I personally don’t like camping but was keen give my kids a camp type experience. Glamping is a great alternative. Many camp and caravan sites now have upmarket cabins. They present a great alternative for those of us who like a comfortable bed and our own bathroom.
One of my favourites is the NRMA Ocean Beach Holiday Park.
Overall Rating 3½ stars
The rating is based on a Plantation Cottage or Plantation Villa which are the newest cabins in the holiday park.
Accommodation
Accommodation ranges from camp and caravan sites to cabins of varying quality built at different times. The Plantation Cottage (2 Adults plus 3 Children) and the Plantation Villa (Max 4 Adults) are among the most modern.
They each have two bedrooms a separate toilet and a bathroom. They are really small, the main bedroom has a queen size bed and not much else. The children’s bedroom in the Plantation cottage is like a train cabin, an upper and lower bed on the one side and an upper bed and some draws on the other side. The beds are smaller than standard beds. Although a very tight fit the kids love the space. There is a dining area and lounge with a television and a fully equipped kitchen.
The stand-out is the outside deck with a large table and chairs. The cabins are close together so don’t expect to have a quiet especially if you have noisy neighbours. There are communal gas barbeques near all the cottage.
Facilities
The facilities for kids and adults is what makes this holiday park my favourite. The holiday park leads straight onto the beautiful Umina beach. A long beach strip with soft sand and calm waters is perfect for swimming.
If the sea is not enough the park has two swimming pools, one just completed in September 2016. The pools are well kept, have hot tubs and the one has a great water
slide for the kids which is in constant use. There is also a complete water park, two jumping pillows, climbing equipment and games room.. Other activities include go carts for hire and during the weekends and holidays kids activities like movies.
It provides a relatively safe environment for kids to wander around on their own.
Food
There is an onsite café which serves limited meals. This is the type of place you want to bring with your own food and have a barbeque with the family.
Booking
Unlike most hotels these days the holiday park offers single tier pricing. In other words the same price is offered over all booking platforms. In fact it is hardly ever available on the online booking sites likes wotif and hotels.com. So just book directly with Ocean Beach on their site or by phone.
NRMA members receive a 10% discount up to a maximum of $40. The Plantation Cottage and Villa go for close to $300 a night on summer weekends and school holidays.
