Lesser-known holiday park named UK’s best with all-inclusive stays & free booze

A LESSER-known holiday park has been labelled the best in the UK, beating bigger and more established names to top spot.

A survey of more than 1,700 guests from British holiday parks revealed which places families should head to to get the most out of their trips this year.

Consumer champions Which? asked those holidaymakers about their experiences at UK holiday parks over the last two years, getting them to rate their stays on eleven different criteria.

They included quality of accommodation, customer service, cleanliness, facilities and activities, and value for money.

An overall score was then worked out for each resort, based on overall satisfaction and likeliness to recommend other people.

It turns out that Potters Resorts is the highest rated among park-goers, with a customer score of 87 per cent.

Potters has been welcoming guests for more than 100 years, and has two all-inclusive resorts in Essex and Norfolk.

Both resorts offer a range of different accommodation styles, as well as meals, drinks and live entertainment.

Visitors handed Potters the full five stars for the variety of free facilities on offer.

Also receiving top marks were the quality of facilities and activities, as well as the quality of the entertainment and communication.

Meanwhile, visitors gave the parks four stars for overall customer service, food and drink, value for money and quality of accommodation.

However, Potters narrowly missed out on Which? Recommended Provider status due to its cancellation terms, which offers no refunds to those cancelling within eight weeks of their booking.

Another lesser-known holiday park scooped second spot in the survey, with the Which? recommended provider Forest Holidays getting an overall customer score of 80 per cent.

Forest has 13 locations across England, Wales and Scotland, all providing woodland stays with hot tubs in a range of accommodation from cabins to treehouses.

The brand received four stars for the quality of its accommodation, cleanliness, overall customer service, communication and quality of facilities and activities.

Respondents were particularly enthusiastic about their stays there, with one former guest describing their visit as a “brilliant outdoor family holiday with plenty of things to do”.

In joint third place with a customer score of 77 per cent were Which? recommended provider Bluestone Wales and John Fowler Holiday Parks.

Customers labelled Bluestone Wales an “amazing” resort, which is nestled in the Pembrokeshire countryside.

Its guests awarded it four stars for overall customer service, singling out the “accommodating staff” who were “ready for anything at any time”.

It also received four stars for the quality of accommodation, cleanliness, quality of facilities, and quality of entertainment. 

Among the other high-scoring firms, just two others, Hoburne Holidays (75%) and Waterside Holiday Group (74%), were awarded prestigious Which? recommend provider Status.

Naomi Leach, Deputy Editor of Which? Travel, said: “Holiday parks have been a mainstay of British holidays for decades, but with so many options to choose from it isn’t always easy to know which will be the right fit for your family. 

“Our latest survey shows that it’s worth looking beyond the best-known names, with smaller and independent resorts offering excellent value for money, great customer service and plenty of onsite entertainment.

“Whether you’re after an all-inclusive break, a luxury treehouse with a hot tub or a more budget friendly break, our Which? recommended providers are a great place to start your research.”

Meanwhile, these are easy ways to save money on a family holiday – some of them are even free.

And here’s how to get cheap family friendly breaks.