With May half term nearly upon us and summer just around the corner, thoughts naturally turn to holiday planning at this time of year. Many families will be looking at cheaper alternatives to a trip abroad this year to try and keep costs down.
Holiday parks can be a good option if you’re sticking to a budget. Usually providing leisure on-site leisure facilities, play areas and entertainment; they’re great if you have little ones who need to be occupied.
However, sometimes you can’t be sure of what you’ll find there, especially if the price is too good to be true. It’s always wise to read reviews before you go so you can decide if it's right for you.
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While looking for a cheap, last minute getaway, our colleague Caroline Hemmingham at YorkshireLive decided to visit the Sand le Mere holiday park at Tunstall, near Withernsea on the Yorkshire coast, despite the site receiving several poor reviews online. Here’s what she found out.
I’d been put off by some of the bad reviews of the site before so had never considered staying there, but when I put our details into the site website last week, and saw the quote for three nights in a 'gold' standard caravan was just £129 I thought this was definitely worth another look. I know experiences are what you make them, but I will always have a look at reviews before we go away somewhere, and I'm sure I'm not alone in doing so.
Even looking this time, some of the recent Tripadvisor reviews for Sand le Mere were, once again, pretty awful. One reviewer who stayed in April wrote: "Rough and ready... Child services needed." And it went on to describe how, on arrival, the family was met with 'crowds of drunk adults with babies/young children walking in the road'.
They also said that 'the amount of shouting and swearing was unbearable' and that they saw lost children and 'babies in the smoking shelter'. A review from April was simply titled: "Noise!!!!" and another's said: "Look at the photos absolutely disgusting" - with some accompanying photos of what appeared to be clumps of hair found in various parts of a caravan.
Despite all the negative reviews, there were a lot of good ones and I don't think mine and my family's standards are overly high when it comes to holidaying so I was willing to give it a go. And for such a low price I was determined to make the most of it.
As the site was just half an hour's drive from our home in Hull, we packed the car up and set off after school on the Friday. I was instantly impressed on arrival by the picturesque site, which had several pretty lakes, lots of trees and grassy areas and the rustic Tunstall beach along one side.
We parked up at reception and collected our welcome pack with caravan keys, a site map and some leaflets about the park. During check in the kids played in a large outdoor play area by reception where there's also the indoor swimming pool, amusement arcade, a small soft play and a large bar/restaurant with outdoor seating.
With the sun shining the place had a great atmosphere, with many families sitting outside enjoying a drink while the kids played. When we arrived at our caravan I was again impressed. I have no idea how new it was but it looked and felt really modern and had everything we needed for the weekend.
I actually love staying in a caravan. It's a real nostalgic feeling for me as caravan holidays were pretty much all we went on as kids and I have the best memories from them. For me there's nothing better than getting all cosy inside with your loved ones after a day of fun.
Contrary to the reviews, the area of the site where we stayed was also really quiet. So quiet in fact that I was mindful of how noisy my own children were being - I didn't want us to be the subject of future bad reviews.
The weekend we stayed at Sand le Mere the entertainment lineup was quite impressive - Bucks Fizz on the Friday night (including one of the original members) and Katrina, from Katrina and the Waves, on the Saturday night. I was buzzing to sing along to 'Love Shine A Light...' As well as these acts there was some pretty standard holiday park family entertainment on which the kids loved getting up and having a dance to.
On the Saturday we went swimming in the morning before going back to the caravan for bacon sandwiches. Then we spent the afternoon just relaxing on site at the outdoor play area with ice creams and some exploring.
The next morning, my five-year-old daughter and I were up first and decided to have a stroll down to look at the beach. There's not a public path that leads down onto Tunstall beach from site anymore unfortunately because of the crumbling cliff top but we were happy just having a look from the top. It was a gorgeous morning and being there listening to the waves crashing in the morning sun was just heavenly.
Then we spent the rest of the day on the beach at Withernsea, less than a ten minute drive away.
Seeing as we were so close to home, we decided to stay the Sunday night too and leave early Monday to get my daughter back in time for school and I'm so glad we were able to do that because that extra night really made it feel like a holiday.
All in all, we had an absolutely brilliant family weekend away. It really did feel like a holiday even though we were so close to home - which also cut out the stress of travelling far with two young children.
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