WETHERSPOONS boozers and holiday parks are both staples of a British staycation – and what is better than the two combined?
Haven holiday parks are launching four new Wetherspoons at their parks this year and have even spoken about opening one at all 39 of its parks.
To test out the collaboration between the two brands, I headed to the Humber Stone at Haven Cleethorpes Beach.
I was sceptical about whether the bargain booze we all know and love at our local Spoons would be replicated at Haven, as it is often the case that you are paying a couple of quid extra per drink once you are in holiday mode.
But I thought £4 for a pint was good value for a caravan site bar, compared to about £5.50 at another holiday park just around the corner.
The huge veranda at the Humber Stone looks out over the playground and splash pad.
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And there are also loads of paid-for activities like crazy golf and the aerial adventure course in eyesight, for the kids to enjoy while the adults chill in the beer garden.
My top tip would be to get yourself a hot drink for £1.85 as there are free refills all day, which is a massive win for tired parents who need their caffeine hit to keep up with their kids full of holiday vibes.
The pub is next-door to the pool, which has a great outdoor section including a lazy river and a Space Bowl flume, so you do not have far to go if everyone is starving after their swim.
Haven Cleethorpes Beach used to be known as Thorpe Park, which caused some confusion with the theme park near London and could be considered the biggest Haven park in the country, if you go by the number of accommodation units available.
The sprawling site has its own golf course and fishing lakes – it’s so big that it spans a public road, with the main entertainment centre, activity village and pool on one side and a minimarket and craft studio on the other.
As well as caravans and lodges galore, there’s a campsite with toilet and shower block.
I love the location of this Haven site – it’s got access to Fitties Beach, which is a lovely spot with a more relaxed atmosphere than the beach in the town centre.
The open-top Seasider bus runs along the front into the town from the caravan park every half an hour at weekends and over the summer holidays, so you can easily pop along to check out the UK’s biggest chip shop on the pier.
There is the planet’s smallest pub too at Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway called The Signal Box Inn.
Or there’s even another Wetherspoons in the former Coliseum Picture House in the town centre with chandeliers, a Roman fresco and a rooftop terrace, making it quite a different feel from the modern venue at the Haven park.
A jacket potato with a soft drink there costs just £5, compared to £11.35 for the same at the Haven Spoons, so you might want to be a bit picky about what you order while you are at the caravan site.
For my family of five, we love the Premier Inn unlimited breakfast deal – with two kids eating free per paying adult, it costs us just £22 to get everyone fed and watered there of a morning.
At the Humber Stone, we’d be looking at paying that just for a cooked breakfast and hot drinks for the adults, before we’ve even factored in feeding our three growing boys.
Cleethorpes Premier Inn is just half an hour walk from the Haven and the kids eat free deal is open to all, whether you are staying at the hotel or not, so it might be worth taking a stroll to save yourself some cash if a big brekkie is a must on your staycay.
With Haven hoping to roll out more Wetherspoons at its sites around the country, no doubt this will not be the last Spoons I visit on our family breaks.
Our favourite park at Hopton in Norfolk has just launched its own branch called the White Clover, so we will give that a go next time we are there.
And we are off to Haven Kent Coast later this month, where the London Stone Spoons has just opened.
If you are heading to a Haven with a Spoons this summer, you can use the Wetherspoons website to check out the menu – it is good to know before you go what is a bargain and what might break the bank.
For me, pints are a yes, potatoes are a no.
Even at a Spoons, you need to be a bit savvy with your staycay spends, it seems!