I took my family to ‘rough and ready’ holiday park with bad reviews and it was surprising

With May half term nearly upon us and summer just around the corner, thoughts naturally turn to holiday planning at this time of year. Many families will be looking at cheaper alternatives to a trip abroad this year to try and keep costs down.

Holiday parks can be a good option if you’re sticking to a budget. Usually providing leisure on-site leisure facilities, play areas and entertainment; they’re great if you have little ones who need to be occupied.

However, sometimes you can’t be sure of what you’ll find there, especially if the price is too good to be true. It’s always wise to read reviews before you go so you can decide if it's right for you.

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While looking for a cheap, last minute getaway, our colleague Caroline Hemmingham at YorkshireLive decided to visit the Sand le Mere holiday park at Tunstall, near Withernsea on the Yorkshire coast, despite the site receiving several poor reviews online. Here’s what she found out.

I’d been put off by some of the bad reviews of the site before so had never considered staying there, but when I put our details into the site website last week, and saw the quote for three nights in a 'gold' standard caravan was just £129 I thought this was definitely worth another look. 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.

Even looking this time, some of the recent Tripadvisor reviews for Sand le Mere were, once again, pretty awful. One reviewer who stayed in April wrote: "Rough and ready... Child services needed." And it went on to describe how, on arrival, the family was met