A couple of weekends ago we went to The Top Of The World Sizzling Pub & Grill for a spot of lunch. We've visited different sizzling pubs before, one of their highlights is the variety of offers. I assume the offers may differ from venue to venue but there always seems to be an option to take advantage of. I am a fan of the 'Kids eat for £1' Monday to Friday between 3pm-7pm, a good one with the Christmas holidays coming up if you've had enough of slaving away in the kitchen!
We visited on a Saturday afternoon when a football match was on, the bar area was fairly busy with football fans but there was plenty of room at the tables. We sat down in quiet area and browsed the menu. There is a selection of starters the that you can choose three from for £10. We went for some of our favourite starters, nachos, loaded potato skins and beer battered salt and pepper mushrooms.
They arrived shortly after we'd placed our order. They loaded potato skins and mushrooms were nice and hot and we enjoyed them I personally believe you can never go wrong with nachos, cheese, sour cream and guacamole! They're always a winner for me!
For the main course we both ordered steak and Eliot opted for the quorn nuggets with chips and peas which he clearly enjoyed as he cleared his plate! Another great part of the kids menu is that there is a choice of dishes for under and over 5's making it easy for you or the littles to choose either by preference or appetite.
I had ordered the 8oz sirloin steak which was served on a skillet with onions, a mushroom and a tomato. I like my steak to be 'well done' which it mostly was but it was still a little pink in the centre. The chips were nice and chunky and served hot. Overall I enjoyed my main and there was nothing I could fault about it.
The other main meal that was ordered was a surf and turf which is usually a 5oz sirloin steak with six pieces of scampi. There was an option to upgrade the steak for a larger one at an extra cost. This steak was ordered to be cooked 'medium' which it was and again it was served on skillet with onions, tomato and mushroom as well as a slice of lemon for the scampi. Like my main, there was no faults with this one.
Finally it was dessert time and Eliot had made sure he put his order in when we had ordered the starters and mains! He ordered a 'Build your own sundae' which came with vanilla ice cream, chocolate buttons, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate sauce and strawberries. He was very excited about pudding, he always loves being able to do his own thing so was very happy!
My decision on dessert was not as quick as Eliot's, I had a good look over the options and was torn in-between choosing a sundae or the Belgian chocolate brownie. I opted for the brownie and was pleased with my choice, it was lovely, warm, and chocolate-tie. Just the sweet treat I needed!
The other dessert we ordered was Rolo Cheesecake, sounds amazing! Now wondering why I didn't have a sneaky little taste but sure it was because I was full. It was another well received pudding and not much was left over! If cheesecake is your favourite type of pudding an you love Rolos, this sounds like the perfect dessert!
Overall we had an enjoyable lunch at The Top Of The World Sizzling Pub and Grill, there was nothing to fault about the food we ordered. I feel that the atmosphere was probably different to what it is usually like due to the football being on. Not that it had been an issue for us but I had the feeling it would have felt completely different without a football match being shown.
Be sure to check out the menu and find your nearest Sizzling Pub & Grill, and don't forget to sign up to get £5 of your bill!
*We received a complimentary meal in exchange for a review. All views are my own
Over the past couple of weeks you might have read a few posts about our trip to Bluestone and what we got up to on our break. It was a much needed little holiday after a rather stressful beginning to 2015. Now comes the review, what we really thought about our getaway to Bluestone.
Check In
We arrived late Monday night, after half eleven! I'd had a bit of a panic on route about whether or not we'd actually be able to get in. So the other half called ahead to let them know and we were reassured by a very pleasant member of staff that check in was 24 hour and that there was no need to rush.
When we did rock up there was no need to park up and find reception, someone had the genius idea of a drive through check in which was perfect! I just gave the booking name and was handed a map, booklet and timetable of events for the week. We followed the one way system for cars to our lodge which almost took us back to where we'd started. Cars should be parked in the car park once you've unloaded unless you have permission to park it outside your lodge. There are bikes and buggies available for hire if you don't fancy getting around by foot every day.
The Lodge
Our Gateholm Lodge in Preseli View
We stayed in a Gateholm, a three bed, two bathroom lodge which sleeps six people. Two of our friends were meant to be joining us but unfortunately couldn't due to sickness. A bit of a bonus as it meant we had the lodge to ourselves.
As soon as we stepped in to our lodge we were highly impressed, it looked immaculately clean and felt very homely. All lodges come with a travel cot and highchair as standard, which I think is great as other holiday parks we've been to or looked in to have charged extra. If there's more than one baby/tot staying in the lodge all you need to do is let them know when booking.
I'd been looking forward to experiencing the 'upside down living' and the open plan kitchen, dining and lounge area did not disappoint!
