July 2021
Issue no 3
Mersea Island Holiday Park presents
Park Life Nathan Roots
General Manager
Welcome to our peak owners newsletter, where you’ll find all the latest park and team news, owner updates, events, competitions and the best local places to visit as voted by you.
I hope you have been enjoying your holiday home and have had a chance to visit lately. I am pleased to say our Owner Events so far have been a success, we’ve had Owners Coffee Mornings, a Cheese and Wine Tasting afternoon, and an Owners Pool Party to name a few, so if you haven’t booked one already, please do come along! It’s a great chance to meet the neighbours and team! Details for all future events are inside this newsletter. I wanted to say a big thank you to those of you who attended the first Charity Coffee Morning over the May Bank Holiday weekend, you helped us raise over £150 for Mind Charity, and it was so great to see you all there. Some park and team news; we are thrilled to have been recently awarded a 5 star Food Hygiene Safety Rating on park, and we have a new Guest Services Manager Bridie. A spotlight on Bridie is over on page 3. We had a good response to our Owner Survey we sent out. I wanted to thank all owners who took part in the survey. If you didn’t take part but do have a question, any feedback or ideas of ways to enhance your ownership journey here please do drop us an email to: ownerfeedback@awayresorts.co.uk.
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What’s happening at
We have also set up some Coffee Mornings where during these you can meet with myself or one of the park’s Leadership Team to discuss your ownership experience. The next Coffee Morning is Tuesday 7th September from 10am till noon. Don’t worry if you can’t make that one, there are more throughout the season and you can also email me on Nathan.roots@awayresorts. co.uk, with any feedback, ideas, questions or to arrange a coffee and a chat. Now COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, we still all have a responsibility to look after ourselves and stay safe from the virus. Thank you for supporting us in adapting to government guidelines throughout the pandemic. Please remember, if you get a positive test for COVID-19 you should not travel here, you are still required to isolate. 2021’s holidays bookings are still very strong, so if you would like to take advantage of our hassle-free sublet scheme, please send us in your letting dates as soon as possible. This is a great way to offset some of your holiday home running costs. Lastly, a gentle reminder your gas and electric invoices will be sent in November as usual. These will be for the full year as they were not read in April. If you have any questions please contact one of the team in Guest Services. Peak is going well and is busy, I hope you and your families will be able to join us.
@MerseaIslandAwayResorts
@AwayResortsUK
@AwayResortsHolidays
Exciting news for our Away Resorts family, we have a new park. Beachcomber Holiday Park We are thrilled to announce our new park acquisition of Beachcomber Holiday Park in Cleethorpes Lincolnshire, officially becoming part of the Away Resorts family joining our 8 other UK parks. Many of you will be interested to know that this is where Rosie and Connor, previously at Mersea Island, have been posted to. Beachcomber Holiday Park is a great choice for Away Resorts, fit for all the family and set beside the sea in the popular coastal resort of Cleethorpes. Beachcomber has superb entertainment facilities, as well as a popular outdoor heated swimming pool, restaurant and bar with outdoor seating, children’s play areas, sportscourt and tennis court, plus there is a shop & launderette. We loved this park because it’s situated with so much to see and do with loads of attractions nearby such as; Cleethorpes beach, Pleasure Island theme park, Cleethorpes boating lake, The Jungle Zoo, Rushmoor Farm Park & Falconry centre, and Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway, where you can take a ride along the East of England’s last surviving steam light railway. We’re very dog friendly, so you can expect the same from Beachcomber and enjoy strolls along the beach with your four-legged friends. Any families who feel they may be interested in a holiday home at Beachcomber Holiday Park, or part exchanging to Beachcomber Holiday Park, please register your interest online at https://www.awayresorts.co.uk/parks/lincolnshire/beachcomber/ holiday-homes/
Beachcomber Manchester
Fancy a holiday?
Lincoln
Barmouth Bay
Boston West Birmingham
Mersea Island
Don’t forget as an owner you receive 10% off any holiday booking at Away Resorts holiday parks’
Just call 0330 053 7000, quote your name, park and owner account number for your discount. Discounts are subject to availability, and you, our lovely owner, must be present on the holiday. Visit awayresorts.co.uk and see what takes your fancy!
