An All Inclusive Holiday at Potters Resort with Kids and Teens – Review |ad

We have visited Potters Resorts in Norfolk twice now and both times have had a fabulous time.  We first visited in when the kids were 9 and 11.  You can see that review further down this post.  I would say it still reflects the current experience at Potters, especially with regard to how many fantastic activities there are for that age group.  So, do read on if you have kids that age.

 

Potters Resorts are now All Inclusive!

This time the kids are 13 and 15 and there are still loads of great activities for them that they were just not old enough to do before.  The key change between our last visit and this one is that Potters is now all inclusive!  Pretty much everything has always been included in your holiday before, the accommodation, four meals a day (breakfast, lunch, Dinner and midnight munchies!) all the fabulous activities (that you would pay a fortune for elsewhere), amazing evening entertainment, and now – drinks!  Yes, pretty much any drink you would like is included now at Potters.  It just makes everything more relaxed – there are no scary bills at the end of your break.  

 

 

The all-inclusive package is a fantastic edition to an already fabulous offering. There are all manner of drinks including in the all-inclusive package from wine and beer to soft drinks and milkshakes. They also have a premium offering which isn’t included in the all-inclusive package, but quite frankly you really don’t need it.

 

 

Arriving at Potters

It was lovely to be back at Potters again. Just like last time the weather was really warm. Is it always that warm in Norfolk?!

Check in was from 3:00 p.m. But guests were welcome to arrive from 12:00 noon, with the all inclusive package kicking in at 3pm. We arrived around 2pm and check in was very straightforward. Leaving Mr. Wonders in the car with the kids just outside of reception, I was greeted with the usual Potters friendliness before being given my welcome pack. This included our wristbands and schedule for the weekend.

We were told which car park was closest to our accommodation so I returned to the kids and we moved the car to the right spot. This made carrying our bags to our room so much easier when we did get our keys.

 

All Inclusive Potters Restort Review with Teenagers

 

I then popped along to the restaurant to see where our table was. You are allocated the same table for the entire break which is great and makes you feel at home.  Then we had a quick wander around the resort before returning to reception to collect our keys at 3:00 p.m.

All Inclusive Potters Restort Review with Teenagers
The Gallery Restaurant at Potters

 

Our rooms were Hotel Premier interconnecting rooms, which was perfect for our teens to have their own space and also for us to have our own space! We kept the interconnecting doors open so we didn’t feel cut off from each other.

 

Our room had a huge Super King bed, plenty of wardrobe space, tea and coffee making facilities and a mini fridge. There was also a large dressing table with a mirror, plenty of drawers and a flat screen TV with Freeview. At the far end of the room there is a small sofa and comfortable chair seating area.

 

The bathroom is huge with two sinks and a bathtub.  What is really special is that we have a spacious balcony with a gorgeous view. Complete with a bistro table for coffee in the morning.

 

All Inclusive Potters Restort Review with Teenagers

 

Four Meals a Day!

Breakfast is served from 8:30 until 10:00 and then lunch is 12:30 until 1:30. Dinner is available from 6:30 until 8pm and then finally there are snacks from 11 to midnight (this is in the form of a meal, like chili or stroganoff). You can arrive at your table whenever is suitable for you as your table is just for you and nobody else. You don’t have to be there bang on opening time.

At breakfast you are offered tea or coffee, toast, eggs etc, then there is a buffet with all the components of a full English breakfast as well as pastries and fruit and cereal.

 

breakfast at Potters

 

breakfast at Potters Resorts

 

Here is the lunch menu. There are lots of hot items and you can also help yourself to the buffet where, as well as more hot items there are salads, bread and cold meats and cheeses. If you don’t want a large meal in the middle of the day, it’s easy to help yourself to a salad or even make yourself a sandwich.

Both lunches and dinners are three courses if you would like them. The menu is different every evening and there is plenty to choose from.

 

 

There is also a separate children’s buffet area, which offers plenty of simple choices for the kids.

 

Your server will bring over wine to your table on request.

 

 

If you want a different drink or soft drinks for the kids, you can just visit the bar in the restaurant.

 

Activities

There are so many activities! It is hard to choose which ones you are going to do so perhaps bring a set of highlighters for different people wanting to do different things. Mr Wonders and our 15-year-old son, Tristan enjoyed the more unusual activities of rally carts, segways, rifle shooting, archery and clay pigeon lasers.

Here we have photos of the boys doing segways and rally carts:

Then rifle shooting, archery and clay pigeon shooting!

 

We also enjoyed crazy golf and a game of pool. As well as a cool drink in the bar in between everything!

 

 

There are two games arcades – in the larger one there is ten pin bowling too.  

 

They also have a VR room with plenty of headsets.  This is great for the teens if they don’t have VR at home.

