issue no 4
June 2017
mersea island holiday park presents
park life
what’s happening at mersea island
Storage boxes Just a gentle reminder that all storage boxes must be purchased through the park. Plastic or wooden ones are not permitted. If you require a quote, please pop into Guest Services.
Ordering gas bottles & piped gas Don’t forget to order gas bottles before 3pm to ensure delivery on the same day. Gas ordered after 3pm will be delivered the following day. We’d hate you to run out so our tip would be to have two bottles so that you have a spare for unexpected emergencies and it doesn’t ruin any plans. If you are looking to sublet your holiday home, please get in touch as it’s a great way to earn some money to help towards your fees. Guest Services have all the information you need on this.
It’s been a busy year for our amazingly hard-working team at Away Resorts HQ and across our six parks – yes, six parks. At the start of 2017, we acquired the much-loved and extremely well-known Sandy Balls Holiday Village in the New Forest National Park. A welcome addition to the Away Resorts family, the five-star holiday village is located between Godshill and Fordingbridge. It has a wide range of accommodation including luxury woodland lodges, static holiday homes, camping pods and safari tents as well as fully serviced touring pitches. It’s hard to believe that we are already half way through the year and it’s great to see how busy our park has been already. Easter was particularly busy this year for us and it seems it was nationwide too with VisitEngland reporting that 6.6 million Britons opted to holiday in the UK during the long bank holiday weekend, up 10 per cent on last year’s figures. Summer bookings are looking strong too, which just goes to show there really is no place like home.
Away Resorts and Mersea Island are delighted with the brand new indoor pool , which has now been open for two months. We are receiving great feedback from both owners and holiday makers, so feel this was a great investment. If you haven’t done so already please make sure you take your photo ID with you when using it. Our team have been told no pass no entry, this is purely to keep our facilities exclusive for our owners and guests preventing unauthorised access. 2017 photo passes are available from Guest Services and take minutes to prepare for you, all you need is a photo. Finally, if you fancy yourself as a keen photographer, check out our photography competition and you could be getting your hands on a £50 Love2Shop voucher. As always my door is always open if you need anything.
Mark Brightman Keep in touch with Away Resorts’ latest news with our NEW online experience ‘Goodtimes’
www.goodtimes.awayresorts.co.uk
Contact details Once again, as we do every year, can we please remind our owners to pop into Guest Services when you are next on park to check your contact details with us. It might be that you have moved address, changed your telephone number or e-mail address over the winter and we need to know. Sometimes we need to get messages or updates out to you quickly either by a text message or e-mail so it is important we have the right details so you don’t miss out on relevant park information. If you haven’t done so already please can you pop into Guest Services with your current 2017/2018 Council tax bill, a utility bill dated in the last 3 months and a copy of your current insurance certificate. These need to be with us by the 30th June at the latest as part of your site licence.
We are still continuing to work our way round the park connecting owners up to the piped gas on the park. For those who haven’t done it yet you can continue to book in your connections at Guest Services. Our aim is to get most of our owners connected by the end of this season. Connections are £110 (inc vat) per caravan and the price of gas is £2.55 per unit
1.5% Credit-card charges We have recently introduced a charge for payments made by creditcard. The 1.5% transaction fee applied to credit card payments covers all costs associated with processing the transaction of which the bank charge is just one element.
Maintenance team No job too small.....sounds like an advert, however it’s true! If you would like us to quote on any maintenance issues or one of those “I’ll do that job later” scenarios, we’ll be only too pleased to help. Pop into Guest Services to find out more.
Health & safety Any Owner that requires contractors to visit them on park will need to be authorised by Mark Brightman. Please call Guests Services to obtain the necessary paperwork and to find out more.
