A HOLIDAY park which recently received a £5m investment was awarded five stars in a surprise inspection.
Warmwell Holiday Park was inspected by VisitEngland in July where the park was awarded five stars.
Inspectors noted the cleanliness of the park and the recreation, sport and leisure facilities on offer, giving 97 per cent overall. The quality of the accommodation for both owners and holidaymakers were also singled out for praise, with scores of 90 per cent.
The ratings also recognised the work and care put in by park staff throughout the pandemic, which has 'thrown immense challenges' their way.
Rob Warner, operations director at Parkdean Resorts, said: "We are always proud when one of our parks is awarded five stars from inspectors, and especially when our sites have been as busy as they have this summer.
"The last 18 months have thrown immense challenges our way, but getting such a glowing report from such a thorough inspection shows that our faith in our staff has been well placed.
"We will always strive to provide the best experience for our guests and this new reflects that promise."
Warmwell Holiday Park, owned by Parkdean Resorts, a self-catering holiday park operator with 67 parks across the UK, has received more than £5m of investment in the last two years as one of the company's 'Parks of the Future', refurbishing more than 60 lodges, adding new luxury items including hot tubs, upgrading shopping and club facilities, and introducing a wide range of extra activities for families.
The VisitEngland report noted that the investment was obvious in the quality of the facilities, including a new high ropes course, outdoor gym equipment, arts and crafts, hover boards, hover archery and indoor climbing walls. The park also features a virtual reality experience. As well as noting the high-quality facilities, inspectors were impressed with the care and attention that staff paid to safety.
Parkdean Resorts owns two more parks in Dorset - West Bay and Sandford. The holiday park operator employs more than 460 people in the county during the summer season and the three parks welcomed more than 100,000 holidaymakers in 2020.
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