Holiday Village/caravan sites - Made me feel a bit sad

[Girlwhowearsglasses]

Have just come back from one of the many many Holiday Village type camp sites in the UK. This one is very well kept, and cost as much to stay in a double glazed mobile home as a cottage on the beach would have (I have since discovered). It was located in one of the truly beautiful parts of the UK. In other words not at all unusual, and very similar to lots of others..

I have come away feeling a bit sad; and also that I'm a bit of a snob. I just don't get it.

Basically even though there were beaches and stunning landscape, great pubs and cafes and restaurants serving great food, lots of local stuff to see and lots of other attractions; a large portion of the people there spent most of their time in the camp. Aside from the crazy golf, playground, swimming pool etc, quite a lot if this time seemed to be spent drinking and gambling. The children also seemed to be spending a lot of time trailing their parents watching them drinking or playing bingo, and there was a large children's amusement arcade with a lot of expensive games which as far as I could see were training the kids to gamble. My DP took the DCs in once and they were hooked instantly and begged to go in there all holiday.. There was one 8 YO boy there who had around 70 cards from a machine which cost £1 per card (sort of collectable cards with a game involved) - he'd spent his entire time in there. The food and drink in the camp was at least as expensive as to buy much better nearby.

The mobile home was clean, but cramped and uncomfortable (beds always terrible in Mobile homes). We spent our time doing all sorts of things off site, and didn't end up doing a lot of the the stuff on offer in the camp - all of which cost £££ extra (climbing wall etc). Honestly we could have spent so much money in the camp - its not a cheap option at all.

We could have stayed in a really nice self catering and had some really fancy meals out for the same price.

AIBU not to get the point and wonder why they come to such a beautiful place and don't look at it?

YABU amd sounds like you booked the wrong kind of holiday for you. On some holidays, I feel like walking around and see as many things as I can. But other times I'm so exhausted all I want is to unwind and relax and forget about work, mortgage, or having to plan anything. I'm an adult and do whatever I want. It's none of your business really.
Also, when I was a kid I really didn't appreciate all the museums or whatever place my parents dragged me to. The best holidays were the ones where I could just run around and play with other kids.

Awwww OP, i feel sad for you really. Imagine spending all that money on a holiday and just not feeling you could lower yourself to join in.

We go on caravan holidays, i agree that you could go to a naice cottage in a naice village but there is no entertainment five minutes walk from your caravan and there are no 2p machines.

2p machines are great fun - in small doses, dd loves them and so do i. I don't get obsessed with them, oh no no no! Its all small change and never spend more than a couple of pounds.

There's a swimming pool too.

As for the entertainment, well its bloody grim isn't it, its so naftastic its wonderful - we used to go along to the children's club (sneak our own drinks in because i like beer not over priced knats piss) let DD do a spot of agadoo and the birdy song and head back to the caravan. One night we stayed to watch the ABBA girls, again so bad it was good but DD (six at the time) got all emotional becuase she thought she saw the real ABBA

Did you enjoy looking down on the plebs?

I've done the holiday cottage and i much prefer it personally, but with a much older DD who was happy just to go on walks etc and not have a bit of entertainment too.

We like to have the beach, we tend to spend one day or maybe two if its especially hot on the beach next to the site, other than that we get out and explore.

Save your pity for those sat there with a face like a cats arse wishing they were at centre parks having bumsex.

Because the car is miles away from the lodge and we were too lazy to walk!

I feel the same as you OP - I don't have children but often frequent camp sites and find it sad that more children aren't running around and are cooped up in the arcades. The amount of money they must spend is horrendous. I maybe over think it as I used to live with a gambler who never had any money to go anywhere, but would think nothing of throwing £50 after a dog chasing a bit of fur.

However, when I go abroad I like to stay at the pool and the furthest I'll wander is the beach which will be on our doorstep, or into the local town of an evening. This would be a lot of people's idea of hell, but I like it.

Love those kinds of holidays.

We are chavving it tomorrow in Blackpool for a couple of days and I intend to spend lots of saved up cash in the arcades.

We had a static caravan holiday home for years we only got rid a fe years ago we were near the beach and the park and the dds got a few £s for the machines every other day its fun maybe not your idea of fun but dont head tilt and feel sad for people on holiday

We are away next week to a caravan site next week its not really a young kids site but it has mini golf a club and we cant wait its right by the beach ill be taking my dds to the seaside and no doubt wander into an arcade

Oh to many next weeks

I have been to centerparcs and would not occur to me to go offsite - the point of paying the premium is to do the activities there. I could not manage more than a long weekend of this though! When I have visited the lake district (or similar) with the purpose of exploring and enjoying the area I have stayed in cottages (or a hotel once) - Center parcs would be the last place I would choose to stay.