As you can see it is very spacious with plenty of room to cook, eat, play or relax! I adored the modern purple kitchen which was fully equipped with everything you needed should you wish to make a cuppa or to cook 'proper' meals. There is also a dishwasher so there's no pressure for anyone to be standing at the sink doing the washing up. A nice touch that was awaiting us was a little pack with a mini bottle of washing up liquid, dishwasher tabs, rubbish and recycling bags. Eliot was forever in the drawers and cupboards so safety locks in the kitchens could be something that could be added just to make it that extra bit family friendly.
There was a large dining table with six chairs, which would be great for family or friends to have dinner round. I think if there were six adults sharing it would be a bit snug on the sofas but otherwise fine for relaxing in the evenings. As well as a TV there's also a DVD player if you have time that is! WiFi is included too, ideal for us bloggers. At first ours wasn't working so I mentioned it to a member of staff who said they'd send someone round to have a look ASAP. In the meantime I discovered a cable was out which I hadn't noticed when I first looked...oops. Someone came round to fix it when we left the lodge. They left a note to let us know that there weren't any issues.
Downstairs was one double bedroom with an ensuite, two twin rooms and another bathroom. All of the bedrooms came with a wardrobe and chest of drawers, giving ample storage for your belongings.The bathrooms had one toilet roll each and a small soap. They were very good sized bathrooms with plenty of space. My OH is quite particular about showers and the amount of pressure they have, he had no complaints about the one we had in our ensuite!
Eliot enjoying bath time in the ensuite
We all slept very well during our stay, the bed was comfy with plump pillows. Once I fell asleep I was asleep for the night.
We were extremely happy with the Gateholm lodge, the only issue we had was with the safety gates at the top and bottom of the stairs. The one at the bottom of the stairs was one you pull across and I couldn't work out how to do it. The one at the top had a part on the hinge side which kept coming out every time we tried to close/open it. It was simple to fix but a pain as it was repetitive. I'm sure if I'd reported it to staff they would've popped over to try and sort it as they did with the internet.
Here's a nose around the lodge if you fancy it...
Things To Do
There is an abundance of activities available at Bluestone, indoors or outdoors there's plenty to do. As mentioned, in the welcome pack we received a timetable of available activities for the week . Some you pay for and some you don't. The Blue Lagoon swimming pool and adventure centre are included in your stay. The adventure centre is host to plenty of free activities, mini golf, NRG room, soft play, Lego, the tower and the circus zone. We spent some time in the adventure centre on the Tuesday, Eliot enjoyed jumping on the bouncy castle, playing in the ball pool and soft play. We had lunch in the Wildwood café, you can read more about what we got up to here.
We only visited the Blue Lagoon once during our stay, mainly due to there being so many options of what to do, not only in the resort but further afield too. Eliot LOVED splashing about in the main pool with its fountains and waves. It's really spurred me on to get Eliot to swimming lessons not only is it fun, it's a life saving skill as well. In this diary post you can read more about what we thought of the Blue Lagoon.
As I mentioned before there were plenty of chargeable activities too. From messy and sensory play for babies and tots, to tree climbing and archery for older children and adults, to the well spa retreat. There was so much to choose from, we felt we didn't have enough time to do everything we would've liked to do.
I think how much you can make the most of your break depends on what time of year you go and the weather conditions. We were blessed with lovely weather, cold but sunny during our stay. I don't think I would've enjoyed the experience as much if it had been pouring with rain the entire week!
Places To Eat
There were several places to eat in Bluestone. The Village was home to the main places, The Farmhouse Grill which also offered a takeaway service, Carreg Las and the Knights Tafarn. It also had a bakery too. We only got round to trying out the Farmhouse Grill, a family restaurant which offers a variety of dishes from the grill and on Sunday's offers a traditional carvery. I wrote about what we thought of the Farmhouse Grill here.
The Knights Tafarn is a traditional style pub offering 'pub grub' and traditional & ales. Carreg Las is more focussed on adults and there are no children allowed after 7pm which has it's pros and cons for different guests. I would've liked to have dined here if we'd had a babysitter for Eliot!
As well as the main restaurants there is the Fish Shack in the Blue Lagoon, the Wildwood Café in the Adventure Centre and Camp Smokey outdoors in the Steep Ravine.
I felt there were plenty of dining options to choose from and if you did need to stock up in your lodge, the Newton Village shop gave you that option, even if prices were higher than your usual supermarket.
Overall Thoughts...
Our experience at Bluestone resort overall was fantastic and we wouldn't have second thought about booking a holiday there again. The setting is stunning and there are so many activities to choose from, the only problem is doing everything you'd like to do. My tip would be to plan ahead, check what activities you'd like to do and places you'd like to visit outside of the resort. That will enable you to be more organised and get the most out of your break.