12:00
New App arriving soon
The brand new Away Resorts App will be launched very soon. With fantastic features including; booking activities, checking out what’s on, owners event listings, ordering a gas bottle, and more – watch this space!
owners events Sat 17th JUNE
70’s/80’s/90’s Party | 7pm – Late
Outdoor cinema
dates for your diary Join us at our fabulous outdoor cinema, Midsummer’s Night Screen. Settle back on a hay bale, get comfy in a giant deck chair, grab a blanket. Wait for the marshmallows to toast, wrap your hands around a hot chocolate and nibble some popcorn as the screen lights up and we entertain you with a great film in a truly stunning outdoor setting.
Sunday 18 June th
Teenage mutant ninja turtles
A party of the decades to get you up and dancing the night away. Dig out your platform shoes, mini skirts, flares, peace signs and groovy shirts! Travel back in time and enjoy some of your favourite songs from the last 40 years, guaranteed to bring back some fantastic memories.
Sat 29th july
Hawaiian themed pool party | 7pm – Late Wear a grass skirts if you dare or a crazy shirts we don’t care! Think sunshine, fruity drinks, delicious BBQ food and a whole heap of summer fun. Aloha!
Sat 12th AUG
Superhero Party | 6pm – Late Calling all superheroes, get here in a flash! It’s time to take a leaf from Rodney and Del Boy and dig our your trusty Batman & Robin outfits. WOW, POW, BAM!
Sunday 16th July
Shrek Wednesday 19th July
Bolt Sunday 23rd July
flubber Wednesday 26th July
jungle book Sunday 30th July
the book of life Wednesday 2nd August
Kung Fu panda 3 Sunday 6th August
home Wednesday 9th August
Space jam Sunday 13th August
Sat 16
th
sept
Annual Wine, Beer & Cheese tasting | 6pm – 8pm You are invited to join us for some great wines and tasty beers from around the world complemented with a range of delicious cheeses, crackers and chutney.
SAT 28th oct
Halloween Spooktacular | 7pm - Late Get your freak on! Not for the faint hearted! Party with ghouls and ghosts and all manner of scary creatures at our frightful bash. Eat, drink and be scary!
storks Wednesday 16 August th
Secret life of pets Sunday 20th August
bfg Wednesday 23rd August
Tinker bell & the legend of the never beast Sunday 27th August
finding dory
sat 18
th
nov
Last Blow Out A Night at the Movies | 7pm - Late Our last party of the season, join us for a glamorous black tie event to finish off the year with a bang. With some posh nibbles and your flashiest out-out party wear it’ll be all the glitz you could wish for.
Wednesday 30th August
night at the museum 3 Sunday 22nd October
Paranorman Wednesday 25th October
Hotel transylvania 2
To make a booking: For bookings please call Guest Services. All events are ticketed and on a strictly first come first served basis so please book early.
cancellations and locations: Please visit Guest Services for more details.
Ne� barrier We have just had a new barrier installed here at Mersea Island, which is being moved further towards the entrance of the park, level with the new Holiday Home Sales office. When you are next visiting, please pop into Guest Services on arrival with your old barrier pass, so that we can issue you with a shiny new one!
Jetskis and Vehicles There are still a few insurance documents we are waiting for from jetski owners that leave their boats, cars or camper-vans at the southern most car park. Please drop these into Guest Services as soon as possible.
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Pitch License Agreement Please take some time to read through and refresh yourselves with your Pitch License and the park rules. It is imperative that all owners adhere to their pitch license and our site license which stipulates that you cannot live on, go to work from or take children to school from Mersea Island Holiday park. The result of this would mean you are in a breach of your pitch license, which puts your License in jeopardy. This is why Council Tax bills and utility bills are required to help support any visit from the Local enforcement officer.
Owners Swim Poll Thank you to all of you who kindly responded to the owners swimming session pole that was sent out via E-mail. After receiving the results, we have decided on an adults only owners swim. These will take place 9am - 10am every morning off peak. This excludes school holidays and bank holidays.
facebook.com/ AwayResortsHolidays
We�come a�oard! We welcome aboard two new team members John Dowd who joins Louise as a Holiday Home Sales Advisor and Hayley Button who joins us as the Guest Services Manager. I hope you will all take the opportunity to wish them the very best of luck... Welcome to away resorts!
