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Reviews of Sandy Balls Holiday Village
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Sandy Balls Holiday Village
Godshill
New Forest
Fordingbridge
Hampshire (Browse area)
SP6 2JZ
Tel: 01442 508850 or 01425 651200
Visit their website Check Digital TV coverage See Weather Forecast
   
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Pitches:
Open: 02/08/2024 to 31/08/2024
02/08/2025 to 31/08/2025
Rating: 
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 Tent Pitches |
 Caravan Pitches |
 Motorhome Pitches |
 Small Campervans |
 No Glamping Units |
 Holiday Homes for Hire |
 Holiday Homes for Sale |
 No Seasonal Pitches |
 No Electric Hookups |
 No Hardstandings |
 No Fully Serviced Pitches |
 Show Full Facilities |
| Who's it for |
 Families Welcome |
 Not Members Only |
 Rallies Welcome |
 Not Naturist Site |
 Dogs Welcome |
 No Dogs Allowed |
 Groups Welcome |
 Motorbikers Welcome |
| Facilities |
 Toilet Facilities |
 Hot Showers |
 Washing Up |
 Bathroom |
 Baby Changing Facilities |
 Laundry On Site |
 Drinking Water |
 Disabled Friendly |
 No Chemical Disposal |
 No Battery Charging |
 No Gas Exchange |
 No 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 |
| Activities |
 Kids Playground |
 No TV Room |
 Games Room |
 Evening Entertainment |
 Fishing <10 miles |
 No Wild Swimming |
 Indoor Pool On Site |
 Outdoor Pool On Site |
 Horse Riding <1 mile |
 Cycle Hire On Site |
 Golf <5 miles |
 No Tennis |
 Beach <10 miles |
 Watersports <10 miles |
 No Boat Launch |
| Other Features |
 No Sea Views |
 Not Working Farm |
 No Campfires Allowed |
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 No Waterside Pitches |
 Public Transport <1 mile |
 No Dog Walk |
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Reviews:
198 in total, now showing 91 to 100
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| Date of Visit: August 2010 |
Unit: Touring Caravan |
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| Reviewer: Sharon + Phil |
11 reviews from this member |
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 We have just returned from Sandy Balls where we stayed over the Bank Holiday. We cannot fault the site or its facilities, but would warn others that the tv signal is non-existent and that was using their super-pitch with tv aerial, electric hook-up, own tap and waste water disposal point.
We are a couple of 'oldies' and usually use adult only sites, but we were meeting up with family who were using the 'ready-tents' and a static caravan. This site is not for those wanting a quiet time! The noise was extreme and they mix tents with caravans, never a good idea.
If you have a family and you want everything 'on tap', this is the place to go. Our daughter is there with our granddaughter and they are having the time of their life. The staff are extremely friendly (even the man that comes in to do checks in the ladies showers at 6.45am!).
Just one more thing, beware of the bikes! Even crawling through the camp roads as slowly as possible, bikes suddenly appear from nowhere in front of your car. A camp for young people with everything they need, but not unfortunately for us oldies. 
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| Date of Visit: August 2010 |
Unit: Campervan |
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| Reviewer: The Morans |
9 reviews from this member |
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We happened to be going to Sandy Balls after another campsite in Whitby let us down with our booking and I was very lucky to get a cancellation. I only booked on the Saturday and arrived at Sandy Balls the next day.
The welcome was lovely, we stopped at the welcome building and didn't even get out of the car- a member of staff checked us in and gave us our information pack. I had previously looked at Sandy Balls for holidays but discounted it as I felt it may be too big or commercial so we drove to our pitch with curiosity.
We were placed on Orchard which was a lovely area. The pitches weren't separated by hedges but had enough room. Yes it was gravel and grass, and you must pitch on the gravel. Luckily we had loads of rock pegs - these are a must. What we did notice a couple of days later when another family packed away was that they had some sort of green carpet under their tent - we then realised these were supplied by the campsite. It would have been useful to have been told this on the website or on arrival as just a groundsheet over the gravel can hurt your feet!
The campsite is beautiful, and although large doesn't feel so as the camping fields, lodges and caravans are spread over a wide area and there is an abundance of trees and plants. The forest is beautiful and we saw several deer on our many walks. The cycle centre provide a forest trail hunt for 50p and it is well worth this as it takes you to places on the site you may not have discovered on your own.
The toilet blocks were always clean and there are plenty of them. Showers and hairdryers are free.
Staff were very friendly throughout, and everyone seemed very happy in their jobs!
On site there is a cycle shop, gift shop, Woodside Inn, Pizza restaurant, Mini Supermarket, Pools and gym and a beauty salon. All are in beautiful wooden buildings around a piazza. There is also an outside small cinema screen which showed things like cbbc, cbeebies and cartoons during the day and every evening a film was put on.