I imagine the people on your site were the same - ie they chose to stay there because of the facilities not the local area.

I think Center Parcs is a totally different holiday from the one you describe. We usually go for a few days each year, mainly at Christmas time for the Winter Wonderland thing!

We swim, cycle or play on the beach or adventure playground nearly all day (admittedly we've always been lucky with the weather). We do nature trails and watch birds of prey. We usually self-cater, although we have the odd meal out, and it's been okay - nothing great.

We did go ten pin bowling once, and that was slightly grim, but generally I'm quite a fan of centre parks for a short break.

I booked because I thought it would be good as the kids would have loads to do to keep them occupied. As I said none of it could done without supervision so that bit didn't work out for us. Don't get me wrong - we had a good time.

I was up for taking them to the disco and evenings in the bar with kids running about. that was my childhood. The entertainment was secondary to the bingo. In my day the disco and naff entertainment were all great fun and I loved it- I'm really not being snob at about that bit

It's nothing to do with plebs - you'd have to have some money to go there and to spend there. Most of them spent more than us I think.

What in gettin at is that its not 2p anymore. It felt much much more organised to get money out of you than that. We're talking £1 for every game, and much more gambling games than video games in there. There was so much pestering of parents for one more go on the addictive games. There were these ticket machines that you fed £1 after £1 into and then exchanged them for a 'prize' at the kiosk- basically a pencil or something- kids spending tens of pounds on this.

2p machines it was not.

We are lucky enough to have a few breaks per year.

We do a mixture of different types of holidays and get different things from each type. But whatever we do, we vary the activities as I too, would get bored with the sameness of things.

The kids like 2p arcades and so do i but I wouldn't like that to be the focus of our holiday. I like a spot of sunbathing and swimming but I couldn't do that for a whole holiday either. I like self catering but with some meals out. All inclusive would be my idea of hell, but I wouldn't like to cook every meal either. I'd hate every night stuck in a bar but I do like to visit some nights.

So I think yanbu as we like adventure and different experiences as you seem to, but as some people like to do solely both of those extremes, it seems we are bu. but they are missing out loads by being so narrow minded

I think YABabitU. It really is very individual how people spend their holidays.

We went to a holiday village type place one year, the caravan was gorgeous. Beds small though. It was expensive and yes we would normally opt for cottage accommodation but it was a last minute thing and there was something very appealing about it.

I honestly didn't see much of the picture you describe. Most people like us did things off site I'm sure. We stayed where we did to visit cheddar gorge and wookey hole so only spent the evenings on site.

Don't do arcades though, I detest them. I used to play when I was a kid and I still remember how addictive they were. My dses have never played any arcade machine and have never wanted to.

Live and let live. I'm very grateful people enjoy different types of holidays. We enjoy the relative peace of walking holidays, it wouldn't be quite so idyllic if everyone did the same.

How do you know the same families spent all their time in there, were you tailing them?

We use caravan parks and they are so busy I neither know nor care who is on the gamblers!

Honestly, why bother getting all faux sad about other peoples holidays? It's such a waste of time. Some kids don't even get holidays.

I get where you're coming from, we have done Haven sites the last couple of years and we were disappointed by the onsite facilities due to things like not enough tables in the food court and no staff clearing up so they were always dirty, the swimming pool changing rooms were also dirty and the pool freezing and the caravan itself wasn't up to the standard the website had made out the second time we went. We're trying a self catering cottage this year to see how we get on.

Each to their own.

We have a variety of holidays. Some we are out and about all the time; others less so.

Just on way home from a holiday park staying in a lodge. We did leave the park. We walked on the beach each day into the old town etc. Not far really - about 5 mile round trips I guess. But out for a bit and then time in the park. The children liked to go in the indoor and outdoor pools, hire the go carts, play ping pong, etc. and in the evening we used their entertainment - listened to singers/cabaret, youngest did the party dances and games. And yes the children spent a pound or so on the 2p slots and even had a game of kids bingo. And we did the quiz night. We didn't queue or anything but we did sit and use their bars and eateries. We enjoyed not needing to use the car.

We've also been to Centre Parcs but no we didn't leave the resort. We spent the days relaxing, swimming and cycling. But we don't go to CP to visit an area; we go to do the swimming and cycling relaxing type thing.

And then other holidays involve visiting places - cities, museums and other tourist places, theme parks, zoos, days out type places.

It depends what you want out of different type of holidays. We are fortunate to enjoy more than one type of holiday each year so sometimes we just want a few days relaxing as a family without needing to drive and sight see.