Use o� images
A gentle reminder that use of any Away Resorts images or text from the website, social media or any other marketing source is copyright without permission. We kindly ask that no information belonging to Away Resorts is used without prior written agreement.
local
events Mersea Island Carnival Weekend 16th - 18th June Scarecrow Festival - Friday 16th to Sunday 18th June, Carnival Procession and West Mersea Village Fete Saturday 17th June, Shop Window Competition - week commencing Monday 12th June. www.merseacarnival.co.uk
Town Regatta 26th August The popular West Mersea Town Regatta has been running since 1838 and provides a great summer day out for the whole family.
Opening Times During peak times the Muddy Duck will be open every day
from 9am - 11pm* Outside peak times the Muddy Duck will be open
Friday to Monday 10am - 11pm (Pool 10am - 5pm) Tuesday to Thursday 10am - 5pm* In addition we are adding regular quiz or games nights. All opening times will also be displayed in Guest Services and on the board outside the clubhouse. Don’t forget that we do teas and coffees in the clubhouse while pool is open. *Times subject to changes depending on pool opening times
earn thousands simply by letting your holiday home
WI N
Last year some of our owners earned up to £6,500 from their holiday homes – without having to do any hard work. We took care of it all for them, from marketing to handing over the keys and even the cleaning. We can do the same for you too. Just imagine what you could do with that money – help towards the annual running costs for your holiday home, treat yourself to something nice, maybe build up some savings for later on.
A complete service from the people who know your holiday park Some holiday owners manage the lettings themselves, and that’s certainly an option. The down side is that you have the stress of being responsible for everything, from start to finish. We’ve deliberately designed our service so it takes care of everything. It means no worries for our owners and a perfect stay for your holiday guests.
HOW OUR MANAGED LETTING SERVICE WORKS:
1 2 3
You decide the dates you wish to let your holiday home out. You decide how you would like your sublet money paid to you three times a year. You sit back, relax and let us do all the hard work!
What can we do for you
Look after all the advertising Work with reputable agents and tour operators Handle all the marketing, brochures, flyers and letters to our extensive database of previous guests Invoice all the customer correspondence including confirmations Arrange the collection of holiday payments Look after the linen, including delivery, pick up and launder. Carry out a full clean after each sublet of your holiday home Take care of the key hand-over and collection Look after any enquiries before, during and after each stay Provide a full letting statement three times a year Pay earnings into your bank account three times a year Give you a lettings coordinator as your personal contact
Away resorts managed letting
Competition
time!
Calling photographers of all ages, backgrounds and experience. Private letting
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
visit guest services to find out more and to help you decide if letting your holiday home with us is right for you
on park
events Colour festival Saturday 22nd July A lively colourful weekend featuring our brightest Saturday of 2017. Inspired by the famous Indian ’Holi Festival of Colours’, there is a programme of family events during the daytime centred around colour throwing powder. These will include ‘colour gathering’ events and a fun colour run for adults and children where guests can run the track while being covered from head to toe in a rainbow of colours. You can choose to run, walk, skip or dance your way around the course. There will be an awesome mix of DJs, MCs, the famous ‘Colour Throws’ and plenty of ‘Colour Crazy’ give-aways. Presented outside. Cameras at the ready, this weekend is as fun to watch as it is to take part.
You are invited to enter our photography competition for your chance to win a £50 Love2Shop voucher. This month’s subject is How you relax in your holiday home Send your picture (at least 1MB), along with a brief description, your name, address, telephone number, the date and location of the photo to holidayhomes@awayresorts.co.uk. Competition closes Monday 10th July and winners will be announced in our next newsletter. By sending us your pictures, you agree for Away Resorts to use them on social media and for marketing purposes. Good luck
Do you fancy a holiday at one of our other
beauti�u� locations?
As an Away Resorts owner you will receive a 10% discount at any of our six locations. There are just a few rules; All discounts are subject to availability, holidays need to be booked by calling 01442 50 88 50 and selecting your park. You, our lovely owner, must be present on holiday. Your owner’s account number must be given at time of booking and ownership photo ID passes must be shown at check-in.
