Why the snobs are wrong about caravan park holidays

Utter the words “caravan park”, and you can guarantee a few turned-up noses in response. For some, the mental picture of a caravan park holiday is rows of identical static caravans, children tearing around causing chaos, and evenings out playing bingo at the clubhouse with a warm white wine in hand.

But caravan holidays are far from slumming it, as Coleen Rooney revealed last week on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Rooney has enjoyed holidays to Dubai and Paris with her family in recent years, but also to Butlin’s in Skegness. Rooney said that her eldest son Kai had declared their Butlin’s break “the best holiday I’ve ever been on”. She went on to say that she and husband (the ex-footballer and head coach of Plymouth Argyle) Wayne Rooney enjoy a caravan holiday in Wales “a couple of times a year”. Fellow contestant, and Coronation Street star, Alan Halsall shared that he had also been on a caravan holiday before flying to the jungle.

Campervans and luxury motorhomes have long been the preserve of the rich and famous – Jamie and Jools Oliver have been known to travel in a 1959 split-screen Samba campervan, while Carol Vorderman is the proud owner of a MAN TGE van and former professional tennis player Annabel Croft has converted a white van into her own home on wheels.

You only have to look at some of the accommodation that pitches up at Glastonbury to see that a lot of money gets spent on campervans these days, but can static caravans be quite so cool?

Apparently so. In 2023, reality television star Gemma Collins was spotted swapping a five-star holiday for a static caravan in Clacton, while earlier this year Stacey Solomon hit back at mum-shamers who appeared to criticise her choice of a static caravan at Haven Kent Coast in Allhallows for a family holiday, saying: “There must be some kind of stigma around holiday parks because so many of you messaged saying you couldn’t believe that’s where we’d chosen to go!”

For some, caravan parks offer a heady dose of nostalgia. George Elsmere, 34, from Birmingham, fondly remembers a caravan park in Borth, Wales, being the perfect spot for an extended family holiday. “We’d descend on the caravan park with an absolute army of aunts, great aunts and cousins, and it was a great way to have such a big family holiday,” she said. “I have fond memories of being six [years old] and being allowed to roam about with my big cousins. We’d go from caravan to caravan and get given treats by all the aunts. As a kid, it was a safe way to feel like we had some freedom (with plenty of grown-ups [around] to keep an eye on us, whether we noticed or not).

“The older kids looked after the younger ones, and taught us important skills like tree-climbing and digging holes on the beach. The best part for me was getting to see all my cousins, who lived too far away for us to see much of otherwise. I can’t think where else you could have 20 or 30 people go on holiday together every year without it costing thousands, other than a good old caravan park!”

The value offered by caravan park holidays is arguably more important than ever. Despite being a long-term lover of camping, I had often steered clear of caravan parks which somehow felt a bit low-rent compared with the more intrepid idea of pitching a tent, and nowhere near as cool as a campervan holiday.

But when a friend suggested we spend a weekend in Sandbanks – known as a millionaire’s playground – made affordable by staying in her aunt’s static caravan, I decided to give it a go.

As we drove in, dozens of identikit boxes, seemingly lacking in personality or charm, sat row after row, separated from each other by just a few feet. But once inside our new home for the weekend, I felt I could have been in a holiday cottage anywhere; it had spacious rooms and plenty of creature comforts.

By day, my friend and I enjoyed mooching along the nearby beach and sipping cocktails in a bar overlooking the sea, and at night we went to the caravan park clubhouse, which felt no different to the bar in an all-inclusive hotel – only not abroad, and without the hotel prices.

Another caravan park jaunt with a boyfriend later on saw us stay a stone’s throw from Perranporth, one of Cornwall’s most popular beaches, giving us access to surf rentals, plenty of nice restaurants to choose from and a quiet place to sit outside to enjoy a glass of wine at night – all at the fraction of the cost of a Cornish hotel.

For Jo Brigdale, 39, from Halesowen, West Midlands, budget is one of the main reasons she and her family choose to holiday in a caravan park at Brean, Somerset. With plenty of activities for her children to enjoy, such as swimming and even a small theme park, these holidays rarely disappoint: “The caravan is charming and roomy and even has an air fryer. It sleeps up to eight people, allowing us to bring my dad along to help care for the children and the dog. The site has a shop, several takeaway restaurants, a play area and the beach is just across the road.”

The price tag argument is clear to see, but perhaps the celebrity endorsement is a reminder that caravan holidays don’t have to be a climb-down from holiday quality. Butlin’s has reported an 83 per cent sales surge since Coleen made her case for the caravan public, along with a 20 per cent increase in web traffic.

According to Ben Myatt, show manager at the Caravan, Motorhome & Holiday Show, it’s possible to caravan like a celeb with just a few tweaks. His recommendations include planning celebrity-style activities, from glamping picnics or spa treatments on site or at a nearby luxury hotel. Another option is to upgrade the interior of your caravan.

“Choose a vehicle with luxurious interiors, high-end kitchen and leather seating, and add cosy blankets to create an expensive, hotel-like vibe,” Myatt suggests, along with getting in all the best supplies, from fine wines and champagne to beauty products. A final tip is to ensure the exterior feels high-end: “Choose a park with alfresco dining areas, barbecues and, if possible, why not add an awning [to your caravan] for your own personal outside space.”

As someone who’s embraced camping over luxury long-haul trips for quite some time, it’s heartening to hear celebrities like Coleen embracing a good old fashioned caravan park holiday. Because if we ever needed a reminder that holidays aren’t always about five-star luxury and sky-high price tags, then this is it.

Five of the best luxe UK caravan parks to try

• Waterside Holiday Group offers lodges at Bowleaze Cove in Weymouth and Tregoad in Looe. Prices start at £356 per week.

• Lovat Parks offer static caravans – which they refer to as holiday homes – in Cornwall, Norfolk and the New Forest. Prices start at £650 per week.

• Arrow Bank, North Herefordshire. This five-star site is a static caravan and touring site with private on-site fishing and riverside walks.

• Seafield Park, Northumberland. This luxury caravan holiday site boasts facilities including a 20m (66ft) indoor swimming pool and children’s pool, sauna, steam room and spa pool, fully equipped gym, fitness studio, health and beauty suite and licensed, dog friendly coffee shop. Prices start from £775 per week.

• Pentewan Sands Holiday Park, Cornwall. This five-star holiday park has a privately-owned beach, two indoor swimming pools, family facilities and a range of holiday accommodation, including well-equipped holiday homes, some with sea views and others set within secluded woodland. Prices start from £598.50 per week.