Tattershall Lakes
Cardiff Bristol London
Sandy Balls Mill Rythe Plymouth
St Ives Bay
Whitecliff Bay
Spotlight on
Bridie
Hi, my name is Bridie and I have joined Mersea Island as Guest Services Manager. I am very excited to join the team. I have previously worked as the Guest Services Manager at another of the Away Resorts parks, Tattershall Lakes, leaving at the end of 2020 due to a move to Essex. With the help from the team, I will oversee the full Guest Experience for our Holidaymakers, and your Ownership Experience after the handover process has been completed. This includes responding to all your queries, reviewing and acting upon your feedback, supporting you with the subletting of your holiday home, and helping to plan owner events. I’m very excited to be returning and joining the team at the beautiful Mersea Island! I’ve loved meeting some of you already, and I look forward to meeting everyone over the next few weeks or as soon as I can! Please pop into Guest Services and say hello, and if you need anything at all I can be contacted on bridie.obrien@awayresorts.co.uk. Bridie
We are pleased to announce further investment into recycling has been added with Mixed Recycling, Glass Recycling and General Waste bins now located around the park. Please make sure you are disposing of waste correctly and advise all your guests accordingly to help us do our bit to reduce, reuse and recycle.
Dry Mixed Recycling
Must be disposed of in a white or clear bin bag, not in black sacks. Dry mixed recycling goes into the blue bins with yellow lids only, please do not cross contaminate bins with general waste.
Glass Recycling
Now available in the smaller red wheelie bins with red lids, please only dispose of clean glass in these bins and do not cross contaminate.
General Waste
Can continue to be disposed of in the larger red bins with black lids. If you have any waste from building materials and refurbishments to your holiday home – please take these to a skip offsite and do not dispose of these on park. If you have any concerns or would like more information, please contact the Park Team. Thank you for your support
Your 2021 Owner Events Calendar... A reminder of our fantastic, brand-new and exclusive owner events lined up this year, as well as our big park events – we hope to see you there!* We are also pleased to be able to see a return to Entertainment and Activities to the Park for the first time since 2019! There is loads going on over the Summer Holidays so just ask the Team at Guest Services or the Muddy Duck for the week’s scheduled events!*
Struggling to fit in all your family and friends who are desperate for a summer staycation? We’ve got the perfect pitch! Camping is back this summer, complete with full access to the facilities including our awesome swimming pool! *Camping available from 23rd July – 1st September 2021. Portable toilet & shower block. No touring permitted, tenting only. Don’t forget to use your ‘Owner Referral Discount’ when booking!
Music Weekender Friday 13th – Saturday 14th August
Macmillan Coffee Morning Friday 24th September 10am-12noon The Muddy Duck
*All events are of course subject to change, government guidance, and some are weather permitting.
Coffee Morning Sunday 15th August
Tuesday 12th October 10am-12noon The Muddy Duck
Coffee Morning Saturday 6th November 10am-12noon Sunday 29th August
Coffee Morning Tuesday 7th September 10am-12noon The Muddy Duck
The Muddy Duck
End of Season Party Saturday 20th November 7pm-11pm The Muddy Duck
(Bookable via the Muddy Duck 1 week in advance)
For more event information, please keep an eye on Third Place Social your dedicated owners Facebook Page.
Here is our new Entertainment Team – Jake & Elle! We have missed entertainment on the park so much since 2019, so please when you see them give them a wave!
For events requiring booking, bookings can be made via the Muddy Duck up to 1 week in advance, or by calling The Muddy Duck on: 01206 381 222. Capacity for each event may be restricted in line with Covid 19 restrictions. As well as your events, don’t forget that we have the BBQ on the go every weekend (weather-pending!), and keep in touch with the Park Team to stay up to date with ‘What’s On’ with Outdoor Cinema times, Quizzes, Sport, and Live Entertainment! We hope to see you at an owner event very soon!
Let your holiday home
work for you! Take full advantage of the 2021 ‘staycation boom’
I’M BEING SUBLET With more than 60% bookings this year than in 2019*, it’s a phenomenal time to take advantage of our easy sublet scheme to offset some of your running costs those weeks you’re not using your holiday home!
Chat to us today to find out more! Chat to us today to find out more! For more information pop in and see Bridie, or email or call Bridie and the team on bridie.obrien@awayresorts.co.uk, 01206 383 252.
*60% rise is across all parks, as of April 20th 2021
You Said,
We Did
‘You Said, We Did’ will be a feature in all future owner newsletters to keep you updated with what we are working on to improve your owner experience here, as well as the improved Recycling on park (details on page 3) we have also listened to feedback on…
Road safety and road developments We had some feedback regarding the speed of cars around the park, and we are very conscious of safety for all our owners, guests and team. Therefore 6 additional speed bumps have been installed to help ensure that all our traffic remains within the 10mph speed limit on park and ensures that we keep safety as a top priority. Also, for road safety and in accordance with our public highways classification, please note that E-Scooters are not permitted on the park. As well as the new speed bumps we have had a significant amount of road development for the benefit of owners situated along Oak Drive, The Poplars and Walnut Way.
