The Cove, Pentewan

The Cove in Pentewan, near St. Austell, Cornwall, is a popular bed and breakfast run by a friendly and attentive mother and daughter team from a building known as Piskey Cove. "Piskey" is Cornish for "pixie".

The rear part of the building was constructed in the seventeenth century and was originally a row of fishermen's cottages occupying the banks of a small estuary. The front part was appended to three of the cottages to form one building.

A comfortable lounge area is available for guests to use, with a wood burner, coffee tables, two settees and an armchair carved from the root of a pine tree. A wide range of games and books are on offer for visitors to use.

Despite its modest size as a dwelling one has a selection of options at breakfast time. Whether the guest has a traditional English in mind or something altogether more healthy, the hosts are eager to please. The "bed" part of the deal is equally attractive, with clean, spacious and comfortable rooms.

The locality is convenient for visits to The Eden Project, Lanhydrock House and Caerhays Castle, but it is worth spending a little quality time also in Pentewan's picturesque village.

Merry Christmas from The Holiday Zone

The Holiday Zone wishes its visitors a Merry Christmas filled with festive joy and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year for 2015.

Langstone Hotel, Portsmouth

Hayling Island is not the buzzing family seaside resort it once was, which could be why the Langstone Hotel advertises itself as being in Portsmouth. But it is on the island, across the bridge from the mainland, and is the first accommodation one encounters upon crossing.

It is also a wonderful hotel with luxurious facilities and quality provision at what some would consider to be guest house prices.

With pleasant views across the water and generous car parking the impression gained by the new visitor is always good. But it gets significantly better when one enters the hotel and is attended to by the highly professional staff at reception.

The Langstone boasts 148 luxury and executive bedrooms, ten modern conference halls, a fully-equipped fitness centre, spa and swimming pool. Its immaculate presentation and state of the art facilities may go some way to explaining its popularity as a venue for weddings and other functions.

The restaurant overlooks the harbour and estuary, allowing the option of al fresco dining in pleasant surroundings. Service is always of the highest quality and the menu lists a wide range of options.

Also appealing is the convenience of the Langstone's location - just a couple of miles from the beach at the south of the island but also within easy reach of the mainland, which it looks out onto.

The Langstone Hotel is quality accommodation for anybody who is staying on Hayling Island - presentable but not at all pricey as hotels of its kind go. All in all it combines excellent value with some really first class service.

New Leaseholder Set to "Restore Gurnard Pines to its Former Glory"

The new leaseholder of Gurnard Pines Holiday Village on the north of the Island has spoken of his plans to restore the complex to its former glory.

Island-based businessman John Perrett, who already runs thriteen Spar convenience shops on the Island, has secured a twenty-year lease on the swimming pool, gym, and other leisure buildings. The lease does not cover the holiday homes, which will be continue to be hired out by a new company.

"All funds paid in respect of ground rents and service charges will be protected. A statement will be sent to all leaseholders in due course with details of how to pay in future," said Terry Prosser, director of the freehold operator. "Any deposits paid for holidays or parties will be honoured by the new company."

Reproduced with acknowledgements to Isle of Wight Review.

The Walpole Bay Hotel, Cliftonville

Cliftonville, like Margate of which it is effectively a part, is a one-time buzzing family holiday resort which is slowly recovering from the serious blight and neglect which had afflicted it for a great many years.

Back in the 1970s the seafront was alive with activity, largely due to the presence of Butlin's which owned several hotels in close proximity to one another. However once they departed Cliftonville ceased to be a holiday destination in any meaningful sense of the term and most of the buildings went into a state of serious neglect, just as Margate itself suffered the loss of Dreamland (later Bembom Brothers) and much of its identity as the summer retreat for Londoners famously referenced in a song by Chas and Dave.

However in the years pending the fairly recent arrival of the popular Turner Contemporary art gallery in Margate, the rejuvenation of the Harbour and the promised rebirth of Dreamland there was something of note that remained in Cliftonville, still attracting lots of visitors and enjoying the support and patronage of many visitors of renown, and that was the exquisite Walpole Bay Hotel and Museum.

Offering a unique combination of modern accommodation standards and provision with the ambience of a bygone era, the Walpole Bay has attracted a veritable roll call of celebrities, the names of whom are featured around the building alongside untold exhibits of yesteryear such as typewriters, dolls, tills, domestic appliances and household effects which render the whole building simultaneously a hotel and a museum. With its flowered terraces and verandas and its unique 1927 Otis trellis gated lift, the Walpole Bay Hotel has been featured on the sets of so many films and advertisements that the owners claim to have "lost count", but they include EastEnders, Sky Sports, GMTV, One Foot in the Past and a programme featuring local artist Tracy Emin.

