A NORFOLK COASTAL CLASSIC

Blending tradition, variety, and year-round family-run excellence on the Hunstanton coast...

 

Located on the beautiful North West Norfolk coastline in Hunstanton, Searles Leisure Resort is one of the region’s most established and well-loved family-run holiday parks.
Known for its welcoming atmosphere, wide range of accommodation, and strong sense of tradition, the resort continues to attract families, couples, and holiday home owners seeking a classic British seaside escape with modern comforts.
Set against the backdrop of Norfolk’s sweeping coastline and famously sunny microclimate, Searles offers a complete holiday experience where guests can relax, explore, and enjoy a wide variety of on-site facilities and activities.

 

A TRUE FAMILY-RUN COASTAL RESORT
At the heart of Searles is its identity as a long-standing family business. This heritage is evident throughout the park, from the warm welcome guests receive on arrival to the ongoing focus on quality, care, and consistency across all areas of the resort.
The park is also a significant local employer, with up to 250 staff members working across the site depending on seasonal demand. This workforce plays a vital role in maintaining the resort’s high standards across accommodation, entertainment, dining, maintenance, and guest services.
This strong team structure ensures that whether guests are staying for a weekend break or a longer summer holiday, they benefit from a seamless and well-supported experience.

SEARLES LEISURE RESORT offers a traditional seaside escape on the North West Norfolk coast.

A WIDE RANGE OF ACCOMMODATION OPTIONS
Searles Leisure Resort offers one of the most diverse accommodation selections in the region, catering to a wide variety of holiday preferences and budgets. The resort features 153 holiday hire units, including well-appointed lodges and comfortable holiday homes designed to provide a home-from-home experience close to the sea.
For guests seeking a more flexible or traditional outdoor stay, Searles also offers dedicated touring and camping facilities, including pitches for tents and tourers. These areas are popular with returning visitors who enjoy the freedom of outdoor holidays combined with access to resort amenities. In addition, the resort provides camping pods, offering an elevated camping experience that bridges the gap between traditional camping and lodge-style comfort.
These are particularly popular with families and couples looking for something a little different while still enjoying the outdoor environment. This mix of accommodation types ensures that Searles appeals to a broad audience — from first-time campers to long-standing holiday homeowners.

A complete holiday experience where guests can relax, explore, and enjoy on-site activities.

LEISURE, ACTIVITIES AND ENTERTAINMENT
Searles Leisure Resort continues to enhance its guest experience with a wide and varied programme of activities designed to suit all ages and interests. Among the most popular recent additions are outdoor cinema experiences, which offer guests the chance to enjoy films under the stars in a relaxed and social setting.
This has quickly become a highlight of the seasonal entertainment calendar. Another standout activity is laser clay shooting, which adds a more adventurous and unique offering to the resort’s leisure programme. These experiences reflect Searles’ commitment to providing more than just accommodation, focusing instead on creating memorable and engaging holidays.
Alongside these, the resort continues to offer a full programme of family-friendly entertainment, ensuring there is always something happening on site throughout the season. Looking ahead, Searles is also developing a new range of safari-style bell tents, which will introduce a fresh glamping option to the park.
This addition reflects the growing popularity of experiential outdoor stays and will further diversify the resort’s already extensive accommodation offering.

SIDNEY THE SEALION AND HIS FRIENDS are always ready to make every guest smile, bringing fun, laughter, and unforgettable holiday memories at Searles!

A RESORT THAT CONTINUES TO EVOLVE
While Searles has a long and proud history as a traditional seaside holiday park, it continues to evolve in response to changing guest expectations.
Recent operational developments, including improved team facilities and enhanced infrastructure, have helped support a more efficient and guest-focused environment behind the scenes. With up to 250 staff working across the resort, this investment in people and systems plays an important role in maintaining the high standards for which Searles is known.
However, at its core, the resort remains focused on delivering enjoyable, high-quality holidays in a relaxed coastal setting — something it has done successfully for generations.

THE RESORT CONTINUES to invest in enhancing guest experiences across all areas of the park.

OWNERSHIP AND LONG-STAY APPEAL
In addition to short breaks and touring holidays, Searles is also a popular destination for holiday home ownership. The resort offers a dedicated ownership community, with a strong sense of belonging among owners who return year after year.
The introduction of a dedicated sales showground further enhances this offering, allowing prospective owners to explore available options in a more structured and accessible way.
This focus on ownership helps strengthen the resort’s long-term community feel and ensures a consistent base of returning guests who are deeply connected to the park.

DIVE INTO FUN at the swimming pool facilities, where guests can splash, relax, and make the most of every moment of their holiday.

