We loved our trip to Potters Resort, it is situated at Hopton-on-Sea which is a place I hold close. We went to Hopton-on-sea every year with my grandparents. We loved it. So going back, I knew would be memorable. Not just because of the nostalgia but also because Potters Resort is just amazing. What do you expect from a family holiday: good food, good accommodation and entertainment/activities for the children. We had all of this in abundance at Potters Resort.

What is Potters Resort?

The best way I could describe Potters Resort is that it is an English all inclusive resort with everything included except for your drinks. When I say everything included, I mean: all meals, activities, evening entertainment and facilities. With a couple of exceptions, for example the ride on machines and slot machine type of activities.

It is located on the coast of Hopton-on-Sea, so you can walk to the back of Potters Resort and you are on the beach. It was perfect. It all started in 1920 (100 years old next year) when Herbert Potter had the idea to create a permanent holiday camp. He started it up in Hembsy, with his winnings from a newspaper competition that he’d won back in 1913, it’s amazing what £500 could have done back then. So it started off as a holiday camp with permanent wooden huts, the first of its kind. In 1924 he bought the land at Hopton-on-Sea.

During WWII the huts were dismantled and used for firewood to keep the soldiers warm in the winter. Luckily Herbert and his wife, Vera, built the camp back up from scratch after the war. They built one of the first outdoor swimming pools, in 1958 and in the 60’s their son, Brian, upgraded the facilities to indoors to make way for the English weather.

There are posters, photos and information all around the resort – it was fascinating. By the 1980’s, Brian and Judy Potter, had transformed Potters Resort and all wooden huts replaced with brick and the outdoor pool, indoor. By 1993 the resort had been extended to include the indoor bowls rink. There are multiple rinks and they even host the World Indoor Bowls Championships.

More recently, John Potter, who became MD in 2000, added more facilities, upgraded the existing accommodation and the huge theatre. The strapline is “quality time together” and I have to agree, that is exactly what we got.

The Food

The restaurant was fabulous. Not only the staff were amazing, the place clean – the food was delicious. I would describe the meals as full. So much food that some mealtimes I didn’t know how I would eat it all. At breakfast you had the choice of a buffet hot breakfast, continental breakfast or you could order certain things off the menu – like Eggs Florentine. At lunchtimes you had a choice of starter and main from the menu and there was always a hot dessert and cold desserts to choose from. Isla and I filled our boots with custard, our favourite.

The children’s menu was a similar concept where they had a main to choose. They could pick food from the buffets too and the dessert choices were the same as the grown ups. They loved it.

The thing I found useful was that the menu, setting out each days choices, always stayed on the table. So at the start of the week you can see what is coming for the rest of the week. There was always at least one vegetarian, one vegan, one fish and one meat dish to choose from. So much choice, it was great.

To order drinks you needed your room card, which wirelessly charges drink to your account or you can use your card to pay for them. It was a clever concept so you didn’t need to carry cash around with you on site.

When we arrived, Potters Resort had put a balloon and cake on our table to celebrate Hubby’s birthday, we thought it was such a nice touch. Really personalised the holiday and made him feel special (and embarrassed when they all sang him Happy Birthday).

The activities

Where do I start? There is so much to do here, they put events on during the Summer too so that there is a lot to choose from for the kiddies. For example, Noah played football everyday. The climbing wall is open for set times throughout the day, it’s a simple queue and wait system. There is the giant swing too which Noah went on, Isla was a little bit too small.

Everyday they put on activities like the inflatable jungle gym, these little motorbikes (below) and an inflatable circle where you have to jump over the beam. These activities are all scheduled around breakfast, lunch and dinner – they finish before the entertainment starts in the evenings.

We made the most of the activities and the kiddies went to the children’s disco every night too. After the disco we did the main activity in the hall, or got a space in the theatre ready for the show.

The room

We loved our room, it was perfect for a family of 4. The kids had their sleeping area, it was separated by a room divider. Then there was a double bed (which pulls down from the wall if you are staying there as a couple) at the end of the room. We had a seating area and there was a large TV too. The bathroom had 2 sinks, bath, shower and toilet. Everything we could have needed.

When we arrived there was a bottle of wine, chocolates and a card for Hubby for his birthday. Such a lovely idea. I decorated the room with a lot of light up balloons. We tried to make it a special break for Hubby.

The entertainment

The entertainment was fabulous. They had the children’s entertainment, the team was split into two. The best way I can describe it is the formal entertainment – who are literally as good as a west end theatre company came on and did 90 minute shows most nights. They did everything from 80’s and 90’s to theatre production shows. The singing is incredible and the choreography is amazing. I would happily pay just to go and watch them one night, it was that good. Before these guys came on the other part of the entertainment team would come on stage and do silly things, make jokes and involve the children – they are really funny and engaging. They made everyone feel welcomed.

There was also a kiddies club, they did activities throughout the day. It was split into 2 age groups. So Isla had to go to the younger group, which was like a craft, dance and singing style group – an adult had to stay with her. Noah was old enough to go in the big kids group and he was allowed to be left with the teams, they did a lot of fun activities; football being his favourite.

The facilities

Not only do you get the activities discussed above, the climbing wall and the inflatables. There are a few bars to choose from, a couple of areas to eat (included in your package) there is also a Grill restaurant on site. This costs extra to visit and I have heard that it is amazing.

There is an indoor swimming pool, tennis courts, golf course, park and football area on site too. There is a gaming room with a bowling alley which we didn’t even get to try (that’s how busy we were). There is always something to do. It also leads straight down to the sea, so you can walk along the coast and walk right up to Gorleston if you wanted!

The thing I loved about this break, as you can imagine, with the British weather, we had a hit and miss week. One minute it was sunny and then it was raining. We could do as much outside as inside and never did we have a “twiddle our fingers” moment. There was always something to do. It’s incredibly well thought out.

Check out my Insta stories for more photos and videos of our stay. I am sure I haven’t done this the justice it needed, it really is a fantastic place to go. What is your favourite part of going on holiday? Potters Resort was amazing for families – we will definitely be returning next year for its 100th anniversary. Will you?

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2 Comments
  • Caroline Tokes
    Monday, December 23, 2019

    Looks like you had a fab time

  • Gloria Baxter-Killick
    Sunday, January 3, 2021

    It does not cater for singles so I’ll give it a miss