Stay Play Explore – Leicestershire Review

We have just got back from a weekend in Leicestershire after visiting with Stay Play Explore. Perhaps not initially my first choice of location for a good value family break we have left thinking that we really need to return. As we had such a great time. The beauty of our stay is that the price makes this really accessible to many families. If you are thinking of doing the same then here is our Stay Play Explore review. Did we have the perfect break?

AD Presstrip – we were invited to review Stay Play Explore. All words and opinions are my own.

Stay Play Explore Review 

This post covers some of the key questions I was asked during our Stay Play Explore Leicestershire mini break.

Who or what is Stay Play Explore?

They are a holiday company that specialises in good value family breaks in Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Yorkshire and the Coventry area. What makes them different is that your mini break also comes with attraction tickets. Giving you a total price for your family break excluding food. Although breakfast is included with your hotel stay. Not only does this help you keep to a budget but it also (as we found) saves a lot of money should you have brought them all separately.

How much does a Stay Play Explore break cost?

Prices start at £169 for a one-night break for a family of four with tickets for three local attractions. These are known as their family fun breaks. I think this represents amazing value for money. Something which is really hard to find in the UK holiday market at the moment. Especially as the prices stay the same during the school holidays regardless of the date of stay.

You can add an extra night to your overnight stay for £90. For us, this was helpful since we live in Sussex so having the extra night meant that we could start the weekend in the area early. Having the full day to play, stay and explore rather than having to contend with the M25.

They also offer three night’s stay with four attraction tickets. Known as Family Plus breaks these cost £359. Or you can opt for a Family Max break which is four nights and five attractions tickets for £469. Stay Play Explore also offer couple only breaks if you would like to leave the kids at home!

How much did we save on our Stay Play Explore holiday?

We stayed in the Leonardo Hinckley Island hotel which would have cost £120 for a family room with breakfast on the Saturday night we stayed.

The activities we chose had the following costs associated with them. A family snow tubing and tobogganing session at Swandicote Leisure Centre cost £54. A family ticket for two adults and two children to Conkers in the National Forest cost £29.95. Entrance to Twycross Zoo on the day would have cost £95.40.

This gives a total of just under £300 giving a total saving of £131.

If we include the extra night in the hotel which is what we did, then the Stay Play Explore price would have been £259. Which is exactly the same price that the hotel with breakfast would cost next weekend for both Friday and Saturday nights (end March dates). This gives a saving of £179.35. As you are basically getting all the activities for free which is excellent value.

How did we find our Stay Play Explore hotel?

We were really impressed with the Leonardo Hinckley Island hotel and would happily stay there again. In fact, this lovely hotel has opened our eyes to the brand and we will be keeping an eye out for them in the future. We stayed in an executive room which was huge. Probably the largest room we have stayed in. Having two double beds actually is so much more practical now as the boys are getting older and so sometimes bunk beds and sofa bed conversions don’t really work for Charlie.

Breakfast was included and there was a wide range of both cooked and continental options. The hotel also had free wifi throughout and you could make use of the leisure club facilities. We needed to book these in advance but the boys really enjoyed having a swimming pool available to them.

There is plenty of parking on site. Plus a bar and a restaurant. We ate in the Marco Piere White Steak & Grill restaurant on our first night and the food was absolutely delicious. There is also a restaurant in the Triumph bar and room service was available. However, if you would like to access restaurants in Hinckley then an. Uber is around £8-9.

You can read our full review of the Leonardo Hinckley Island Hotel here.

What attractions are included with a Stay Play Explore Leicestershire holiday?

There are a lot of fun activities with the following attractions are included in a Stay Play Explore Family Fun break:

• Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre
• Conkers
• King Richard III Visitor Centre
• Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre
• Stonehurst Family Farm
• Swadlincote Ski Centre
• Twinlakes Theme Park
• Twycross Zoo
• Wheelgate Park

Once you have made your booking you are sent three vouchers with QR codes. All of the attractions we visited needed us to print out the vouchers to take with us. It is just one voucher per attraction and the QR code covered entry for all of us. What I really like is that the vouchers are valid for 12 months from the date of your trip. So if you do not use all of the vouchers on your trip then you can use them at an alternative time. A couple of weeks before our break I contacted the attractions we chose.