The service isn't bad either! The comfortable Restaurant, Bar Lounge and Terrace is open from 7am each day and serves everything from breakfasts, through Sunday lunches to cream teas, including to non-residents. Rooms are available at highly competitive rates and offer all the facilities that one would expect from quality accommodation.

Without question the Walpole Bay is the place to stay in Cliftonville, and being within reasonable walking distance of Margate proper is also an attractive option for anybody visiting the recovering Kent seaside resort.

The Inn at Ardgour

The Inn at Ardgour is a splendid small hotel on the shores of Loch Linnhe in the Scottish Highlands, just outside Fort William. After driving a few miles south of the town a short crossing on the Corran Ferry will take you more or less to the front door. Travel on the ferry is free for foot passengers, but there is a charge for vehicles. Ardgour is directly accessible by road from Fort William, but it is a very long drive and when dark it is not for the faint-hearted.

The hotel has twelve en-suite bedrooms and a family suite, each of them enjoying a breathtaking view of Loch Linnhe. It describes itself as a "pet-friendly establishment", but the caveat is that yours should be friendly pets. No dangerous breeds of dog are permitted, nor any other dog that is considered likely to frighten the kids. Petless visitors should be aware however that the hotel management is very mindful of the comfort of all guests. Rooms are cleaned meticulously and some are kept permanently pet-free, whilst inside the hotel pets are kept very much under control.

Many visitors use The Inn as a convenient base when climbing Ben Nevis, the UK's tallest mountain, or en route to Skye or other islands. However it should not be overlooked as a holiday destination in its own right - Ardgour and the area around Glencoe and Loch Linnhe is quite beautiful, and the hotel is very clean, friendly and well-run, with spacious rooms, pleasant dining area in which excellent food is served, and a well-stocked and very comfortable bar.

As well as a website The Inn at Ardgour also now has its own Facebook page. All contact details are given, but we recommend booking some time in advance to avoid disappointment.

December Hot Tub Short Breaks from £119 Per Family

Enjoy a break away in a lovely, luxurious cottage from just £119 per break. With your own outdoor tub to relax in, Island View Holidays is dedicated to providing customers with the ultimate luxury holiday experience.

Be one of the first guests to secure your 2015 holiday at one of Island View's stunning award winning parks on the Isle of Wight. Book before 1st December 2014 and get a further £30 off!

Enjoy Short Breaks at Mill Rythe Holiday Village, Hayling Island

Tucked away beside Chichester Harbour on Hayling Island in Hampshire, Mill Rythe is the ideal destination for a wonderful British holiday. With its stunning coastlines, beautiful beaches and local attractions it is the perfect location for couples, families, and groups and offers something for every generation to enjoy.

All breaks are Half Board, meaning every great value break includes your bed, breakfast and delicious evening meals. The offers below are for Standard accommodation in a twin room for two people. Cots can also be provided upon request.

Musical entertainment is provided by some of the best tribute bands, chart-topping groups, visiting cabaret, great performers, a resident band and even iconic West End Shows. Deals on offer for 2015 include the following:

Half Term Break (16th to 20th February) - tons and activities for the kids and entertainment. £139 per twin room, breakfast and dinner included.

Festival of Tributes (6th to 9th March) - ideal for couples and families, amazing tribute acts each night. £109 per twin room, breakfast and dinner included.

May Day Entertainment Break (1st to 4th May) - great value weekend activity and entertainment break. £159 per twin room, breakfast and dinner included.

May Whitsun Activity Breaks (22nd to 25th and 25th to 28th May) - entertainment for everyone from small tots to grandparents. £169 per twin room, breakfast and dinner included.

All bookings through Break Free Holidays.

Christmas and New Year breaks from just £459 for the whole family

Island View Holidays are offering relaxing Christmas holidays in their exquisite home-from-home style cottages at Rookley Country Park on the Isle of Wight.

Choose from a short break holiday (22nd to 26th December) from just £459 for a whole family, or a full week (20th to 27th December) from £499. A family can include up to eight people.

Christmas packages include accommodation, complementary mince pies and mulled wine, three course Christmas lunch (for up to 4 people, £25 per extra person), and "all you can eat" Boxing Day breakfast (for up to 4 people, £5 per extra person).

