Hoburne the holiday company recently celebrated its 100th birthday and a lot has certainly changed since farmer and founder John Burry purchased Hoburne Farm in Christchurch and began to host families in an array of old buses and railway carriages on his beautiful land.

Burry’s family went on to create a stable of award-winning Hoburne holiday parks – Hoburne Bashley in 1964, Grange Court (now Hoburne Torbay) in 1977, Cotswold in 1979, Blue Anchor in 1985, and finally Doublebois in 1986. Indeed, in a public poll, the holiday firm has just won the national Family Business of the Year award.

And the accommodation which greeted us at what is now Hoburne Naish near Highcliffe-on-Sea was certainly no bus or railway carriage.

In fact, our three-bed Beckton lodge was spacious with all the mod-cons you could ask for and more, including three flat screen TVs, a games console, remote controlled windows, an iPod dock and the best by far – a veranda with an already-bubbling and incredibly-inviting hot tub.

Hoburne Naish is in a lovely spot, perched on a cliff-top with direct beach access and stunning views across to the Isle of Wight.

We explored our new three-bedroom home with countless ‘ooohs and aaahs’ The children loving their twin rooms and whirlpool bath – me loving the dishwasher, huge American fridge and luxurious fittings and decor.

Then we set off to explore the park and more importantly, to search for Sammy Seahorse.

The clubhouse is built around an attractive old farmhouse and is cosy and comfortable with a main entertainments venue, a bar serving good food, a snack bar, amusements and soft play.

In the adjoining leisure complex are three pools: a smaller indoor fun pool for young children, a larger and pleasantly warm indoor pool and the outdoor pool, which is around a metre deep in its entirety.

We spent our first evening enjoying a tasty snack before being entertained by the company mascot Sammy and his helpers.

The entertainment at Hoburne is great for the kids – games and a disco kicking off at six each night.

And there is also prize bingo and entertainment throughout the evening.

Saturday was a fabulous, sunny day and after breakfast – and a family hot tub session – we spent the morning at the outdoor pool and the afternoon at the beach, with a short stop-over at the excellent play park in between.

The beach is accessed via woodland steps down the cliff side and the children had a great time rock-pooling and building sand castles while we relaxed and took in the beautiful view.

Hoburne Naish has a range of accommodation to rent or buy with the Beckton Hot Tub at the top end of the spectrum.

Many of the caravans are also privately owned and the camp has a really friendly sense of community.

A visit to the shop on the way back through the park enabled us to stock up on essentials.

Selling toys, basic groceries including hot pies and bread and ice creams, the store has mostly what you need to self cater, although two small supermarkets can also be found under a half a mile away in Highcliffe.

We spent the rest of our weekend playing on the deck, barbecuing, relaxing in the ‘tub’ and generally enjoying the feeling of being nestled in a little peaceful spot just a stone’s throw from home.

And when we left our Beckton Hot Tub lodge on Monday it was with heavy hearts and a promise to return soon.

Getaway

Hoburne has seven holiday parks across the south and south west in Dorset, Hampshire, Devon, Somerset, the Cotswolds and Cornwall.

For the remainder of the 2013 season, a short break in a Becton Lodge with hot tub at Hoburne Naish costs from £494.

Short breaks across Hoburne Holiday Parks start from £114 for a two-bedroom caravan. To book or check availability call 0844 2882012 or visit www.hoburne.com