Wednesday 20 May 2015

Hocks Holidays - UK Seaside Resorts!


Hey Everyone, Welcome to this weeks post in this really popular series where we look into holidaying as a family of 4 with 2 adults and 2 children in August at destinations across the world!

So far we have covered +Center Parcs UK+Haven Holidays+Disneyland® Paris, and many more and each week the reaction is extremely positive. Remember we are on Facebook and on Twitter and please if you like these posts, follow us on our Google+ page

So Lets Get on with this weeks post. We are looking at Seaside Resorts across Britain. We will look at +Visit Bournemouth, Llandudno and Scarborough 

Lets Start With The South of England and Bournemouth. On the official Bournemouth Tourism Website it describes Bournemouth like this;

With seven miles of golden sands and sparkling sea, the vibrant cosmopolitan town of Bournemouth has it all – a vast variety of shops, restaurants and holiday accommodation, seafront hotels, quality B&Bs, a buzzing nightlife and endless countryside with beautiful award winning gardens and water sports galore.






If you can book your stay so you are in Bournemouth between the 20th and 23rd August you will be fortunate enough to be there during the Bournemouth Air Festival


You can find out whats on and what times etc by visiting the Bournemouth Air Website

So where can you stay, well we have decided to show you the Number 1 Hotel rated by Visitors to the +TripAdvisor page.

The Number 1 Hotel in Bournemouth on Trip Advisor is The 4* Best Western Connaught Hotel 

The Connaught is a Best Western Plus Hotel and this is how it is described on the Best Western Website;

This award winning Bournemouth hotel and Spa puts the 'treat' into retreat! BEST WESTERN PLUS The Connaught Hotel has everything you might need for a relaxing stay: from 1850 architecture and traditional service values to 54 beautiful en-suite bedrooms with mod-cons galore. For your fill of fitness and relaxation, the leisure club with an 18 meters indoor pool, spa pool, magnificent steam room, stunning sauna, massage therapy room and two gymnasiums will take care of your every need. Centrally located on Bournemouth's West Cliff, this AA 4 Star Hotel is less than 500 meters to the town centre, the BIC, Pavilion and Bournemouth Pier. Whatever you want to see beside the seaside, you'll have ample opportunity to explore and escape! Our new terrace garden is a wonderful venue for special occasions, while the Rosette awarded restaurant, Blakes, serves up direct access to the new terrace for al fresco dining. Nick Rutigliano, our Maitre d' and our Head Chef, David Hutcheson, are here to guarantee 'bon appetite', and came 'Highly Commended' in this year's BTA Awards in the "Best Large Hotel of The Year" and "Best Restaurant" categories. We were also awarded a Silver Shield by Green Tourism for Business! Enjoy your stay.





The Connaught as mentioned is rated Number 1 on TripAdvisor for hotels in Bournemouth. As of Today (20/05/2015) it has had 1838 reviews. 1221 of these were Excellent, 432 Very Good, 121 Average, 42 Poor and 22 Terrible. Of these 1838 reviews 263 were from families and they rated the hotel as 187 Excellent, 57 Very Good, 12 Average, 5 Poor and 2 Terrible.

To search for room types and to check availability at this hotel, please visit their website - www.theconnaught.co.uk

Next we will go further up and further East in England and look into Scarborough. On the Visit Scarborough website it is described like this:

As a holiday destination, Scarborough really does have it all; dramatic cliffs and castle headland, award-winning  beaches, historic harbour, great family attractions, booming town centre, huge choice of accommodation and a warm Yorkshire welcome to match. Scarborough's proximity to Dalby: Yorkshire's Great Forest, The North York Moors National Park, the Wolds and the dramatic scenery of the Yorkshire Coast makes Scarborough a perfect base from which to explore this most diverse region of Britain.





Throughout June, July and August Scarborough is home to Europe's largest open air theater. It seats an impressive 6500 people. In August 2015 the following acts will perform there

August 1st - Legends of Pop - The 80's
 August 14th - UB40 Reunited
August 29th - Blue and Atomic Kitten
August 30th - Scouting for Girls, Only the Young and the Hossiers



To find out more and to book tickets to one of these shows, please visit the Scarborough Open Theater website - www.scarboroughopenairtheatre.com

The Number 1 rated Hotel on TripAdvisor in Scarborough is the 3* Wrea Head Hall. 