What you waiting for? Visit www.awayresorts.co.uk and see what takes your fancy
Foodstock, Festival of flavour Friday 11th August A weekend featuring the very best locally sourced food and ale, plus some international favourites. Inspired by a traditional street food market, there will be an amazing range of gastronomic delights to suit every palette. Picture giant paella, Jamaican jerk chicken or fresh local seafood. To add to the atmosphere, there will be some acoustic music and a family friendly vibe. All guests and owners are welcome to attend.
CREAM PIE FIGHT 2017
FOODSTOCK
Cream Pie Fight Sunday 27th August The annual tradition that is the Cream Pie Fight returns. Our largest gathering of guests, armed with cream pie plates, have the biggest, messiest fun fight of the year.
issue no 4
June 2017
mersea island holiday park presents
Introducing the Tribeca – Coastal Edition to mersea island
only
£84,995
2017 Abi Beaumont 2 Bedrooms | 42ft x 14ft Stunning design Home from home When only the very best will do
2 Bedrooms 44ft x 14ft only
£69,995
• Exclusive to Away Resorts • Limited edition • Taking holiday home ownership to a new level • Book your VIP viewing today
a secret
only
£59,995
A great many of the Holiday Home Owners here at Mersea Island have joined us because they were recommended to the park by their friends or family members. You can’t keep a good thing secret for long!
Whether you want to enjoy holidays with family or friends or you just want them to have as much fun as you do, don’t hide your light under a bushel. For a start, the bushel might spontaneously combust from your excitement. Secondly, it’s nice to share.
How about £1,000 in Pitch Fee Credits? Do we have a deal for you? You bet! If you recommend a friend who becomes a holiday home owner here at Mersea Island then you get some additional benefits. Not only can you enjoy holidays together, we will give you an account credit of £500 once they have taken
over their holiday home. The second person you refer will earn you £750 and the third is worth a whopping £1,000. Bring your friends and help save on your pitch fees. For referrals to escalate, all sales must be complete within a 12-month period.
2017 Willerby Winchester 2 Bedrooms | 38ft x 12.5ft Separate lounge and dining area En-suite toilet Open-plan kitchen and dining area
only
£59,995
Don’t keep it
If you find yourself falling in love with Mersea Island and always counting down the minutes until your next visit, then you may also find yourself telling your nearest and dearest about it too.
2 Bedrooms | 39ft x 13ft The very first one to arrive on park Luxurious and special Great part exchange allowances
only
£89,995
Fancy £500, £750 or £1000 off your pitch fees?
Love is… a holiday home!
2017 Carnaby Helmsley Lodge
only
£59,995
only
£49,995
2017 Abi Clarendon 2 Bedrooms | 40ft x 12.6ft Back by popular demand Front opening patio doors Double glazing and central heating
2014 Willerby Meridian 2 Bedrooms | 42ft x 13ft Just arrived into stock Decking included Reclining sofa and armchairs
2017 Swift Biarritz 3 Bedrooms | 38ft x 12ft Brand new model for 2017 Three great size bedrooms Perfect for subletting
How it works All you have to do is complete an owner referral form and send it in to us and let us do the rest. Alternatively, you can bring them along or even call to make an appointment for them. Simple!
only
£39,995
No hard sell promise Yuck, don’t you hate a hard sell? We do too. It’s not our way. We think we have a great offering which doesn’t need a hard-ball pitch because you don’t need a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. We promise that we will treat your referrals with absolute respect and courtesy and that includes giving them the option to say ‘no thanks’. No pressure.
only
£38,995
2017 Carnaby Ashdale 2 Bedrooms | 35ft x 12ft Traditional wrap around seating Ideal subletting model Double glazing and central heating
2008 Abi Elan 2 Bedrooms | 38ft x 12ft Just arrived into stock Decking included A must see
pop into the sales office to find out more | open 7 days a week