We decided to choose the following attractions. The boys were aged 6 and 10 when we visited. All of these are close together and less than a 30 minute drive from the hotel.

Swadlincote Ski Centre

Knowing how much the boys loved snow tubing when we visited Lapland. I thought they would really enjoy this activity. Due to the weather that we’ve been having the main slope was badly flooded when we visited. So instead the tubing took place on the nursery slope. Which worked well for us as it meant Harry to run his own tube up and down. It is a family ticket so the adults can also have a go if they wish.

Within the family ticket, you also get two goes each on the toboggan run. Charlie at 10 is old enough to go on, on his own. But Harry who is not yet eight needed to go on with an adult. Both activities could be done in the rain which is just as well as the weather was not really in our favour. However, this did not detract from the fun and since they both had waterproof trousers they had a ball.

Conkers

You could easily spend most of the day at Conkers. Instead, we squeezed it into the afternoon. Knowing that we are unlikely to visit Leicestershire again for a while. Based in the National forest the attraction is split across two areas joined by a little steam train. Again the weather was not on our side. But we made the most of the inside play areas and the indoor interactive exhibits. Before venturing outside to enjoy the activity trail.

There are various play areas to keep them entertained. In the Summer a water play and splash area along with Swan boats on the lake. However, the main reason we picked Conkers was because of the high and low ropes. These do cost more and are not included in your entrance ticket. If you want you can use a Stay Play Explore attraction voucher which would allow two children to go on the ropes. However, we wanted to save our third voucher for Sunday. We paid for this extra cost separately. The high ropes cost £7 and the climbing wall or lo ropes £6.

There is no time limit on the high ropes which took Charlie around fifteen minutes to complete. Harry spent a full half an hour climbing.

Conkers also has a 4D cinema which is definitely worth making sure you visit. Included in the ticket price make sure you pick up your timed tickets at the entrance. More tips available on visiting conkers can be read here.

Twycross Zoo

Our third attraction was Twycross Zoo heading there after we had visited the hotel swimming pool on Sunday morning. I have really wanted to visit Twycross Zoo for a while so was delighted when I found it as one of the attractions on the Stay Play Explore website. The zoo is home to over 400 different animals. Including some of the must-sees including rhinos, Gorillas, Orangutans, Chimpanzees, Bonobos and Giraffes. As well as Tigers, Amur Leopards and Snow Leopards.

The enclosures close together make a great zoo for younger kids. Especially since the recent addition of the Gruffalo Discovery Trail. Which is an interactive trial based on the well-loved story. If you are considering visiting, you can read more about things you should consider before going here – Gruffalo Discovery Land.

Stay Play Explore Holidays – Pros

• Gift vouchers are available and a Stay Play Explore holiday would make a wonderful gift. Giving the pleasure of memories and not things is something we wholeheartedly subscribe to as a family. 
• For a package holidays or short break they are very flexible offering a good range of activities suitable for different aged children. Meaning that there is something for the entire family.
• Stay Play Explore holidays offer amazing value for money as evidenced above. I think it can be difficult to find good value in family breaks. Stay Play Explore seem to have nailed this giving quality time to the whole family.
• Don’t forget that the attraction tickets are valid for a whole year. So if you do not use them over your break you can use them on as an alternative day trip. 

 

Stay Play Explore Holidays – Cons

• I actually can’t think of any cons. Other than perhaps you will be totally shattered when you head back to work on Monday. And perhaps the fact I would like to see more locations added to the list.

We had a really lovely weekend. Making so many memories and enjoying each other’s company. I always know when the boys have had the best time as they can’t stop talking about it! Have you heard of Stay Play Explore before? Perhaps you have tried one of their family packages?

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