 

 

There are also lots of sports available and a good size swimming pool which we just didn’t manage to fit in because there was so much else to do.  We didn’t manage it last time either – the days need more hours to fit everything in!

 

 

Entertainment

There is live entertainment all day and evening at Potters.  From quizzes to gameshows, and singers to bingo.

The evening entertainment is out of this world. There is the main Atlas Theatre which has a huge show on every night. For those of you who enjoy a West End Show, like me, this was heaven. The shows were the highlight of our evening.

 

 

When the show finishes, the theatre empties out quite quickly as people either call it a night or move to one of the other bars where more late night live entertainment is available.

 

 

We had beautiful weather when we visited and the South Terrace (which is an outside area with lots of comfortable seating) also had lots of entertainment going on. It looked a very pleasant place to sit and be entertained, But there was so much to do, we just didn’t have time to do it. I never thought I would be sad that there was TOO much entertainment!

 

 

There was a brilliant system with the drinks in the bars other than the Atlas Theatre. Rather than queueing at the bar, there was an ordering point where you gave your table number and drinks were brought to you.  I loved this, made life so much easier.  You do still need to visit the bar for drinks in the Atlas Theatre but there was always plenty of staff on so this was speedy!

 

Daily Programme of Activities

Before I wrap up my review I will leave you with photos of the activities and entertainment on offer, so you can see the wide range of things to do for all ages at Potters.  

 

 

 

 

Read further on for our review of Potters Resorts when we visited with younger children.

 

 

 

 

A Summer Holiday at Potters Resort Review – Potters Resort is truly different from anywhere we have holidayed before.  It’s a resort in Norfolk not far from Great Yarmouth.  It’s biggest selling point is that everything is included in the price of your break from food to activities through to evening entertainment.  In fact, they have a dedicated (and free!) families brochure that you can request to be sent by post.  Potters Resort is the UK’s first five star Holiday Village set in 65 acres on the Norfolk/Suffolk coastal border at Hopton-on-Sea and is still family owned in its 99th year.

We were kept busy from morning till night with a full schedule of sports, shows, crafts and experiences.  It was the experiences my children really went wild for from Segways to Quad Bikes – but more on that further down the review.  I shall give you an overview of the room we stayed in (Hotel Premium Room), the inclusive food and the huge amount of included activities available.  I’ve put together a quick video of our break to give you an idea of the sort of things we got up to!  There is a video tour of the room at the end too.

Hotel Premium Room Tour

We stayed in a Hotel Premium room. It’s a very large room with a separate children’s sleeping area with twin beds, bedside tables, a wardrobe and a flat screen TV with an Xbox 360.

Children's Area in the Premium Hotel Room
The Children’s Twin Beds

There is also a large bathroom with twin sinks, bath tub and over bath shower.

The bathroom in the Premium Hotel Room

In the largest part of the room, we had twin beds, again with bedside tables, capacious wardrobes, large dressing table and 40″ flat screen TV with free view.  The room was very light and airy, with pretty decor and really deep plush carpets!

Premium Hotel Room at Potters Resort

The main area also has a small sofa, armchair and coffee table.

Premium Hotel Room at Potters Resort

Then, we had a fabulous wrap around balcony with an outdoor table and two chairs. This was lovely to sit out in the evening especially as we had a bit of a heatwave while we were there! Our children are older now at 9 and 11 but a balcony would have been ideal when they were little so they could sleep while we chatted.

 

Premium Hotel Room Balcony
Hotel Premium Room Balcony
View from Premium Hotel Room Balcony
Night-time view from the Hotel Premium Room Balcony

On our first night we relaxed in the room after our journey down from Yorkshire before heading to the restaurant for dinner. At Potters Resort you are allocated the same table for the whole of your stay as well as the same server. This is great as you don’t need to ever queue for a table as it’s always there waiting to welcome you. Also having the same server is nice as you can build up a rapport and they get to know your likes and dislikes. Our server was Joshua, who was lovely and friendly and very efficient with service.  Coming back to our table with Joshua to welcome us was like coming home and being looked after.

The Main Dining Room at Potters Resort
The Main Dining Room at Potters Resort

The dining plan at Potters Resort is all inclusive, breakfast, lunch and dinner are included as well as a midnight dish. A jug of tap water was always waiting for us on the table. Breakfast includes juices and tea or coffee, and tea or coffee is also offered after dinner. All other drinks are payable.

What is the food like at Potters?

Both lunch and dinner are three courses. There was always a choice of two or three starters which could be ordered from, and brought by Joshua. Then there was a choice of three dishes to be ordered, generally a meat dish, a fish dish and a vegetarian dish. As well as the three table service meals, you could visit the ‘Garden Table’ which is an all-you-can-eat buffet consisting of at least two other dishes, salad and usually a cold meat.  I have lots of photos to give you an idea of the food at Potters, including a sample menu:

Lunch and Dinner Menu at Potters Resort
Lunch and Dinner Menu at Potters Resort

What is the food like at Potters?

