A mum from Hull with two young children took a gamble by taking her family to a “rough and ready’” Yorkshire holiday park which had terrible reviews, yet to her surprise was “instantly” impressed when she arrived at the getaway. Caroline Hemmingham, Audience Editor of Hull Live, was eager to take a break for a weekend escape and stumbled across Sand Le Mere holiday park on the internet, which is a park located in Tunstall, Yorkshire, and overlooks Tunstall beach.
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It was the cheap price and close location that caught the eye of the mother, as three nights in a gold standard caravan were priced at £129. Upon weighing the ratio of good to bad reviews, Ms Hemmingham found 150 were “excellent” and 36 were “terrible”.
The mum of two said: “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. On looking this time, some of the recent Tripadvisor reviews for Sand le Mere – which has an overall rating of four out of five – were, once again, pretty awful.”
One reviewer who stayed in April wrote: “Rough and ready … child services needed” and described how the family was met with crowds of drunk adults. They also described how “the amount of shouting and swearing was unbearable” and they saw “babies in the smoking shelter.”
Upon arrival, the family was “instantly impressed” with the site being picturesque with lakes, trees and grassy areas to relax by the rustic beach. Her young daughter and son played in the large outdoor play area and there was also an indoor pool, amusement arcade, and a large restaurant with outdoor seating. The good weather provided ample opportunities for other families to enjoy the outdoors too.
The mum confessed caravan holidaying felt “nostalgic” because she enjoyed them when she was a child.
The bad reviews the mum read of the holiday park were, however, at the forefront of her mind. Therefore, the mum kept mindful of “how noisy” her own children were being while they were playing.
A holiday is not complete without a musical lineup, and Sand le Mere holiday park provided plenty of entertainment. The line-up of music acts included Bucks Fizz and Katrina from Katrina and the Waves, which her family all enjoyed dancing to, particularly her young girl.
The mum’s only complaint was there was no public path that led down to Tunstall Beach because of the “crumbling cliff top”.
Taking a gamble with their holiday decision, overall the family described the stay as a “brilliant weekend away” which really felt like a holiday, even though it was so close to home, cutting out the stress of travelling far with two young children.