My boys would love the kind of holiday where they could play on the park/go to the amusements :)
I'm one of those people who likes the British seaside holiday thing (I used to live in a seaside town - a proper old fashioned one, not a new poncey one) it's what you like yourself isn't it, not what everyone else wants. Mind you I don't play bingo etc but I do get the whole funfair, rock and chips thing. I don't expect everyone to be the same

Everyone likes different things.

I've been to those sort of sites and just use them as a base to explore the surrounding area before coming back to let the kids enjoy the facilities ( including the 2p machines which they absolutely love!)

I have friends who spend £5k on an all inclusive week in Spain and do nothing but sit by the pool. Doesn't appeal to me at all but they love it and find it enjoyable and relaxing which is all anyone wants from a holiday really.

They think we are mad to love camping in a field and for going on European city breaks where we drag the kids around site seeing. We don't book a holiday anywhere without having a list of interesting places to visit while we are there. That's what we find enjoyable and relaxing.

Hmm..... There's really no reason for you to feel sad at the sight of other people enjoying themselves on a holiday theyve chosen as being most suitable for them.

We actually stayed at a Haven when DS was a baby. It was a mistake - I didn't research anywhere else, just assumed that because it was a chalet it would be cheaper than a cottage and as he was too young to use most of the facilities we would just use it as a base. We came home early (a big gripe about the chalet, but that's another thread) and I investigated the price of a 1-bed cottage but the sea and could have kicked myself. It would have been so much better for our needs.

But the site was perfect for other people's needs and that was the main thing. We just discovered that it wasn't for us, that's all. All the holidays we've had since have been cottages, some on a farm complex with pool,others just on their own. We have stayed in a small independent caravan site a couple of times - small cafe, play area, pool, lake and really enjoyed that for a few days but I wouldn't ever go back to one of the hAven/Butlins type places. I think they just cost too much money for what they are.

We also seem to like being more independent and getting out and about. We have only ever self-catered abroad as don't like being tied to particular meal times/places to eat or having to share our space with lots of other people. We also hire a car as expensive coach trips where you have to get up at the crack of dawn to pick up from 7 different hotels, only to spend half the day at factories trying to flog you stuff, aren't for us.

We like doing bbqs when WE feel like it, exploring foreign supermarkets and trying strange food, drinking plenty of cheap as local plonk instead of spending loads of money and time at the bar, wandering around in our swimming stuff till 9pm if we want to, being able to go and have a poo in my bathroom after breakfast rather than wait for the maid to get out etc etc. Oh yes, choosing a flight at a reasonable time of day rathe than when the tour operator says, that's another one. We haven't got the sort of budget for a half-board/all-Incluisve place which would have the space and type of food facilities that I'd want, so on balance we choose self-catering.

BUT I can understand how some people are more than happy staying onsite at those hotels and campsites, as that's what they like. I don't feel sad that THEY like it while I dont. I feel happy that they get the holiday they wanted. I just won't be choosing somewhere like that, and my kids aren't bothered by them either, so everyone's happy.

If you pay a lot of money to go to a particular site with loads of facilities then surely you want to get your money's worth and use the facilities.

I would never choose anywhere like that because DH and I don't like that type of entertainment and hate staying in a caravan.

We stay in large self catering cottages with either a pool, hot tub or both. In- laws all think we are mad for not going somewhere all inclusive. I think they are mad for cramming into tiny rooms. It's different strokes for different folks.

That's what people do on holiday camps! That's what they go there for and have done since they were invented in the middle of the last century. Nothing changes, I suppose they think they've paid enough to go there they might as well make use of the facilities.

Meh. Typical MN snobbery.

The chavs stay at Haven and sit in the bar all day whilst their kids run riots in the arcades and watch the character shows.

Mumsnetters hire National Trust cottages and spend their days crabbing in rock pools with their kids and visiting museums.

And "gambling" really?! They were playing bingo ffs! And probably for a crappy little prize and not for money, as is usually the case in these places?You make it sounds like they were betting on the horses and playing poker.

You sound incredibly sheltered and dare I say a little bit stuck up OP. All you saw was a snap shot into thse people's lives.

We used to go these places as a child and I have such fond memories off them. We're not chavs.

We've just come back from a week in our extremely comfortable static caravan. DD and I had a fantastic time. She played all day with the other kids on site and every night we would take a walk to the arcades and spend a tenner or so on the 2p falls. We've ended up with a box full of tat that she is overjoyed with and has spread all over the floor playing with (lots of Minecraft figures, nodding dogs, key rings and meooo's), and 4000+ tickets that she'll be eventually cash in for some more tat (last year she saved up for a chocolate fountain, lava lamp and fake fish tank).

I'm relaxed, she's knackered and we'll do it all again at Whitsun. What's not to like?

YABU to say that watching people on holiday enjoying the holiday they wanted to have made you sad.

Sad?. What happens to you when genuinely upsetting things happen?.