Skegness, Lincolnshire The Vine Hotel

The Vine Hotel is located in a very attractive residential area of Skegness - about 10 minutes walk to the town centre, although there is a beach and the Gibraltar Point Nature Reserve close by. The hotel is supposed to be one of the oldest in Skegness and Lord Tennyson was said to have spent time here and been inspired to write while in the gardens.

It is a lovely old building, ivy clad with beautiful gardens at the rear which were a real suntrap.

The room we stayed in was large, with 3 big windows which made it very light and airy. It had a double bed (not very comfortable and quite hard), a single bed and they provided a cot for our toddler. The bathroom was small, but adequate and did have a bath and shower (and lovely white fluffy towels).

We ate in the bar - there is also a restaurant - but the intimacy of the oak beamed bar attracted us. The food was delicious and at average prices of £5.95 excellent value for money. Breakfast was also good - choice of cereal/fruit and delicious full English.

Skegness is a typical English seaside resort - a bit tacky and brash with lots of amusement arcades and a funfair. It did however have a nice family feel to it - more so than some other larger resorts. The centre is very clean, lovely flower displays and had a safe feel to it - we strolled out at 9.00pm and there were no raucuous pubs and bars there are in some resorts.

We spent a lovely morning in Tower Gardens - a lovely park with bandstand and pavillion and a great children's playground that our son adored.

We also visited the Seal Sanctuary at Mablethorpe - quite cheap to get in and quite small, but they have various animals they rescued which you can see - mainly seals, but also seabirds, horses etc. They also have a nice little cafe serving delicious sandwiches.

The beach at Mablethorpe is beautiful - miles of golden sandy beaches and a sand train that runs from one end of the beach to the other.

We thoroughly enjoyed our short break and would recommend the Vine Hotel. At £40 per person bed and breakfast it is probably more expensive than most other places in the town, but its relaxing, tranquil environment, delicious home cooked food, pleasant rooms and good location - out of the town centre yet within comfortable walking distance made it worth the extra cost for us.