Weekend Charity Coffee Mornings
Owner Survey As a result from our owners survey we sent out in May via email and on Third Place Social, we met with the other Away Resorts parks teams at Boston West Country Park in Lincolnshire, to run through the feedback and have a meeting to discuss ways to enhance the ownership experience across all parks, including collating ideas on future owner events. The two-day meeting was a really productive get together and we have many ideas we have come away with that we will be implementing & demonstrating over the coming season. We are keen for more owners to get in touch with any further feedback or ideas, you can email us on ownerfeedback@awayresorts.co.uk.
After chatting to some of you, it was highlighted you’d like Coffee Mornings on weekends too so more owners could attend. We have since made all our future Charity Coffee Mornings on Saturdays as per our updated events calendar! Our first Charity Coffee Morning was held over May Bank Holiday Weekend, and you helped us to raise over £150 for Mind, a huge thank you to all who attended.
More Owner Events As well as our owner and park events we have a BBQ on the go every weekend weather-permitting. Plus, future Outdoor Cinema screenings, Quizzes, Sport and Live Entertainment, keep a look out on our Facebook page ‘Mersea Island Owners, Third Place Social’ for more information, or ask the Park Team what is coming up.
Children’s Colouring
Fancy £500, £750 £1000 off your pitch fees?
Competition
or
Competition open to anyone 12 or under, our favourite colouring in will win a Bear. All you need to do is write the child’s name and your holiday home location and number in the space below and then pop this into Guest Services for the attention of Bridie, or post it into us before Friday 20th August.
If you know anyone who would love a holiday home here too, then why not recommend us? If they do go ahead and buy a lovely home from home, we will give you an account credit of £500! If you then recommend a second person you will get £750, and a third you would earn £1000 off your pitch fees.
The winner will be chosen on Monday 23rd August with the winning colouring in displayed the next newsletter!
How? Just bring your recommended friend or family member along to Guest Services or ask them to call us on 01206 383 252 and quote ‘I’ve been referred by’ and your name to make an appointment and we’ll do the rest.
We’re dog friendly at Mersea Island 1 2 3 4 5
6 7
8
9
ACROSS
DOWN
2 I ____ my dog
1 Dog lingo
3 Drippy, sticky and wet
4 This is what my feet are called
6 This is how I speak 7 When I follow a command I get one of these
5 I wear this around my neck
Age: Contact phone number:
7 Squeak, roll and bounce
Holiday Home location and number:
8 This connects to my collar 9 When my tail is _____ I’m happy
Name:
(Answers on page 11)
Topic
of the week Earlier this year over on our Owners Facebook Page ‘Mersea Island Owners, The Third Place Social’ we have been running ‘Topic of the Week’. Topic of the Week is a chance for you to share your top tips on and off park, favourite places to visit, eat, drink, and experience whilst making the most of ownership at Mersea Island! We will be sharing your brilliant recommendations in each quarterly Park Life newsletter, so please keep contributing and hopefully you’ll discover a new place to experience whilst enjoying time at your holiday home!
Best place to catch a sunrise or sunset... The Coast Inn, West Mersea
West Mersea Oyster Bar
Riverside Bar and Restaurant, morning coffee, homemade cakes, lunches, afternoon cream teas or evening dinner
Shellfish specialist with fresh local oysters and seafood platters to sample on a waterside terrace
108 Coast Road, Colchester, CO5 8NA, 01206 383568
Coast Rd, West Mersea, Colchester, CO5 8LT 01206 381600
Best Local Takeaways Mersea Island Fish Bar All of your chip shop favourites; pies, sausages, burgers and of course chips, purveyors of the finest, fresh fish around.
Best places for Afternoon Tea or Coffee & Cake Mersea Barns Sit back and indulge in some fantastic treats.
37 High Street, West Mersea, Colchester, CO5 8QA 01206 381999
East Road, East Mersea, Colchester, CO5 8TQ, 01206 384198
The Coast Inn, West Mersea
Maria’s Vintage Tea Rooms
Riverside Bar and Restaurant, morning coffee, homemade cakes, lunches, afternoon cream teas or evening dinner.
A gem of a place, lovely location, great staff and the roast dinner is highly recommended.
108 Coast Road, Colchester, CO5 8NA, 01206 383568
Rewsalls Lane, East Mersea, Colchester, CO5 8SX 01206 384698
Titash Indian Plenty of menu choices, great atmosphere, and tasty Indian dishes. 40 High Street, Colchester, CO5 8QA, 01206 381779
The Deck – Mersea Seafood Company
Artcafé West Mersea The Artcafé was born out of love for real, homemade food to serve customers the best coffee, the freshest sandwiches, imaginative wholesome dishes, and homemade delicious cakes. 2 Coast Road West Mersea, Colchester, CO5 8QE 01206 385820
Delicious seafood treats. Waldegraves Lane, West Mersea, Colchester, CO5 8SE 07835 533675
If you aren’t on Third Place Social, what are you waiting for? It’s our dedicated owners Facebook page where you can get the latest park news, meet the neighbours, ask us any questions and enter competitions! To join, simply log into Facebook (or create yourself a Facebook account), and search for ‘Mersea Island Owners, The Third Place Social’, then hit request to join, where you’ll be asked a couple of questions to confirm you are an Owner, once checks have been done, you’ll then gain full access and can start posting and joining in with our Topic of the Week and much more.
