Zoom out from Selsey’s high street on Googlemaps and you will see what looks like a city attached to the main village from School Lane. This is Seal Bay – the resort which has helped make Selsey a destination for generations of holidaymakers since the tailend of the 1950s.

Spending the weekend in a two-bedroom lodge within the Green Lawns section of the sprawling site, it is clear that Seal Bay has moved with the times – offering WiFi, electronic gates and door locks and resort and food delivery apps – while at the same time retaining the swimming pools, fun fair and private beach which has made it so popular over the years.

The location is stunning We pulled up at the central reception just before it was about to close at 8pm, picking up our electronic key, resident passes and site map just in time to get in, unpack and put our overexcited six-year-old to bed. Having spent much of the evening panic-packing we were ready to collapse, but needed sustenance before trying out the double bed in our quiet lodge. And this is where the new technology came into its own. Having already downloaded the Seal Bay app to check in and book activities, we also downloaded the resort’s food app, allowing us to order at our table at the camp’s various restaurants and – most importantly – get takeaway food to our door. Our choice was between Papa John’s pizza, fish and chips and the legendary US fast food outlet Nathan’s – all of which have public outlets on the site. Before we knew it there was a knock on the door and we were able to inhale our burger and Philly cheesesteak before turning in ourselves.

We’d picked what turned out to be one of the warmest spring weekends to visit the Selsey site. Waking in the May sunshine we saw rabbits grazing on the grass outside our chalet and our neighbours breakfasting on their lodge terraces. Some of the lodges were clearly privately owned – with potted plants and decorations adorning the terraces – meaning we weren’t in some identikit corner of the park. Our lodge itself not only boasted two bedrooms, but also a family bathroom and en suite and a large well-equipped open-plan kitchen and living room with smart TV, flooded with light by two floor-to-ceiling windows.

A climbing wall is a fun challenge for all the family For our first morning we’d booked a pottery painting workshop in White Horse, the entertainment complex serving the eastern side of the park. To enter the complex we had to show our weekend passes, which also entitled us to use the lido (which is open from May 1 to September 30) for free. The main space was devoted to arcade games – which made my little boy’s eyes light up – plus a bowling alley, build a teddy workshop, pool tables, soft play centre and Dockyard area offering crazy golf, bouncing sessions and rock climbing. There was also a theatre (which had a free-to-holidaymakers live performance of The Little Mermaid The Panto on Sunday afternoon) and a more practical Nisa local store.

As with all the staff we met over the weekend the leader of our pottery painting session was enthusiastic and helpful – even letting my little boy try his hand at sand painting alongside his decoration of a pottery cupcake. The session cost £5 plus the cost of each biscuit-fired pot, with the painted creations fired overnight to be picked up on Sunday morning.

The kids will love the pool Having worked our way through much of my small change on the arcade and hacked around the nine-hole crazy golf, we opted to eat lunch at the Lido Cafe. Using the food app we were able to order direct to our table from an extensive lunch and kids’ menu of old favourites. We may have followed the digital ordering route, but our servers couldn’t be more friendly.

That afternoon it was on to West Sands – the heart of the holiday camp, packed full of more than 1,500 caravans and chalets and home to Waterfront Quays, the complex’s other big entertainment centre. The two halves of the holiday camp are joined by a single track road, with no pavement, so after five minutes dodging cars we opted to use the free bus service to West Sands, which runs in a circuit every half-hour, stopping off at the larger Nisa store by Medmerry Windmill and the Funfair before heading to Waterfront Quays. The funfair offered dodgems, paddleboats, more softplay and roundabouts – some of which felt like they’d seen better days – paid for through a £3 ticket system, with discounts available for multibuys.

The lodges come with a spectacular view The Waterfront Quays itself was packed again with arcade machines (my son got addicted to collecting the tickets, until he discovered gathering 200 would only net him a sweet) as well as the main swimming complex (also free to camp residents), wellness suite, gym, outdoors crazy golf, wave rider surfing simulator, Embassy Club and restaurants Smokey’s Ocean Bar and Smugglers, with a stretch of pebbly beach within easy reach. Smokey’s, where we ate on Sunday, is a sports bar/restaurant, with big screen football – and offers delectable barbecue platters to share, starting from £28.95 for two. The pulled pork and packer brisket with gravy were tender and delicious – having been smoked onsite for 24 hours according to our server.

Located at the end of the Manhood Peninsula, with just the B2145 leading in and out, Selsey itself is fairly isolated – Chichester, Bognor and West Wittering are all 20 minutes’ drive away. That said at no point did we feel the need to leave the site – there was plenty to do over the weekend for all ages, from archery and axe-throwing sessions to zorbing (rolling around inside a huge inflatable ball). Aside from access to the beach, two swimming pools and live shows though, the activities all have to be paid for separately – which could soon add up. That said on leaving my little boy was keen to return – so it clearly wasn’t money wasted!

Prices vary through the year – a weekend for two self-catering this summer was quoted from £286. Find out more at: cove.co.uk/sealbayresort