New Year packages are also available and include a complimentary bottle of bubbly and tickets for the New Year's Eve Party.

For more information 'phone 01983 898916, or e-mail info@islandviewholidays.co.uk.

Secret Escapes - Keeping You Posted

Sometimes we need a little help in selecting the best deals on hotels and holiday locations, especially when we are looking for a little luxury.

Secret Escapes offers you hand-picked hotels and holidays, great rates and exclusive deals for its own members. All you have to do is provide your e-mail address.

A bona fide service featured in the London Evening Standard and the Sunday Times, Secret Escapes provides an invaluable aid to your search for a luxury getaway. Just visit the website and leave your contact details, and the rest will be taken care of.

Big Savings on 2015 Haven Holidays

Book your 2015 Haven break today. Pay a low deposit now, with an easy monthly payment plan to follow, and look forward to a fabulous seaside break at one of Haven's 35 holiday parks. You will need to be quick, this offer ends on 30 November.

Deals include savings of up to 50% on 7 nights or more, up to 50% off touring and camping breaks, or a whopping 25% discount off a May half-term break.

Click here for this and other special offers from Haven Holidays.

Park Resorts Offers 2015 Holidays at 2014 Prices

Just as it says on the tin - book your 2015 Park Resorts holiday before October 31st this year and you'll get it at 2014 prices - plus you will receive an additional 30% saving. A £50 deposit secures the booking, with full payment to be made within eight weeks of departure.

Park Resorts offers a choice of 41 holiday parks around the UK, with a full activity and entertainment programme wherever you go, as well as swimming facilities, amusements and a bar-restaurant.

Many returning customers bear testimony to the popularity of the Park Resorts holiday experience. The author is a regular user and multiple satisfied customer. 'Nuff said.

Finding a Hotel in the UK

If you are looking for a hotel anywhere in the United Kingdom one very useful resource is the Hotels UK website.

The site is a veritable database of hotels, bed and breakfasts, guest houses and self-catering accommodation all over Britain. It is easy to follow and sub-divides handily into geographical areas, but also into more specialised categories such as "pet-friendly hotels", "hotels with disabled facilities", "hotels near UK airports" and so on.

In addition Hotels UK provides a free e-mail subscription service so that users can receive regular updates on special offers and last minute deals. With some 25,000 hotels listed it is a great starting point for anybody looking for fixed accommodation in the home country.

Whitecliff Bay Offers 50% Discount on 2015 Holidays

Whitecliff Bay again (well, they send us their information!) - this time the Bembridge IOW holiday park is offering up to 50% off 2015 holidays which are booked before October 31st (just a 10% deposit secures the booking).

Final payment needs to be made no later than 8 weeks before departure.

About the Clube Praia da Oura

Clube Praia da Oura is a hugely popular resort on the golden Albafeira beach in the Algarve. A combination
of wonderful sea views, great facilities and an almost family atmosphere inspires many guests to return again and again, making friends both at the resort and with one another.

The site boasts two swimming pools, a sauna, a launderette, a restaurant, a children's play area and several bars, as well as being a short walk or bus ride away from Albufeira, both the Old Town and the famous Strip. It is also linked with four nearby hotels whose facilities are also available to CPO residents. Much of the site overlooks the beach; that part of it that doesn't is just a short stroll away.

Staff at the resort are without exception helpful. Whether you want information, need money changed or a transfer to the airport booked, or require something for your room, they are always just a 'phone call or a visit away.

A full evening entertainment schedule is provided, with many acts "touring" between CPO and its sister sites so guests are able either to visit their favourite acts across the locations or stay at "home" and watch a varied programme throughout the week. Regular acts include Michael Jackson, Elvis and Tina Turner tributes, a sax player, various vocalists, in-house Country & Western and Latin dancing shows and a great deal more. There are also regular karaoke nights and talent contents. During the day activities include dancing lessons, Portuguese language classes, archery and bird and reptile shows - to name but a few. A comprehensive list of outings and expeditions is also available each and every week, and guests can book day trips to Seville, Lisbon or Gibraltar as well as days at the market, historic adventures and safari tours.

For the British tourist the weather has appeal too. During the summer it is hot, and pool parties are held every weekday afternoon (especially enjoyable with a cocktail from the Pool Bar - Ed.). Even during the winter months it is often warm enough to sunbathe, and visitors are to be seen walking around town in vests and shorts (thereby conveniently distinguishing them from the locals, who think it is cold).