It is described in the following way on Google;

  1. Nestled by trees and acres of grass on the edge of North York Moors National Park, this Gothic-style mansion is 3.6 miles from the Stephen Joseph Theatre and 4 miles from The Rotunda Museum. 

    The rooms are individually appointed and range in decor from elegant to traditional. All have en suite bathrooms--most with showers and tubs--, sitting areas and free WiFi. Some have in-room, claw-foot tubs.

    Amenities include stained-glass windows, custom artwork and a fireplace all in the main hall, a modern lounge with stocked bar and a book library. The elegant, fine-dining restaurant serves modern British cuisine.




On Trip Advisor the Wrea Head Hall Hotel, as of today (20/05/15) has had 1376 Reviews, of which, 1018 Are Excellent, 258 Very Good, 66 Average, 23 Poor and 11 Terrible. 141 of the 1376 Reviews were from Families and they rated it as 120 Excellent, 14 Very Good, 5 Average, 1 Poor and 1 Terrible.

To search the different rooms and facilities available at this hotel and to check availability please visit the Wrea Head Hall Hotel website - www.wreaheadhall.co.uk

Last but definitely not least in this tour of seaside resorts we are heading to Wales and Llandudno

This is how it is described on the Official Tourism Website for Llandudno

  In a Nutshell, Bill Bryson's favorite Seaside Resort! Who could possibly argue with that while strolling along Llandudno’s elegant promenade past pastel-colouredHOTELS and impeccably authentic seafront architecture just like Victorians did? All that’s needed to complete the picture is a frilly parasol (for the ladies) and straw boater (for the gentlemen).
Llandudno’s appearance is down to the fact that, unlike most other resorts, it has remained largely unchanged for over a century. There’s a pier (the longest in Wales) and Punch and Judy, donkey rides on the beach and canopied shopping streets just behind the prom. Put simply, the undisputed ‘Queen’ of the Welsh resorts retains its period dignity.
Llandudno’s sense of harmony extends to its geography. The main North Shore Beach is perfectly framed by two headlands, the Great Orme and Little Orme. Over the former – linked by a spectacular Marine Drivecarved into the sea-cliff, you’ll find a second beach, the West Shore. It was here that Alice Pleasance Liddell, who inspired ‘Alice in Wonderland’, holidayed as a child. Completed in 2014, the Alice Trail takes you to over 40 points of interest around the town. And now two exciting town trail apps have been launched; the White Rabbit and the Alice's Looking Glass.
The resort’s genteel appearance is deceptive. Llandudno is bursting at the seams with things to see and do. Take the San Franciscan-style tramway or alpine cable car to the summit of the Great Orme Country Park, soak up the dizzy views then disappear underground at the prehistoric copper mines.
Whizz down the Orme on the dry ski slope, the centre gives skiers, snowboarders and bladers, of all ages theCHANCE to practice, learn new skills, or start from scratch. And don't miss the Cresta run. At 750metres long it's the longest toboggan run in Wales!
Visit Llandudno Museum and MOSTYN, a cutting-edge art gallery, or play golf at classic championship courses. And when the lights go down Llandudno's theatre -  Venue Cymru comes into its own as a leading centre for theatre and entertainment of all kinds.







+Venue Cymru is a major attraction in Llandudno and hosts many many shows every single month. In August some of the highlights are Basil Brush on the 6th, The 50's and 60's Music Night on the 22nd and That'll be the Day on the 30th. 


To book tickets and see what else in on and when and see seating plans, please visit the Website 

The number 1 hotel in Llandudno on Trip Advisor is the 4* Lawton Court Hotel. This is how they describe themselves on their own website

Lawton Court is a Beautifully Restored Victorian Town House Lawton Court seafront location opposite the pier on Llandudno promenade makes it one of the best positioned Llandudno hotels.
Lawton Court Llandudno hotel is a small family run and family friendly hotel that prides itself on cleanliness and good service.



On Trip Advisor the Lawton Court Hotel, as of today (20/05/15) has had 314 Reviews, Of which, 312 are Excellent and 2 Very Good. No one has rated it as Average, Poor or Terrible. Of the 314 Reviews, 65 were from families and all of them rated it as Excellent. 

To Check out this hotel and to book it visit its website at www.lawtoncourt.co.uk 

So that is our short tour of Seaside Resorts, We hope you have enjoyed it and it has maybe encouraged you to involve yourself in a Staycation!