The shop is very well stocked and yes is more expensive than Tescos but that's what you get for convenience! We tried the pizza restaurant and it was good - as we were eating lunch, a balloon modeller came around doing models for all the children. There are also many activities during the day for all ages, from archery to arts & crafts.
As the site was full, the pool operated a bands system. This meant queuing and hour before you wanted to swim to get bands and then come back an hour later. We found this system worked as it ensures everyone has a chance for a swim and the pool is never overcrowded. (The outside pool does not need bands but it is unheated and so v cold!)
You can hire bikes from the cyclery if you wish. There are often bands on at the Woodside Suite in the evening which we didn.T go to as we have a dog, but we heard very positive comments about the quality of the acts.
We have already booked again for next year and would highly recommend this beautiful campsite.
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| Date of Visit: August 2010 |
Unit: Touring Caravan |
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| Reviewer: KAT0504 |
6 reviews from this member |
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We've just returned from our 4th stay at Sandy Balls but felt this time our break was spoilt by the inconsideration of other campers who insisted on playing loud music and talking late into the night - one tent even felt it was acceptable to have a wood burning fire outside their tent and the smoke was everywhere! There didn't seem to be any wardens around monitoring late night noise.
We ate out twice while we were there once at the Pizza at the Piazza and once in the Woodside Inn - the staff in the Pizza restaurant were rude and seemed rushed off their feet even though the restaurant wasn't busy - also we didn't think the food was anything special, but the staff in the Woodside were really helpful and the food was much nicer.
The showers are free and there are free hair dryers but they have tacky little shower curtains which don't protect everything from getting wet.
The site shop is very well stocked but really pricey, but there's a co-op in Fordingbridge.
The swimming pool is free as are other things such as the quiz nights, nightly films in the piazza etc.
The weather was brilliant again and the area is stunning but I think the late night noise has put us off going back - at least for a while!
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| Date of Visit: July 2010 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Floatie |
14 reviews from this member |
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Have just returned from three nights at this site, had to go in a tent as our tow car broke down and was going to take a week to fix! so we couldn't take our caravan!
Were we so looking forward to staying at Sandy Balls we went and borrowed my father's car bought a tent and off we went.
What can I stay from the moment we arrived we were sold even thought I was sitting out by my tent and not in my caravan.
My son (7) has just said that the kids parks were awesome!
Facilities were excellent, enjoyed the swimming pool hired bikes had food from the take way, watched the entertainment all very good there was plenty of hot water for washing up, never had to queue for a shower.
Only negative point As we were in a tent we had no fridge and the weather was hot we had to rent ice packs at £1.50 per pack deposit and the 35p per pack for them to be frozen a little pricey I thought. A campers kitchen would have been nice. (microwave/freeze fridge)
We had a really nice time we have already reserved our pitch for next year.
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| Date of Visit: July 2010 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Cullbaggie |
5 reviews from this member |
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We have just returned from 5 nights here.Very nice laid out site and entertainment for children is good.Large play area with plenty of things to swing on/climb on. Toilet blocks are plenty for the site but poorly cleaned, they are only cleaned once a day and it shows! no loo brushes are left by bowls for moments when needed. So if loos have just been done its 24hours before they are cleaned again. When we reported toilet problems to staff, they did not seem that bothered either way. Swimming pool was busy, we struggled to get a swim - despite the site running a banding system, you were unable to book more than an hour in advance. Pool is too small for size of site.
On site restaurant/take away are very good and not as expensive as you would expect. On site booking for outside attractions is excellent and staff could not be more helpful in this facility. Shop is well stocked and prices are not bad for a convenience store.
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| Date of Visit: June 2010 |
Unit: Other |
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| Reviewer: Askie |
1 review from this member |
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We have just returned today from our first visit to Sandy Balls. We were meant to be going with a trailer tent but delays and problems resulted in this turning up the day before so wasn't going to become the site jester! We were desperate to go away so called Sandy Balls who offered us a good deal on one of the their Lodges. Although considerably more money we thought what the heck lets just go.
What a surprise. I have never stayed on one of these types of site before and I have to say the entire family enjoyed (although the other half just wants to go to Lodges in future!).
Excellent customer service from the staff, Lodge was impeccable, site clean, we checked out the camping facilities which were great. I even managed to watch the England - Algeria game on big screen without the kids annoying me, kids loved the pool and adventure playground.
Yes the shop was a bit pricey on some items, pub same as anywhere else but overall we thought it a great weekend break. Only complaint - we had to come home today!
We will definitely be booking another break later this year and just hope we receive the same fantastic experience.
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| Date of Visit: June 2010 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Grey Ghost |
5 reviews from this member |
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Worried about the price when we booked this site but the facilities make it worth while.