CPO really does offer the ultimate holiday experience in the popular and unspoilt beach resort that is the Algarve. Its growing "family" is testimony to the popularity of the site.


Reproduced with acknowledgements to Friends of Clube Praia da Oura

Break Free Holidays - at Home or Abroad

One excellent way of receiving regular information about good value breaks and deals in the UK and on the continent is to subscribe to a regular e-mail information service.

Break Free Holidays is an excellent resource for getting all the up-to-date information about what is available at home and in Europe. Always with a wide range of destinations and deals at its fingertips, Break Free's subscription service supplies regular but never excessive updates on what's on offer - whether you are touring or camping, looking for a caravan or planning to visit a holiday park.

Take a look for yourself at Break Free Holidays by clicking here.

The Sandringham Hotel, Sandown IOW

The Sandringham Hotel along the seafront, overlooking Sandown Bay, provides a seamless fusion of a traditional seaside hotel with all the modern facilities that holidaymakers have come to expect.

A large, spacious lounge abuts an ample ballroom where entertainment is provided on four evenings each week.

The Sandringham offers a full English breakfast and dinner menu with efficient sit-down table service in a large and uncrowded dining area overlooking Culver Cliff.

Bedrooms are en-suite and include colour television and tea and coffee making facilities. There is an option for adjoining rooms or for a superior sea-facing room with a balcony. The hotel also has a small number of self-catering apartments for hire.

JACUZZI AND SAUNA

Elsewhere in the hotel the swimming pool is clean and well used but seldom overcrowded, even during peak season. Around the pool area there is also a jacuzzi and a small sauna. A full-size snooker table, pool table and gaming machines are available for customers, and a small selection of board games can be borrowed upon request - useful for helping to keep the kids entertained whilst enjoying a nice relaxing drink from the bar.

Rooms are good value, especially when taking into account the fact that a free ferry is provided for mainland visitors who book beyond a certain number of nights (always check this at the time of booking). Parking can be a bit of an issue as spaces outside the building are few and using certain of them often results in you being "blocked in", with hotel staff having to rectify the problem. For those who don't mind a short walk the hotel has the use of a larger car park a couple of streets away which customers can use. There is a small charge for this.

All in all the Sandringham ranks amongst the better coastal hotels as the fact that it boasts many returning customers bears out. Our advice - give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

Reproduced with acknowledgements to Isle of Wight Review

Spooktacular Half-Term Breaks at Whitecliff Bay

Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park in Bembridge, Isle of Wight are organising "spooktacular" family fun activities and themed entertainment for Hallowe'en.

Activities during the half-term break include pumpkin carving, face painting, gruesome food making, Laser Zombie Tag, crafts and ghost stories.

Plus there is, as always, lots to do elsewhere on the Island - including the Isle of Wight's first Festival of Light at Robin Hill and the Autumn Walking Weekend.

Dogs are allowed on the holiday park in selected accommodation and on the touring field. For more on Whitecliff Bay's programme for October please click here.

Ilfracombe House Hotel, Southend

Whether you fancy spending a night in comfort before flying off to somewhere exotic from the small but expanding airport that is absurdly named "London Southend" (that's assuming your flight doesn't leave from London Glasgow or Birmingham Manchester), or whether you are planning to negotiate the world's longest leisure pier (1.34 miles to be precise), you could do worse than to stay at the lovely Ilfracombe House Hotel in Wilson Road, overlooking the coastal road and of course the sea.

A small 4-star, family-run hotel, the Ilfracombe ticks all the boxes - excellent value, comfortable rooms, good food, Sky TV, early check-in and late check-out, friendly management and staff, nice cosy bar and wonderful "eat as much as you like" breakfast (and they really do mean it - no mysterious disappearing tray of sausages or surly proprietor standing over you looking at his wristwatch). The car park is free with spaces usually available, and free wi-fi is offered too.

There is really no criticism one can make. Everything does what it says on the tin, or in this case the website.

One tip - always book directly with the hotel as for some reason it is considerably cheaper than using the usual third-party internet sites. Enjoy!

The Holiday Zone

Welcome to The Holiday Zone, a brand new weblog which will feature news, reviews and information from holiday destinations both in the United Kingdom and around the world.

Help us to build this blog by paying us a regular visit, as well as sending us any information of your own that you would like to see featured.