The Great...
The scenery is beautiful
Relaxing as it is quiet and peaceful
Plenty of activities aimed at different age groups
Some activities are included
WiFi in lodges at no extra cost
Gorgeous accommodation (I can only speak for the lodge we stayed in)
TV & DVD player in lodge
Choice of places to eat out (if you want to)
The Not So Great...
Steep walks in different areas of the resort not ideal for older people/people with mobility problems (thinking particularly about my parents)
Cost of buggy hire quite pricey (depends on your holiday budget)
I feel the overall experience could be affected by the weather particularly if you plan on doing a few outdoor activities
Current building work not the best noise/view for those staying close by (it didn't affect us but thought of those staying very near)
Safety gates in our lodge were not functioning properly
On our visit to the Farmhouse Grill some of the food on the children's buffet looked as though it had been lying out for ages
A video of what we got up to
Have you visited Bluestone, what was your favourite part of the holiday?
*Disclaimer: We received a 4 night break at Bluestone Resort Wales in return for an honest review
When I was a child I often visited Beefeater restaurants with my parents, I vaguely remember ordering from a Mr Men & Little Miss menu. Beefeater are teaming up with Mr Men and Little Miss again as part of their 40th birthday celebrations, launching a new kids menu.
On Saturday we were invited along to a rather special event to celebrate the reunited partnership at the Beefeater Parkway in Guildford. Even though it was a Saturday the traffic out of London was a blinkin' nightmare and we arrived a little bit late. Thankfully we were just in time for the part of the day I was looking forward to the most, a workshop with Adam Hargreaves. Adam is the son of Roger Hargreaves who created the Mr Men and Little Miss series, he continues his father's work as author and illustrator.
Whilst one of the stories was read, Adam created some matching illustrations and encouraged the children that were old enough to do their own. I did feel in awe to be I the presence of an author and illustrator of such a well known series, one that I enjoyed reading as a child myself.
After the workshop we headed outside for some photos with Mr Tickle and Little Miss Sushine, Eliot was rather taken with Mr Tickle's arms!
There was ample opportunity for the kids to get their faces painted, unfortunately Eliot wasn't old enough to have his done but he did enjoy reading some books and browsing the Mr Men and Little Miss magazine. We also met Adam and he signed a Mr Men and Little Miss Book for Eliot.
Soon it was time for lunch, it didn't get off to the best start which was a shame. To begin with there was a lack of highchairs, understandably there was a fair few of babies and toddlers at the event. There were also families out for lunch in the restaurant but overall not an out of the ordinary amount of people requiring highchairs. I was disappointed, as a family restaurant I felt there should have been more available. The PR team were very helpful and tried to track one down but I don't think we were the only people on the hunt. My other half managed to nab a highchair when one became available, it was a bit messy so he asked a member of staff if they could give it a clean. Luckily I had some sterilising wipes with me as they never came back over to wipe it. Once Eliot was in the highchair we realised the middle strap that comes up between the legs was missing. That meant he could have slipped out underneath the tray. We asked for another when it became available as it wasn't completely safe. When it did arrive it was too late.
We had pre-ordered our main courses but I didn't realise we were getting the chance to sample some of the starters. However we seemed to be the only table from the event who didn't get them, in the end we asked for them and our main meals arrived before the starters.
Grumbles aside, we really enjoyed the food. We had a flatbread and breaded mushrooms to try out as starters and we both had steak for our main, which was served with chips, tomato and mushroom. Both were cooked to how we'd requested and were very tasty.
We'd ordered Eliot Mr Strongs flat iron steak from the new kids menu as whenever we do go out he normally has pasta or chicken. We thought the steak would be a nice change.
But Eliot wouldn't eat the steak as he was being a bit of a fuss pot, he did of course enjoy the chips and ate some peas too.
The Mr Men and Little Miss menu offers plenty of mains for children to pick. From Little Miss Trouble's Tomato pasta to Mr Noisy's Bangers and mash to having the option of creating your own pizza. There is something to appeal to even the fussiest of eaters! As well as mains, there are a selection of starters, sides, drinks and desserts to choose from. Depending on how hungry your brood are, there are three different meal deals available. One course and a drink is priced at £4.49, two courses plus drink £5.49 and three course with a drink £5.99.
To round off the day there was a competition to create a sundae in the theme of a character. Armed with lots of sweet treats, Eliot got to work on his pudding.
We named it Mr Messy's Mess. The sundae's were judged by Adam Hargreaves who liked the 'not so original' name of our creation. Mr Messy's Mess was not the winner but we had a great time at the Beefeater (minus the highchair & starter issues). The highlight for me had to be meeting Adam Hargreaves.
Have you tried the new Mr Men, Little Miss menu yet?
