Diane Davies gets the five-star family treatment at Potters Leisure Resort on the Norfolk coast.

When asked the price of a holiday you will inevitably state the price paid at the time of booking. In my experience, however, this often bears very little resemblance to the true cost.

Include the bill for meals, sporting activities, outings – or indoor distractions when the weather takes a nasty turn – all laced with two “I want” children, and the real cost of the holiday is probably double that.

But not if you opt for Potters Leisure Resort, a hotel and holiday centre overlooking the beach on the coast of Norfolk which claims to be the only five-star holiday village in the country.

What you pay for the holiday is largely what you will spend. Three a la carte meals a day are included, as are almost all of the sporting and leisure activities from soccer, tennis and golf training, to archery and air rifles, go karts and trampolining to bowling.

The entertainment in the jaw-droppingly huge Atlas Theatre is top rate and there is something to occupy each family taking place all day long – pub quizzes, children’s entertainment, bouncy castles, you name it.

A speciality of Potters is the themed weekend and midweek leisure breaks. These might be music, comedy or sport themes but which ever takes your fancy you can expect to see some leading names in the field.

Among the names in this year’s programme are Paul Merton, Jane McDonald, Joe Pasquale, Ronnie Corbett, Ken Dodd, Billy Ocean, Alvin Stardust, Eric Bristow, John Lowe and Bobby George and Bobby Davro.

We took a midweek break in the school holidays which therefore had a “sports coaching” theme. My nine-year old Ryan is football crazy and was only too eager to go along to the soccer coaching sessions – where we were greeted by former England and Leeds legend Paul Reaney.

Unlike many of the highly paid and highly unapproachable footballers today, Paul seemed to genuinely enjoy meeting both the children and the parents and was great entertainment as well as passing on some top tips to our budding young George Bests!

Each session brought captivating tales of his time at the top of the game, the “truth” about Brian Clough and how he took on George Best. His devotion to Leeds remains as, clearly, does his passion for the sport. Priceless lessons which will never be forgotten by Ryan.

From 9.30am, immediately after breakfast, there was a packed programme for children and parents alike. As well as the traditional sports there were also opportunities to try indoor kurling, a climbing wall, bungee trampoline, Salsa and line dancing classes, boxercise and clay pigeon shooting. There was go-karting for the little ones and a speedier track for the parents. For the less athletic there was bingo, quizzes, treasure hunts, live music and even cocktail-making class.

There is a reasonably sized swimming pool area which also offers such facilities as a spa bath, sauna and gym. Next door is a beauty salon and I even took the opportunity to drag my reluctant youngsters into the hairdressing salon for a bit of a trim before their return to school.

The resort has a reputation for its bowls facilities, from short mat and carpet to crown green bowling. There are 14 indoor and seven outdoor rinks and many breaks centre around this. The bowling is obviously very popular but I’m afraid we only tried out the 10-pin bowling alley which can also be found on site.

A big plus for me at this resort was the fact that, being a long established family business, the ethos for Potters appears to be on offering a very warm and friendly stay. There is one member of staff to every one and a half guests so you never had far to go for advice, directions or just a conversation.

And every member I dealt with, from the reception and waiting staff, to the children’s entertainers to housekeeping were incredibly friendly – more than just politely so. Entertainment and senior staff wander around the dining room just to say hello!

In the restaurant, you have the same table and waiting staff for the whole of your stay. My children almost began to consider our waiter Shane a family friend – their usual shyness disappeared on the first day.

The selection of meals each day was excellent. A very varied menu which enabled me to give healthy meals to my often too-picky children rather than being faced with the usual children’s meals that all come with chips.

There were wide choices for adults as well, we were always torn which to choose. In truth, I don’t think I have ever eaten so much food in five days in my life. One small gripe, breakfast was 8.30am until 9.30am. Not very flexible and a little late for the little ones, until you get into a routine anyway.

The heart of the complex is the hotel which offers many rooms ranging from the premier room, to the premier deluxe, premier suite and the luxorious hotel penthouse suite.

A majority of the facilities are in the hotel complex, with a sports arena, games room or additional bar seemingly around every corner. Outside are a selection of bungalows. These tend to border the sports fields and greens and many have sea views.

The resort is on a stretch of beach and, on a sunny although somewhat bracing day, we did venture down there for walks, games, kite flying and so forth. We ventured out on a little paddle but swimming was for mad dogs and braver souls than us that day.

If you want an outing off the site, and let’s face it with this much going on there why would you, then the resort at Hopton-on-Sea is on the road between the popular resorts of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. It is also only a short drive from the wonderfully scenic Norfolk Broads.

At the end of our break we came away feeling thoroughly entertained and more than a little spoiled. It is evident from talking to guests and staff that many families return year after year to the resort. Indeed one father I spoke to only lived a couple of miles away but often treats his family to a weekend break or even a day at Potters.

Potters says that 80 per cent of first time visitors return for another holiday – and I’m certain they will be able to include my family in their numbers in the future.

Fact file – Potters Leisure Resort Hopton-on-Sea, Norfolk

• Prices vary according to the time of year, wide variety of accommodation and various themed breaks. Prices include all meals, housekeeping and towels and most of the activities.
• A mini midweek showbreak starts at as little as £140 for an adult and £159 for a weekend showbreak. The Easter holiday sports week was £29 for adults, £199 for children aged 9-15 and £159 for children 2-8 with supplements for the accommodation. We opted for the very roomy hotel premier room.
• To book or for a brochure call 01502 730345, seven days a week or visit www.pottersholidays.com