THE NORFOLK COASTAL EXPERIENCE
One of Searles’ greatest strengths is its location. Hunstanton, often known as “Sunny Hunny,” is one of the East of England’s most popular seaside destinations, offering traditional charm, sandy beaches, and stunning sunsets over the Wash.
Guests staying at Searles benefit not only from the resort’s facilities but also from easy access to Norfolk’s wider attractions, including coastal walks, nature reserves, and nearby historic towns and villages.
This combination of resort-based amenities and regional exploration makes Searles a strong all-round holiday destination.

 

A LASTING COASTAL FAVOURITE
Searles Leisure Resort continues to stand out as one of Norfolk’s leading holiday parks thanks to its combination of scale, variety, and strong family values. Its ability to balance tradition with modern guest expectations ensures it remains relevant in a competitive and evolving holiday park market.
From its wide range of accommodation options and diverse activity programme to its strong sense of community and coastal location, Searles offers a complete holiday experience that appeals across generations.
As it continues to evolve, one thing remains unchanged — its commitment to delivering memorable seaside holidays in one of the UK’s most iconic coastal settings.

Searles Leisure Resort
01485 534211
www.searles.co.uk

A WIDE RANGE of accommodation ensures Searles caters for families, couples, and returning owners alike.

Best in Britain

Best in Britain

Best In Britain

ABOVE: Norfolk's Searles Leisure Resort has been crowned the UK's champion holiday provider.

Judges in the annual AA holiday awards have told the family owners of North Norfolk's Searles Leisure Resort they are the UK's champion holiday providers. Awards given by the AA – based on guest reviews and a ‘secret shopper’ visit by inspectors - are regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the holiday parks industry. The park fi rst began welcoming campers over 60 years ago onto what was then a farm, and it has since grown to become one of Eastern England's largest and best-loved holiday centres.

PITCH PERFECT
best in britain image 6Searles' provides more than 800 holiday home and touring pitches, including luxury lodges to buy and rent, plus a raft of family-friendly attractions and outdoor activities. Attractions at Searles include an innovative new indoor ‘splash zone’ with a host of different water play features, a new outdoor gym, and an adventure play park plus nightly entertainment.The citation from the AA's award judges noted that Searles: “Never stands still, and every year offers something new to delight visitors seeking a truly memorable and high quality experience. "The park's success and popularity is thanks to the vision, passion and hard work of four generations of the Searle family, and their quest for ever-rising standards,” they continued.

 

STAFF PRIDE

best in britain image 4

Paul Searle says staff played a big part in securing the win.

"All the resort's facilities are spotlessly clean, and there is a general feeling of pride from the friendly and hard-working staff. Searles is a very worthy winner," the judges concluded. Searles is also a highly-regarded local employer with around 200 staff, and provides valuable training and skills development opportunities especially to younger workers. Speaking on behalf of the family, managing director Paul

Searle said that the AA award celebrates not just the park, but also the entire workforce: "Standards of customer service are an important criteria for these awards, so our team at Searles can take a major share of the credit for this achievement," he says. "So many of the reviews we receive from customers mention the great atmosphere here, and delivering this is very much in the hands of our park team. "We hope the publicity from this AA award will also benefit other local tourism businesses by putting the spotlight on north Norfolk as an amazing holiday destination," adds Paul. Earlier this year, the park was crowned as the region's perfect park destination in the holiday parks category of the Norfolk and Suffolk Tourism Awards 2018.

Searles Leisure Resort
Tel. 01485 534211
www.searles.co.uk

 

All About The Swag !

All About The Swag !

 

Amusement arcades offer fun for all the family

Amusement arcades offer fun for all the family

A visit to the amusement arcades has been a much-loved part of the Great British holiday for decades. Who can resist the pull of the retro coin pushers or the anticipation of the prize cranes? “Amusement machines add to the mix of attractions for customers at holiday parks,” says James Anderson, Sales and Commercial Director of BANDAI NAMCO Amusement Europe Ltd (BNAE). “There is a long history and heritage of coin-operated games at the coast and people playing them on holiday. “Parents are nostalgic about the fun they had as kids playing in arcades, whilst children love the chance to play the latest games and to win prizes on redemption machines,” he adds. “The amusement arcade at a holiday park is often one of the aspects most loved by children and it offers a chance for he whole family to play together.” According to Graham Bray, Marketing and Business Development Manager of Searles Leisure Group in Norfolk, the onsite arcade at Searles Leisure Resort in Hunstanton is perennially popular with guests, young and old.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY

