Haven Orchards Holiday Village in Essex Review

Search latest deals at 
​Haven Orchards Holiday Village

We are Haven fans...but what did we think of The Orchards in Essex?

We are consistently impressed with the Haven brand, which we rate very highly on value and entertainment (see everything we've written on Haven here!).

We've been to lots of their 38 parks around the UK - but hadn't been to Orchards Holiday Village in Essex until this autumn. You'll also see it referred to as Orchards Holiday Park. There's an independent park with a similar name on the Isle of Wight, so make sure you book the right one!

Orchards is one of Haven's lower rated resorts with customers - so we wanted to see if that's deserved

---

First impressions of Haven Orchards Holiday Village 

The first thing that surprised us about Haven Orchards Holiday Village was that it is quite a large holiday park. It isn't the biggest Haven by some distance, but it still seems to go on and on when you explore the site. It took us quite a long time to get our bearings and to get to know where everything was. 

This is partly because of its unusual shape, which is on a long and thin peninsular, and spread over two halves - Park East and Park West. There's a residential area that splits the park in two, which means that the distance from end to end is quite considerable (about a mile, if you're interested).

Lots of caravans and lodges at The Orchards overlook lakes, which we liked very much

---

Facilities at Haven Orchards Holiday Village 

A lot of the facilities at The Orchards are focused around an area near to the entrance. Here, we found the indoor and outdoor swimming pools as well as plenty of seating and activities, such as a climbing wall and bungee trampolines. 

This is the swimming pool building at The Orchards Holiday Village

The pool is a good size, but is quite basic (Credit: Haven)

The climbing wall is one of the activities that you pay extra for at The Orchards

Anyone fancy a go on the bungee trampoline?

There's also a big pillow you can jump onto, which we have found at lots of Haven holiday parks (no, I didn't have a go!).

Hmm...not for me thanks!

The list of activities continues and as we explored, we found karts that you can hire to pedal around the site as well as playgrounds, tennis and various craft activities. 

We found a couple of playgrounds during our time at The Orchards

These pedal go karts are good fun

The arcade at The Orchards is a good way to waste some money!

The tennis court isn't the newest we've seen, but it still looked fun

We also found this smaller playground on our visit

The sports court is big and was a popular attraction when we visited!

---

Food and evening entertainment at the Orchards

We found plenty of options for eating out at The Orchards. As with lots of Haven resorts, you can choose from the on-site Haven restaurant, or you can go for one of the chain restaurants. At Orchards that includes Papa Johns and Burger King.

Most Haven resorts we've been to have a Papa Johns onsite

We didn't indulge in Burger King whilst we were there, but it looked busy

Most of the evening entertainment is held in the Live Lounge

---

Vibe and atmosphere at Haven Orchards Holiday Village  

This Haven holiday park is in a secluded area, in a very rural part of Essex. 

We enjoyed wandering down to the local beach, which is called Point Clear Bay and is about two-minutes' walk from the park entrance. 

It's a rustic and scrubby area, with a mix of shingle and rough sand. To be honest, it isn't the sort of place where you will be bringing a deckchair and building a sandcastle but it is really beautiful when the sun shines. It's also quite sheltered compared to somewhere like Clacton-on-Sea. We enjoyed seeing dogs running around on the beach, despite not being a dog family ourselves!

The Orchards is also quite peaceful because it is a long way from the arcades of Jaywick and Clacton, which have a very different vibe to them. 

We concluded that the park was relatively leafy and green and particularly liked that there are several small lakes. Much of the accommodation overlooks lakes and creeks, although we didn't find any with what I would call a stunning sea view (see our guide to Haven caravans with a sea view for more ideas).

The Orchards is on a peninsular with this beach just outside the park

---

How The Orchards compares to other Haven holiday parks

Haven has very high standards and we have visited many of their parks around the UK (Ed: there's no need to brag!). Some parts of The Orchards have clearly received a lot of investment recently, particularly around the main communal areas.

However, I would say that the park is not quite as new and shiny looking as some Haven resorts. I'm being quite picky now, but quite a lot of the signs are the older Haven style rather than the newest style that you would find somewhere like Haven Skegness (which replaced an older park before it opened in 2022).

Similarly, some of the roads and paths towards the edge of the site are not quite as smooth as those that you might find at some other Haven resorts. As I said I'm being quite picky now, at what we found to be a buzzing and fun-filled holiday park. 

Some parts of The Orchards aren't quite as new and shiny as some Haven resorts we've visited

---

Accommodation at Haven Orchards Holiday Village 

There isn't touring and camping at the Orchards, so the vast majority of accommodation is caravans (see our touring guide if that's what you're after). There are also some larger lodges. 

What we like about Haven is they don't have many tatty properties at their sites. Some holiday parks have a real mixed bag, with some very old caravans with peeling paint that are covered in knick-knacks. You don't really get that with Haven, which keeps its sites looking a little bit smarter than your average caravan park. 

As mentioned earlier, the accommodation over the lakes is perhaps the nicest located. Many of the caravans that we saw around the West Side of the park are arranged in crescents and cul-de-sacs, which I think gives a more spacious and friendly vibe. We found that the caravans in the east side of the Orchards were mostly in neat rows. Cars are parked near to the caravans at the Orchards rather than sharing a central car park.

Get yourself a caravan overlooking a lake if you can

This is a typical row of caravans at The Orchards

Did I mention that I like the caravans overlooking the lakes

---

Final thoughts on our visit to The Orchards

We liked The Orchards and its location in a peaceful little corner of Essex. It makes a very nice getaway from London, and has a considerably slower feel. It feels more relaxed than Clacton-on-Sea, which is more of a traditional seaside resort with its pier and amusements. 

You don't get the golden sands of Clacton, but you do get a beach that is quite charming and is only a couple of minutes away. To be honest, I've tended to overlook Essex as a holiday destination but it has some nice villages and beaches.

It is certainly true that some parts of The Orchards are not quite as shiny as some other Haven resorts. However, I still think it is some way ahead of a lot of holiday parks in the UK and we would happily return.

Yes...we enjoyed our visit to The Orchards