What a week in a park home really costs
Holiday pricing is designed to be compared and not to be totalled. Here is the total, worked through, including the parts that usually appear at the end.
· 6 minute read
The short answer
A week in the cheapest home we let starts at £103 a night, and that figure includes the changeover clean, bed linen made up, towels, parking for two cars, full-fibre wifi, and gas, electricity and water unmetered. A dog adds a single fee for the whole stay rather than per night. There is no booking fee, no card fee, no resort fee and no cleaning charge added at checkout, and a length-of-stay discount reduces the nightly rate on a seven-night booking automatically.
What is actually included in the nightly rate?
The home, the changeover clean, linen made up on the beds, towels, parking for two cars, full-fibre wifi, and all the utilities. The hot tub where a home has one, serviced and filled between stays. Travel cots and highchairs, free, asked for at the park.
These are itemised in the price panel rather than summarised, and the ones included at no charge are shown at zero. That is deliberate: a line reading "changeover clean £0" settles a question that a missing line only raises.
What is not included?
A dog, where you are bringing one: a fee per stay, stated on the listing, added to the breakdown the moment you tell the search a dog is coming. That is the whole list.
No resort fee. No booking fee. No card surcharge. No cleaning fee at the end. No key deposit, no hot tub deposit, no damage deposit held against the card.
How does the long-stay discount work?
It reduces the nightly rate once the stay passes a length threshold, and it applies on its own rather than needing a code. Seven nights is usually better value per night than two separate long weekends, and the panel shows both numbers so the comparison is possible.
It is applied to the nightly rate rather than taken off the total at the end, which means it is visible in the figure you compare against other sites.
Is it cheaper to book here than on Booking.com?
It is never more expensive, and that deserves a straight explanation rather than a claim. These homes also appear on Booking.com, Hoseasons and Pitchup. Those channels charge the park a commission of roughly fifteen per cent, which the park absorbs rather than adding to your price.
So the saving from booking direct goes to the park, not to you. What you get instead is the park itself on the other end: the people who hold the keys, maintain the hot tub and plan the changeover schedule. For a question about a plot, a configuration or a late arrival, that is worth more than a few pounds.
What happens if we cancel?
Twenty-five per cent is taken at booking and the balance before arrival. Free cancellation up to twenty-eight days before you travel, with the deposit returned in full. After that the deposit is kept and the balance is not taken. Inside seven days the full amount stands.
The figure is shown on the screen before the cancellation is confirmed. Nobody should have to work out what cancelling costs by doing it.
Where do the cheap weeks actually fall?
Midweek outside the school holidays, and November to March excluding Christmas and New Year. The calendar prices every individual date rather than banding the year into seasons, so the cheap weeks are visible rather than something to deduce.
The lowest nightly rates on the portfolio are at Mill Park in Devon and Beechwood Park in Derbyshire. Marwell Court is the dearest and the newest.
Questions people ask
Is there a security deposit?
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No. No deposit is held and no card is kept on file against damage. Damage is dealt with if it happens, by the park, in conversation.
Do you charge per person?
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No. The home is let as a whole home. Ten people in a four-bedroom home pay what four would pay for the same home on the same dates.
Are utilities metered?
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No. Gas, electricity and water are included in the rate, in every month, including a cold one.
Can I pay the balance in instalments?
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The balance is taken as one payment before arrival. If the timing is difficult, telephone the park: the date can be moved, which a website cannot do.
Is the price per night or per stay?
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The headline is per night and varies by date. The panel always shows the stay total alongside it, because the total is the number that matters and the nightly average is the number that gets advertised.