan for lunch and some chill out time watching TV and giving Felix some time to crawl around on the floor. Holidaying with a baby requires a lot of chill out time really as they get overwhelmed quickly and where crawling and cruising is so new for him now he’s nine months being stuck in a pushchair is just the worst and I don’t blame him really. We then headed back to the resturant for dinner and a bit of the kids entertainment. Evie spent a lot of time in the park and a bit of time in the arcade too.

Evie struggled this holiday. Her behaviour was not perfect and there was a lot of slamming doors and stomping. It was the worst behaved she’s been on holiday and it sort of ruined it for us actually. We really try and put the most into giving her a good, fun summer holiday every year that’s within our budget and the lack of gratitude was really hard to deal with. I know kids don’t see the behind the scenes stuff like the cost and time and effort planning but she was incredibly vocal about how disappointing it was. I am sort of at my wits end with her extra challenging behaviour these days and I’m not quite sure where to turn.

The last day was spent at Blackgang Chine on the south side of the Island and it is a lovely, fun day out. We got there for 10am opening and started walking around. The backdrop is absolutely stunning views of the sea and there is loads to look at. Evie even braved a few of the rides and Felix had his first Mr Whippy ice cream (well, he finished off mine!) We also purchased Trevor the Sloth.

The holiday was fine but it wasn’t the break I was desperately hoping for if I’m honest. It was nice to get away but the holiday park was too quiet with not enough friends for Evie to make which frustrated her. Our caravan was too far from the park so we couldn’t really let her just go off and play to burn off some steam as it was too far for her to go on her own. The beach area was nice but not really ideal for babies. I think it just wasn’t the holiday park for us really. However, it is always nice to have a break and see a few new things and it was full of plenty of firsts for Felix as well as getting loads of lovely photos. We also got a little video of our time there.

July 11, 2019