Great site the kids loved it pitches were hard standing and this did worry me as I was worried about the floor of the tent but I took a spare tarp and ran this under the main walking areas and the tent was fine.
The staff were great and helped with any questions.
The shops and all other facilities were brilliant. Swimming pool etiquette took some sorting out getting the coloured bands at the right time but we soon fell in to the regime.
We were with other friends and the children played in the park and cycled round the roads in a safe controlled are it was really relaxing.
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| Date of Visit: May 2010 |
Unit: Touring Caravan |
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| Reviewer: Loader22001 |
4 reviews from this member |
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This was the first of two visits this year, next is in August. We struggle to find anything bad to say about this site, weather except for one day was superb, would highly recommend a visit to Moors Valley park loads to do for the kids.
Site was as always spotless and facilities were even better than last year. I went for a run at six in the morning and the maintenance people were already busy around the site.
Children's entertainment was good and loads of stuff for my eight year old to do. All in all a very good week, and the kids are already asking when are we going back.
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| Date of Visit: April 2010 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: OutdoorsyGirl |
3 reviews from this member |
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I've always shyed away from commercial campsites assuming that they may be a bit 'rowdy', so this was a whole new (and very positive) experience for us! The drive-through checking-in process was very efficient and first impressions were of a very CenterParcs type ambience so I breathed a sigh of relief.
Equipped with a map and directions (it's a big site) we went off to find our pitch. The pitches are spacious, bound by decent height hedges to protect privacy and all fully serviced. They are also on hard standing. Great if you're in a tourer, not so if you're in a tent.
I'd brought an extra groundsheet and rock pegs but putting the tent up was really really arduous, as I didn't have a husband in tow to hammer in the pegs! Usually I'd have it up and pegged down within 30 mins but it took me best part of 3 hours. I then realised that I was on the correct pitch number, in the wrong field and nearly cried! Luckily the site was not overly busy and I was able to stay put and we were much closer to facilities than we would have otherwise been. Being shown to our pitch would have been the obvious way of avoiding this problem though.
There was a small adventure playground opposite our pitch which kept my younger son entertained. The toilet / shower blocks and washing up facilities in our field were all spotless, well maintained and usually empty. Presumably because most other campers used their own facilities. The shower blocks were also lovely and warm, which was welcome as the nights were still very cold! There is a really decent shop on site, not too dear and with a mix of local produce plus essentials.
We used the pool every morning (ensured my two scummy boys actually made contact with water with some regularity!) and it was lovely. Its worth going ahead of your planned swim and collecting a wrist band as it does get quite busy.
There is also a jacuzzi and sauna available FOC to campers. Just ask the lifeguard and he'll switch the jacuzzi on for you, non-residents pay £1. There is a very full activity programme available for children. Much of the daytime stuff was craft-based so might appeal more to younger children or girls. However my boys tried out laser clay pigeon shooting and archery, which was chargeable but a nice treat.
There is also a cycle hire shop and a triathlon centre there, with an excellent supply of mapped routes for walkers, runner and cyclists. My eldest joined in with 'mud rats' a 2 hour guided mountain bike tour, which he loved. My only complaint would be that when we booked I was quoted one price for cycle hire and then eventually charged twice as much because he needed an adult-sized bike. If I'd known how much this would cost I probably wouldn't have booked but with an excited child raring to go what do you do?
The countryside around the campsite is networked with paths, meandering through woodland and interspersed with the odd pretty stream. Blissful!
The evening entertainment programme was typically a children's disco / magic show or similar from 6 to 7pm with a more adult or family focussed event at 8pm. My 7 year old enjoyed the discos and we all loved the quiz nights and race night. I'm proud to say that despite having only one adult on our team we managed a very respectable 2nd in the family quiz!
I'd definitely go back to Sandy Balls and am actually converted to this sort of holiday. The kids loved it and it was really nice to have something to do on site in the evening rather than being stuck in a cold tent with two arguing bored children!
Days out: hiking in the New Forest is a must. Spent 2 days on the beach at Bournemouth and a day in Poole.
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| Date of Visit: March 2010 |
Unit: Touring Caravan |
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| Reviewer: Mammall |
2 reviews from this member |
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Just returned from a wet weekend at Sandy Balls. What a lovely well maintained site. Although a very 'commercial' site as opposed to 'wild' camping which is our preference, it is very pretty and well run. It was raining all weekend so the indoor activities were a real plus.
The staff were very friendly and the town of Fordingbridge very sweet. We loved our time there.
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Common Questions
Is Sandy Balls Holiday Village child friendly? YES, it accepts children & has a playground View all facilities
Does Sandy Balls Holiday Village have a swimming pool? YES, there is a pool on site View all facilities
Where is the nearest shop to Sandy Balls Holiday Village? There is a shop on site View all facilities
Is Sandy Balls Holiday Village dog friendly? YES View all facilities
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