“The Arcade is not the main reason for families to choose a holiday at Searles, but it certainly adds another family-friendly activity, especially when the weather is inclement,” says Graham. With around 90 machines, the arcade games are extremely lucrative for Searles and the vendor. Graham says: “The arcade is the number one income stream for any activity on the park. “It also helps to keep guests ‘on-park’ rather than visiting the other numerous arcades in the Hunstanton town and promenade area. The arcade offers hours and hours of entertainment on-site.” Whilst older visitors might be content to gamble their cash and accept losing as part of the fun, younger visitors are not so keen to walk away from arcades empty-handed. The industry trend for redemption games shows no signs of abating. As Graham says, “It’s all about the SWAG!” A spokesperson for Parkdean Resorts, which has over 70 holiday parks across the UK, say the most popular games at their parks are “cranes, pushers and redemption games. The company also ensures that its adult holidaymakers have a relevant offering via over 18  facilities within licenced Family Entertainment Centres (FECs).” Parkdean Resort’s arcades feature prominent redemption prize shops and enhancements are currently underway across some parks, which will see prize shops refurbished and extended. A spokesperson said, “New cranes, redemption pushers and other redemption equipment are being installed ahead of the 2018 season. There will also be new video pieces at some parks.”

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Show Time

Show Time

Show TimeHoliday park entertainment has significantly evolved from the first Redcoats of the 1930 and the Hi-De-Hi era of the Sixties. Operators of parks, large and small, still agree that getting the entertainment recipe right remains crucial to ensure happy, satisfied customers.

Celebrating their 75th year in 2018, Ladram Bay Holiday Park in Devon offers a packed family entertainment programme that would put any corporate chain to shame. “We do our best to make sure there’s plenty for families to enjoy all together,” explains Carla Newman, Marketing and Events Manager at Ladram Bay.

“As a family-run business, we know that spending quality time as a family is what really matters.” An entertainments team of five plus and an Entertainments Manager run all the daily entertainment at the park. This includes kids’ club sessions, activities and a full programme of family friendly entertainment from six until midnight in high season. Most evenings end with a spectacular team show.

AUTUMN AUDITIONS

As a former Entertainments Manager at Ladram Bay herself, Carla is well placed to explain how their entertainment ethos works. “We audition for team members in November and rehearsals start in January,” explains Carla. “We like to get our team in place early and design our shows around their skills. In this, our approach at Ladram Bay is very different to a corporate group.” Personalising the shows around the team is a positive step for both customers and staff. “We develop the programme together. All the team are involved in the creative process which helps everyone to perform at their best for our customers,” says Carla. Entertainments Manager Kelly works with an agency to source external acts such as bands, cabaret, singers and magicians that perform at the park every Saturday night and on Tuesdays in peak season.Show Time 2

The team at Ladram Bay work so closely with the Vern Allen Group that the park even hosts the agency’s Showcase event each November. Management teams from other parks often visit the Showcase to select their own acts for the new season. “We do get a good return on investment but it’s really not about the money,” says Anna. “It’s about creating an enjoyable experience for all of our guests. If we didn’t have this level of entertainment, Ladram Bay wouldn’t be the five star park we are today.” Searles in Norfolk, owned and managed by the same family for 83 years, boasts an entertainment programme created and managed by Entertainment Manager Anna Hallard of Resort Entertainments. She oversees an in-house entertainments team and is responsible for booking external acts. Through this connection, Searles also benefits from close links to the Princess Theatre in Hunstanton of which Anna’s father-in-law Brian Hallard and Paul and Andrew Searle are Directors.

To find out more about putting on a show, subscribe to Holiday Park Scene here.

Golfer’s Seal Of Approval

Golfer’s Seal Of Approval

Searles Leisure Resort in Norfolk is celebrating its GolfMark award

Searles Leisure Resort in Norfolk is celebrating its GolfMark award

Searles Leisure Resort in Hunstanton, Norfolk is the first in the county to be honoured with the new GolfMark accolade.

The GolfMark seal of approval was awarded by England Golf, the governing body for amateur golf in England and celebrates Searles’ success in helping to encourage participation in the game by making it accessible and affordable to players of all ages and abilities.

Golf is just one of the many activities offered at Searles, in fact the park is buzzing with more all-action pursuits than at any other time in its 50-plus year history.

“Many families today go on holiday to enjoy new experiences and we’ve responded to this by making have-a-go activities a big part of what we offer,” says Managing Director Paul Searle.

“Over the past five years, we’ve invested more than £5 million in Searles, and a substantial chunk of this has been dedicated to enhancing and growing our leisure facilities.”