Make the most of your stays! Download the app now! View your bills | Make payments | Book your activities Request owner services* | Order food and drink (Services – gas bottle, safety testing, drain down)
How to activate and access your online owners account On your online owners account you’ll be able to; • • • • • •
View your bills Make payments Request owner services Keep track of your account See your owner events calendar Read the latest owners newsletter
You will be sent an account number and activation code via email soon after becoming an owner with us. Once you have this please login to the activation page using the details below; Account activation: awayresorts.co.uk/owner-accounts/
The Away Resorts App is available to download from Google Play and the App Store. All you will need is your username and your password to login, this will be the same username and password you use for your online owners account. Please note the app is dedicated just for owners and therefore requires you to activate your account online before being granted with full access. You will need to login and activate your account online initially on www. awayresorts.co.uk/ owner-accounts/ before using the app. If you have any issues whilst using the app please contact owner-accounts@awayresorts.co.uk
Download our app today! *Currently you are unable to manage your sublet dates on the app.
Please select the first option by clicking on ‘I would like to activate my owners account.’ This will then take you through to the ‘Your details’ page where you’ll need to fill in your name, the park name, your account number and your email address. Please note, it is very important that the email address you use is the one we have already on record, which will then later become your future username. If you are a joint owner you will share the same username and password for your account. Once you have activated your account visit your owners website on; owners.awayresorts.co.uk/login/ Trouble logging into your account: If you have any trouble logging in to your owners account, click on “I can no longer access my owners account” this will take you through a few steps to see if we can get you logged back in quickly, alternatively if this doesn’t fix it then please email us your account ID and email address to owner-accounts@awayresorts co.uk and we’ll get right back to you to help you gain access. If you haven’t received your activation code or instructions yet? Please visit our self-activation page online and click “I would like to activate my owners account.” Once you have provided your account number and details, you will be emailed your activation
We’re loving seeing all your Capture Club entries! Keep them coming & congratulations to our latest winners below! Jamie Steed won a Doggy goodie bag with this cute photo on the beach!
Opening times Guest Services 9am – 5pm Holiday Home Sales 9am – 5pm Indoor Swimming Pool 9am – 10am Owners Swim 10am – 5pm General Swim* Open throughout the season. Peak season times can vary due to My Active activities. *
The Muddy Duck Please check our app for latest updates and opening times. Michelle Irvine won Away Resorts goodies with this stunning beach views snap, we need more days like these!
Head over to Third Place Social to enter the next Capture Club Competition. Good luck!
Guest Services and the Indoor Swimming Pool will be open later during the summer holidays to ensure everyone can have the best break at the park possible.
CROSSWORD ANSWERS ACROSS
2 Love, 3 Drool, 6 Bark, 7 Treat, 8 Leash, 9 Wagging
DOWN
1 Woof, 4 Paws, 5 Collar, 7 Toy
There has never been a better time to upgrade your holiday home •
Fantastic selection of new and pre-loved holiday homes to choose from
•
All holiday homes come with 3 yrs Warranty+ worth up to £1,500
•
You could be enjoying your new holiday home within a week^
•
Fantastic finance packages available we could even contra-settle your existing finance*
+
more back then ever before in part exchange
3 year Warranty+ offer - now is the time to part exchange 3 Years extended warranty 3 Years combi boiler annual service 3 Years cooker & fire (where fitted) annual test 3 Years winterisation service – drain down & drain up 3 Years annual holiday home external wash
Some of the lovely holiday homes available...
£
Fantastic Sublet Opportunities Super finance packages available*
2021 ABI Coworth Deluxe
2021 ABI Langdale
2021 Willerby Mapleton
3 Bedroom
2 or 3 Bedroom
3 Bedroom
Call 01206 381 221 or text ‘MER’ to 84840 to arrange your viewing or quote Fen Lane, Colchester, Essex CO5 8UA @MerseaIslandHolidayHomeSales *Finance subject to status written details available on request. Away Resorts Ltd is a licensed credit broker authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Terms and conditions apply to Warranty+ Please see website for more details. ^Subject to chosen holiday home and pitch availability. Holiday home must have been paid in full before enjoying!