Holidays for life for the whole family

The Smith family, all three generations of them, have enjoyed decades of wonderful holidays, celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions at Bond sites near and far. But it took a while for Alwyn and Irene to take full advantage of HPB’s extensive portfolio of properties…

"Golf fanatic,” sighs Irene. “My husband Alwyn is fanatical about golf! After becoming Bondholders in 1991, I became a golf widow as, for the next ten years, our annual holiday was spent at Barnham Broom Golf and Country Club in Norfolk. He was in his element; there were two championship courses and no shortage of willing partners, usually local people who he met up with each year. The highlight, however, was playing with the late Peter Walker, well-known cricketer and broadcaster, and fellow Bondholder. Actually I was in my element too, for while the boys were knocking balls about, I was enjoying the club gym and pool, often with friends who we invited along. Not so bad after all!”

The couple also made use of the Points-free weeks and it was while they were enjoying a break at Tigh Mor Trossachs in Perthshire that they decided it was time to top-up their Bond.

“We love celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions,” she continues, “especially with our two daughters and their families. And where better to do it we thought, than at a wonderful Bond site!”

Celebrating in style

And so the family holidayed together at various Bond sites in the UK and abroad as often as they could, and this summer they paid their third visit to Villa Margarita at Javea in southern Spain, for an extra special triple celebration.

“Our eldest daughter Ruth and her partner Adrian, her younger sister Rachel and husband Mike and their children, 23 year old Zara and 21 year old Jack joined us for an absolutely superb week,” says Irene, “celebrating Alwyn’s 78th birthday, then our Emerald Anniversary followed by Rachel and Mike’s 26th Wedding Anniversary. Because the villa is so spacious it’s perfect for family groups like ours, with a large terrace and lovely private swimming pool.

It’s in a lovely position, close to the beach with access to plenty of bars and restaurants. We spent a lot of time around the outside dining table eating, drinking and playing games, and thanks to Audrey, the HPB site manager’s recommendation, we enjoyed a superb meal to celebrate us all being together. Definitely a holiday to remember, although we do seem to say this every time we take an HPB holiday!”

New favourite sites

“Alwyn doesn’t play much golf anymore,” continues Irene, “so I’m no longer a golf widow, but we’re never short of something to do and somewhere else to go as there are so many interesting Bond locations. One of our favourites is Tigh Mor Trossachs in Perthshire, but really we love all the sites – they are all so different. One thing we really appreciate are the marvellous site managers who apart from their local knowledge, magically sort out any problems.”

What about the future

Irene laughs, “I’ve noticed on our booking page that next year the family have commandeered some of the Holiday Points for Stigliano and Henllys, and the following year it’s Rocha Brava! We don’t mind though, because as we’re retired we can take advantage of Points-free holidays any time we want. That’s why HPB is so amazing, it’s truly an investment in holidays that the whole family can enjoy, and long may it continue!”