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.