As a lifelong East Midlander, Skegness is a place that conjures many good and bad memories. As I've grown up and, if we're being totally honest, earned a bit more money, I've been able to spread my wings a little further than the Lincolnshire coast, enjoying caravan holidays across Europe courtesy of those lovely people at Eurocamp.
Despite that, I'll never turn down the opportunity to return to the land of donkeys, ice creams and deep-fried everything so when Haven asked if anyone in the Nottinghamshire Live team fancied testing their newly acquired and refurbished park in the centre of Skeggy I was delighted to be the first name out of the virtual hat. Skeg is frequently named the worst seaside town in the country, with it's "dirty streets" and "brown sea" earning special mention but the reality is very different.
If you set your expectations at the appropriate level then Skegness is a marvellous place to visit, especially if you have young families. And Haven has undoubtedly upped its game of late, so I was genuinely excited about heading across Lincolnshire to test things out.
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The park, formerly known as Richmond Holiday Village, has had an £11million refurbishment since Haven took over and after checking in (a process that took seconds and didn't require me to leave my car, thanks to the ace reception staff and the simple app) we got our hands on a pedal kart to see how far that went. Short answer, a long way.
The site has had the full Haven treatment, with an outdoor stage, fake grass and fast-food restaurants galore. Inside, the arcade is just like the one down the road at Golden Sands in Mablethorpe and the Richmond Arms restaurant is comfortable and serves decent food that doesn't cost the earth.
The crowning glory though is the Marina Bar and Stage, a lovingly put-together entertainment complex that is a great place to spend the evening. Its decor is perfectly themed for Skeggy, there are stacks of seats and thanks to the Haven Serve app ordering a drink or food couldn't be easier.
We spent two out of our three nights watching live music at the venue, which was pitched perfectly for the audience of young families. Watching my seven-year-old full-on head-banging to The Cranberries was a surreal experience, but that was as heavy as it got, with bands on both nights performing chart-friendly hits in a polished way.
For many, the entertainment will be crucially important to a good break and Haven has made a real effort here, with blue-coated staff dancing with the kids who wanted to show off their moves on the dancefloor. I couldn't criticise any of it.
Away from the bars once my alcoholic haze had lifted I enlisted my guinea pigs (two kids, aged 10 and seven) to test out a couple of activities. They didn't need much convincing, getting stuck into NERF wars and kayaking and having a great time despite summer 2023 bringing a now rather predictable mix of sunshine and torrential rain.
The overriding theme of both activities was the brilliant way they were managed by the young staff who were caring, fun and took no nonsense (the lad who ran the NERF wars marked kids down for moaning, which I very much enjoyed). They genuinely looked like they were enjoying the kayaking as much as my kids too, which is saying a lot because they had a great time.
Haven has clearly recruited well because every staff member I interacted with genuinely cared and wanted to help and, as a veteran of many caravan holidays, this is not normal. It makes such a difference because the park itself still has a little way to go to be where you would assume Haven wants it to be.
The pool, whilst big, warm, clean and really interesting looking from the inside, has clearly been on the park for a while and has a fair amount of scaffolding surrounding it. It's still great fun though for older kids, but for younger kids that shallow end gets awfully busy.
And the playground is pretty basic by Haven's high standards and you would assume that is where park bosses will be next spending some cash. It's absolutely worth the investment though because this park is already a great place to visit.
The biggest bonus though for a caravan park in Skegness is that it took us just 20 minutes to walk into the centre of town. When you want to give the car a break and burn off that second bag of doughnuts this is a real bonus.
Compared to Golden Sand, the monster Haven site up the road in Mablethorpe, Skegness Holiday Park is smack bang in the centre of the action and if you want to visit Skeg-Vegas in all its glory I would say it's the perfect place to stay. It's also a decent size, not overwhelmingly huge, but not tiny either.
Each caravan is of course different but our Silver caravan was brilliantly appointed with a dishwasher, washing machine and en-suite shower. My wife also says that the hairdryer had a nozzle, which apparently is very important for an accurate blow-dry.
It doesn't cost the earth either. If you wanted a long weekend in a Saver Caravan between September 8-11 it will cost you a frankly ridiculously low £209 which includes access to everything. If you don't want access to pools, activities and entertainment venues you can get it for just £169.
That's £169 for four people for three nights which, given the quality of the site and the money that's been spent is, for my mind, a very very good deal. Later in the month, you can get it for £130.
To price up your own stay at Skegness Holiday Park click here.