 

 

 

What is the food like at Potters?
Part of the all-you-can-eat buffet cold selection

What is the food like at Potters?
Prawn Cocktail
Duck Spring Rolls
Steak Pie
Vegetarian Tart
What is the food like at Potters?
Malted Milk Dessert
What is the food like at Potters?
Cheeseboard

Breakfast at Potters Resort

Breakfast was more of a buffet affair with lots of choice of the usual bacon, eggs, sausages, hash browns, fried bread, mushrooms and beans etc.

Breakfast Menu at Potters Resort
Breakfast Menu at Potters Resort
Breakfast at Potters Resort
Breakfast at Potters Resort

Then there was a whole cereal bar with lots of different varieties. 

Breakfast at Potters Resort

There was also cold meats, cheeses, fruit and pastries to choose from.

Breakfast at Potters Resort

Joshua brought tea, coffee and toast to the table. You could also order other items like smoked salmon or vegetarian sausages.

What is there to do at Potters Resort in Norfolk?

The real beauty of Potters Resort though is that there is so much for everyone to do! Our two are aged nine and eleven. They took part in so many activities from segways, kmx bikes, a Lego building challenge, inflatable obstacle course, bracelet making and fabric decoration, an exciting Fortnite challenge. Its a great mix of sports, crafts and new experiences. They made friends with some of the other kids and had a complete ball!  Here is an example of a daily schedule.  If I can give you a tip – take a photo of the schedule on your phone so you can check it easily during the day.

Potters Resort Activity Schedule
Potters Resort Activity Schedule
Obstacle Course at Potters Resort
Inflatable Obstacle Course
Skateboards
The Sweeper
The Sweeper!
Quad Bikes at Potters Resort
Quad Bikes

Potters Resort Review

Lego Model Challenge
Lego Model Challenge
Beginners Segways
Beginners Segways
Fortnite Experience
Fortnite Experience (with laser guns!)
Pro Gliders (Swegways)
Pro Gliders (Swegways)

On the last day of your break there is a ‘Summer Fayre’, consisting of lots of fab traditional stalls like hoopla and a shooting stall.  This was a very popular event, especially as it was held on the hottest day of the year.  When you had played a game (and all the games were free) you were given a raffle ticket.  Then at the end of the fayre the raffle was drawn and prizes were given out (some good prizes, some comedic!  We played as many of the stall games as we could!

Summer Street Fayre at Potters Resort
Summer Street Fayre at Potters Resort
Summer Street Fayre at Potters Resort
Master T with one of Potters Entertainment Team
Summer Street Fayre at Potters Resort
Miss H being facepainted

One of the many things I like about Potters is that it never felt crowded. We were there during the first week of the summer holidays and it was busy, but there is so much room, so many activities, bars and seating areas you never feel squashed. There were minimal queues for all the activities. The busiest we saw it was in the Atlas theatre and even then, there was still seating available at the back all evening.

Atlas Theatre and Evening Entertainment

Talking of the Atlas Theatre, this really is the jewel in Potters Crown. We saw three shows in total and they were all amazing. Potters really have invested a lot of money into both their performers and the staging. The stage is back-lit with huge plasma screens that change dynamically with each number. So atmospheric! I review for a lot of our local theatres as well as enjoying a trip down to the West End every now and then, and I have to say Potters are up there with my favourites. The new Broadway Show in particular had me in musical raptures, with a big finish on ‘This is Me’, from The Greatest Showman. If I could suggest any changes it would be for a ‘Greatest Showman’ medley at the end!

Before we went to Potters Resort I had read other reviews that mentioned the fact that Potters was great for multi generational holidays. There were lots of children, parents and grandparents. I think it would be a great choice for grandparents to bring children as they are endlessly entertained!

I hope you have found this review of Potters Resort useful, I’ve included all the things that I wanted to know before we went!  There really was so much to do at Potters Resort and so much we didn’t get around to doing, they also have a swimming pool and adventure golf, dancing, more sports and more crafts than we could possibly fit into our four nights there.  It is no wonder to me that people come back year after year which they clearly do.  Try it!

Potters Resort invited us to stay and review.  As always, all opinions are my own.

 

If you are in the Norfolk area, have a look at this great Norfolk days out site for lots to do in the area.

4 thoughts on “An All Inclusive Holiday at Potters Resort with Kids and Teens – Review |ad”

  1. I can’t wait to go to UK now. It’s always been in my bucketlist. And nownthat I moved here in Paris, I will make sure to visit this soon. Thanks for all the info 😊

  2. This looks and sounds like the ideal UK family holiday destination, I love how everything is included in the price. The food looks and sounds lovely and there seems to be so many activities for the whole family to enjoy. I will have to look into this for next year as we fancy a UK break next summer x

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